This question practically comes up in every beginners forum. Once you’ve learned a language, what should you make with it? Well, in this post, I specifically address one of the “type” of things you can make with PHP. I’ll also explain why there are great possibilities here. Continue reading “PHP Projects That Hobbyists Can Make – WordPress Plugins”
Learn Python 3 Now – Resources for Diving In
You’re all charged up, ready to start with Python 3. Now, all you need is a systematic resource to follow. And that is precisely what I’ll give you.
If you haven’t already installed python, you can download the latest 3.x release from Python.org. If you’re on a Linux system, then use your repository manager to download the lastest Python version. Since most Linux distributions already have Python installed, your version 3 binary might be named python3 instead of python, to prevent it from conflicting with the already installed version.
Your system might use Python to manage several stuff under the hood. So, it’s always better to leave the already installed version alone. Continue reading “Learn Python 3 Now – Resources for Diving In”
The Making of PHP Script to Show Category-Specific Ads in WordPress
If you’re looking for a solution to show different ads in your WordPress posts for different categories, then check out my post: Show WordPress Ads Based on Post Categories. In this post, I explain how the script works. This is for people who are interested in PHP and WordPress programming.
Not just that. You will also learn about how key architectural decisions are taken while creating a software. My decisions aren’t perfect, but explaining my motivation behind them will allow you to examine them more clearly. Continue reading “The Making of PHP Script to Show Category-Specific Ads in WordPress”
Show WordPress Ads Based on Post Categories
I’ve created a simple solution to enable you to show different ads based on categories.
Let’s say you have a WordPress blog where you write about WordPress, Drupal and Joomla. You put posts related to each of them in their respective category. Now, you want the Durpal posts to show an ad (predesigned by you) related to Drupal, and same for the rest. So, what do you do?
Here’s my little solution to that problem. I didn’t find any good WordPress plugin to solve this. And I wanted the solution to be pretty simple.
Note: If you like PHP and would like to know how this script works, or why it has been designed the way it is, then check out my post: The Making of PHP Script to Show Category-Specific Ads in WordPress.
You will be writing your ads for each category in an HTML file. So, you can have just one ad for each category. There is no feature for rotating ads within a category.
Let’s get our hands dirty…
Continue reading “Show WordPress Ads Based on Post Categories”
How To Learn Programming – A Beginner’s Guide
All right, you’ve decided that you want to create your own software. Whether you want to write applications for the desktop, mobile phones or any other platform, this article will surely help you get started.
First of all, you need to decide on a programming language to learn. There are a lot of general purpose programming language that you can choose from. However, I don’t want you to get confused by all the choices.
Continue reading “How To Learn Programming – A Beginner’s Guide”
Reviews & Prices of Amazon Kindle Wireless Reading Device
The Amazon Kindle Wireless Reading Device (WiFi) comes in two flavors, one with Global 3G and the other without it.
Some of the good points about kindle include:
- High contrast screen based on the E Ink technology (Kindle looks and reads like paper!)
- No glare while reading in bright sunlight (It reads like ordinary paper, not like some backlit LCD screen)
- Has a 6″ screen and weighs just 8.5 to 8.7 ounces (Light so that you can carry it around everywhere)
- A single charge can last up to a month with wireless off (Read your favorite books in the center of a jungle if you want)
- Store up to 3,500 books (Whoa! Will we even read those many in our lifetime?)
- Doesn’t get hot (Remember those laptops that literally burn your laps? This ain’t like it!)
- Over 700,000 books in the Kindle store for your reading pleasures
- Read the beginnings of the books for free to judge whether the book is right for you
- Text to speech. Have Kindle read out books/magazines/newspapers to you
- Transfer MP3s to Kindle via USB to listen while you read
The plain WiFi version is good for you if you already have WiFi access at your home. Else, you can choose the 3G version, which’ll allow you to download and read books anytime, and anywhere. And the best part of this is that Amazon pays for the wireless connectivity, not you.
