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OpenFeint – a leader in socially-driven games for the iOS platform – is announcing they’re expanding to include Android. With their arrival comes 9,200 developers who have already published thousands of titles alongside OpenFeint’s official SDK, a game discovery platform, and integrated mobile payment solutions.
This is great news for people who’ve become frustrated with the lack of quality games on Android compared to the iPhone and iPad. Some of the bigger names making their way to Android include Glu Mobile, Digital Chocolate, and more. Other publishers – like Astraware – already have a presence on Android, but this move will help to bring more of their offerings to the platform.
“OpenFeint is leading the charge for game developers on Android – helping to simplify and improve the game discovery and purchase process for players on the platform,” said Adam Flanders, General Manager of Glu, a leading global developer and publisher of smartphone games. “Android is an evolving gaming platform that will greatly benefit from OpenFeint’s innovative online gaming and community technologies and we are pleased to extend our partnership.”
I can’t wait for all of this to officially kick-off. There are some quality games to be had on Android already, but the more we can get moving into the market, the better. Be sure to stop by the OpenFeint website here if you want to learn more and sign up to be notified of future updates. Full press details are straight ahead.
OpenFeint To Bring World’s Largest Mobile Gaming Developer Community To Google’s Android Platform
Mobile Social Games Network’s Expansion to Android will Accompany Titles from Glu Mobile, Digital Chocolate, And Hudson Entertainment.
Burlingame, CA – July 8, 2010 – OpenFeint, the leading mobile social gaming ecosystem for iOS devices, today announced that its 9,200 member game developer community with thousands of published games will soon have a complete solution to thrive in the Android apps economy. Launching later this summer, the company’s complete solution will include its de facto standard SDK, a game discovery store and mobile payment options. It will also include high quality content from leading publishers Astraware, Digital Chocolate, Glu Mobile, Hudson Soft and independent studios like Distinct Dev (Moron Test), ustwo (Dot Dot Dot), Pik Pok (Flick Kick Football) and RocketCat Games (Hook Champ).
With a strong set of partners at launch, OpenFeint’s ecosystem provides Android users the most compelling way to discover and buy high quality online games. In addition to incorporating Google Checkout and leading community features into its developer SDK, OpenFeint will extend its wildly successful Game Spotlight discovery app to Android. Interested parties can register at www.openfeint.com/developers/android for details as they emerge.
At the same time, OpenFeint continues to invest in and expand its efforts on Apple’s iOS devices and maintains the largest mobile social gaming ecosystem on that platform with over 28 million users and a presence in over 2,200 live games.
“OpenFeint is leading the charge for game developers on Android – helping to simplify and improve the game discovery and purchase process for players on the platform,” said Adam Flanders, General Manager of Glu, a leading global developer and publisher of smartphone games. “Android is an evolving gaming platform that will greatly benefit from OpenFeint’s innovative online gaming and community technologies and we are pleased to extend our partnership.”
OpenFeint also announced that its expansion to Android is backed by a recent strategic investment by leading Chinese online gaming company, The9. This marks the path for a significant expansion for the company as it rolls out its cross platform strategy. As always, OpenFeint will remain open source and free for both developers and players.
“OpenFeint continues to demonstrate leadership and innovation in building community technologies which drive considerable discovery and monetization for publishers,” said Jason Loia, COO of Digital Chocolate, one of the industry’s most highly-rated publishers of mobile and social games. “We are excited about their entry into the Android ecosystem and we look forward to partnering with them to bring the best gaming experience to the Android platform.”
With over 160,000 Android powered devices shipping daily, Google’s mobile platform is growing rapidly and leading game developers recognize the tremendous opportunity to bring quality content to the platform.
“This is a big step for OpenFeint and an even bigger step for Android as it becomes a serious mobile gaming platform,” said Jonathan Goldberg, Analyst at Deutsche Bank Equity Research. “OpenFeint ushered in mobile online gaming for iOS devices and we think they’ll lead the revolution on Android.”
OpenFeint also re-affirmed its continued commitment to the Apple iOS device community where thousands of games are in development and several games are approved in the App Store daily with OpenFeint enablement.
