New Web Site Project

I have begun development to change the African Endeavor website from a blog to a full content site. It is currently planned for Joomla so content can be easily modified by multiple users. I completed a template with custom logos and fonts that give it a good African feel. The logos and template layout are pending approval. After which the project life cycle will be drafted. More updates later. 

Mike in Massachusetts Comic Strip

A result of caffeine...

Upcoming Apps...

I am now back in the US where I can enjoy unlimited high-speed internet. This will significantly change my development methods.

First of all, my next project is some tracking databases for some groups back in South Africa. They want to keep track of their children’s information such as address, family, health, grades, disabilities, etc. I am planning to make it in Visual Basic on a SQL database. It will have security protocols to protect the content.

Next is a similar project, but geared for tracking students that attended their training courses. It will track and follow each student during his or her training career. It will also help with job placement. I plan to tie it into the CV Creator app somehow. That is still undetermined.

 Also, I am branching out. I am currently learning about mobile device applications and development. I have a number of ideas that can be used in both the US and SA. I will post more about that later.

CV Creator™ Application 2.11 is Live!

The CV Creator™ application is deployed. All beta tests have been successful. The application is being used primarily at BEAM Africa in Nellmapius with plans to deploy to other locations during 2013.

The original plans for CV Creator™ was a stand-alone app using .Net Framework 3.0. However, I figured that due to varying system types, numerous framework versions and limited internet connectivity, it would be better to create the application in Access. I had already seen a number of computers with Framework 2.5 but without network to download the current version. Therefore I went with MS Access for v2.11. Now the problem is that a machine must have Access installed. That rules out Home or Student editions.

Current features of CV Creator™ v2.11

• Tabular navigation for ease of use 

• Saves all created CVs to database for quick reprinting 

• Quick CV editing, viewing and printing 

• Database backup of all saved CVs 

• Detailed help document 

• Single self-contained Microsoft Access file 

Future versions, specifically v3.0, will be back to .Net but with a download package or CD install that has the correct framework version. Some features of the next version include PDF export creation of CVs, JobLinx upload and spreadsheet export and quick creation templates. Verions 3.0 is planned for release in 2013.

My Contribution to Politics

I managed to visit the US during a presidential election year right at the time the campaigns are heating up. I was excited to spend a few hours watching football (something I have dearly missed while living in South Africa) only to find that every commercial break was riddled with political campaign ads. I felt left out and decided to make my own. See my political advertisement here.

Siyathemba Nokeng Web Site is Live!

The web site for Siyathemba Nokeng in Rayton, South Africa is now live! Visit the page at www.siyathembanokeng.org

Siyathemba Nokeng Web Site - Beta

The Siyathemba Nokeng web site is functional using a combination of Joomla, iWeb, custom CSS and old fashion code from scratch. The Noyile's have reviewed the site and have approved it for live publication. I have a few tweaks for the contact forms, events pages and some additional JavaScripts. After that, it will be on the live site and optimized for search engines. I will post and update when complete!