Desktop Weblog Clients

I don’t know about you, but I want to make posting to my weblog as simple of a process as possible. I just want to type in my rant for the day, make sure everything is spelled correctly and slap it up on the web. If I’m not done with what I’m typing, then I need to save it for later when I have more time to finish it. Pretty basic right? If you run a weblog I bet you’re in the same boat as I am. Granted, the interface provided by MoveableType is easy to use and may be all that you need to post to your weblog, however there is the world of the “desktop client” that can make posting to your weblog faster, easier and in some cases downright fun.
What Is A “Desktop Client”
Simply put, a MovableType Client, or “desktop client” is a piece of software that you install on your local computer. Once configured, you have a desktop application that allows you to post to Movable Type, instead of posting directly from MT. The great thing is that you can always go back to your normal way of posting via your web browser. The desktop client simply gives you an alternative method of posting your entry.

So Why Use It?
MoveableType has a very easy, straightforward method of posting to your weblog through its web interface and version 3.0 of the software has made it even better, so why do you even need a desktop client. Technically, you don’t need a desktop client. Everything you need to manage your weblog can be done via your web browser, but there are some nice features that desktop clients bring to the table that are worth considering.

More

Let Them Eat Cake

Yesterday SixApart, the company behind MoveableType, released a new version of their software along with a new pricing structure. For those of us running MT, we’re going to have to seriously consider if we’re going to stick with it because for some sites, it’s going to get VERY expensive. Luckily, for those running simplified weblogs, there’s still a free version, but if you have too many weblogs, or too many authors, then you could be forced to pay a pretty penny.
I went ahead a bit the bullet and purchased the Personal Edition. It’s currently reduced 33%, plus I was credited $20 for my past contribution (although I donated $30), which brought down the price to $49.95. Funny how that math worked out isn’t it. ??? Anyway, I went ahead and installed the upgrade and applied the changes to the main weblog. I’m still sorting out a few things here and there and I’m getting ready to head on vacation, so it may be a week or so before I get around to fixing everything, so things be a bit clunky for a little while.

More

The Time Monster

Although writing regularly for this weblog has been a rather new thing for me, I have been writing pieces for work, or other web sites for many years. That being said, mashby.com has been some of the most consistent writing I’ve ever done in my life, which I’m quite proud of, but other the past few weeks I’ve been running into the same “monster” that I’ve run into with past writing tasks – time. Ask anyone these days and chances are they will all tell you that they could use more time in their day. Clearly most of us feel that there isn’t enough time, but for me the constraint of time is a real doozy on my writing.
There’s something about having to stop what you’re doing so that you can write. For me at least, that means that I have to slow down and relax. I have to collect my thoughts and then take the time to clearly formulate a story. I find it easier to write in the morning, before I’ve started my day and before my brain has revved up and engaged first gear. Those early morning hours, when my brain is just idling and warming up with a hot cup of coffee, is when I seem to do my best writing. When the day is in high gear and I’m going “90 to nothing”, it’s very hard to downshift and ease off the throttle long enough to write something halfway intelligent.

More

I Guess I Should Be Flattered

SPAM is now just a daily part of my life. I get so much of it, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have piles of SPAM to wade through every day. Yes I have SPAM filters setup, yadda yadda, yadda, but you still have to sift through them for false positives. Anyway, one of the things that I’ve always been mindful of is that when a new site I’m involved in launches, I know it’s gaining in popularity when the level of SPAM increases. My assumption is that the spammers find me the same as regular users, so I’m now appearing on the radar. SPAM is just a part of the equation, a negative one to be sure, but I have to admit a little thrill when I see SPAM increasing on a new web site.

Recently, my weblog has been getting increasing numbers of SPAM and as is normally the case, I was a little bit happy to see it. However there’s a new type of SPAM that I’m having to deal with that I don’t care for at all. It’s called comment spam. If you run a MoveableType weblog then you’ve probably heard about this new type of SPAM, but for those of you that don’t allow me to explain.

More

How To Add Smileys To Your Weblog

Recently I was looking for a solution to a problem I was having displaying HTML in my entries. While I was searching for a solution, I found a cool way to display smileys on my weblog. I like having little smileys on my web site, like this , and in the past I was adding them manually. w.bloggar allows for custom tags, so this wasn’t much of a big deal to add them to my entries. However, I’m now using Zempt to post most of my entries, (great program BTW, you should really check it out) but Zempt doesn’t support custom tags. Having to enter them by hand was turning into quite the pain in the derriere – besides, I never liked the fact that I couldn’t have smileys in the comments. So when I stumbled across a way to add smileys any where I wanted on my weblog, I was ecstatic! All it takes is a plugin in and a few template changes and you’re off to the races. Here’s the lowdown on how you can add this feature to your weblog.

Step One: Find Some Smileys
Before anything else, you need to find some smileys that you can use on your web site. Mine came from a custom set that I use on the NPUG forums, but I found a great resource with tons of smileys to choose from. Jason has a huge collection of them, but I found his Basic Sets to include the best selections. There are even some holiday versions that I could see using for special holidays just for fun.

More

Adding A Little Chaos

Earlier this month, I got a wild hair and decided to change the name of the site to “That Reminds Me Of A Story…” In making this change, I changed the description of the site (which appears in the upper right corner of the page) to “Ask me what time it is and I’ll tell you how to build a watch.” I initially liked the change, but in the comments to that post Chris suggested that the title and description were too similar and that he preferred mashby.com as the title. I felt the same way and decided to revert back to the original title.

After the change back, I kind of missed the saying “Ask me what time it is and I’ll tell you how to build a watch.”, yet I didn’t want to lose the main description of the site “Michael Ashby’s (aka mashby) weblog regarding technology, movies, travel and other odd rants and ramblings.” That gave me the idea of adding a little chaos to the site by adding a PHP script to select random text and display it where the description is. The entry explains how I did it.

More