“The explosion in mobile online gaming is a phenomenon that affects all members of the mobile ecosystem – from OS developers and OEMs to game developers and players,” said Peter Relan, Executive Chairman of Aurora Feint. “Online games are meant to be played with all of your friends – regardless of mobile operating system. We’ve decided to expand to Android with these mobile gaming giants because all smartphone owners deserve high quality, easy to find games.”
About Aurora Feint, Inc:
Aurora Feint Inc’s software development kit, OpenFeint, allows game publishers to implement services which enable mobile social gaming. With over 28 million registered users and a presence on over 2,200 games, OpenFeint is the largest mobile social gaming ecosystem for iOS devices and is expanding to Android in late 2010. Aurora Feint is backed by DeNA Inc and The9.
Google and Android are trademarks of Google Inc. Use of these trademarks is subject to Google Permissions.
Apple and iOS are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc.
If you own an iPhone or iPod touch, there's a pretty good chance you've played one of the Tap Tap Revenge games. Like, for instance, Nickelback Revenge. Well, Disney has evidently been keeping an eye on the developer of those games, Tapulous, because it's gone and struck a deal to make the company a wholly-owned subsidiary. (Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.)Tapulous founders Bart Decrem and Andrew Lacy will take on new -- yet still key -- roles within the Disney Interactive Media Group. As for the Tapulous development staff, they're staying put, but will be required to wear comically large white gloves from now on. (We kid. Hopefully.)
Steve Wadsworth, president of DIMG, commented on the deal, saying, "We welcome the Tapulous team to the Disney family and look forward to integrating their popular games into Disney's offerings." Yes, Tapulous will keep making games for iDevices -- they'll just probably feature more anthropomorphic animals.
Disney buys iPhone music game giant Tapulous originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
"The additional time will allow the Development Team to focus on ensuring overall high-quality throughout the game by continuing to tune, balance, and maintain the kind of polish that an important title like this demands," the press release reads, "and ultimately providing fans with an unrivalled classic Sonic feel."
The other news: as many suspected, the downloadable game will be released not only on PSN, XBLA and WiiWare, but for the iPhone / iPod Touch as well. You'll have the choice of portability or buttons!
Sonic 4 delayed until late 2010, will be released on iPhone originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 20 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Photo: Andres Rueda
The following post is a guest post by John Hargrave, whom I met in 2007 at SXSW.
If you find large-scale pranks (Super Bowl, anyone?), impersonating celebrities, and other clever mischief amusing, he’s the king of the domain. His book Prank the Monkey is a guide to unleashing your inner Loki.
Given my interest in outsourcing and pushing the envelope with concierge services, he suggested the following post, which looks at just how far VISA will go to keep you happy. I’ve run similar experiments with American Express Platinum Card with similar results. There are no credit card affiliate links in this post, so no ulterior motives. Just eager for you to reap benefits you’ve probably never taken advantage of. Enjoy.
Please share your success stories, past or present, in the comments.
Herewith enters Sir John Hargrave.
###
I recently signed up for The Visa SIGNATURE Chase Freedom card, for one reason: it has a concierge service. [Tim note: In fact, all of the "Visa Signature" cards have this concierge service, among other benefits]
A credit card concierge service is much like a hotel concierge service, except you don’t have to tip. A concierge is your own personal assistant, someone who will do anything you want them to do: make dinner reservations, book a trip to Hawaii, or shop for negligees for your grandmother.
We’re so used to being treated badly by credit card companies that it’s almost impossible to believe that they are serving you. But that’s how it works: they’re your virtual assistants, ready to help you with anything.
Anything?
I wanted to test the limits of my Visa Chase Freedom concierge service, so I spent a week making incredibly ridiculous requests, to see how they’d hold up…
TEST #1: GIANT TUB OF NACHO CHEESE
I made my first call to the Visa Chase Freedom concierge service by calling the toll-free number on the back of my card. I was connected to a concierge named David, who I pictured wearing a little bellboy hat, like a hotel concierge, though I think they just wear a telephone headset nowadays.
