About This Site
Where am I?
What Do I Know is a collection of daily thoughts, news, and opinions concerning the new media & technology industry as perceived by Todd Dominey, sole-proprietor of Dominey Design — an Atlanta based new media design and development studio.
Is this a weblog?
Sure, you can call it that. You can also view it as a Captain’s Log, a newspaper, a sketch pad, but for God’s sake don't call it a diary. This site is all about providing an alternative, personal perspective to the droning noise of mass media. Technology, web design and development, Mac OS X, Macromedia Flash, popular culture, and other odds and ends from my neck of the woods (Atlanta) are regular topics.
Can anyone post a comment?
Absolutely. This site encourages reader feedback and community dialogue. That said, please keep comments constructive. Whether you agree or disagree with something I wrote, explain why in your retort. That way myself and others may benefit from the exchange.
Why can’t I comment on some entries?
Two possible reasons: One, because some posts (especially personal thoughts and business news) are written to be read and to "record the moment" - not discussed. Two, because you have reached an old entry. All entries older than two months have their comment availability automatically switched off to conserve disk space and to maintain the relevance of the thread to the entry's post date.
How do I link to an entry?
If you intend to link to a specific entry, and not this site in general, you may do so by clicking the “Link” tag at the bottom of the entry and copying the URL contained in your browser’s location bar (ie: “http://www.whatdoiknow.org/archives/000500.shtml”). Or, simply right click on the “Link” tag and select “Copy Link Location” (or other applicable command).
Do you have any icons, badges or banners for linking?
No. Make something up.
What’s that serial number in your header?
What Do I Know is a registered publication with the Library of Congress. ISSN 1541-1648. For more info on obtaining an ISSN, click here.
How do you publish the "Enjoying" links on the front page?
"Enjoying" is a separate blog created in my build of MovableType. I publish a stripped-down, text-only document from Enjoying which is then included via Server Side Includes (SSI) in the main home page (which is published by my primary blog). That way I can constantly update the Enjoying links without rebuilding the full document. Another (potentially easier) option - especially for those who don't have access to SSI, PHP, ASP, etc. - would be to set-up a second blog, and then install the Other Blog MT plug-in which accomplishes the same purpose, but requires a rebuild every time you want the other content to appear.
What’s up with the text widgets in the upper right-hand corner?
Because a multitude of browsers, and operating systems with differing text engines, access this page, one point size is simply not enough. What may appear perfect in one browser may render too small in others. Plus, not everyone has the perfect vision of a 10 year old. I don’t expect that many people to use them, but they are there if needed. For information on how to add them to your own site, visit Paul Snowden's tutorial at A List Apart.
What’s up with the corporate advertising?
Every now and then I include links or graphics to products, usually software or books, that I believe would be of interest to the general audience of this site. I am not paid in any way for their placement, but do receive a small percentage of any sale that results from providing the link. Every little bit goes toward the maintenace and hosting of this web site.
What typefaces are you using?
As of January 2003, the header is set with Adobe's Bickham Script while the navigation uses Belizio from Font Bureau. I also use a little Mini 7 here and there as well. As for textual content, the body copy is Georgia, entry titles are Palatino, and depending on what operating system you are using, side-bar content is set in Lucida Grande (Mac OS X) or Verdana for the rest of the world.
Where did your background pattern come from?
The exquisite bitmap pattern was originally created by Travis at Squidfingers, with some additional modifications on my end. Travis has over one-hundred bitmap patterns you can download and use, as long as you provide credit. But please, if you do use an image, avoid mine...okay?
Do you publish an RSS feed?
You bet. Link to the 2.0 RSS feed here, or you can grab the RSS 1.0 here, and do what you want with them. Drop me a line if you use the data in a creative way, like a desktop application, Flash screensaver, etc.
Formatting
Your site looks weird in my browser. What’s up?
