A couple months ago I was looking for a template to use for one of my Joomla sites I was building. I searched high and low, but could not anything that really fit the site I was making. I eventually stumbled across Artisteer. This is a Windows-based application that allows you to customize the template you are looking to make. Here are some of the product’s best features in my opinion

• You can control everything from page width to transparency
• There are plenty of color schemes and stock photos to choose from.
• It is VERY user friendly.
• If you need help, there is a free support forum that delivers timely and accurate responses
• There is a free evaluation copy you can use to test it out.
• It also has support for Drupal, HTML, ASP.NET ,  and Blogger templates
• You do not have to search the web for hours looking around for premade templates

The evaluation copy will place watermarks on all of the images the program generates for you ; however, you will still be able to experience how powerful the application is. If you decide you like it, you can buy it. If you do not see the value, you can easily uninstall cleanly through Add/Remove. This product is a must-have for Webmasters, Affiliate Marketers, or small business owners looking to design their own website.

Click Here to check it out

The other day  I was trying to figure out how I can automate my backup process on my Ubuntu boxes, so I ventured out into Google and started searching for some scripts that someone else with the same goals might have written.  I found  a few different scripts ; however, none of them did what I wanted them to do, or they did not work. This was my first attempt at making a BASH script.  As a kid I used to make DOS batch files all day, doing all sorts of silly things, so making this script brought back some good memories.

This script backs up certain directories in your /home/user folder. In my script, I only have it backing up my /home/ron/Desktop and /home/ron/Documents, this those are the two directories I use the most.  As you see below, the script compresses the folders in a nice tar.gz file, date stamps the file, then uploads it to a remote FTP.

Here it is


#!/bin/bash
#  Individual Directory Backup Script

#  Created December 23, 2009

So I decided to make a blog (again). This domain has had multiple purposes throughout the year I have owned it.  Primarily it has been a sandbox for me to play around in. Today I decided to make a blog where I can discuss the various things that interest me.  I will mostly discuss topics of Web Design, Linux and Video Games. I am always tinkering with something, and will start to document my adventures here.

I made the decision to use WordPress because it is highly stable, SEO friendly and has massive plugin support. Just about anything you ever wanted to do, you can do with Wordpress.  I’m going to start typing now, so I can install the All in ONE SEO pack , and setup Google Analytics.