David spoke English, which was a nice change from my usual calls to Visa. “I’m traveling to Austin next week, and I want a big tub of nacho cheese. Make that a HUGE tub,” I told him. “Enough to fill a punch bowl.”
“Does it need to be in a tub?” he asked, taking the request with the seriousness of someone who worked for me.
“Can, jar, tub, I don’t care,” I said. “I just want liquid cheese, and a lot of it.”
“Would you like us to get back to you by phone or email?”
“Phone, please. I don’t want there to be any miscommunication about my cheese.”
“Is it okay if we have this information to you by 2:00 pm tomorrow?” he asked.
“That would be fine,” I responded, “as long as I get my cheese intel.”
“You’ll get it, sir,” he assured me. “Thank you for calling Visa Signature concierge service.”
Chase Freedom, before it runs away.
Here’s how the service works: your request is assigned a “case number,” which goes into an enormous pool of concierge requests. These requests get outsourced to overseas workers who track down the information and enter it into their system. Then you either get e-mailed, or an English-speaking worker phones you back the next day with what they’ve found.
“I have your information,” said a young woman named Jenny who called me the following day. “There is a supermarket in downtown Austin named Fiesta that sells large cans of nacho cheese.” She gave me the address, phone number, and the price of the cheese.
I went to Austin the following week, where I went to Fiesta, and I actually found the cheese exactly as she had described.
I was floored. This service was a dream come true. Just think of the ridiculous errands I could send them on next!
When I heard that the Visa Chase Freedom card came with a concierge service that would do anything I wanted, I had to put them to the test. Don’t we all want to make our credit card company work for us for a change?
TEST #2: CROSSWORD PUZZLE
“I’m really stuck on 62 across,” I complained to Maurice, the concierge who helped me the following night. I came to learn that I would get a different concierge every time I called, but they were all quite helpful, with none of the attitude that you normally get from customer service reps.
“What crossword puzzle are you doing, sir?”
“It’s the USA Today puzzle,” I said. “The clue is BLUE GROTTO LOCALE. I have no idea what that means.”
“Blue Grotto locale,” he repeated, writing it down.
“The only Grotto I know is at the Playboy Mansion,” I told him. “But this is 11 letters, and starts with I.”
“Okay,” he said. “You want to hang on?”
“Sure,” I said. He put me on hold for about two minutes—the same amount of time it usually takes me to get through to someone at Visa—and came back with the answer.
“You ready?” he said.
“What, you already got it?”
“The answer is ISLE OF CAPRI,” he said. “11 letters, starts with I.”
11 letters, starts with “I”.
“That’s incredible!” I exclaimed. “Are you like an idiot savant of puzzles?”
“You just happened to get someone who likes crosswords,” he said, modestly.
“I will call you every time I need a clue in the future!”
“Uh … okay!” he said, as brightly as he could.
How many times have you been at a restaurant, arguing with your friends about which President was the fattest, or whether Kevin Bacon has ever done a nude scene? Now you don’t need to pull out your smartphone and Google it, you can just call Visa and have them look it up for you.
Having a Visa worker do your bidding: much classier than an iPhone.
TEST #3: DAILY AFFIRMATIONS
“I suffer from low self-esteem,” I told Jamie, my new concierge. “My psychologist recommended that I give myself a daily affirmation. You know, something like, ‘I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.’”
“Okay,” said Jamie, not sure where this was heading.
“But that’s a lot of work, so I’m hoping you guys can do it for me. Just call and give me a daily affirmation.”
“You want us to call and tell you you’re a good person?”
“That’s right. I mean, if you think so. I’m not so sure myself.”
“If you can hold for one moment, I can check on this for you,” Jamie said.
Keep repeating this, and you can one day be Senator of Minnesota.
I bit my lip to keep from cracking up as she went to check with a supervisor. She came back with bad news. “I’m afraid we can’t do this for you,” she said, “but we can look up services that would do this for you.”
“What?” I asked. “Why? Am I not good enough? Oh, I knew it.”
“I’m sorry, we’re just not allowed to do anything of a medical or emotional nature.”
“You can’t tell me I’m good enough because I’m not,” I moaned. “Which is exactly what I thought!”
