New Design (Obviously)

Yep thats right folks, a new design.  Not much to it really, its a new style for me though, but I like it.  I’m still adding details to it as I go.  I’ve decided it is probably the best way to do details, slowly and carefully where needed.  I feel like the content area of the site could use some work.  But I’ll get there soon enough.

Firefox 2.0

I would recommend getting the new preview release of Firefox 2.0 - but beware of the fact that it is not an official release, and that most extensions and themes will not work for Firefox 2.0.

Tip for the tabs scrolling:
Use your mouse scroll-wheel to scroll tabs horizontally - pretty sweet!

Update - Spell checking comes built into Firefox - its amazing.  No more looking like a fool!

jetBlue Airlines

I was reading through an old article on Simplebits when an unknown commenter said that flying jetBlue was the best ever.  I’ve heard of jetBlue before today, but never really took any indepth research on them.  Oddly enough it turns out they just launched their current site about 7 days ago - September 21st, 2006 - and the CEO, David Neeleman writes a flight log of his interactions with his customers.  A CEO that cares, and an airline with a reputation (good one at that) - where could you go wrong?  Not to mention the site is actually pretty usable, and friendly.  My only problem is that they don’t stop in chicago.  They fly over it...but they don’t stop.  Based out of NY Airport (JFK)

Tips for Freelancers: Work Ethics

If you ever want a decent job as a freelancer, dont be a damn slacker.  Do your work, when your told to do it, and do it well, and as fast as you can without compromising quality.  Slacking off will only cause conflict within the relationship between your client and yourself, creating more friction and less productivity.  Just do it, Just get it done.  You’ll soon be reward thereafter.

Photoshop CS2 Tip: Guides & Snap’n

In Photoshop CS2 you can find the center of an object/shape/layer very quickly using a guide, and snapping.  Just make sure you’ve selected the layer with the shape/object on it, and slide the guide over towards the middle until it snaps to the center.  Makes creating grids for layout quick and painless!

Harvest: Simple Time Tracking

Finally, a simple, easy to use application that tracks time.  Though Basecamp does offer a perfect solution to time tracking - the price is rather steep for start-ups in my opinion.  The only problem I have with Harvest is the differences in packages.

CSS Format: Vertical or Horizontal?

Which format do you use for formatting your css code in your stylesheets?

Amigo: Bringing advertisers and newsletters together!

Amigo goes live!  I’ve been following the development of amigo via the Barenaked App Blog for little while now, and to my surprise, it launched a couple of days ago.  I quite obviously didnt keep up with that blog well enough, due to my own app developments, but what a surprise.

Crazyegg Not Crazy

I might have unfair advantages to CrazyEgg than most users, and I would also say I have a slightly skewed perspective.  But those are really all not the point of this post really (You might see what I mean tomorrow, when I finish my “Freelance Package” series).

Fall Cleaning

Most say “Spring Cleaning” but I say “Fall Cleaning” - Besides, I’m not like most.  You can agree or disagree, thats fine.  At anyrate, I’ve done some bug fixes, additions, and general clean-up around these parts, to make it better reading, easier navigation, and more informative. I’ve also noticed that a lot of people are wondering who I even am, so an “about me” page will be up soon.  If I could just get wordpress to make it look nicer. Unforunately, I’m not able to get to Part II of my Freelance package today, so we’ll assume that will be tomorrow morning’s agenda.

I’ve also decided to make a habbit of working on, or writing for mattdetails.com every day, in the morning for at least 2 hours.  I figure, with the buzz around blogs these days, theres potential and value in writing your knowledable thoughts.  Plus I’m at a point where I feel I should share my knowledge more anyway.

A Freelance Package: Part I

So, your a freelancer eh?  Well, whether you are or not and regardless of how long you’ve been one, I’ve got some mostly-free-but-cheap web applications that will solve most of your problems.  Some you may have heard of, others you may not have.

