Hidden beneath the shrouds of shinyness, the curvature of perfectly anti-aliased corners and the hype surrounding next-generation Internet - some freelance designers are putting their some fantastic work out there which is failing to receive half the attention it deserves. First up?

Zen Army. Whilst strictly speaking not a website in itself, but more an example of what can be achieved once CSS is mastered, Zen Army is a prime example of CSS at it’s best. Again, incorporating fantastic use of graphic design combined with CSS and XHTML, designs like this set standards lightyears ahead, despite their ever-increasing age.

ShinyBinary. The work of graphic pro, Nik Ainley - ShinyBinary is a haven of high-resolution, excellently rendered graphics. Incredible CSS, XHTML and JavaScript, I guarantee that people like Nik will be the ones pioneering a new design revolution. I’m (admittedly) a bigger fan of his older, more colourfully illustrated design, however his new, darker, more sinister theme is also a classic design of markup - the way it should be.

Greenlush. A UK-based hosting/domain/design founded by Jason Bates in 2005, Greenlush serves over 7,000 websites worldwide on a daily basis. With servers in the US and UK, along with a team of full-time programmers, Greenlush offers incredible pricing for not only the hosting they offer, but for the quality service they offer too. Of course, I’m writing about their design. Underneath the statistics and figures, Greenlush is an incredible blend of Javascript (I can’t believe it’s not Flash! ), borwser-specific CSS and XHTML. The site has all the professional scripting features expected of such a high calibre website, combined with quality, flexible, adaptable design.

I’m sure there are thousands of equally impressive, uber-cool examples out there, however I wanted to keep numbers limited and pick my favourites, for their specific areas.

Best JavaScript Implementation - Greenlush
Best CSS Utilization - Zen Army
Best Design/Illustration Application - ShinyBinary

If you’ve got new categories (or sites) to suggest, drop me a note and I’ll take a look. Enjoy!

Ever since I started blogging in July ‘06, I’ve been fascinated by the opportunities available on the Internet, and making money online. I originally was rather narrow-minded and solely focused on AdSense. I bought a few ‘guides’ to making money with AdSense and was utterly unimpressed with them all, other than the easy-to-follow AdSense-Videos (aff link). Even that however, failed to make me a millionaire. Since, I’ve tried different markets, different tactics and am now happily making a steady, recurring income using affiliate programs. I’m making a few hundred dollars a month with private ad deals on the blog too. All that said, I’d prefer not to do the standard ‘May Earnings Report’ that so many bloggers do, as I find it highly unprofessional and in many cases slightly imposing on a visitor.

Making money online is a heck of a lot easier than people would like you to think… Sure, it really does help to have a great guide, whatever market you’re going into, but how do you think them guys worked out the tactics themselves? They learned through trial and error. Like me, they probably wasted hundreds and hundreds of dollars in the process. But I’ve made that back now and am making quite alot on top of it… Whether it be Affiliate Marketing, private ad deals or PPC, there’s surely some way you can earn online.

That brings me onto the August 1st project. I’ve had hundreds of people contact me about it now. So what exactly is it? Affiliate Defined? It’s a revolutionary guide.

In no particular order, here area few free blogs I recommend you check out, to help you get started with making money on the Internet.

- Nate Whitehill dot Com - Fantastic blogging/earning guides.
- Tyler Cruz dot Com - Truly terrible Affiliate Marketing.
- Josh Mullineaux dot Com - Financial gold-dust.
- John Chow dot Com - Nothing special. Heh…
- Josh Buckley dot Net - Crazy web development.
- Ja Kel Daily dot Com - Just you and your keyboard.
- Mr Gary Lee dot Com - Biz Dev & IMing.
- Martin Reed’s Community Spark - Community building made easy.
- Matt Codington’s NetBusinessBlog - Better Affiliate Marketing.
- Mitchell Harper’s HarpzOn - Slightly inactive, but quality content.
- Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger.net - The one and only.
- Randall Cornett’s RandLIFE - Anything but ‘Random’.
- Jane May Blogs - Learn to earn blogging.
- Jeremy’s Shoemoney - Something’s cooking.
- Aaron Wall’s SEO Book Blog - SEO at its best.
- BloggingTips dot Com - Recently reviewed.
- adii - Web 2.0 Business Strategies.
- David Wilkinson - That’s me. TechZi.net all the way!
And a whole lot more…