“Sir,” she said patiently, “I’d be happy to look up other services that can send you these affirmations, and e-mail you that information.”
“Could you at least attach a little positive note to the e-mail?” I begged. “Just like, ‘Thanks for being you?’”
“Let me check with a supervisor,” she said, a little less patiently this time.
I pushed hard on the affirmation, and she asked a supervisor three times before I relented. Apparently Visa Signature couldn’t do quite anything, but I have to admit she did eventually come through on her promise, sending me this via e-mail:
Visa Signature Concierge
Dear John Hargrave,
Thank you for using Visa Signature® Concierge. The information you
requested is provided below.
Motivational Message Service
Please Note: Please find below one option for a company that
is able to provide phone, texts, and emails reminding you of “what a good
person you are.”
Company: MedVoice Inc.
Contact: Renee Dotson
Phone: 800/720-1151
Cost: $89.25 per month for unlimited messages.
I decided to let Visa have this round, since they did technically satisfy my request, which was to find someone who could send me love notes. But now it was time for a real challenge.
I had applied for a Visa Chase Freedom card, just so I could test if their concierge service would fulfill my every desire. So far they had done an amazing job, but now I was about to cross the final frontier.
TEST #4: SPACE TRAVEL
“I’d like to book a trip to space,” I said.
There was a pause. “You want us to send you to space,” said Courtney, my new concierge/slave.
“That’s right.”
Cost: $200,000, plus a $15 fee for extra bags.
“Well, I have heard there are companies who can send you to space.”
“Money is no object,” I said, “but I am on a budget.”
“So you want details on pricing?”
“Pricing, the waitlist, when I could travel, everything,” I said. “Also, medical restrictions. I have a weak spleen.”
“I guess you don’t need restaurant recommendations to go with that trip,” she cracked. Humor! I fell in love with the Visa Signature concierge service at that moment.
“That’s a great point!” I said. “What do they serve on these flights? I want to know what I’m going to get to eat in space.”
“Probably that astronaut ice cream,” she said.
“YES! Tang!”
“We’ll get this for you by 2:00 pm tomorrow,” she said.
Their time quotes vary, depending on how difficult they think the request will be, and probably how many wage slaves are available to look up your request in the Philippines. But my requests were generally answered in less than 24 hours.
Possibly the coolest name of any company, ever.
The next afternoon, I got my response via e-mail, outlining not one but TWO space travel companies (Virgin Galactic and Space Adventures), with medical restrictions (none that they could find), and meal options (peanuts or pretzels).
Another test passed. There was only one more thing to find out: could the Visa Signature concierge service investigate themselves?
TEST #5: WRITING THIS ARTICLE
“I’m a writer on deadline,” I told Bruce, my new concierge/manservant, “and I need to find out a little more about this Visa Signature concierge service. Are you familiar with this service?”
“I’ve heard of it, yes,” he said.
“Here’s what I need to know: is there anything you won’t do? Like, I assume you won’t help me find a contract killer, or overthrow a government. But what else? Where do you guys draw the line?”
There was a long pause. “May I place you on hold while I check on this for you?”
“You betcha.”
He came back a few minutes later, sounding a little bit shaken. “Okay, we can get you a list like that, but we’ll need about three days to put that together.”
“Oooh. That’s not going to work. I need to deliver this article tomorrow.”
“That’s the best we can do, sir.”
“That’s weird,” I said. “You shouldn’t have to research this one at all. Can’t you just read it from your training manual or something?”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“But my deadline really is tomorrow. I can’t finish the piece without it. I’m going to have to say Visa Signature concierge service couldn’t deliver the final thing I asked for.”
“We can deliver it,” he repeated patiently, “just not until Monday.”
“But the readers will never find out the answer,” I pressed.
“I apologize to your readers.” Bruce was polite to the end.
“All right,” I said. “They forgive you. Monday it is, then.”
All in all, I was incredibly impressed with the Visa Signature concierge service. It costs nothing beyond the annual card fee, and it’s helpful for so many occasions. There’s almost no limit to the things the concierges can do for you, except for… well, you know. Help you finish the end of your article.
Some things I guess you just have to do yourself.
