Great WordPress Templates
Just a quick note that this guy is doing some really fun work with WordPress templates, creating some exciting magazine and “conversation” driven templates. One of his templates, Arthemia, I intend to use for BOOM Jackson magazine; another is Platformate, which is a really interesting layout for a site that offers lots of comment and conversation (not unlike the JFP). I might need to borrow some of these ideas for the JFP; that’s a very “2.0″ design, particularly for a personal blog like this one. (In fact…hmmm. If you’re reading this and you notice I’m using that theme, then, well, I’ve changed to it.)
BuddyPress = Very Interesting
I just came across BuddyPress, which is (or will be) a collection of plug-ins for WordPress MU (multiuser), that makes turns MU from what it is — a blogging platform for multiple users — into what it could be — a full social network.
The plug-ins allow you to create relationships between the blogs — for linking friends, messaging between one another, creating groups and, of course, collecting your photos into albums that can be shared. BuddyPress isn’t out of development yet, but it’s worth watching if you’re interested in a WordPress-based social networking solution…which could be interesting if you’re using WordPress for a CMS platform or for a groups site already via bbPress forum software.
It’s fun watching WordPress grow like this. For the past six months or more I’ve explored the possibilities with social networks; a white-label social network is tough to come by; that fact that one may soon be built on such a robust platform is an exciting testament to the power of open source.
Five More Gripes About My iPhone
In the past week I’ve found myself spending a little too much time after work on my AT&T customer page (now that I’m, regrettably, an AT&T customer) wondering if there’s a handset I’d like more than my iPhone — even if I have to pay to upgrade. (Or, once selected, I might surf to eBay for a new solution…perhaps a Palm Centro?) Not that I actively dislike the iPhone — there’s a lot to like, such as Safari, SMS, iCal integration and visual voicemail — but there’s still some stuff that keeps iPhone from being the killer deal that it really should be.
It’s almost bad enough that it might be worth parting with if something better comes along.
Of course, I probably wouldn’t gripe as much if AT&T’s network didn’t suck so bad in my neighborhood. The fact that 50-75% of the time I can’t use my phone as a phone probably makes me more willing to criticize other features that I could live without. (But, frankly, even when the AT&T signal is good, I still seem to get a lot of drop-out from the iPhone>)
Still, beyond signal and service there are some flaws Apple needs to address. Arguing from the specific to the theoretical, those include:
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