But do you see the general patern? In most cases, it’s self-branding. Branding is an incredibly important feature in any business, as a recognized name can get you to the top, even if your service is crap. Of course, the disadvantage to using a personal name, as opposed to a business name such as the ‘Zi’ in ‘Zi Media’, means that when selling a business branded as a person’s musings (like the afformentioned blogs), rather than a simple guide, loses value and would be effectively worthless if a buyer was to buy the business.

Maybe I’ll elaborate more some other time. Maybe I won’t… The fact remains, if you’re not making money onine, why not? Contact me and let me know. Maybe you’re frightened. Maybe you just can’t be bothered. Maybe you’ve tried and failed? Whatever the circumstances, please. Go ahead and contact me.

P.S. I’m starting a mini-quiz feature… Did you know that invalid kids own? First person to work it out should contact me through the contact page linked to above. I’ve given you all the tools for the job, or at least shown you the path. Have fun!

UPDATE: So that sucked… Nobody got the quiz answer. T’was an anagram of David Wilkinson himself. Tut-tut…

Related Sites: Review UK Companies

It’s been weeks and weeks since the last video (after my vow to cut down drastically), but I’ve run across a few fantastic videos that I just know you guys will love.

First up - South Park style PC Vs. Mac. I’m a huge fan of the Mac Vs. Apple dramas and support whoever puts the best argument forward in whichever video. In this case - Mac rocks my socks.

Right back at ya’, Mac. My point is proved about the black MacBooks costing more, with only minor upgrades to make any difference. I’m not sure I competely agree with what they’ve done here, but they put forward a serious issue. PC wins.

Next on show - Matrix, south-park style. It even includes a small snippet of the epic shoot-em-up scene that made the movie’s visuals all that they deserved to be.

And of course, I know you’re all interested to hear that I’ve registered a domain for the uberified project. Stay tuned!

‘Nuff said. Happy, yet? Of all the times I’ve seen the Segway being used, this is undoubtebly the most ridicuous yet… Lady, you’re famous!

UPDATE: For all the wrong reasons.

Sony are notorious over-pricers. Blu-Ray is, in the eyes of many, costly enough, but when you factor in the price it must cost Sony to mass produce screws, things go a little overboard.

With VAT included, a single screw from the Sony labs will cost you a whopping €74.80 ($100.62). Alternatively, head down to ScrewFix and pick from their extensive range. By extensive, I mean extensive (no - not expensive), with thousands of screws to choose from. Heck, you can get 5,000 brass screws for just over £50. What’s the deal Sony?

Then again, this screw is special. *ahem* I’ll leave it at that…

I bet it has one of those proprietary heads too, and the screwdriver is another $400. - Mandrel

Thanks Shang.

Yesterday my little ‘picture note’ caused quite a stir, with several skype messages and numerous e-mails asking what was ‘coming’ on August 1st. Some easter eggs have been dropped around the site in carefully chosen places - be on the lookout. Some people (such as readers of the feeds) are at an advantage.

Check out The Project Page now - for frequent picture-post updates. Again - those who do will stand a better chance in the ‘treasure hunt’ to ensue. Though everything seems a tad sketchy at present - the first person to figure out the ‘puzzle’ will win themselves the chance to take a sneak peak at… Video X/Project Redefined.

Then we shall see…

If anyone is interested in becoming a ‘case study’, lemme know and I may give you more details. Then again, I may not. To show how seriously I’m taking things though - you’d have to be up to the task of signing a Non-Disclosure-Agreement, alongside participating in numerous other checks and security measures. Over the top? Perhaps it is. But like I said… Something BIG is coming.

