by ·0 Comments

Version 4.5.2 of DotNetNuke was released on May 29, 2007. Since I’m still heavily developing the site redesign for work in DotNetNuke, I downloaded the upgrade and installed it. It was a simple enough upgrade and worked flawlessly (as far as I can tell).

One thing did bug me. The SEARCH feature added two radio buttons next to the text area for the search, allowing users to search the site or the web. The web search uses Google (of course) and it even comes pre-filled with the DotNetNuke Google AdSense Client ID. This “feature” wasn’t in any of the preview releases, so it’s definitely like they tried to sneak that one in.

To disable the web/site search feature, you have to edit your skin file (it really should be an admin configurable feature). Just add the following, bold code to your search call:

< dnn:SEARCH runat="server" id="dnnSEARCH" showWeb=”False” showSite=”False” />

If you want to use your own Google ID, just locate the file at: admin/skins/App_LocalResources/Search.ascx.resx and change the client=pub-9770992166002654 to your own Google AdSense ID.

by ·0 Comments

About 2 weeks ago I made a post about the redesign of Wizard Magazine’s web presence. WizardWorld.com seems to show slightly out of date content, but all links connect to the WizardUniverse.com domain. Many other sites and forums echoed my opinions. It looked like the world wide web universe generally agreed.

I guess Wizard agreed as well, since the only place to see that redesign is at an IP address – http://208.122.2.22/. It’s pretty bad when to launch an poorly designed and built website, but I’d have to say, it’s even worse to admit you did and revert back to your old design less than 2 weeks later.

by ·0 Comments

Optimus Prime in the Transformer’s movie by Michael Bay.

Now that’s a movie I want to go see (480p HD Trailer Link).

After a few boring trailers, they finally deliver on the good stuff and I think this preview shows plenty of what the public needs to see, big robots transforming and fighting each other.

Unlike the sequels that dominate the summer (Spider-Man 3, Pirates 3, Shrek 3, Fantastic Four 2), the Transformers are making their first appearance on the big screen. They’re an unknown to a large audience and that audience wants to have an idea of what they’re going to get for their $8 movie ticket. Heck, I grew up watching Transformer and it wasn’t until this trailer that I actually got excited (just watch Optimus transform and tell me you don’t grin when you hear “the sound”).

That’s not to say I don’t have complaints. When the guy at the end says “Bring It!” it makes me want to cringe. But another part of me cracks up at Shia LaBeouf’s line “It’s a big robot, it must be from Japan.” I’ll go in expecting Independence Day and perhaps I won’t be disappointed. How hard can it be to mess up giant robots that transform and beating each other up?

by ·0 Comments

Wizard magazine has had an odd web presence since it first appeared on the WWW years ago. I seem to remember the first incarnation of the site had a cool feature where you could input all your comics or toys (the items they featured in their price guide) and save it as a collection on the website. This feature disappeared in a redesign that was part of a magazine restructure and I never really frequented the site since. I’ll occasionally visit if I see a link to the site that interests me.

With their latest attempt at a redesign, I don’t see my usage changing much. While they still have columns by writers I like (Geoff Johns, JG Jones, Brian Bendis), the layout may even be worse now. I spotted a few errors on the home page (incorrect links, non-function news boxes) on my visit and I’m guessing this layout will go the way of the others in about six months time, gradually being updated less and less.

There were rumors floating around about Wizard not paying it’s web designer / content manager, which could have been part of the problem. For now, and the foreseeable future, I’ll continue getting by news from Newsarama.