How to fix your iTunes library with TuneUp

I have an iPhone and iPod and naturally I use iTunes to manage my music library through these devices. I am a neat person but for some reason until some week ago a lot of my tracks was mislabeled, without the album cover, hard to find and I didn't have the patience to fix them manually. So I searched for a solutions and I found TuneUp a great application for Mac and Windows that helped me clean and maintain neat my iTunes library searching for missing or inaccurate ID3 tags in my mp3 files. I bought a license some and the result has been really impressive.

TuneUp docks on the side of iTunes to make organizing your music easy. The only thing you have to do is to drag the track you want to fix into the TuneUp sidebar and the application fixes automatically your mislabeled music.

The Cover Art feature automatically searches your entire music collection for music files that are missing album artwork and fixes them. Cover Art lets you review all matches before the album art is saved to the file. Or you can take our first pick and "Save All." Now you can navigate iTunes using Cover Flow the way it was meant to be used.

Here is a screenshot of my iTunes library (click to enlarge)

TuneUp also enhance your listening experience with the Tuniverse feature that supplies you with the best music content on the web that's directly related to the track you're currently listening to in iTunes.

You can also stay tuned with the latest news of your favorite artists and buy tickets in just one click with the Concert feature.

TuneUp is available in two different options: a lifetime ($29.95) license or yearly license (price $19.95). You can also try a free version that cleans 100 songs and 50 album covers. I suggest you to try it!

 

How to implement a mobile version of your blog in three simple steps

After launching of the mobile version of woork I received a lot of messages from my readers that asked to me to dedicate a special post about this topic. So in this post I want to illustrate you a simple way to implement a mobile version of your blog/website in three simple steps using Mobify.me, an awesome on-line service that allow you to design mobile versions of a website just with some clicks.


Step 1: Select sections for your mobile layout
First thing to do is to create an account on Mobify.me. It's simple and free. Than you have to choose the URL of the website you want to "Mobify". It appears an interface that allows you to choose sections to add to the mobile version of your website. The only thing you have to do is to pass your mouse over a section (red borders appear automatically around the section) and click on to select it:

Remember that, in order to improve readability, templates for a mobile device have to be simple, preferably with a single-column layout. I suggest you to select only the section that contains your posts (selected in red in the previous image). You can add the header and footer in the next step using the Design view that allow you to have more control over the CSS and HTML code.

Step 2: Design CSS + HTML code
At this point you are ready to customize the layout of your mobile template using the Design view and adding for example a custom header and footer. How you can see in the following image, Design view is divided in two parts:

Left section contains the CSS code and right section a preview in real time of your website (you can choose several mobile devices such as iPhone, Nokia, BlackBerry). To customize header and footer choose the related link on the right menu. This is the window that appears:

You have only to add some lines of HTML code and press "save and close". Then you can add CSS code to customize all HTML elements of your template using the left section of the Design view:

How I said all changes you make to your code are in real time, so you can see how your template looks immediately in the right section of the Design view. When your code is ready click on the button save to save your mobile template.


Step 3: Publish your website
Now you are ready to publish the mobile version of your website. Publishing is very simple. You can publish your blog using your hosting service or directly Mobify.me hosting choosing an URL like this: http://yourname.mobify.me (if you use Blogger this is the best solutions!).

At this point you have to add in the tag <head> of your original template some lines of JavaScript code that allows to redirect visitors that use mobile devices to browse your website. The code is very simple:

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://yourname.mobify.me/mobify/redirect.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">try{_mobify("http://yourname.mobify.me/");} catch(err) {};</script>

Save your template and don't forget to publish it otherwise the redirect doesn't works! Ok, your mobile version is now ready! Take a look at the final result trying to load your website from a mobile device. Simple no? And also free! Try to take a look at the mobile version of woork loading woork from your mobile device and tell me what you think about.

Any suggestion about this topic? Please leave a comment, thanks!