Getting Real: A Process, Not Just a Book

So I’ve actually read the entire getting real book, and I’ve found that this mind set of “Getting Real” and “Getting things done” is one that SHOULD be wrote about.  Because quite obviously the majority of people are too lazy to understand the full concept of getting things done.  And it really doesn’t matter who you talk about, whether it be clients, family members, friends, co-workers, or employees.

Dictionary.com - Redesigned!

Wow, What a great surpise to see such a resource being beautifully redesigned!  Makes me want to learn more, and bigger words, as I could use a better vocabulary anyway.

Dictionary.com Redesigned.  Go Check it out!

Working Music

Being that I work from home, at a computer all day - and that I’m a fan of purevolume.com, I just have to recommend a few listens to a couple new bands I’ve most recently found.

Mattdetails: Upcoming Fall 2006

Summers rear is heading near, and I’ve got something up my sleeve that I can’t wait to show you.

Photoshop: A Design Process
Over a course of 3 articles or so, I’ll explain the process in which I use, to design, and develop the hand-written sites using css.  After a few talks with a couple of other designers, I’ve come to realize that my process might be unique, and that it might help others as well.  The first article will explain the beginning of the photoshop process. The layout, layers, and important techniques that will make your design more sucessful in the long run.  The last two articles will explain the process of getting your design from photoshop, to the world wide web.

So stay tuned! Subscribe to the RSS feed, or if your more of an email person, use the form at the bottom right corner to receive updates via your email!

Purevolume: The Store

So, I’ve seen my fair share of clothing stores and clothing trends to know the difference between good stores and bad stores.  And even for a “Company Brand” boutique, this store rocks! If you know of Purevolume.com but haven’t been able to see the store yet, be prepared.  The people are beautiful. The photography is beautiful. The design & layout is beautiful.  And to sum it all up, its simple.  Less is more, and this store proofs it.

Wicked Brush

So, I was converting all of Jason Gaylor‘s layer brush psd’s to brushes, when this idea hit me.  Why not a site, that collects all the wicked worn, foliage, shapes, you name it, type of brushes from around the web, into one place?  Ah, so maybe I’m not the first in the world to think of this idea, but at least I’ll have some place for myself to go to whenever I need to get ahold of those wicked worn brushes.

July’s End

So, the rear of July is soon approaching, and the front of August is ahead.  Some exciting things have launched and/or have been discovered this month, and I’m here to share them with you.

Ah, Finally!

At last, a solid design I can live with. At least for now.  I know it’s nothing ground breaking or design-smashing, but it certainly is better than most of my blog designs.  I’ve got quite a bit more coming for it though (Jeez, I hate these typical lies).  At anyrate, I really do have some pretty cool things planned for this space, so pick up the RSS Feed if you care to know when that time comes.

Temporary

This template is temporary until I finish development on the version one design.  Yes, I havent even had time to create a design for mattdetails since I’ve bought the domain, ive mainly just been modifying other peoples templates from blogger.com and wordpress etc.  At anyrate, expect to see more coming soon (typical line eh?) :P

Uh…

What does one say after not saying anything for almost 2 months? Uh...is all i could come up with..sadly.  Nothing extremely ground breaking to report here, but it’s hard to call this a blog, more like an annual report.  Ha!
Well, if you do happen to be a repeat visitor, you’ll notice some changes coming around.  I decided to modify the look of the simpla template with my own graphics.  More updates and more changes will roll in soon.

Simple vs Complicated vs Gut vs Smart

Ah, the last few months have been a roller coaster of a ride to say the very least.  So many different projects and new clients coming and going.  The pressure is on, and I’m feeling it.  The problem remains that money is the root of all evil.  One would expect to have little to no money for anything other than bare minimal expenses, but you also have to keep in mind that your gut knows well.  Right now I live an incredibly simple life in wisconsin.  Theres really nothing complicated about it. 

Amazing Juggling Finale

Wow...is all I can say about this.

Low-Res version