₦airaland Forum

Chei!!

All of you have brought back memories o, Ababio, West Africa math books, the orange geography book, that gigantic biology book, the physics book, and last but not least: that add maths book. It's like I just took my SSCE yesterday

Hopefully the publishers/authors have come up with more recent editions. If not, egbele o! LOL

Call me old school, but having left Naija in 1993 (yes, I do visit every 2 yrs or so ), I grew up listening to a different kind of music.

Whatever happened to Oritz Wiliki, Kinky, Blackie, the boys who sang "biggie belle", Christie Essien Igbokwe?

Do they have websites? Where are they now? Google searches haven't turned up any useful results for me.

Links would help me a lot.

Thanks,

I humbly propose honorary phD degrees for the authors of this tutorial.

Well done, If one just wants to know the basics, definitely cheaper than buying a book

[list]
[li]McDonald's feeds more than 46 million people a day - more than the entire population of Spain[/li]
[li]French fries are the most eaten vegetable in America[/li]
[li]You would have to walk for seven hours straight to burn off a Super Sized Coke, fry and Big Mac[/li]
[li]Most nutritionists recommend not eating fast food more than once a month[/li]
[/list]

Source: http://www.supersizeme.com/

Hopefully, this doesn't apply to Mr. Biggs and the like,

1) http://www.ronaldinho10.com/

2) Choose a language (sorry, no english option)

3) click on "videos" in left nav bar.

4) Simply sit back and enjoy the wizard at work (I particularly like the "montage videos".

What do you guys think?

As crazy as it sounds (pple always tell me I am crazy, considering my field), I think one big time area of investment, that gets little or no attention, in Nigeria is in Agriculture. If you think about it, how much is a cup of garri now? How much is hen or cow? Think about it folks - pple have to eat.

So while trying to get into other areas is no doubt good, at the end of the day, as humans we have to eat and as Nigerians, we have to eat eba. Even if you don't produce for the local market, you can produce for the global market. We live in the global economy era. If Agriculture weren't good in that respect, I don't think obj would have gone to the extent of bringing in oyibo from zimbabwe.

that's my 2 cents

What always gives me problems in JAVA is the infamous NullPointerException. No matter how thoroughly I think my logic through, it always seems to show itself. Abi na naija air forces?

I don't use IE. I am a FireFox zealot. As a matter of fact, I code in FireFox then test in IE.

I tell you who uses IE though: over 90% of web users. I work for http://www.autotrader.com. 95% of our users use IE. Try changing font sizes on our site in IE and tell me what you see. By the way, autotrader.com is the #1 site when it comes to buying and selling cars in america. I don't say it because I work for them. I have seen the stats. We are currently working on a new version of the site that will be 100% CSS and employ fluid design.

You have to remember, when you are working on any site, you are coding for the user, not fellow web developers (who, I read somewhere, make up only about 1% of web users worldwide)/IT guys. If an overwhelming majority come in using a particular browser or operating system, you have to accomodate them first, before others.

Bottomline, FireFox is good, but if the people making it possible for you to recieve a paycheck are for the most part using IE, then from a business perspective, the site has to look good in IE, very good

BTW: I checked out your bio - you need to get out of WV man. Based on what I read about you, the coal might be beginning to affect you. LOL just kidding o!!

largerwhenindoubt,

on your take of 100% CSS, I am still struggling with sites that use CSS to limit font size pixels that do not change with screen resolutions

I just wanted to mention (not a bash, just an FYI) that it is possible to achieve the above via fluid fonts. The problem with most sites is that the coders just pick up a book, cram it, and implement the first code snippet they see, without taking it into context. Taking fonts for example, most sites use pt, or px. Some don't even give any units. pt is a print font. px isn't flexible. On the other hand, if you use % as a unit, this is fluid and should change with screen resolution/when u user elects to have a larger font via their browser.

As for coding via standards with style. It can be done. You just have to know it very well. Check out (if not already) this site: http://www.csszengarden.com/. On the right nav, click on the various links to change the design. Same site, but content is positioned in different spots. This is the beauty and strength of CSS.

Sexy sites can be coded in CSS. It just requires a certain level of mastery

In my opinion, the site is a good idea. The only thing I have against it (and for the most part, other sites that employ stuff I am about to discuss) is that you don't get that Nigerian (or in this case Lagosian) feel on the site - the beach in the background doesn't look Nigerian. Neither do the people (especially the white people ). If I was to visit this site, up front, I wouldn't associate it with a site primarily aimed at Nigerians (at least I assume that's the aim).