External Links

- Mobify.me

Related Posts

- The mobile version of Woork is on-line with Mobify.me

ColoRotate: browse and create your color palette in 3D

ColoRotate is a free online service that has some similarities to Adobe Kuler, but is different in that it's in 3D. Users can browse color palettes, create new palettes, and share palettes with others in the ColoRotate community.

Using ColoRotate 3D interface, you can quickly see the multidimensional nature of your colors and the relationships between colors in a way that matches how your eye and brain perceive color and change your colors one at a time, blend two colors together, or transform a full palette of colors all at once with contrast and color joysticks — adjustments that previously have been beyond your reach. With ColoRotate’s quick drag-and-drop you can adjust hue, brightness, and saturation. Import and export in Adobe Swatch Exchange (ASE). Soon, you’ll be able to save even more time with a Photoshop Plugin.

You can also post on-line your palettes, and tag palettes to engage with the ColoRotate community, or discussions. In the future, look for features like comments and ratings.
ColoRotate has an intuitive interface that eliminates the need to memorize or jot down color combinations or numbers. Indeed, you can traverse across an open three-dimensional color space and choose (or design) the color palette that fits your needs. In the process, you can uncover color relationships that give your designs an aesthetic balance that will please the most discriminating eye.

Related Content

- Best resources on-line for color schemes generators

8 Interesting Adobe AIR applications for web lovers

I like Adobe AIR. With AIR you can develope rich internet applications that run outside the browser on multiple operating systems. In this post I want to share with you some really interesting Adobe AIR applications for web lovers: this list includes some social-network clients, developer tools, and mashup applications.


1. TIME 100 desktop application
TIME 100 allows you to access to the complete archive of past and present honorees on the TIME 100 annual list of the “World's Most Influential People”.

I think it's one of the most interesting applications actually in circulation. Take it a look!


2. DestroyTwitter
DestroyTwitter is a robust but compact Twitter application built on the Adobe AIR platform. It consists of a series of canvases that constantly update to keep tweets current and up-to-date using notifications that appear immediately after a new tweet arrives.

DestroyTwitter also features complete direct messaging functionality. Messages and tweets can be replied to with the original visible for quick and easy reference. A search function is also available to track anything that's being talked about.


3. Feedalizr
Feedalizr is a social media desktop client that keeps track of updates from friendfeed, twitter, facebook, Flickr, Twitpic & jaiku. It offers full support for these services so that users can interact, i.e. comment, like, favorite, tweet, reply etc. and their updates are instantly reflected on the services website and added to their stream.

4. Skimmer
Skimmer is an Adobe AIR desktop application designed to streamline, beautify, and enhance the experience of participating in your most frequently used social networking activities.

It improves upon your day-to-day interaction with multiple social networks, removing distractions and providing a rich experience that is particularly suited to multimedia content.


5. Icon Generator
Icon Generator is a little application that lets you generate a CS3 or Web 2.0 style icon, only 3 step. Pick color, type characters, and save it. Just create 4 different sizes of the icon.

6. Kuler Desktop
Kuler is an online application to create and share color harmonies. With this AIR application you can search and import Kuler themes directly into Creative Suite 3 Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop.

You can also view the highest tated, most popular, newest, and randomly selected themes. Drag and drop themes as transparent "tear offs," to scale and view over any application.


7. Lita
Lita is an administration interface for SQLite databases. It lets you edit your databases structure and data in a dedicated environment.

With Lita you can open, create, compact databases; create, rename, delete, and empty tables; Easily run, import and export your custom SQL statements.


8. Bookmash
Bookmash is a mashup application which allows you to find quickly videos, music, photos, people and news on line.

Any suggestions about other interesting AIR applications? Please leave a comment!

My Tiny TodoList | A simple open source todolist written in PHP and jQuery

My Tiny TodoList is a totally free, simple open source todolist written in PHP and jQuery released from Max Pozdeev and based on my original MyToDoList application.

Using MyTiny TodoList you can add, modify or delete tasks, mark a task as completed and set task priority. Max improved a lot the interface with some nice jQuery effects and other general improvements. The result is very interesting and I suggest you to take it a look.

