ShopTalk Show

By ShopTalkTechnology

ShopTalk Show episodes

July 07, 2014123: Special Archive Episode from 2004
This week, we take a listen to an episode of the Shoptalk show that was recorded WAAAYYYYY back in 2004, when – apparently – both Chris and Dave had midwestern accents and voices that cracked regularly! They speak to some up-and-comers in the web design community, and debate the hot question: CSS, or tables?
Q & A
5:26 Live Journal no longer requires an invite code: is there going to be a Shoptalk Community?
7:07 How do I add text to my Zen Garden theme with CSS?
12:06 I’d like to use CSS Zen Garden, but I’m Christian. What should I do?
15:31 I’ve been using frames and tables for my layouts, but I’ve heard about divs and CSS. Should I take the time to learn this stuff?
17:25 Is it possible to use CSS with IE 5 and 6?
20:10 I heard the folks at Mozilla are about to release a new web browser. Will it handle CSS properties better than Internet Exploder?
22:59 I have two frames in a frame set. How do I let my users toggle the left frame on and off by clicking a button on the right frame?
26:27 Where can I find “Under Construction” GIFs for my new site? And how long do I have before GeoCities takes my page down?
30:41 I’m working with an Ad Agency doing print work, but I’m interested in building websites. Is the future of websites bigger than print design?
34:28 I’ve been hearing about liquid layouts to let websites adjust to different screen sizes, but since most screens are 1024px or 800px, are liquid layouts worth the extra work?
38:23 What can I do to make my Myspace page look cooler?
40:50 I’m building my first website, and I want to make a blog. Should I use WordPress or Grey Matter?
43:15 How do I change the background image in my nav bar when the user hovers over it?
46:46 Do you know of a good rollover plugin for Dreamweaver 6?
48:47 Why should I start using CSS and Divs instead of table based layouts?
52:38 I’ve been using Adobe Director, but my teachers at school keep telling me that Authorware is going to be the next big thing. Any tips?
56:00 My uncle keeps having the weird dreams about the future where kids are taking pictures of their meals and sharing them on the internet. Is he crazy?
Sponsors:
61:15 Adobe – Check out Project Parfait: it’s a really nice way to extract everything you need from a PSD – in your browser!
63:03 E4H CSS Summit – Environments for Humans brings together some of the Web’s most notable experts in and for an all-new, three-day online conference, the CSS Summit 2014! Bring the experts to your desktop July 15-July 17, 2014 from 9AM to 4PM (CT).
Show Links:
Homestar Runner
CSS Zen Garden
Designing with Web Standards
Javascript Tutorials
Aurgasm
Metafilter
WordPress
Grey Matter
Moveable Type
Lingo
Adobe Authorware
Adobe Director 9
1 hr 5 min
June 30, 2014122: With Katie Kovalcin
This week we were joined by Katie Kovalcin. Katie is a designer at Happy Cog in Austin and teaches at Girl Develop It.
We talked about (roughly in order):
News’n’Links’n’Drama:
12:55 Protesters outside Google.io, and Google Cardboard
Q & A:
19:56 What is your feeling on website creators like Wix and Squarespace? Is this taking away from potential business for web designer/developers?
27:32 Recently I was asked to create page design for a client. Just the visual design, no code. I thought this would be easy, but after spending an hour and a half creating a table in Illustrator, I’m yearning for some basic HTML & CSS. Are there any design tools you guys know of that take into account of things like “separation of style and content” or “modular components”?
34:10 I’m a newb. I love designing using HTML and CSS, but my creativity is stunted because I can’t program. Which language should I learn first?
38:43 Responsive web design has done a lot of great things for the web, but sometimes the sharing of a single codebase for all the different breakpoints makes things tricky. I’ll usually ask my designers to avoid situations that would require building a component in two different ways across screen sizes. The navigation in the header is usually one of the areas for this discussion (where a design basically requires toggling visibility between two different menu systems). Am I being too much of a stickler or should I stand my ground?
