Antony's Writings

An Introduction to CQ5 for Architects

2012-02-20T12:00:19Z

This is all really elementary stuff, but as an introduction to CQ5 it may help to put in context by identifying the requirements to run CQ5, the basic terminology used, and how certain areas operate.

Types of Content

2012-02-13T12:01:03Z

What is content? We talk about it as if it’s something tangible, but without understanding it’s composition, properties, and lifecycle are we really qualified to discuss it effectively? Content on the web; It’s like writing a magazine for someone who is hyper-caffeinated and standing in the world biggest magazine / book / video game store with the most amazing sound system.

Content Strategy through applied tactics

2012-02-06T12:00:36Z

We have started to hear about the emergence of Content Strategy as a role, an occupation and as an industry but in order for a strategy to be enacted we must use tactics. If there are tactics then logically there must also be a Content Tactician.

I need your style guides and strategy documents

2012-02-03T14:41:34Z

I'm currently looking to collect documents. Please read the article, and if you have anything even remotely related please send them to me if you are able.

Alfresco Cloud Review

2012-02-01T13:14:48Z

Finally, after a long wait I'm able to get into Alfesco in the Cloud and find out what it's all about.

Get Things Done

2012-01-29T12:00:37Z

I have a copy of Getting Things Done by David Allen on my bookshelf at the moment (it has been lent to me) and I've got about a third of the way through it before having a relevation. So before you go looking for alternatives to GTD such as Personal Kanban, try this instead.

A method for writing content

2012-01-22T12:00:25Z

After some reading I started to realise that I need to have a method for writing articles and creating content, just like producing software or baking a cake. I’d seen it written that content is like a conversation with the reader, so where should I start? I should begin with a topic. Write something in the subject or headline box. Make it a bit questiony. Or answery. Or something.

CQ5 best practices for component development

2012-01-15T12:00:32Z

There seems to be very little in the way of guidance or advice on how to develop using a modern CMS platform such as Adobe Day CQ5. Here are some suggestions.

Day CQ5 Development Best Practices

2012-01-06T19:00:00Z

Here's a quick reference list on some best practices for developing with Apache Sling and Adobe Day CQ5. These really are golden rules that should be followed during development and will help you to achieve a professional result with CQ5.

How to fix Rosetta Stone error 1142 on Windows 7

2011-12-18T12:00:43Z

A lot of people have complained or asked online how to get rid of the Error 1142 message when using Rosetta Stone on Windows. Here is how I managed to get rid of this message and make it work again.

Russian with Rosetta Stone Totale 4

2011-12-12T12:00:30Z

I’ve just started learning Russian using the Rosetta Stone Totale 4 software. I’ve got levels 1, 2 & 3. This is my first impressions of the programme.

Not Receiving Google Apps Email

2011-12-07T12:01:10Z

I broke my Google Apps email for my domain without realising it. What I'd done is I'd added an CNAME record to my DNS mapping "domain.co.uk." to "www.domain.co.uk." which meant that resolution for the email addresses what being forwarded to the web site server instead of following the rules set for the MX records. Instant email black hole. It's a lesson learnt, so I thought I'd share it with you. Removing the entry fixed it, but it does take time to propagate the DNS change.

It does leave a question though: how to host a website without the www part and have working email?

Google Sites

2011-12-05T19:00:13Z

I’ve moved my work website to Google Sites to take advantage of the hosting facilities as well as the capabilities that Google Apps offers. Notably I’ve moved my contact form from a PHP mailer script based form to submit into a Google Docs spread sheet using the forms facility, and I’m using a stock template provided by Google instead of my own design. The new presentation is much more like me, with a fun notebook style as opposed to a dull corporate design complete with a reflection on the logo image. I now have a search facility, and can create and modify the pages directly from the Google Sites interface.

Initial tests showed that it to be flaky, but I’m hoping that’s a temporary DNS issue. When it’s all set up correctly, it should work like clockwork, fingers crossed.

Essentially the site is a contact form and no much more, but then as a consultant I don’t really need anything else at the moment. I publish anything useful here, and use my twitter account too to post. The form is as simple as possible, it’s just a message box. It doesn’t need to capture useless information such as name or email address – if people want me to have this information they’ll put it in the message and if they don’t they would invent nonsense to put in there if I made it mandatory. Plus if I have an email field it attracts spam like flies to a carcass – having contact detail fields is a clear signal o spam the form, whereas without them it doesn’t look like anything to the machines.

a Knol on Content Strategy

2011-12-05T12:34:33Z

This link was quite interesting and had a lot of good ideas on content strategy: http://knol.google.com/k/content-strategy

Print from iPad and iPhone

2011-11-27T13:14:00Z

We’ve been wanting to print directly from our iPhones and the iPad for quite a while now, and were pleasantly surprised when we discovered this app – FingerPrint (http://www.collobos.com/). It’s a simple once-click setup which installs a kind of server onto the computer which sits in the background listening for print requests from iDevices, and a control application to decide what to do with the document. Unlike the other (admittedly free) options, this can send to Dropbox or do other actions too like opening it in Acrobat Reader. On the Mac there are more options too, like sending it iPhoto.

I had to check the firewall settings after installing, iPad could see the printer but not actually print until I enabled FingerPrint to have access. Also, the eSellerate process doesn’t add VAT for the UK until the end, so £6.64 turns into £7.97 at the end of the checkout, but it’s still worth this. It’s great that this is on Mac and PC too. If you have a need to print from either of these devices this is a great option.