Public service announcement

// Then again, I'm afraid the internet would be half empty if we followed this rule... :)
via +Kay Kulkarni 

Add icons to your links with CSS3

// A lovingly quick way to add icons next to your links that I just saw in +Lea Verou's (of W3C) site: all you need is a simple line of #CSS3 code.

a[href^="http://twitter.com"]::before { content: url("twitter.png"); }

See it live at http://lea.verou.me/

The Ultimate Browser Detection Fail

// So here's a screenshot from #Google #Nexus , running Google's #Android browser, showing a page on a Google service (Google Groups). We notice two things happening: 

1) Google's page can't identify Google's browser correctly and instead mistake it for #Safari
2) Google engineers can't (or wont?) make a page of relatively simple (in terms of features) web service to run on Safari, one of the two biggest mobile browsers, disregarding the fact that both browsers use the same engine.

I've recently switched from Safari to #Chrome due to better memory usage but these kind of ridiculous "games" really need to stop...

So this is Bill Gate's monitor

// Bill showed off his monitor during his AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit http://redd.it/18bhme 
It is actually a 82" multi-touch display intended for presentations but I suppose it can work as a decent personal monitor as well :) If you have the pockets for it, click here http://bit.ly/YYOfYV

The AMA received a lot interest with almost 29,000 comments. For a summary of Bill's answers, click here http://bit.ly/X6nN0d

CSS Paint times and a Faster Web Experience

// At a perhaps an alarming rate, web sites are becoming more and more like complete applications, see for example the refreshed +The Next Web or +Mashable). This means that looking into initial page loading times is not enough. We need to monitor how the web page reacts at user input. 

+Addy Osmani has been posting a lot about this topic, check out his article DevTools: Visually Re-engineering CSS For Faster Paint Times http://bit.ly/VfpHen

Track WordPress Queries with Debug Bar

// I'm in #WordPress  mode these days (building a site for a client), so here's another handy plugin: Debug Bar gives you helpful information for #debugging  like PHP error/notices, the full list of database queries and more. I needed the database part as you can see in the screenshot. Get it here: http://bit.ly/Z7YAWe 

Secure WordPress with WP-Security

// WP Security Scan is a set of tools for adding some basic #security  on your #WordPress  installation. It includes: 
- A series of tests like if you have the latest version, if you're not telling the world your version of WordPress, .htaccess protection, etc (see screenshot) 
- Information on your PHP/MySQL installation for debugging
- Permissions checks on your files
- Feature to backup your database 
- A password tool to select a hard to brake password

Get WP Security Scan at the WordPress.org plugin directory http://bit.ly/Xx6dPe

For getting .htaccess setup without messing directly with files, see the AskApache plugin http://bit.ly/YQLhFU (will have another post on it at later time). For more on WordPress security see my previous posts http://bit.ly/1262rDZ