47:03 For smaller websites I often find it difficult to collect quality content from the business that I am designing a website for. These website budgets are usually small therefore a content writer may not be practical. Can you explain your process on collecting data or steering customers in the right direction when it comes to providing quality content?
52:35 I’ve got this really bad habit of nudging things in my design. Two pixels up, an em here, an em there. And then repeat into insanity. I’m always struggling to get that whitespace just right. How do you approach whitespace?
Sponsors:
24:17 Codeship: Continuous Delivery Made Simple – Codeship helps run your tests and continuously deploys new code when it passes. Get 20% off your first 3 months by using discount code “shoptalkshow”.
43:10 E4H CSS Summit – Environments for Humans brings together some of the Web’s most notable experts in and for an all-new, three-day online conference, the CSS Summit 2014! Bring the experts to your desktop July 15-July 17, 2014 from 9AM to 4PM (CT).
Get 20% off your ticket now by using SHOPTALKSHOW during checkout!
Show Links:
Katie Kovalcin
Katie on Twitter
Katie’s upcoming talk at CSS Dev Conf
Hyperquake
Happy Cog
Artifact Conf
Polymer
Google Web Fundamentals
Google Web Starter Kit
Google Material Design
Brad Frost Pattern Lab
CSS-Tricks: Small Business Website
Sketch
Jeff Low wins a ticket to this years CSS Summit! Thanks for sending in nerdy questions, everyone!
1 hr 2 min
June 24, 2014121: With Sam Kapila
This week we were joined by Sam Kapila. Sam teaches at Texas State University, focusing mainly on Responsive Web Design and Typography.
We talked about (roughly in order):
Q & A:
12:50 What did you guys study in college? Would you change your mind if you could go back? What kinds of studies do you recommend or do not recommend, and can you share any experiences?
23:30 I’m not in a position at work where it’s practical/needed to get into Yeoman or Bower, even though I like to stay at the forefront of web trends. Am I becoming a dinosaur?
32:20 I created a website with a small app for a client, and now they want the source code for the app so another developer can work on it. What should I do?
36:05 I’m intrigued to use CSS Calc in my private projects (modern browsers) but am not sure about the performance. It’s not a big deal, but i’d love to know if it’s a good thing to use, or should avoid it?
47:45 I really like the idea of embedding above-the-fold CSS in the head and including the rest at the bottom of the page. Do you see any drawbacks with this method?
57:04 How can I finally get started with contributing to open source projects?
Sponsors:
30:18 Campaign Monitor – We’ve got a free eBook available with our Top 100 email campaigns, it’s a great dose of inspiration for 2014. We’re built for designers and agencies. To find out how you can rebrand and offer our service to your clients, at your own prices, check out campaignmonitor.com/agencies. Need to send an email campaign in a hurry? Try your hand at our template builder and have a responsive email template ready in 60 seconds.
43:30 E4H – CSS Summit – Environments for Humans brings together some of the Web’s most notable experts in and for an all-new, three-day online conference, the CSS Summit 2014! Bring the experts to your desktop July 15-July 17, 2014 from 9AM to 4PM (CT). Use coupon code “SHOPTALKSHOW” for 20% off your ticket!
Show Links:
Sam Kapila
Sam on Twitter
AtoZCSS.com
Yeoman
Grunt
Bower
Poylmer
CSS Calc
caniuse.com
Understanding Comics
Nicely Said
Have a tricky front end problem you need help with? Ask us anything!
1 hr 5 min
June 16, 2014120: Rapidfire 32
This week it’s another RAPID-FIRE!!! Nothing but the best darn question and answer you’ve ever heard!
We talked about (roughly in order):
Q & A:
1:28 How can I achieve HTML includes or imports without using any php or javascript? I know that Codekit has a Kit language that can do this but I don’t have a mac yet. Is there a HTML preprocessors that can do this? If so, can I use only the import function and still use regular HTML on it?