(This post originally appeared on Credit Card Chaser)
Afterword from Tim: In the comments, several concierge service providers were kind enough to provide their thoughts, and one was kind enough to list some of the cannot-do’s. Here are a few:
1. We cannot get you an interview to work for a sports team.
2. We do not have special access to confidential government reports.
3. We do not have discounts for venues, restaurants, or services not included on the website http://www.visa.com/signature.
4. If a hotel is completely sold out and booked, we cannot reserve a room there; however we’d be glad to check other hotels nearby.
5. We cannot research your school paper, or do your job for you.
6. We can’t run personal errands or call your friends for you.
7. We can’t plan your wedding, but we can help you find a wedding planner.
8. As far as what’s considered unethical behavior, consider this an example: If child prostitution is legal somewhere, we won’t help you find one; however if you’re in Nevada and want to make an appointment for a rendezvous at the Bunny Ranch, we’d be glad to help you check rates and availability.
9. We don’t have access to your credit card account information or rewards program.Please keep these not-so-unreasonable limitations in mind when you give us a call. We’ll hear from you soon.
Elsewhere on the Web – Odds and Ends:
Tim Ferriss on Angel Investing (video) – TechCrunch
How I answer the question “How should I monetize my blog?” (3-minute video)
The Linux Kernel Archive hasn’t been too pleased with the direction Android has taken. Claiming Android’s developers offer little cooperation and are slow to patch and update their code, they parted ways last year.
But all of that may change soon, as Google has extended the old proverbial olive branch at the Linux Collaboration Summit taking place today and tomorrow in San Francisco. Executive Director of the Linux Foundation Jim Zemlin and open source and public engineering manager for Google Chris DiBona both see hope for Android to rejoin the good graces of Linux.
While DiBona admits it may take a few years, Google is set to hire two new engineers to help make sure Android meets the expectations of the people at Linux. Issues of fragmentation could be a stumbling block, but DiBona just doesn’t see this as the case, noting that it is hard to compare the smartphone OS to its desktop predecessor, and seeing them as two separate Linux entities rather than a single unified project.
Android and Linux working together again could never be bad news. If the Linux people had their way it would mean quicker and more plentiful patches and updates for the OS, and with a few more engineers dedicated to the project on Google’s end, this is a definite possibility. Even if this isn’t the case, simply having the support of Linux could act as a powerful leveraging tool as Android makes its way to more and more non-smartphone devices.
[via ReadWriteWeb]
If your a gamer and remember the good old days when Quake on your PC was the epitome of gaming, then here is some of the best Android news yet! A user by the name of Thunderbird2k has succesfully ported Quake 3 to his Motorola Milestone. As of now, it is optimized to play on devices with a physical keyboard but hopefully it can be further developed to be used on all Android devices.
Thunderbird2k says:
“It took more steps to optimize performance, improve and control the sound and network to add. Without sound the game runs at 25fps now, while the original game could be played with a framerate of over forty.”
Quake 3 is designed to run on Android 2.0 devices and can be found via Thunderbird2k’s project page. From what I’ve seen the most inconsistent part is the frame rate that seems to jump around based on the size of the map you are playing on. Users are reporting frame rates of around 20-30fps but that it drops significantly on large maps or when your battles get intense. Good news, however, as the project is open source and can be improved with some other developer’s contributions. As a huge fan of Quake 3, I am definitely going to give this one a shot, anyone else planning on trying it out?
[via Tweakers]
The story of a robot tells us what it means to be human.
Director Dante Ariola takes 1 cool minute to better convey what took Spielberg and Kubrick 146 minutes.
There are plenty of reasons to use a CSS Framework to build your websites. They can speed up development, make your sites more aesthetically pleasing, and they can help eliminate all those nasty cross-browser compatibility issues (though not all of them do this, or do it well). But it can also be a steep learning curve to figure out which framework you should use (or if you should use one at all) and then how to use it.
Which framework you choose is really a personal decision. There is no one “best” framework on the market at the moment. Different frameworks are better for different types of designs, and for different designers. Some are specific to grid-based designs. Others give more control over the design, but offer structure for typography. And still others give structure for both the overall layout and individual design elements. Some frameworks are great for beginners, while with others it sometimes feels like you need an advanced degree just to figure out how it works (this is where good documentation becomes incredibly important).