What Do I Know validates as XHTML 1.0 Strict and uses CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to render all markup and element positioning, which means you should use a relatively new browser to fully experience the site. Any browser can access the raw text of this site, but if you are using at least Internet Explorer 5 (Mac and Win) or up, in addition to Mozilla, Chimera, and Netscape 6, the site will correctly render as intended. Opera renders the site fine, but the browser has a few bugs and rendering limitations that can cause small issues here and there. Any older browsers like Netscape 4 or betas like iCab and OmniWeb will not fully render the site. If all you see is gray background and blue text, you desperately need to upgrade your browser. As Zeldman would say, to hell with bad browsers.
But aren’t you limiting your audience by using these techniques?
Absolutely not. Contrary to most graphics intensive web sites, the raw textual content of this site is 100% accessible, regardless of browser, platform, or device. Specialized layout styles and visual elements are hidden from non-compliant browsers to make the environment as friendly and condusive to reading as possible. Plus, What Do I Know provides a real-world environment to experiment with advanced design techniques client work doesn’t usually allow (rightly so, in some cases). That means all the layout hacks and junk of old, including transparent gif spacers and nested tables, are banished to prepare for the next wave of web design. As more companies like Wired News redesign their online presence using CSS and ridding their sites of antiquated design methods, the less unusual this soapbox will seem. All in good time.
Toolbox
What hardware do you use?
I’ve been an Apple diehard since receiving an IIe, in all its green monochrome glory, as a Christmas present in the early 1980s. Before then, I owned (and created stupid BASIC games on) a Commodore Vic 20 and later a Commodore 64. Today I use a dual 533 PowerMac G4 as my primary machine, alongside a dual-USB iBook named “Scooter” (that is, when my wife isn’t playing MAME on it) and an as-yet-unnamed 12" PowerBook G4. I also have a rapidly yellowing Dell PII tower, which I only turn on for cross-platform debugging tests. Slow as hell, and a soul-robbing misery to work with. [The old Dell was sold in January 2003 for a cocktail and a neverending supply of Goldfish.]
Software?
This site is hand coded using BBEdit. I also use industry standard apps like Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, and lots of cool little freeware utilities to speed the workflow. Check out my list of favorite OS X apps for more information.
Recommendations
I want to start a weblog -- would you recommend MovableType?
Absolutely. If you're comfortable with setting file permissions, ftp, and customizing your own templates, download the latest version. If you'd rather not deal with all that, and you'd rather have one set up for you (so all you have to do is type in your stuff), check out TypePad -- a personal weblogging service from the same people behind MovableType.
I want to learn ___. Any good books?
The Library contains references to recommended titles in a variety of subjects. Dig in.
Permissions
May I use your style sheet?
Yes, but it is not a template intended for public consumption. You are welcome however to copy and modify the mechanics of the style sheet for your own needs, but you may not use the sheet outright. Lots of time has been put into the look, feel, and style of this site, so please be respectful. For more information, read our Creative Commons License.
May I contact you regarding a web design project?
Absolutely. Send me an email to introduce yourself. For more information about my services, check out Dominey Design.
Odds and Ends
How many times have you redesigned the site?
As of October, 2002, What Do I Know has gone through 3 complete designs. The first, which lasted a couple of months, was a stripped down affair created with tables, font tags, and used Blogger to publish and manage the content. I then decided to tie this site in with my business site, and redesigned What Do I Know to be a “sister” site of sorts in color, typography and overall style. My fit of branding madness was a mistake. The site was completely scrapped - top to bottom - and launched anew using MovableType as the CMS and a visual style I’m quite comfortable with.
Todd Dominey is the founder and creative honcho of the Atlanta based new media design and development studio Dominey Design, which has provided a variety of web related services for clients such as Motorola, Turner Broadcasting, Blogger, The Washington Post, Budweiser, and others.
In addition to this site, I also contribute news and other content to k10k and webgraphics.
This site uses a handful of specialized MovableType plug-ins, including MTAmazon, MTRegex, MTSanitize, SmartyPants, MTRelativeDate and MTFormatBreaks. Want some for your site? Check out this collection of free MovableType plug-ins.