8:56 Picture this: Client organization has a CMS and puts all their ‘news’ content in. Monthly they need to generate a paper newsletter… They push ONE BUTTON and a multi-page pdf, at least as beautiful as the site, is generated with all of their news content… Has anyone tried this?
17:03 What’s the best way to compress a vector graphic from Illustrator for the web? There used to be a SVG option for “Save for Web and Devices” but it’s gone in CS6. What SVG specs are best to use?
22:43 I’m starting to hear the phrase “Tech Bubble” a lot and it’s very disheartening. Do you guys believe we’re in a tech bubble? If so, is it we the web developers/designers who have to worry? Or is it more threatening to investors, entrepreneurs, and 30 y/o billionaires?
32:30 I’m about to start working at a full time job where the team uses Git. Do you have any advice about workflow or etiquette?
39:34 I’m a developer at a mid-sized SaaS company and we have a pretty successful product. Our product has an API and there are several other companies that sell web site integrations & 3rd party plugins to our customers. Our company even receives fees to recommend certain “preferred partners”. Do you think it would be unethical or a conflict of interest for me to develop my own premium WordPress plugin on my own time?
47:47 I’m currently working in a project and the design calls for use of full-screen image backgrounds, in order to optimize this for mobile devices I’m using media queries to call the appropriate background, it works like a charm, however there is something that bothers me, if I resize the window there’s a small bit of time where the webpage has no background while the image get’s loaded. Any way around this?
51:51 Why aren’t box-shadow and text-shadow shorthand properties like background and font? Why don’t the properties box-shadow-color, box-shadow-offset, etc. exist?
58:09 My question is about Print Stylesheets. Are they still relevant? How do you approach them?
Sponsors:
14:15 Campaign Monitor – Need to send an email campaign in a hurry? Try your hand at our template builder and have a responsive email template ready in 60 seconds. While you’re browsing their site, grab a free eBook about the Top 100 email campaigns and get inspired!
28:50 Environments for Humans: Craft CMS Summit – Environments for Humans brings together some of the Web’s most notable experts in Craft for an all-new, one-day only online conference, the Craft CMS Summit 2014!
In this inaugural one-day conference, we look at the State of Craft and deep dive into a series of presentations to give attendees smarter and faster ways to build the web.
Bring the experts to your desktop June 17th from 9AM to 5PM (CT). Use coupon code “Shoptalk” at checkout for a special discount!
Environments For Humans: WP Summit – Environments for Humans brings together some of the Web’s most notable experts in for an all-new, one-day only online conference all about WordPress, the WP Summit 2014! Bring the experts to your desktop June 18th from 9AM to 4PM (CT). Use coupon code “Shoptalk” at checkout for a special discount!
Show Links:
CodeKit: THE Mac App For Web Developers
Grunt
XOXCO: Packagr
Codepen Radio 012: VC
Woofoo: The Online Form Builder
Getting started with Git
Try Git: Codeschool Interactive Tutorial
Image Alpha: Photo Compression
Web P: a new image format for the web
Nifty CSS animation tricks
1 hr 6 min
June 05, 2014119: Rapidfire 31
This week it’s another RAPIDFIRE!!! Nothing but HOT question & answer action.
We talked about (roughly in order):
Q & A:
2:08 I have a question about running Sass in a corporate environment. I’m really interested in using Sass at work but since it requires Ruby there’s no chance of running a ruby server on my system. Is there any way to run a Sass processor from a thumb drive?
7:48 How long does it take for you to write a blog post from the first day you experience the problem (or get the initial idea of what want to write about) to when you actually hit the publish button?
16:42 Are there any good low cost alternatives to Engine Yard or Heroku for hosting test or small web apps?
22:20 What is the best way to validate html and css?
32:45 Are there any WordPress shopping carts that have a token feature or do you know of another way to accomplish this?
41:02 Is it worth offering IE6/7/8 support for a responsive design project?