Max Pozdeev MyTinyTodoList Website
MyTinyTodoList Demo




Some screenshots:

Install My Tiny TodoList

1. Download, unpack and upload to your site.
2. If you want to use Mysql database instead of Sqlite - uncomment the line begining with $config['mysql'] in file 'init.php' and specify your settings as described in file.
Otherwise sqlite database file 'todolist.db' will be created in directory 'db'. If no - create it manually and make it writeble for webserver/php.
3. Open in your browser file 'dba.php' from your site and create tables in databse.
4. Open 'index.php' in your browser to run the application.

Two fantastic free services to enrich your blog

Today I want to suggest two fantastic free services which can help you to enrich your blog adding new interesting contents on your pages: Apture to add multimedia content on your website (photo, text, links...) and blipBack a nice widget to receive video comments from your friends.

Apture: I discovered this great service some day ago and I like it immediatly. What is Apture? Apture is a free service to add multimedia to your website with one click, integrate text, images, video, maps, music, documents, presentations and more from 20+ sources. In this way you'll keep visitors on your site, instead of sending them away.

But how does Apture work? Before to use it you have to sign-up, create for free your own account and add one o more websites. Second step is to install Apture code on your pages. Installation process supports the most popular blog platforms and doesn't require particular knowledge of HTML... so you can add Apture on your website just with one click! After installing you are ready to add all media you want on your pages. When you browse your website a little window like this (Apture Dashboard) will appear on pages. The only thing you have to do in order to add a link to a multimedia content is to select a text with your mouse and choose the source you want to link from the search window. The result? Take a look for example at the following links: usability, or at Barack Obama or Delicate.

blipBack: blipBack is a new service which allows you to add a video comment system on your website or social profiles (Facebook, MySpace...). In this way anyone with a webcam or video-enabled phone can leave a video message on your pages. The only thing you have to do is install the code or embed this widget into your pages.

Any suggestions? Add a comment!

Related content

Free online services to bring more value to your blog

Wappalyzer: web application analyzer Firefox add-on

Wappalyzer is an add-on for Firefox that shows what software is used on the websites you visit. It analyzes pages for recognizable patterns in the HTML code to determine what CMS, Message Board, Wiki or e-Commerce software is installed.

This data is collected to create some interesting statistics; here you can view a list of all the software that is being tracked and find out which is the most popular. This way you can compare blogging solutions, analytics tools etc. and perhaps decide what to use yourself. This is a small conversation between Elbert (Wappalyzer creator) and me about his application.

Antonio: So Elbert, how about Wappalyzer?

Elbert: I launched Wappalyzer (web application analyzer) at the beginning of this year (1 Januari 2009) and the website is still in beta. I'm open for suggestions, I'm still adding software to the list and making improvements to the site and the add-on. The statistics will be more accurate when more users install the add-on. I started the project after suggesting this idea to Wakoopa, a company that tracks mainly desktop software. They told me they were not planning on implementing it into their tracker.

Wappalyzer is mainly focused on downloadable applications such as Wordpress, but I also added some hosted systems like Blogger so you can compare them. It's currently tracking software in these categories: analytics, blogging, CMS, e-commerce, image gallery, JS framework, message board, widget, wiki.

Official download location
Alternative download location

I'm providing support at here

Bio: My name is Elbert, I am a self-employed 25 y/o ('83) web developer from Rotterdam, the Netherlands (currently living in Geelong, Australia). The name of my company is Crunchlabz. My specialties are PHP, XML, XHTML, CSS and JavaScript. I have been developing a CMS (named Kolibri CMS) on my own since 2005 and I've worked on several other projects. I'm a big fan of Open Source software and follow projects such as phpBB closely.

8 Interesting CMS for e-commerce websites

If you want to open an e-commerce website can be useful to take a look at this list with eigth interesting Content Management System which can help you to reduce your programming effort for developing e-commerce projects. If you know other products or have some opinion about this CMS please add a comment, thanks!