There are really two things to keep in mind when choosing a framework. The first is to make sure that the framework you’ve chosen is capable of handling the kind of design and functionality you need. Better yet, choose one that’s not only capable of it, but has it built in and tested. The second thing to consider is how comfortable you are with that particular framework. If you don’t fully understand it, then you’ll have a much harder time working with it. There’s a much steeper learning curve with something like the YUI Grids CSS framework than there is with The 1Kb CSS Grid. Take that into account when chooseing your preferred framework.
Below we’ve covered some of the best frameworks available today. There’s almost certainly one in the list below that will meet your needs. Experiment with different ones until you find the one that you’re most comfortable with and that can meet your needs efficiently.
52framework
The 52framework provides an easy way to get started using html5 and css3 while still supporting all modern browsers (including ie6).
It Uses all the most useful current html5 tags including: header, nav, section, article, footer, and more to come soon (with styling. Uses the new ::selection selector that enables you to customize the properties of selected text.)
What it comes with: The framework includes styles for creating grids: 16 column, 52 pixel based with 8 pixel gutter.
Elements CSS Framework
Elements aims to make it faster, easier, and more efficient to write CSS, while also keeping all of your project files organized. Elements is made up of a variety of files and folders, including four different CSS files.
Elements is lightweight and easy to use. It includes Lightbox and a collection of preset classes to make your design process faster. It also automatically adds icons to external links to make them more user-friendly, and includes a mass reset file.
What it comes with: The download package includes folders for all of the structural elements of Elements, CSS and JavaScript files, an index.html file, and image files necessary for the layout. No documentation is included, though the files are all well-commented.
YAML: Yet Another Multicolumn Layout
YAML is set up to make developing flexible, multicolumn layouts simpler and more bulletproof. It’s standards-based and designed with accessibility in mind. It’s widely used already, meaning it’s been tested in a variety of real-world situations.
YAML can be used for fixed, fluid, or elastic layouts with any number of subdivisions. It has three licenses available, including a free Creative Commons license and paid options if you’d rather not post a copyright notice. YAML also has robust documentation and an active user community in case you need help with anything or run into any bugs.
What it comes with: The download package contains examples, documentation, the changelog, tools, JavaScript files, and the YAML framework itself. It’s a very complete package. The example layouts are particularly helpful and can really speed up your development process.
YUI Grids CSS
YUI Grids CSS is a grid-based CSS framework from Yahoo! It supports both fixed and fluid (100%) layouts, with preset fixed widths of 750px, 950px, and 974px. It has a self-clearing footer, so no matter which of your columns is longest, your footer will stay firmly planted at the bottom of your page.
There’s a YUI Grids Builder tool you can use to set up your grids, as well as a variety of tutorials and examples. The examples are particularly helpful, as you can view the code in practice.
What it comes with: The YUI Grids CSS is included in the YUI package, so the download includes everything in YUI. It’s a huge package, over 83MB, but the Grids part of that is only 16KB.
Blueprint
Blueprint is a robust CSS framework that uses a grid and has built-in typography. It also includes plugins for certain design options, including buttons and tabs, and built-in form styles. The website includes a number of examples of sites built on Blueprint.
Blueprint also offers up plenty of documentation, including a Wiki and an active discussion group. There are also live demos of different aspects of the Blueprint system.
What it comes with: The download package includes the framework files, a Photoshop template for creating mockups, and some test files.
Boilerplate
Boilerplate was built by one of the original developers of Blueprint. It’s a stripped down framework that only includes the essentials to start a project. It also strives to use semantic naming conventions, unlike many frameworks out there.
What it comes with: The download package includes the framework, some compressed files, and some example files. The examples are very handy and are a good starting point.
Tripoli
Tripoli is a “stable, cross-browser rendering foundation” for web design and development. Basically, it strips out all browser defaults and rebuilds them from the ground up. It aims to be a generic standard for rendering HTML 4.
