Archives for July 2010

July 29, 2010

The New and Kindlier Kindle

It’s kindlier to the pocket that is. I’ve never paid much attention to Amazon’s Kindle products because I thought it cost too much. It’s an extraordinary product. No doubt. Recently, Amazon made an announcement that raised my eyebrow. The price of the latest Kindle is now just $189. It’s still somewhat pricey, but that’s my opinion. In addition, there is WiFi-only Kindle for only $139.

With the 3G wireless, you can download and start reading books in 60 seconds. The screen has no glare in direct sunlight. A single charge can last one month. It can store up to 3,500 books and it weighs only 8.7 ounces. If you ever run out of space, you can delete books with abandon and Amazon will allow you to re-download your books at anytime for free.

The 3G network works in the US as well as abroad. There are no monthly fees. Getting a Kindle with 3G Wireless access at $189 is nice to have, but the Kindle WiFi-only at $139 is simply irresistible.

Check out the latest Kindle.

July 28, 2010

Add Google Maps To Your Posts

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Adding a static map to your posts can make a world of difference. Your posts not only look good, but are informative and effective as well. Whether you are giving out directions or simply just showing off where in the world you were at one point, you can add great value and effectiveness to your posts. The good news is, adding Google Maps is not so difficult.

The Google Static Maps API

The Google Static Maps API lets you embed a Google Maps image on your webpage without requiring JavaScript or any dynamic page loading. The Google Static Map service creates your map based on URL parameters sent through a standard HTTP request and returns the map as an image you can display on your web page. I will breakdown the URL piece by piece and explain.

The URL

http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?<em>parameters</em>

Required Parameters: Center, zoom, size and sensor. Examples.

center=101+Market+Street+San+Francisco  (enter address or latitude, longitude)
zoom=14 (from levels 1 to 20)
size=480x300 (map size in pixels)
sensor=false (use default 'false' unless using GPS locator)

Optional Parameters

Maptype: Roadmap, Satellite, Terrain or Hybrid.
Marker: See below.
Paths: See below.

Putting It All Together

We can string it all together using ampersand (&).

This URL:

http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=101+Market+Street+San+Francisco&amp;zoom=14&amp;zoom=14&amp;size=480x300&amp;maptype=roadmap&amp;sensor=false

Produces this:
San Francisco

Finally, to add an image to your post, just add an HTML img tag. Example:

<img src=”http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=101+Market+Street+San+Francisco&zoom=14&zoom=14&size=480×300&maptype=roadmap&sensor=false” 
alt=”San Francisco” />

There are other options that can be added such as Markers and Paths, but are a bit more involved. You can check out the rest from the Google Static API V2 Developer Guide.

July 27, 2010

Add a Home in WordPress Pages Widget

WordPress Widgets are handly little pieces of code that usually come from plugins. They are usually displayed on sidebars. One of my favorite widget is the Pages Widget. One thing that is obviously lacking from the Pages Widget is a ‘Home’ link.

A number of WordPress themes use ‘Pages’ for navigation. The navigation links are usually located on top or just below the header. Theme designers usually add a custom ‘Home’ link in addition to listing the pages, ie, wp_list_pages().

If you use the Pages Widget, you can add a ‘Home’ link without adding a single line of code. The inspiration came from an earlier article I wrote about ‘Creating a WordPress Page With An External Link.’

Add A Home

Go to your Dashboard > Pages > Add New

Enter in the Title:

<a href=”/”>Home<a/>

Leave the content blank. Publish.

You now have a WordPress Page pointing back to your main index page. Verify if the ‘Home’ link is reflected on the Sidebar.

That’s it.