Below are the Kindle prices as per Amazon’s site:
DUBturbo – Easily Make Beats on Your Computer
There are a lot of applications for creating beats. However, not all of them are good. And not all of the good ones are affordable.
Some of the reputable software, which you may already have heard about, include Reason, FLStudio and Apple’s GarageBand (this one’s only for Mac). However, all of these software have a high price tag attached to them (expect GarageBand, which comes free with Mac).
The interface of all of these software are almost identical, as they all use the same universal method for taking inputs from the user. What differs is the sample quality and the number of samples you get. Also, certain software allow more fine-tuning that others don’t.
DUBturbo is a marvelous software to create your own beats. Instead of boring you with long paragraphs, let me paraphrase all of its features here:
- 16-Track Sequencer
- 10 Pad Drum Machine
- 4 Octave Keyboard
- 4 Premium Sample Packs
- Training Videos on How to Produce Hits in Minutes
- 60 Day Money-back Guarantee
- And a lot more…
It is a cool synthesizer, at least for its low price.
You can try out DUBturbo’s online demo. And you can also take a look at some great testimonials on their site. Also, they’re currently running a 75% off promotion.
*This post is an advertisement for DUBturbo*
Learn Guitar In 2011 – Jamorama’s New Year Offer
If you wish to master guitar in 2011, then now’s a great opportunity. If you don’t know what Jamorama is, then you can view my detailed review that I posted previously: A Detailed Jamorama Review From a Guy Who Knows.
The Jamorama guys are offering a New Year Discount, just like the ones you normally see in your local stores. Click here to visit their New Year’s Discount page. You can get your hands on this course for $30 (well, $29.95 technically). When I bought Jamorama, the site was not as polished. However, they updated a lot of stuff last year, and so came increased pricing. Before their Christmas or New Year special, Jamorama used to sell for a discounted price of $50. I don’t know about after this promotion, though.
However, I’m pretty sure that you’ll have at least $30 to spare for your guitar future. If you don’t want to go to a teacher, and don’t like to read classical texts on guitar (especially if you get bored by classical songs, and prefer modern songs that you like), then Jamorama is a great buy.
It’ll take you quite a while to complete the entire course (that much material in it). Maybe a year, or a year and a half, or even two.
The course is maily in text format (PDF file), which I like, because I can easily scan the material present and find stuff I want. I find long videos very boring. Many people can’t afford to spend an hour listening to a video lecture, and then also finding time to practice what they learned.
Jamorama comes with video supplements that demonstrate all the exercises. So, you can see videos of the exercises to see how it’s done.
In short, Jamorama covers a lot of chord progressions, strumming patterns and also includes cool Jam Tracks to play along with.
How Long Does it Take to Learn Guitar
I was standing along with my friend who is very much interested in playing guitar. He’s still just “thinking” about it though. We were watching some local student bands perform.
There was a singer, and three guitarists (lead, bass, rythm) in each “band” or “team.” While everyone was marvelling at the superb music, I was observing the guitarists’ hands, and trying to figure out exactly what they were playing.
“That seems easy”, I said to my friend. “Nah, it looks tough”, he replied. Apparently, the guitarists were mostly playing only one chord/rythm quite repeatedly. And I assured my friend that he could play the guitar too.
Of course, he started talking about the dexterity one needs to have. According to him, even eternity is too little a time to learn guitar. Damn. Continue reading “How Long Does it Take to Learn Guitar”
Google Teaches Python – Written Materials, Videos, Exercises
If you want to learn Python, Google’s Python Class might be worth checking out. It includes videos, written material and programming exercises. It is usually given to Google employees new to python.
The tutorial assumes you have at least a basic knowledge of programming concepts. If you know what a “variable” is, or what “loops” are, you should be good to go.
Continue reading “Google Teaches Python – Written Materials, Videos, Exercises”