Tripoli also aims to help users who have little knowledge of CSS to write code that actually looks good and works well. It also helps designers create good typography based on established standards, and is standards-compliant. There are also plugins available to extend its usefulness.
What it comes with: The download package includes six CSS files (including three specifically for dealing with Internet Explorer). It also includes a plugins folder with four more CSS files.
Content with Style
Content with Style is a CSS framework that aims to not only give you a framework for your overall design, but also for typography and more in-depth design elements. There are six different layouts included with CWS, including vertical navigation with one content column, vertical navigation with two content columns, and horizontal navigation with two columns of content.
CWS also focuses on semantic markup, including naming conventions for the basic building blocks of the six layouts. It changes the structure of how pages are laid out to make more important content show up first in the code (header, main content, sub content, local nav, etc.).
What it comes with: The download package includes thirteen CSS files and a single framework HTML file. There’s no documentation included, but the files are all well-commented.
960 Grid System
960.gs is a comprehensive grid framework that’s based on 12- or 16-column layouts. It was originally developed for rapid prototyping, but also works well in production environments.
There are layout templates for Fireworks, InDesign, Illustrator, Inkscape, Photoshop, Visio, OmniGraffle, and Expression Design, making it possible to use 960.gs within your existing workflow. There are also printable templates for sketching out designs on paper.
What it comes with: The download package comes with code for the framework itself, templates for creating mockups in the programs mentioned above, licensing information, and printable templates for creating paper wireframes and mockups.
Typogridphy
Typogridphy is a grid-based CSS framework that also includes styles for creating exceptional typography using vertical rhythm principles (where all new lines of text line up, regardless of line breaks or new paragraphs). It’s based on the 960 Grid System and uses semantic, fully validated, and strict XHTML and CSS.
It’s main benefit is how much it speeds up the development of typographically and otherwise visually pleasing front-end designs based on grid layout. Typogridphy is open source and is available for personal or commercial use, free of charge.
What it comes with: The download package includes two CSS files and an index.php file, and a folder for images. The index file is set up the same as the Typogridphy website. There’s no documentation included in the download package, but the CSS files are well-commented.
SenCSs
SenCSs is a bit different than other CSS frameworks. It imposes no layout style on designers, but does make typography and other repetitive elements easier to style. It includes a basic framework for styling that stays close to a browser’s base styles, sets a vertical rhythm for all elements, and sets a cross-browser typographic standard.
SenCSs includes fonts for Linux, Mac, and Windows. The CSS is fully optimized and as efficient as possible. You can download either a fully commented version for development purposes or a Minified version for production use.
What it comes with: The download for SenCSs is a single CSS file. It has some comments and is semantic, so figuring it out doesn’t look too difficult. There’s some documentation available on the website as well.
BlueTrip CSS Framework
BlueTrip was originally based on a combination of Blueprint, Tripoli, Hartija, 960.gs, and Elements, but has now developed way beyond its origins. It works based on a 24-column grid and includes both an empty starter stylesheet and a print stylesheet.
BlueTrip includes typography styles, well-designed buttons, and status message styles. There’s a demo available on the website, as well as a number of real-world example sites. BlueTrip is fully documented and there are user forums for finding extra help if you need it.
What it comes with: The download package includes four CSS files, and an index.html file, as well as images (including the grid background for creating mockups) and a brief readme file. There’s no documentation in the package, but there is on the website.
Emastic
Emastic is a CSS framework that uses em, px, or % widths for defining page widths (it can make both fluid and fixed-width layouts), though it’s based on an elastic layout. It’s a lightweight framework, less than 4kb when compressed.
Emastic also includes typography and other pre-defined styles. The overall design options are based on a grid-layout. The grid is made from blocks sized with em units (from 5 to 75em). You can change the default sizes of the em units by changing the body font-size tag.
What it comes with: The download for Emastic includes a ton of files, including a number of demo files and both compressed and uncompressed CSS files. The demo files are particularly useful for figuring out how the framework works, especially since there’s no documentation included.
Malo
Malo is a super-tiny CSS framework with only 8 lines of CSS (.25 kb). It works on the principle that any and every column can be divided into two, three, four, or five parts.
