Yesterday when I woke up I found out that I had about 20 new followers in about an hour. Normally it would take me at least a week to get that many new followers (or even longer). In the end during the whole of 25th March I had about 120 new followers.

It turns out that was mentioned in an article on Freelance Switch. It was an article aimed at anyone new to Twitter and some people to follower – “50 Freelance Followers on Twitter“. I was listed under the Designed & Developers and since my twitter username starts with “a” it was right near the top

Thanks Freelance Switch!!

If you want to follow me go to my Twitter page and click follow – @andrewyee.

Apple presented the next major update to the operating system running in the iPhone. Even though I dont have an iPhone (want one though!) this is still pretty big tech news. Although, the iPhone is a fantastic device its certainly not perfect! One of the main things lots of people wants was Copy and Paste. This is now in it! Personally I think the iPhone (and iPod Touch – which I have) could also do with supporting Flash – still not happening

Anyway, the new version of the iPhone software (3.0) isnt out yet (out in the summer) but in a presentation they gave details of all the new features etc. It looks pretty good!! You can read more about it on the Apple site including watching the actual presentation (as I type this it is not online yet). Some key features:

• Search your iPhone
• Cut, copy, and paste
• Send photos, contacts, audio files, and location via MMS (only in iPhone 3G)
• Read and compose email and text messages in landscape

There is a more details summary list of the new features on thenextweb.com.

IE6 really shouldnt be around. Its getting old and just isnt standards complient!! We also now pretty much have IE8. The problem is that IE7/8 is not supported on Windows 2000 so that means most users of IE6 are business users.

The problem with IE6 still hanging around is that clients pressure web designers/developers to get sites working in IE6 and having to use various hacks and tweaks. It wastes time and money!! Microsoft need to sort it and get IE7 working on Windows 2000 – and get IE6 to automatically update to IE7 (or or even better suggest Firefox!!

Clients pressure designers to ‘force’ sites to work in IE6, and designers, not wanting to lose business, comply, using hacks and workarounds. This wastes time and money. Microsoft needs to fix this, designers need to unite, and we all need to move on.

Heres a quote from Jeff Zeldman, standards guru:

“IE6 is the new Netscape 4. The hacks needed to support IE6 are increasingly viewed as excess freight. Like Netscape 4 in 2000, IE6 is perceived to be holding back the web.”

Bring down IE6!!

I went to the Twestival charity event in Manchester tonight AKA MancTwester. The event was held in The Living Room. All proceeds went to the charity Charity:Water. The charity auction includes items such as a Wii, ipod touch, champagne meal and “money cant buy items” such as a “journalist for the day” with the Manchester Evening News.

Shockingly, in the year 2009, 1.1 billion people on the planet don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. That’s one in six of us. At the last count Manchester Twestival raised £3,500!!

If you dont Twestival is organized 100% by volunteers in cities around the world and 100% of the money raised from these events will go directly to support charity: water projects. Some of the cities holding Twestival events include Hong Kong, Sydney, Dublin and New York. It all started back in September 2008 when a group of Twitterers based in London decided to organise an event where the local Twitter community could socialise offline, meet the people behind the avatars, have a few drinks and raise money for a homeless charity. Most of the event was organised in under 2 weeks via Twitter and the combined talent and financial support of the local “Twittersphere”. The Manchester Twestival event was organised by Katie Moffat (@katierocket)

I took a few photos which are on Flickr. You can read more about it on the MEN blog and also a video with Katie.

Twitter really seems to have taken off recently with it featuring in mainstream media. If you dont know Twitter is a micro-blogging service which allows you to let people know what you are up to in real time. Similar in a way to Facebook status.

A few weeks ago it hit the news when someone posted a message on Twitter that he was helping rescue people who were in the plane which crashed in the Hudson River in New York. The photo he posted on Twitpic I think was properly seen by millions. Here is an interview of him on the BBC news.

More recently Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) mentioned it while he was on the Jonathan Ross (@wossy) show. Stephen Fry already had a big following on Twitter but his number of followers (people who “follow” him so they can see what he has posted and what hes up to) has sky-rocketed. Phillip Schofield (@Schofe) has also been using Twitter and after posting a picture of himself in the snow and his hedge in the background it has really taken off. People are writing “Its my hedge” all over the place. A few people from Radio 1 have also joined mainly starting off from Chris Moyles (@chrisdjmoyles) after he spoke to Phillip Schofield about it all and “the hedge”. Most of the Chris Moyles team are now on Twitter along with other DJs such as Scott Mills (@scott_mills) and Greg James (@gregjames).

If you want to follow me, please add me – @andrewyee.

PS – By careful for fake Twitter profiles – there is at least one fake Chris Moyles and Scott Mills!!!

A few days after winning some Internet Security software, I won a few prizes in the “prize giveaway” on a web design web site/blog. To win, a posted a useful web design related blog. My post was about using web design resources and the web sites I visit daily and why I find them useful.

The prize I won was:

Photoshop World Tickets, Scott Kelby Book Bundle, Layers Subscription, NAPP Membership
Courtesy of RC Concepcion, Host of Layers TV, the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, and Kelby Training.
Value: $720 (Tickets & NAPP membership $600, Books $90, Layers Subscription $30)

Based on its position in the post and its value its one of the top prizes!! Thanks Just Creative Design!!!