I don't know, maybe I am just too particular/proud of my people to be nit-picking like this. All in all though, in terms of it being a site that brings together Nigerian singles, it's a good idea and its intent is good.

I am not in naija, but in Atlanta. From your profile I noticed you aren't in Naija either. Regardless, if the price is right, I am sure I could entice you out of your present abode, even if it is for a couple of months

Thanks for your input guys,

The Ibibio site was my very first CSS site. I took lessons learnt from there and applied to the south-south site. I intend to take lessons learned from both of these and apply them to a new site I am working on.

As for domain, since it was a pet project and I wasn't sure of traffic outweighing cost, I decided not to get its own name. Based on popularity, I am seriously thinking about it though.

The news site on southsouth is manually updated. I did this on purpose as the guy said he would rarely put new items. As you may have noticed, the last item was posted on 4th of January. Not to mention, his fees did not cover anything more than that LOL

Zahymaka, as for you being called Jackie Chan, dat na wetin I c for your profile now. I take it you are a fan Hey, nothing wrong with that, I have all his films

In the event I am able to move back to Nigeria to do some business, I know who to holla at first

Thanks once again,

Here is another one, a pet project of mine: http://www.geocities.com/myibibio/

Zahymaka alias Jackie Chan (sorry o, but I can't help it ),

Thanks for your input. The banner thing was a hot issue during the architecting phase of the project. In fact, it is the sole reason why the pages on the site are heavy. In the end, the guy paid so I had to dance to his tune . There are a few things I have noticed so far though that if given another opportunity, I would have made better.

South-south governors have seen the site and they love it. I am hoping that through that site, I get to set my feet into their offices and realize my dream of moving back to Nigeria, even it is for a few months, to do some web work there. Who knows? I may even move back permanently and set up shop as a consultant. Gotta start somewhere.

Here is a site I worked on: http://www.southsouthforum.org/index.html

Let me know what you think,

E b like say lagerwhenindoubt pass me o - im grammar too much: Proliant server, swanky literate-suburb, hyper-speed inflation, gigs of RAM. I bow o LOL

Just kidding larg*, na so I dey like do small yabs. In the end it's all good.

I don't claim to know it all. I just like this site so much that I feel I should share knowledge based on what I have learnt from my various experiences. Someone else may sign up tomorrow and rubbish all my comments, who knows.

In my continuous attempt to ruffle a few feathers, I have come up with yet another topic. Here are some I came across
Corny Church Names In Naija

during my last visit

1) Lion of Judah - I no been sabi say Judah been get lion, but what do I know?

2) Mysteries of the Bible - Hmm, what are these mysteries and have I been wasting my time attending church where I do presently?

3) Walls of Jericho - Na wa o! We all know what happened to those walls LOL

Any more you guys care to share? 'should be fun

Zahymaka, aka Jackie Chan

My point exactly. I visited your site. U used standards to code it. From that standpoint, it looks good. I personally could care less about design. I am a web standards zealot.

So now, take this further - we get others to show off their stuff. In the end, we collect sites/templates and vote on the best (as in "perhaps here u shdn't have used too many classes, or u shd hv used a paragraph tag here, instead of divs, thus suffering from "divitis". End-product? One mean mutha of a site we could perhaps parade to potential clients

Thanks

Nwoke and Zahymaka,

The competition, like say, in figure skating, would have parameters. I am not necessarily thinking design. I am thinking standards. So, here are some of what I am thinking of:

1) Low page weight
2) Page validates against XHTML strict
3) Page done in 100% CSS

So, say someone needed help. One person comes up with a template, another adds pepper, and another salt. In the end, it would turn out like an open source project. From there, who knows? some company spots it and end-result is a spot on CNN, which in turn leads to major wazo.

I know, my mind tends to wander a little too far, but hey, nothing wrong with that abi?

Romeo, your site didn't seem to come up. Ke du ko di with that? LOL

The capitol dome doesn't look like a mosque, it looks like something from ancient greece.

The numerals may be called "arabic numerals" but they aren't written in ajami

Lessons to be learned from this post:

1) Don't wait till you have loads of money to start a biz. Sometimes it is safe to start small

2) Before you thought about it, 200+ million -1 Nigerians most likely already did

3) When you want to start any biz, strike fast and strike hard

4) Even if others have done it, think of something unique you can add to make the people come to you, instead of the competition

personally, the arabic doesn't bother me one bit. In fact, I could care less. However, as a matter of principle, I think it should be removed - As one poster noted, there are 200+ languages in Nigeria. How can we have one language and not others? To me, there is a subtlety to it all.

It's like the confederate flag in america. Sure, the south lost the war and them waving their flag doesn't bother me. But, why fly it at all, unless there is a subtle reason behind it?

