As you can see if you are an old blog visitor, I’ve changed the appearance of things around here. This time, I didn’t create my own theme, I went the classic “buy a premium theme” route, and I’m quite happy with the results. My past experience with my creating my last two themes was very helpful; I learned a lot about the inner workings of WordPress, even though I didn’t create the theme completely from scratch, I went the Sandbox route (who starts any coding project now a days with out some sort of recycled code, anyway?).

I decided I didn’t want to redesign a code myself and rather spend that time writing instead of designing. So I searched the web a while, exploring the premium WordPress websites out there until I found exactly what I needed; a subscription site with a all-you-can-download model with a very good price point. Elegant Themes, $20 for a year, where I have access to their growing library of themes, all of which are professionally designed and supported. I will also have access to all their new themes, for as long as I’m a paying subscriber. 

I modified the included logo of the theme I decide to use using the included PSD file, which is extremely helpful. Then I read the readme file included with the download and installed the theme. Everything went smooth and without a hitch, but if something were to arise, their support and forums are awesome (I had to seek help using another theme for an upcoming project). 

If you are on the market for a new theme, and a free theme or making a theme yourself aren’t really an option, check them out, you can see all their themes as demos and their support for installation is great.  Since I can use as many themes as I like, I’ve started a new secret project, something I’m trying to keep under wraps until its ready to launch. Oops.

#Disclaimer#: I discovered they have an affiliate program so I became a member and if you end up buying, I’ll get a commission, nothing big, but worth monetizing if possible. I wouldn’t be writing about them if I wouldn’t think their product is awesome, and hey, I’m a paying customer myself. I’ve also added a 125×125 link on my sidebar. 

I want this just because of instant messaging. I use AIM, MSN and Yahoo Messenger, and even though Palringo does a good job, it isn’t enough. I’ve been looking at BeeJiveIM but I’m hesitant to spend $16 on an app with functionality that should be built into the IPhone.

2. Slingplayer

Sling announced many months ago that they were developing a Slingplayer for the IPhone but they haven’t delivered yet. C’mon Sling, it can’t be that hard! They say Q1 2009, again and again.

3. Sirius Satellite Radio streaming

Again, another promise that hasn’t been delivered. I mean…how hard can it be? Many other does it already (Pandora), it basically needs to authenticate a username/password, display the chanels and start the stream…we don’t need fancy time-shifting or anything, just a mid-quality stream. But, then again, it might be closer than we think

I hate to use caps in a title, but this time I’m forced to. Whatever you do, avoid AVG 8.0 which was released yesterday (2/28/08) . For that matter, avoid AVG altogether. I installed AVG Antivirus Network Edition on all the workstations at a clients’ and everything started to crash. EVERYTHING! Servers and workstations. I can only blame myself for installing a brand new version without testing (bad, bad mistake). I’ve used AVG extensively in the past, and I’ve never encountered any problems. As a matter of fact, I prefered using AVG because of its easy to administrate (install, monitor and update all the clients from the server) and because of its small footprint on the systems. My second choise has always been Bitdefender, and only because it costs about twice as much as AVG, but now it is my only choice.

Again, avoid AVG 8.0, at least until they get their act together. I believe they rushed version 8.0 out the door and therefor delivered an extremely buggy program. I can’t trust company like this anymore. It was nice to know you, AVG.

My new favorite antivirus is Avast. They offer a free version, but it really shines when you buy it. It is unintrussive, effective, and lightweight (it won’t bog down your computer). It scans fast and so far I haven’t had any issues, anywhere. Check them out by clicking here!

EDIT #1 – Check out my followup article