1. Magento
Magento is an interesting platform for your e-commerce website. It's modular architecture and unprecedented flexibility means your business is no longer constrained by your eCommerce platform. Magento is total control.

2. PrestaShop
PrestaShop is professional e-Commerce shopping cart software that you can download and use for free. It supports a lot of interesting features for a total control of your e-Commerce shop.

3. Drupal e-commerce
Drupal e-Commerce is a package of modules to let you create your own online store. It is totally free, open source, rich featured and flexible. The system can use PayPal, Authorize.net, eWAY, C.O.D. or you can roll your own.

4. Zen-Cart
Zen Cart truly is the art of e-commerce; free, user-friendly, open source shopping cart software. The ecommerce web site design program is being developed by group of like-minded shop owners, programmers, designers, and consultants that think ecommerce web design could be and should be done differently.

5. CubeCart
CubeCart is an "out of the box" ecommerce shopping cart software solution which has been written to run on servers that have PHP & MySQL support. With CubeCart you can quickly setup a powerful online store which can be used to sell digital or tangible products to new and existing customers all over the world.

6. osCommerce
osCommerce is an Open Source online shop e-commerce solution that is available for free under the GNU General Public License. It features a rich set of out-of-the-box online shopping cart functionality that allows store owners to setup, run, and maintain online stores with minimum effort and with no costs, fees, or limitations involved.

7. VirtueMart
VirtueMart is not a CMS but an Open Source E-Commerce solution to be used together with Joomla! (and Mambo). Joomla! and VirtueMart are written in PHP and made easy for use in a PHP/MySQL environment.

8. FatFreeCart
FatFreeCart is a free shopping cart developed by the team behind E-junkie shopping cart. It works inside your website, your blog and will even work from your MySpace page. It is simply a copy-paste cart and does not require you to register with us or install anything. It works with PayPal and Google Checkout. It supports product variations, shipping, handling and sales tax.

Do you have any suggestion or other interesting CMS? Add your comment please!

Related content

10 Free powerful Content Management Systems

10 Free powerful Content Management Systems

Content Management Systems help web developers create, manage and publish quickly blogs, portal or social collaboration websites. Probably you know the most popular CMS tools such as WordPress, Movable Type, Joomla!, Mambo but there are a lot of similar CMS tools for all needs.


This list suggest you some interesting alternatives you have to try. Please add a link if you want to suggest a CMS tool not included in this list.

1. Frog CMS
Frog CMS simplifies content management by offering an elegant user interface, flexible templating per page, simple user management and permissions, as well as the tools necessary for file management.

Frog requires PHP5, a MySQL database or SQLite 3 with PDO, and a web server (Apache with mod_rewrite is highly recommended).
Read more...

2. SilverStripe
SilverStripe open source content management system and framework intuitive and user-friendly, fast, flexible, and free, to build powerful websites quickly.
Read more...

3. Liferay
Liferay is a leading provider of open source enterprise portal and social collaboration software. Liferay Portal is all about choice. It gives you over 60 portlets and the most innovative technologies to let you do everything from web publishing, to building an intranet, to simply getting the right documents and applications to the right people.
Read more...

4. miaCMS
MiaCMS is a powerful, flexible, and easy to use open source content management system. It can be used to build websites of all shapes, sizes, and scenarios. MiaCMS features simple installation, graphical (WYSIWYG) HTML editors, RSS content syndication, a powerful 3rd party extension system, flexible theming capabilities, site search, RESTful content access, user management, multilingual capabilities, plus much more.
Read more...

5. MoinMoin
MoinMoin is an advanced, easy to use and extensible WikiEngine with a large community of users. Said in a few words, it is about collaboration on easily editable web pages.
Read more...

6. ImpressCMS
ImpressCMS is a community developed Content Management System for easily building and maintaining a dynamic web site. Keep your web site up to date with this easy to use, secure and flexible system. It is the ideal tool for a wide range of users: from business to community users, from large enterprises to people who want a simple, easy to use blogging tool.
Read more...