Sponsors:
11:34 Blend Conf – BlendConf is a generalist conference featuring 60 diverse speakers sharing ideas and conversations about user experience, design, and development. September 11-13 in Charlotte, NC. 4 tracks: UX, Design, Front-end, Back-end. Keynote speakers are Mike Monteiro, Jennifer Palka (Founder Code for America), and Kimberly Bryant (founder, black girl code). Use coupon code “shoptalk” for 10% off!
38:41 Environments for Humans – CSS Dev Conf: the first conference devoted to CSS, the design language of the web, returns for its third year on October 13-15, 2014, this time to New Orleans! Tons of great speakers, including Chris Coyier, Rebecca Murphy, Dan Cedarholm, Estelle Way, Jonathan Snook, Rachal Nabors, and more! Go vote for your favorite talk, and pick up tickets today!
Show Links:
Linode
Rackspace
Serve
Chrome Dev Tools
Symbolset Icons
Google Page Speed Test
Grunt Strip MQ
Require JS
46 min
May 30, 2014118: Rapidfire 30
This week it’s another RAPIDFIRE!!! Nothing but HOT question & answer action.
We talked about (roughly in order):
Q & A:
1:48 I have a question(s) about loading JS files in a WordPress environment. Is there a rule of thumb for when async should be utilized? If I script is loaded in the footer does ‘async’ not matter as much?
7:50 What software do you two use to create your slides for when you do talks at conferences?
15:50 I have a question about deciding on a development stack. What are some of your recommendations when making these kinds of decisions?
29:12 Why use static site generators? Are there any good tutorials out there for those of us who have never used one before?
34:28 Is there a way to make a line of text fill the width of a parent container as if it were justified?
38:28 In job advertisements I’ve been seeing lately, all of the best jobs have Angular JS listed as one of the requirements. I really love creating websites that work everywhere. The idea of using the latest tech at the expense of accessibility, and progressive enhancement doesn’t sit well with me. How can I keep my career advancing, while maintaining those core beliefs?
43:45 How long does it normally take you guys to build a website from start to finish, for instance microsoft.com or css-tricks.com?
Sponsors:
14:00 One Month Rails – Build your first Ruby on Rails web app in just one month. Easy to follow videos with step-by-step instructions. Enrollment is typically $99, but if you join now you’ll get a one time discount of 25% off for joining, so go learn how to make web apps now!
Editor’s note: I actually just bought this and I’m working through it now: it’s awesome! So easy to follow and I love the teacher’s style and the way he breaks everything down into easy to follow along with steps. Highly recommended. – Aaron D.
33:00 Environments for Humans – CSS Dev Conf: the first conference devoted to CSS, the design language of the web, returns for its third year on October 13-15, 2014. This time to New Orleans! Tons of great speakers, including Chris Coyier, Rebecca Murphy, Dan Cedarholm, Estelle Way, Jonathan Snook, Rachal Nabors, and more! Go vote for your favorite talk, and pick up tickets today!
Show Links:
Keynote
Reveal.js
Knockout
Jasmine
Handlebars
YAML
Bower
Grunt
Modernizr
Jekyl
Getting started with Jekyl
Kirby
Fittext.js
Slab Text
Big Text
Adam Clark
Goodstuff.fm
50 min
May 30, 2014117: Rapidfire 29
This week it’s another RAPIDFIRE!!! Nothing but HOT question & answer action.
We talked about (roughly in order):
Q & A:
2:25 With this trend of big background images and full with slider, which size of images do you recommend to have a balance between size and weight?
7:56 What’s the best way to handle SVGs?
23:37 Why don’t browsers just include various versions of jquery within the end user machine, loading it as they encounter usage?
27:36 You’ve mentioned Harvest as a tool for time-tracking and invoicing; are there any other tools you would suggest, specifically for expense tracking?
36:36 What do all of you think of Netflix disabling the developer console in Chrome? Will this become popular in the future? Is it unethical?