I like a good treasure hunt - especially when there’s gold at the end of the rainbow…

Get searching for those easter eggs! If you are interested in test-running a brand-new online concept though - please feel free to contact me.

On a side-note, I’m mourning the loss of Liverpool FC, in their final clash with AC Milan. We played the better game - we played the fairer game. At the end of the day? It is just a game. Tears will be shed, both of joy and sorrow. There’s always next year though.

Just trying out something new. Expressing myself in the form of pictures, not words. Click on each one to be taken for the relevant page.

Feel free to let me know what you thought of this - better, or worse than my usual posting? It’s nice to try something new once in a while. Either way - I’ll be doing whatever you guys as the readers think best.

Adobe Acrobat Professional is the undisputed king of PDF creation. I’m not doubting that at all here, but simply pointing to a few free alternatives that I recommend people check out before they shell out the full how many hundred dollars for a fully tooled up version of the software.

Software Solutions

doPDF - Lightweight, searchable, multi-language capabilities, and of course… Free! Ten outta ten.

novaPDF - Quality, industry-standard-exceeding and Vista compatible - I’m a big fan of the free novaPDF! Nine out of ten.

PrimoPDF - Wide range of high quality conversion options available. Nine out of ten.

CutePDF - Superb, speedy results. Admittedly though, it requires an external ghostwriter. Seven out of ten

Online Solutions

Adobe Online Converter - It’s official. It’s professional. All the same, it’s limited to five conversions… Eight out of ten

Free-PDF-Convert - It works. Pretty well at that - though something feels missing, and results can somtimes be ’skewed’. Seven out of ten

Conclusion

There are some truly excellent alternatives out there, for free - digging them up can be a pain though. I’ve just compiled my few favourites in the hope you’ll enjoy them, save some money, and make some use out of them! The software versions seems to generally offer better results, so I’d stick with them. For a quick-fix, the online version generally work fine. Adios, Amigos!

Featured Sites: Robotmag Computer and Games Portal

‘Concept no more’ is the official word from the Art Lebedev Studio as the Optimus Maximus became available for pre-ordering, just hours ago. Eery single key on the Optimus Maximus is an individual OLED display, capable of showing a high-resolution (65,536 colour) 48×48 icon on each individual key. Flick the language of your keyboard at will, from English UK, to English US, to French, German, Japanese and back again. Use the left-hand 10-button navigation panel to gain quick access to your favourite programs, websites, folders or documents. Truly a revolution? Well, yes. With a price point of $1564.37 and (only?) 113 keys, this works outs at a hefty $14ish a key! My current keyboard (the Logitech G15 has 128 keys, so sacrificng some of my beautiful backlit babies might be hard to get to grips with initially, however I figure I could live with 113 keys if they all displayed a nice lil’ picture of some kind of exquisite ice-cream, along with the odd quicklink to my favourite haunts in my side-panel. The keyboard connects via USB 2.0 and unfortunately does not support wireless features at present, to my knowledge. I’m holding off (and saving up) for a wire-free edition, to brighten up my life, burn a hole in my pocket, and ruin my all round ’sane’ reputation in general.

£750 well spent? You tell me. I’m loving the high-res buttons, though.

Thanks Ryan.

Kubrick is Wordpress 2.0’s most used theme. Kubrick was also a film director, best known for his work on ‘A Space Odyssey’. Kubrick is a Japanese, MediCom toy. This Kubrick? It’s a sleek, stylish, modern iPod dock.

There’s been some speculation regarding the naming of the iPod Shuffle dock, dubbed ‘Kubrick iKub’, but I believe, juding on the design, that this particluar dock was based off the MediCom toy. The dock, which connects via USB to simultaneously transfer music whilst charging, uses the head of an iPod Shuffle 1.0 and the body of a plastic fighting machine, to secure world domination. Selling at £32 (with no suffle included), I might just hop over and breathe some new life into my poor ol’ Shuffle.