7. MODx
MODx is 100% buzzword compliant, and makes child's play of building content managed sites with validating, accessible CSS layouts – hence Ajax CMS. It empowers its users to build engaging "Web 2.0" sites today, with its pre-integrated MooTools, Scriptaculous and Prototype libraries.
Read more...

8. Textpattern
Textpattern is a flexible, elegant and easy-to-use content management system PHP-based. It is both free and open source.
Read more...

9. Radiant
Radiant is a no-fluff, open source content management system designed for small teams. Main features: elegant user interface, flexible templating with layouts, snippets, page parts, and a custom tagging language, first-class extension/plugin system, simple user management and permissions. Platform: Ruby.
Read more...

10. CMS Made Simple
If you are an experienced web developer, and know how to do the things you need to do, to get a site up with CMS Made Simple is just that, simple. For those with more advanced ambitions there are plenty of addons to download. And there is an excellent community always at your service.
Read more..

Free tools to create your own social network Facebook-like

Are you looking for free tools to create your own social network Facebook-like? Take a look at this popular free services on-line.



1. Ning
Ning is a popular online platform for users to create their own social websites and social networks quickly and free:

Read more about Ning

2. SocialGO
SocialGO lets you easily create and run a feature-filled social networking website. You choose who can join, what they can do and how it looks and the best part is it's free to get going.

Read More about SocialGO

3. Elgg
With Elgg you can create your own social network, quickly and easily. Elgg allows you to take full advantage of the power of social technology with elegant, flexible solutions for organisations, groups and individuals.

Read more about Elgg

4. WackWall
WackWall is another social network builder tool. Your network can have custom design, photo/video sharing, forums, blogs, events, and such - all easy, fast, and FREE!

Read more about WackWall

Install PHP and MySQL environment on your Mac using MAMP

Prepare your Mac to develop PHP applications with a click, using MAMP.

I often receive this question from some readers of mine: "what's the most simple way to install a PHP / MySQL environment on a Mac OS X?" I think the best way is using MAMP (an abbreviation for Macintosh, Apache, Mysql and PHP), a free application which configure a localserver (just with a click of your mouse) and all you need to work with PHP and MySQL.


Install is very simple and immediate and it works well on Tiger and on Leopard. MAMP also includes phpMyAdmyn and SQLLiteManager to manage easly all your MySQL databases.

Links
MAMP official site

XTorrent: torrent manager for mac

XTorrent is the best torrent manager / file sharing sofwtare for mac. Easy to use and with a simple interface.

If you are a Mac user and you are searching for a good .torrent software, I suggest you to take a look at XTorrent. I think it's the best .torrent manager for mac: fast, simple and with a nice interface iTunes-like.


You can download the full program here from the official site (only 3.8 Mb).

Design your favicon on-line with Favicon.cc

Are you looking wor a free service to convert your pictures into a icons? Take a look at Favicon.cc

Favicon.cc is an useful on-line service to design a favicon for your website. This application has a simple web interface with a grid with 16x16 squares (equal to default favicon dimension: 16x16 pixel) where you can design pixel-by-pixel your icon:


There are some problems with Safari, but with Firefox works well. Take a look.

Mydugg preview, an open source platform (php+mysql) to deploy your digg-like site

Some time ago, I started to deploy mydugg a free, open source platform written in PHP and MySQL to create digg-like site just with a click.


I think digg paradigm can be applied to deploy personal site, wiki site, community site and forum, so I decided to create mydugg and distribute it for free in order to simplify the work to people who have to deploy similar sites in easy way. The package also contains a simple istaller which configures the environment and creates a MySQL database, just with a click. After the install, in the administration area, you can define a site's administrator, add the site's description, manage users and posts:

Admin can also defines a set of categories where users can add posts in specific topics (categories are in the top bar):


In the next week, I'm going to deploy a function to design new themes for sites created with mydugg changing css source. Actually I am testing the application and I hope to distribute the first beta version in January 2008. Stay tuned :)