(Unfortunately since the main part of the prize are tickets to Photoshop World in Boston/Vegas I cant attend. If the prize included flights and accommodation then that would have been great!!! )

I thought it would be useful for any web designers/developers out there if I posted some of the web sites I visit regularly to keep up with the latest news and get some useful tips (this was after reading this article). Since I am a freelance web designer, I will also list a few Freelance related blogs/web sites.

Actually I will start of with a couple freelance web sites. Freelance folder and Freelance Switch. Both sites have useful advice for freelancers including interviews with successful freelancers out there. As well as being useful, its an entertaining read.

Now to the web designer related web sites. The first two I visit every day (often several times a day) are Smashing Apps and Smashing Magazine. Both sites have loads on the web site from useful web sites and software, showcases to give you inspiration, how-tos, useful resouces. On Smashing Magazine it quite often showcases some beautiful looking artwork e.g. posters, web sites backgrounds, artwork, etc.

Some other general web design “blogs” I visit regularly and find useful:

• You the designer – similar to Smashing Apps and Smashing Magazine. This site has lots of great articles, sources of inspiration, freebies and more.
• Web Designer Wall – full of “design ideas, web trends, and tutorials”.
• CSS Globe – this site is full of really useful CSS tips and “hacks”.
• CSS Beauty – another great site with the latest web design news. Also has a section for submitting your own work and “showcasing” it.
• Stylegala – latest news and useful sites. Like CSS Beauty you can submit your own web site to showcase and also submit your own news in the public news section.
• A List Apart – deals with the design and development of web content with particular focus on web standards.
• 456 Berea Street - another one of those sites for of useful articles and tutorials.
• Web Development Blog – this site has got some great examples and code extracts of some cool Javascript techniques/effects.
• Web Resources Depot – every day this site has a free web resource for you ranging from a sliding gallery to social networking icons.
• Just Creative Design – a personal blog of graphic/web/logo designer. Many interest and useful articles and resources.

Most of the sites I visit are updated regularly, often more than once a day. Sometimes its hard keeping track of new updates and for that reason I use RSS feeds. Loads of web sites have RSS feeds to help the visitor find out when there are new posts or new news. There are lots of RSS readers from those within the browser such as Wizz RSS or sites like Google Reader. There are also standalone readers. I personally use Wizz RSS. However, the choice is yours – all down to personal preference

If you have had enough of all these web design related blogs, here are some blogs I like to visit which arent all about web design. They are a bit techie though (aka “geeky”)

• Kevin Rose – this is the blog of the one and only Kevin Rose. If you didnt know hes the founder of Digg.com (the place for people to discover and share web content). He also co-presents the brilliant online video podcast show Diggnation.
• Veronica Belmont – the co-host of online video podcast show Tekzilla. She also happens to be very attractive and into gadgets/computers etc.
• Larissa Meek – like Veronica, Larissa is another rather attractive women whos into “tech”. Shes an artist but has been in the past a 3D animator, Miss USA finalist, model, actress and reality TV star
• Jason Bradbury – blog of The Gadget show TV presenter

UPDATE:

Another site worth visiting is Sharebrain – a great resource site for “Webworkers”.

Ever wondered if the Death Star in Star Wars had a canteen. It must have done!!! Your not the only one as so has Eddie Izzard. Some clever person who created an animation of Eddie Izzard talking about it. Very funny!! Here it is. (There are other videos from this person on Youtube – I also like the supermarket one!)

I have been working on a couple web sites in my spare time. The idea is to show people how various types of web sites can work and how it would look.

The first site is Citrus Cube Cars. This is a demo car dealer web site I set up with a stocklist of cars and a built-in search. There is a simple admin section which allows anyone with permission to add, update and delete cars and enter the features of each cars along with images.

The second site I have been working on is an out-sourcing marketplace web site called Citrus Jobsearch. The idea is for tradespeople e.g. electricians, builders to find work (projects) which have been posted on the site by “buyers”. When projects are posted on the site by buyers, tradespeople (professionals) can register and login to the web site and then place bids. The buyer can then view all the bids (the proposal) and then decide who “wins” the job.

Please note that these are just demo sites and are still not 100% “complete”.

As a web designer one of the things you have to do is test your web site on different browsers to make sure it looks Ok and works in the main browsers. The main ones are Firefox and Internet Explorer. There are others including Safari (popular on the Mac) and Opera which have a relatively small following on the PC. Now there is another one and because of who has made it its likely to be popular.

There have been rumours for ages but Google have released there own new browser. You can now download a BETA version of the browser – which is called Google Chrome. Since its BETA it may still have bugs.

Chrome is based on Webkit, which is an open source browser engine. It is the engine that powers Apple’s Safari for Mac and PC. However, Chrome currently runs only in Windows. A bit odd…

You can read all about the features of it on the Google web site. They also have a “comic book” which goes through and talks about the technology behind the browser. You can also see a video on the BBC News web site with someone from Google going through some of the features of Google Chrome.

I have downloaded Chrome and just had a play with it. Seems nice and fast. My web site and blog look fine in it. Here are a few of the reasons to try Google Chrome:

• Searching, history, address, suggestions – its all in one box
• When a new tab is opened, it shows graphically the most visited sites, recently bookmarked pages, closed tabs and most used search engines
• Every tab is independent from other tabs so if a tab crashes it wont kill the whole browser and you dont have to start again
• You can use web apps like GMail without having to open the browser

There are many others features, these are just a few. Download it now!