Author: Andrew Minion

Day 1: Getting Started with Ruby on Rails

Posted on by Andrew Minion

A word of introduction: this year, I’m planning actively work on learning some new languages and skills, rather than just learning things as I need them for a particular project. My plan is to spend 30 days on each technology, taking about an hour to work on the skill and then about half an hour to write about what I learned.

If you have questions, feel free to comment, but keep in mind that these series are primarily for my own learning, and by no means will I be an expert at any of them by the end of the 30 days. Continue reading “Day 1: Getting Started with Ruby on Rails”

Woocommerce Product Addons Template Overrides

Posted on by Andrew Minion

Mike Jolley wrote a Woocommerce plugin named Product Addons that allows global and per-product addons as free or paid upgrades. The plugin provides several template files, but they can’t be overridden in the typical Woocommerce manner.

Instead of placing template override files in the woocommerce folder in your WordPress theme, place them in a folder named woocommerce-product-addons in your WordPress theme and you’ll be good to go.

Object-Oriented Programming: a helpful series of articles

Posted on by Andrew Minion

Not having formal training in computer science or programming, I’ve struggled to understand object-oriented programming. This course by Tom Mcfarlin was extremely helpful in explaining the basic concepts, particularly in regards to WordPress development.

Download an ePub: OOP in WordPress

Update: since Readability was shut down, here’s a link to the original course content.

 

Posted in PHP

How to Record High-Quality Audio and Video

Posted on by Andrew Minion

Recording high-quality audio and video can sometimes be a challenge. Not only are there creative details like lighting, background, and composition, but there are technical restrictions that must be taken into consideration in order to produce a good recording.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to use a Mac and accessories to record high-quality audio and video, using an interview as an example format. Read it here.

How to Change Your DNS for Faster, Safer Browsing

Posted on by Andrew Minion

When you open your web browser and type in a URL, your computer is able to find a server with an IP address such as 174.127.109.234. Among other technologies, a protocol called DNS helps your computer find that server. In this tutorial, I’ll show you what DNS is and some tips you can use to be safer on the web.

Read the article here.

LastPass vs. iCloud Keychain

Posted on by Andrew Minion

In order to help improve password security, Apple just recently introduced iCloud Keychain in OS X Mavericks and iOS 7. The service is designed is to sync passwords, credit card information, wifi passwords, and account login information across devices.

Though it appears to do those tasks relatively well, it is Apple’s first foray into this field, and there are several well-established contenders already. In this article, we’ll compare and contrast iCloud Keychain to LastPass.

Read the article.

Encrypting Email with GPGTools

Posted on by Andrew Minion

Email security, asymmetric encryption, keys…all confusing and complicated subjects to the uninitiated. However, there are some tools that help make the job of keeping your email secure much easier, especially on a Mac. In this tutorial I wrote for the TutsPlus network, I’ll show you how you can keep your email secure from prying eyes by using GPGTools to create your own keys and encrypt your email.

Read the article here.

Livestreaming Using Wirecast

Posted on by Andrew Minion

I recently wrote a tutorial on how to use Wirecast to live-stream events. It covers the following topics:

  • How to choose a streaming host/CDN
  • What kind of camera and audio hardware you need
  • How to connect the audio/video hardware to your Mac
  • How to choose a quality/bandwidth preset
  • How to use Wirecast on the Mac to produce the livestream

Read the article here