Introducing BetterComments

I have been working heavily on a comment system (for blogs or any web page) in my free time over the past couple of weeks. My goal is to create a system that is extremely simple to put into any page without PHP knowledge, and have the database table creation be automatic. As good as Wordpress and other CMSs are, they have a massive amount of bloat to them for most users. These pre-built systems usually contain many functions that you don't need and will never use, especially if you are just looking for comment functionality to hear feedback from your articles.

BetterComments only requires you to add one PHP call to your page and already have a database setup in mySQL. The rest is taken care of by the script.

BetterComments is in a beta stage right now, and I will be providing a version for download soon. There are a few more kinks to work out, and more interesting features to add. BetterComments will be free.

I am using BetterComments for my comments below each post on this website, so give it a try and let me know what you think. Are there any features you would like to see? What are you looking for in a comment system?

Workspace Inspiration

I've always been very interested in different people's workspaces and their choice of equipment. Some go for the extravagant and some go for the simplistic. Try searching Flickr for "workspaces" and see what you get. It might give you some ideas to improve your own.

Here's an example of the minimalist. Very relaxing and peaceful setup, but I couldn't get by without a larger display to hook up to. How about you? Do you have a link to a picture of your workspace or others you have found on the web?

Refresh Dallas Meeting

If you're a web developer in the DFW area (Texas), be sure to check out Refresh Dallas.

"Refresh is a community of designers and developers working to refresh the creative, technical and professional aspects of new media endeavors in the Dallas area."

On February 26 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, Mike Culver will be presenting an overview of the Amazon Web Services that include the Mechanical Turk. Interestingly enough, I used the Mechanical Turk for about a week during my first semester of college. It is more or less a step towards building better AI by making requests from humans. Developers are able to give the Turk requests, and offer monetary rewards for users to find and organize data.

I hope to see some of you there.