This article is mainly for novice readers. In this article all the suggested password examples are in quotes and the quotes are not part of the password itself.

Nowadays, we all surf the Web and often come across several sites that require you to register with them (most often free of charge). So after the user name the first thing that you have to choose is the password. If you are going to use that account on a regular basis, then remembering strange strings is possible but what if you access it less than say a couple of times every month. So you need an strong but easy-to-remember password. Continue Reading

It would be cliche, dated and pointless for me to write yet another article rehashing the age old question “can creativity be learned”. I say “cliche” and “dated”, because there have been countless articles and books written on the subject of learning creativity. I say “pointless” because I can answer that question very simply. Yes.

The objective of this article is not to re-examine this old question, but to give hope and inspiration to those designers out there who fall into the same category as I do when it comes to creativity. In talking with a co-worker (and fellow designer), the subject of designing for oneself arose. We were discussing how it’s always hardest to design for yourself (whether it be a blog, a portfolio, a business card or a website for a business that you are involved in), because inevitably, you get about 1/3 of the way through the design, see another design that you love, and immediately, your inspiration or vision changes. From there, an inevitable string of insecurities and questions of your own abilities arise, and you are left thinking how you could ever arrive at a design that is as creative and well-presented as the one you just came across.

I had never really thought about it before, but apparently a lot of other artists are in this very same boat. Fortunately, I have great news for anybody that might fall into this category! There is a light at the end of the tunnel! Despite what you may think, it IS possible for you to be among the ranks of all of the great artists that inspire you. But first, let’s talk a little bit about what creativity is, and where it comes from. Continue Reading

Yahoo! has created Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 with a new service called Pingbox which is similar to a live chat box, but in the form of a Flash Widget that can be embed in any website or blog. Yahoo! Messenger Pingbox is a little Yahoo! Messenger module for your blog, social network profile, or other personal web site. It lets people who are on your site chat with you as long as you are signed into th messenger!

Like the Google Talk badge, site visitors can send you private messages via the Pingbox chat box without requiring an IM client. The only difference is that Yahoo! Pingbox is embed in your website while Google Talk opens a pop-up window. The downside of Yahoo’s approach is that it extends the loading time of web pages because the widget will always download with the page.

Another difference is that you can customize the look-n-feel of your Yahoo! Pingbox through the dozens of themes available in the Pingbox studio. The Pingbox widget on your site will reflect the current status of your Yahoo! Messenger and will automatically become unavailable when you go off line or set your status as invisible. Continue Reading