Malo is very lightweight, but is also a very bare-bones framework. All it really does is give you a platform for the basic layout of your site, and absolutely nothing else. It’s a great option if all you need is a basic grid layout and can do everything else yourself.
What it comes with: Considering how small the framework itself is, the download package comes with a surprising amount of material. There are a number of demo files included, two tutorials, and both compressed and uncompressed CSS files.
Elastic CSS
Elastic is a framework roughly based on a four-column layout approach, but with the capability for unlimited column combinations. It can make elastic, fluid or fixed-width layouts.
Elastic allows unlimited nesting, uses a declarative syntax, and is cross-browser compatible. In addition to full elastic layouts, it also allows elastic columns. It also allows a mixed number of columns in a single layout, and maintains equal column heights regardless of column content. It can accomodate a number of difficult layouts, including 3-column layouts with a fixed center column, elastic headers and footers with fixed-width content, and 3-column layouts with the side columns fixed and the center column elastic.
What it comes with: The download package includes documentation, production files, jQuery, and a library folder with various CSS and JavaScript files.
The Golden Grid
The Golden Grid is a grid-based CSS framework that works on the principles of the Golden Proportion (hence the name). It uses a 6/12 grid system and a 970px main width.
The Golden Grid is incredibly lightweight (less than 1kb compressed). It’s also easy to learn. The website offers up a number of demos and examples to help you get started. There’s also a mini tutorial available.
What it comes with: The download package includes a surprising number of files considering the grid itself is so small. There are seventeen demo files, all of which could be used as the basis of a production site. There’s also a basic grid file, a typography file, and the CSS files to make it all work.
Sparkl
Sparkl combines Bulletproof CSS, Unobtrusive JavaScript and POSH Markup into a single framework. The end result is a standards-compliant site. It works with both fixed and fluid layouts.
Sparkl supports a number of modules for extending its functionality, including modules for grid layout, typography, vertical tabs, and tables. It’s released under the MIT License, free of charge.
What it comes with: There are two download packages available for Sparkl: the framework files and the template files. The framework package includes an example html file plus the CSS and JavaScript files. The template package includes three complete templates for Sparkl, and are a great way to see what’s possible with it.
The 1Kb CSS Grid
The 1Kb CSS Grid is an incredibly simple, flexible and easy-to-understand grid layout framework. It lets you create grids ranging from 9 to 16 columns, with column widths of 40, 60, or 80 pixels and either 10 or 20 pixel gutters (meaning your grids can be anywhere from 450 pixels to 1600 pixels wide).
One of the best parts to The 1Kb CSS Grid is that it lets you define your grid prior to downloading. That means you don’t have to download a bunch of files you don’t need, and the stylesheet you end up with only has the styles you need. And again, this is one of the easiest-to-understand grid systems out there.
What it comes with: The download package you get from The 1Kb CSS Grid is a bit different than most other frameworks. It only includes files for the layout you selected on the site prior to downloading. So, there’s a readme file, the grid.css file, and a demo.html file that shows you how to use it. There’s no documentation included (it’s on the website), but it’s really so simple that you probably won’t need it.
Fluid 960 Grid System
The Fluid 960 Grid System is a fluid-width grid framework based on 960.gs. Just like the original 960.gs framework, it allows for either a 12- or 16-column layout, and shares many of the other features of the original.
It uses Mootools FX.Elements for some added functionality, as well as some jQuery scripts. It’s based on the grey box method to make prototyping faster, though it’s also suited for a production environment.
What it comes with: The download package includes the files for both the 12 and 16-column versions, as well as CSS, JavaScript and image files. Licenses are also included, as are some demo files.
Author: Cameron Chapman
Cameron Chapman is a writer, blogger, copyeditor, and social media addict. She’s been designing for more than six years and writing her whole life. If you’d like to connect with her, you can follow her on Twitter or at her Personal Website.
Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime called the addition of Netflix functionality "a continuation of an effort to bring more and more entertainment to consumers who interact with the Wii." The AP notes (via Engadget) that, like the PS3's implementation of the service, Netflix on Wii will require an "instant streaming disc."
[Thanks, Ridgecity]
Netflix streaming available on Wii this spring originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