40:35 Inline-block grid systems won’t render correctly in Safari 7. It works fine on Safari 6, ffox and Chrome but fails miserably on Safari 7. Any solutions or advice?
43:50 I have recently started to do some freelance web design, I am confident in my pricing however when writing up emails to a potential client giving them an estimate I feel that there is room for improvement. How does Dave/Paravel approach this, do you send some kind of template or something else?
49:25 Going back to something raised in podcast #103 about getting server-side variables into javascript, what is the most pure way of putting server-side data into javascript?
54:37 I’m curious how you manage passwords when working with clients. How do you securely send passwords to clients?
59:19 I’m in my 40’s and to be honest, agencies are looking for people on their 20’s. Is this web design world a place for only youngsters?
Sponsors:
20:16 Campaign Monitor – Campaign Monitor makes it easy to attract new subscribers, send  them beautiful email newsletters and see stunning reports on the results. We use it for our Shoptalk newsletter. Check out their free eBook available with their top 100 email campaigns, it’s a great dose of inspiration for 2014.
33:52 Environments for Humans – CSS Dev Conf – The first conference devoted to CSS, the design language of the web, returns for its third year on October 13-15, 2014. This time to New Orleans! Tons of great speakers, including Chris Coyier, Rebecca Murphy, Dan Cedarholm, Estelle Way, Jonathan Snook, Rachal Nabors, and more! Go vote for your favorite talk, and pick up tickets today!
Show Links:
Jeremy Keith – Deconstruct Site
Less Accounting
Billings App
Legal Zoom
Nic Gallaghers Griddle
1Password
1Password Multivault
1 hr 7 min
May 19, 2014116: Rapidfire 28
This week it’s another RAPIDFIRE!!! Nothing but HOT question & answer action.
We talked about (roughly in order):
Q & A:
1:47 Could you recommend any good WordPress plugins to work with for a bilingual support?
10:38 Is it possible to have a single page website perform well in terms of SEO?
19:03 When starting from scratch on a smaller site I tend to work first on the markup, then once happy I begin the styling. This usually means going through all selectors in the DOM and pasting them into the stylesheet. Have you found a tool to scan a DOM and spit out all the classes (and maybe IDs) for styling with?
25:12 How should I handle vertical rhythm?
33:18 Have you guys had any luck using MAMP on Mountain Lion?
35:07 I’m having problems with version control. Do you have any advice?
42:49 When or why it would be better to use @extend in certain instances versus creating a mixin and using @include?
49:15 My client expects pixel perfection when translating PSD to website. What do you think is a reasonable level of fidelity to the mockup to expect from a developer?
57:51 In responsive web design, what are the advantages and disadvantages of including media queries “inline” in your CSS versus putting them in separate CSS files?
Sponsors:
17:05 lynda.com – The best online learning resource. Check out great courses like: SVG, JavaScript for Web Designers, Designing a Logo for a Band, Writing Press Releases, Monday Productivity Pointers, and so much more. Get a free 7 day trial now!
54:41 E4H – Craft CMS Summit – Environments for Humans brings together some of the Web’s most notable experts in Craft for an all-new, one-day only online conference, the Craft CMS Summit 2014! Bring the experts to your desktop June 17th from 9AM to 5PM (CT). Get your tickets now!
Show Links:
Multilingual WordPress
Microsoft English
Microsoft Hebrew
Smartling.com – Website Translation
Create Crawlable Link Friendly AJAX Websites Using Push State
EmberJS.com
Angular JS
Baseline Grids on the Web – Jason Santa Maria
The Extend Concept (SCSS)
Craft CMS
1 hr 3 min
May 16, 2014115: Bryan Jones and Guy Meyer
This week we were joined by Bryan Jones and Guy Meyer. They are the creators of the fantastic web development app Codekit.
We talked about (roughly in order):
News’n’Links’n’Drama:
10:15 WordPress mentorship initiative going on at http://wpmentor.org
13:25 GiantConf blows up
Q & A:
23:09 I use Grunt, but I also own a copy of CodeKit (1 & 2). I can never figure out a decent workflow: is there a plan for some Grunt integration in CodeKit?
