Smashing Magazine ~ we smash you with the information that will make your life easier. really.

70 New, Useful AJAX And JavaScript Techniques

Create astonishing iCal-like calendars with jQuery
Similar to the iPhone Calendar application, with event description that shows up on mouse hover. The trickiest part is making your images seamless and using a single image for all the graphics whenever possible to decrease download time. Check out the demo here.

Dateslider
This element enables you to pick dates with a simple slider bar. By dragging the bar over the timeline, the dates change instantly. And when the user decides to manually change dates, the bar is automatically adjusted to the corresponding dates. Check out the demo here.

Unobtrusive datePicker widget
This unobtrusive datePicker (calendar), which is accessible using the keyboard, requires no embedded JavaScript blocks, uses no pop-up windows and is suitable for use within documents served as application/XHTML+XML. Check out the demo here.

Create a simple, powerful product highlighter with MooTools
Learn how to create a flexible tool to highlight your website products and services using the MooTools JavaScript framework. Check out the demo here.

Ext Accordion
The Accordion widget and its InfoPanel are components that use the Ext JS Library. It can be used for page navigation, tool windows, hide-able details, log-in forms, options dialogs, sticky notes and more.

e24TabMenu – AJAX drop-down tab menu
e24TabMenu is a plug-in written for script.aculo.us. It is a tab menu that expands and collapses smoothly. Check out the demo here.

Ultra-versatile slider for websites
A simple step-by-step tutorial for implementing an ultra-versatile slider with horizontal scrolling and animated effects using MooTools. Check out the demo here.

Easy Slider
Easy Slider enables images or any content to slide horizontally or vertically on click. Features include: auto-slide, continuous sliding, "Go to first" and "Go to last" buttons, hiding controls, optional wrapping markup for control buttons, vertical sliding, multiple sliders on one page. Check out the demo here.

Supersized - full-screen background/slideshow jQuery plug-in
Supersized is a jQuery plug-in that automatically resizes (background) images to the size of the browser and runs them as a slideshow. It is lightweight and plays nice with all browsers. Check out the demo here.

imgPreview
The imgPreview plug-in allows users to preview an image before clicking it and preloads the image so that when a user does click it there is no waiting time. The image preview displays in a tool tip-like box on hover. Check out the demo here.

Fancy Upload
FancyUpload is a file-input replacement tool that features an unobtrusive multiple-file selection menu and queued upload, with an animated progress bar. It is easy to set up, server-independent and completely styleable via CSS and XHTML. It uses MooTools, so it works in all modern browsers. Check out the demo here.

Lightview
Lightview was built to change the way you overlay content on a website. Designed to complement your content, it has the following features: smart image preloading, customization without CSS, adjustable rounded corners, no PNG required, resizing to always fit the screen and one-click slideshow.

Sexy LightBox 2
SexyLightBox is a more lightweight clone of the classic Lightbox. It supports all kinds of images and different sizes. Large images are automatically resized to fit the browser.

FancyBox
A jQuery Lightbox clone with some great features: automatic resizing to fit large images in the window; a nice drop shadow under zoomed items; grouping of related items with navigation; inline and iframe content displays; customization through settings and CSS.

LightWindow
A Lightbox clone that renders to many media formats correctly, with some nice animation effects.

Form.Check
FormCheck is a MooTools class that allows you to validate a form by performing different tests before submission. Check out the demo here.

Starbox
Starbox allows you to easily create all kinds of rating boxes using just one PNG image. The library is build on the Prototype JavaScript framework. For some extra effects, you can add script.aculo.us as well.

See this clip on clipmarks.com

ReCycled Newz

Sunday, March 15, 2009

27 Visualizations to Understand the Financial Crisis

Visual Guides to the Financial Crisis

Map of the Market by The New York Times

Making Sense of Problems at Fannie and Freddie by The New York Times

Visualizing Money

One Trillion Dollars by Mint and WallStats

What Does One Trillion Dollars Look Like from PageTutor

How the Government Dealt with Past Recessions by The New York Times

A Tally of Federal Rescues by The New York Times

Find Strength in Tough Times

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Free Phish Shows

Monday, March 09, 2009

Useful JavScript / AJAX Examples

70 New, Useful AJAX And JavaScript Techniques