Right or wrong, that's my take

#2 from kajad's photos is obviously photoshop'd

Farriel my friend

I wouldn't go as far as thinking that web standards only work within the circle of web developers. I don't work in Nigeria, but I can tell you that within the american context, even though users don't know what is going on behind the scenes (and practically, probably don't care either), they do get to have a wonderful user experience which ends up in a higher conversion rate, longer time spent on your site, more ad revenue, etc.

To address your other question (with some comedy , it's like u asking me why pple would care what your car in Nigeria looks like. It may not have A/C, or seat belt; it may be driving straight, even though the body frame is pointing in another direction; the tires may be balder than my head, but hey, it takes me from point A to point B right?

Well, I disagree. For one, you can't guarantee that your site will be browsed by people in only Nigeria. Take: www.akwaibomstategov.com. Opens fine in IE. Has a lot of "effects (not that I like it, but that's another thread)". Now, open it in firefox. See how the site falls apart?

Web standards (error-free code, cross-browser, etc) is the way to go. Not to mention, you have a reputation to protect. If you coded that akwa ibom site, I probably wouldn't hire you for a venture of mine.

By the way, I am not saying your code should be XHTML strict-compliant. Just make sure it validates for whatever DTD you declare at the top of your page, even if it is HTML 3.2

are we still friends?

Just an interesting article on how visitors to your site read content. Might come in handy if your site deals with a lot of content:

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

To whom it may concern:

How about an icon on our system trays that tell us whenever there is a reply to our posts, new topic, etc etc (you get the picture)?

Even if it doesn't result in money, I bet it will result in a better user experience. Right now, I (and perhaps others) am always refreshing my webmail to see if I have any email notifications.

Just thinking out loud,

Thanks,

bezaleel,

word up! Gone are the days when it was assumed that companies in naija would pay pple overseas to build their sites. I, for one, am very impressed. Do the guys in naija have some ways to go? In some cases, sure. But hey, at least they have arrived. Half loaf is better than none. Everyone, including urs truly, had to start from somewhere

Disclaimer (to steer away the fanatics and zealots ): The kissing I am talking about here is based on the context of the kissing. I am sure the original poster meant one particular type of kissing - one that could lead to,

Kissing, like gambling and smoking isn't a sin, at least because it isn't banned outright. Even christians are told to "greet with a holy kiss" (Romans 16:16).

Now, when you think of possible end-products of that kiss, then though not a sin, it should be discouraged. So gambling could result in stealing (emphasise in all these examples on "could" pls ); and smoking could result in cancer; kissing *could* result in bedmatics. Not only that, even if it doesn't result in the wild monkey dance, it does make on think about it and as the bible said, you don't have to kill someone physically to actually commit the sin.

So, should you kiss or not kiss? Again, since it isn't mentioned as one in the bible, I say rock your own boat. However, as they say, prevention is better than cure. Would you rather correct yourself here or wait till judgement day?


, and that's my 2 cents

There are many ways:

1) Use javascript to open a small window, calling the onLoad function in the body tag of the page

2) Use DHTML to open a layer, calling same onLoad function

3) Using flash to open an (I think that is what it is called) eye blaster ad.

Option #1 is easier for pop-up blockers to detect. In #1 and #2, you would call the open() function.

To others who may respond to this: Have I missed anything?

Thanks,

As usual, another topic from me that is bound to get some eye brows dancing

So, unless you just arrived from naija yesterday, I am sure that you have, when in company of your friends at one point or the other, either talked about what someone you know went through (loans, putting job in jeopardy, etc) in order to send a corpse home OR you have been thinking of whether or not you would want to burden your immediate family with sending your corpse home, especially for such families where the last time they went home was probably before/after the civil war (joke).

So, this begs the question: If you are in the diaspora, where do you want to be buried?

Me? Though I go home regularly, I still feel that sense of "sure you come, but you are no longer one of us" whenever I go. All the people I grew up with have grown up and moved on. Why put my family through the ordeal of people doing everything to get what they can while they can, etc? So, if they want to send my corpse home, that's up to them. Otherwise, I will be glad to buried in the states.

This topic should generate a lot of interesting answers

el_cij,

you speak the truth my brother. However as a web designer/developer/architect myself, I will say that based on professional and personal experience, all the developer work can come to nought if the user doesn't have a nice user experience. I can't tell you how many times I have had to change the design of a site based on the results of usability testing.

In the end, sure, tis the web app that runs the show, but if the goat is not well dressed, na who go chop am?

To me, the whole thing is a symbiotic relationship