43:07 What are your thoughts on HTML pre-processing languages?
49:30 What is your workflow when deploying from local to remote, and how do you handle working with another developer on a WP project, for version control especially again with the DB?
56:22 Have you had any success or desire to template in Jade within WordPress?
Sponsors:
22:05 E4H – AccessU Summit – A one day conference on May 12th, a full day ONLINE conference about accessibility. Learn all about accessibility with talks like Mobile Accessibility, Accessible Media for the Web, and more! Get your tickets today! CSS Dev Conf!!! An awesome in-person conference all about CSS. Taking place on October 13th-15th in New Orleans. VOTE for the talks you want to see! Register today
41:00 Campaign Monitor – Campaign Monitor makes it easy to attract new subscribers, send  them beautiful email newsletters and see stunning reports on the results. We use it for our Shoptalk newsletter. Check out their free eBook available with their top 100 email campaigns, it’s a great dose of inspiration for 2014.
Show Links:
Codekit
Bryan on Twitter
Bryan Jones Website
Guy on Twitter
Guy Meyer’s Website
WP Mentor
“Gracefully Bowing Out of Giant Conference” – Sarah Parmenter
Grunt
Kit Language
Harken Press
1 hr 4 min
May 08, 2014114: Rapidfire 27
This week it’s another RAPIDFIRE!!! Nothing but HOT question & answer action.
Q & A:
1:53 How do I integrate GitHub into a real web publishing workflow?
6:40 I find typography on the web always looks somehow chunky. That’s why I use the webkit prefixed font-smoothing: antialiased on every project I work on to make it look nice and crisp at least for some users. Is there a major problem with this feature that I’ve missed or any other good reason why developers don’t or shouldn’t use it?
12:15 I’ve been messing around with the new Flexslider 2 Beta, and I wanted to pull photos from Flickr and use it as a responsive photo gallery. However, the layout breaks and has excessive white space when Flexslider tries to account for portrait oriented images. Is there a way to use intrinsic ratios like with FitVids to get rid of the excess white space?
18:30 It seems like with responsive design it’s becoming acceptable to use “foreground images” (images IN the markup) as banner images so that they can be scaled down as the viewport narrows. Is this acceptable now?
22:15 If you use media queries to adjust the body font-size percentage, is there any rule to figuring out the adjustments to the percentage as you go along?
26:24 What do you guys use for Style Guide Generation?
29:00 Do you guys wear pants while recording Shoptalk shows?
29:49 Any thoughts on Condoleezza Rice joining Dropbox?
30:51 Do you know any good javascript techniques to create pdf files?
33:00 Why SCSS over LESS?
36:42 What do you guys think about the difference between a self taught web designer and a designer with a degree?
39:23 What are your thoughts about working for clients vs working on products?
44:07 Do you have any tips about using Codekit and MAMP for local WordPress development?
Sponsors:
16:48 lynda.com – The best online learning resource. Check out great courses like: – Google Analytics Tips – Shooting With Blackmagic Cameras (4K) – Revit Construction Modeling Tools Get a free 7 day trial now!
27:49 E4H: Artifact Conf May 5-7 in Austin, Texas and Providence Rhode Island September 29 – October 1: a two day, one-track conference with some of the greatest speakers on the web, including Dave Rupert, Jeremy Keith, Brad Frost, Josh Clark, and more. Use discount code SHOPTALKSHOW for $100 off your ticket (group discounts available).
Show Links:
PHP Storm
Coda 2
Flexslider 2
KSS
Assemble
Pattern Lab
Condoleezza Rice joins Dropbox
JS PDF
SCSS VS LESS
First Moments with MAMP
50 min

About ShopTalk Show

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ShopTalk is a podcast about front end web design, development and UX. Each week Chris Coyier and Dave Rupert are joined by a special guest to talk shop and answer listener submitted questions.

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