06/13/08

Category: Software

Posted by: nate

The Widget Foundry is proud to announce the release of Skyline 0.1.4.  There have been significant changes to the Programmer's Editor.  Many of the programs have bug fixes.  More units have been added to the unit conversion program.  More equations have been added to the equation calculator program.  Also, there is no a working Windows installer.  Hope y'all enjoy it.

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03/21/08

Category: General

Posted by: nate

I added a board houses section under the electronics section in the link page.  I put the 2 houses I use regurlarly, BatchPCB and Advanced Circuits, on the page along with a review.  Both offer really good service, so check them out.

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03/19/08

Category: General

Posted by: nate

I added a section for electronics vendors to the links page. This contains links to my favorite suppliers for electronics parts. I know the list is not complete yet, but I hit the major vendors so I am content at the moment. A short review blurb accompanies each link. Enjoy.

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03/19/08

Category: Electronics

Posted by: nate

Well, I just added a section for electronics. I have been developing electronics proffessionally and as a hobby for the better part of 4 years now. I was working on a PCB and it occurred to me that I should take the checklist that I have been using for a while and put it on the site so that others might not repeat the long road riddled with expensive green coasters that I took.

I hope you enjoy the article, as it is my first ever posted to a website. This is the first of many electronics projects and articles to come here, so definitely stay tuned for more.

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03/11/08

Category: General

Posted by: nate

This news section will contain information on all of the new content and updates to The Widget Foundry. It was decided that this was the most informative way to get word out that new stuff is happening with the site. You can get these news clips as an RSS feed as well. Just click on the RSS button and you can get a RSS or Atom feed.

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03/11/08

Category: General

Posted by: nate

The Widget foundry has made the switch from plain HTML to CMS Made Simple. This switch has been a somewhat long time in the making. We finally found a Content Management System (CMS) that is easy to use. That, coupled with a new server, have given me renewed hope that this site will start to flourish and be updated frequently.

I first had intended to use Plone for this site. It is powerful, easy to edit data in, etc. However, the templating system and changing the look and feel of the website is just WAY TOO COMPLICATED. Personally, I HATE Tal and Metal tag templating systems because I just can't wrap my head around them and what should be a simple process of turning my nicely laid out html design into a plone template turned into a long arduous journey that ultimately ended in failure.

I had given up on CMSs all together and returned to good old HTML. In short, life was hell...Here I am, a programmer that loves to automate software tasks, going through the mundane drudgery of updating HTML. I didn't really have the stomach for it (I couldn't justify working on the site when there were so many other projects to do) and that is why the site has been sort of stagnant as of late.

Then CMS Made Simple came along and change everything. I was able to take the layout I created for the Widget Foundry in pure HTML and convert it to CMSMS in less than an hour. I made some changes like the menu, but they were for the best and I think that this looks more professional. The interface is sweet too. That's all for now but expect more changes coming down the pipe.

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