The gallery has been updated to the latest version of ZenPhoto (version 1.1.5). The update went without a hitch and it appears that the update script has been improved. This new version is definitely more stable than past versions though I have not had a chance to mess around with it that much, which I will start doing eventually as I have a huge amount of photography I have released on DeviantART but have not yet uploaded into the Gallery.

On a sidenote, though I have created a prototype of the Powervortex.4 page design, practicality issues that recently arose during development has required me to return to the proverbial drawing board. However, I have settled on planning to create a theme series that serve as a sequel to the Haiku series, refreshing but not too radical.

Dessicated world built on
past wrongs and ordeals
await the healing.

Well, I’m back after another long hiatus from blogging due to a myriad of priorities. Now for a few updates.

Powervortex.4 is still in development. A screenshot will be posted very soon. I am still working on the basic HTML components. Again, the new design is virtually devoid of tables and is a purely CSS-based design. The CSS-based design not only increases flexibility but also makes addition of AJAX components, such as K2 for the blog, much easier.

This blog and the gallery are in need of update. The yellow bar at the top of the WP-Admin panel is yelling “please update now” and the WP feed tells me that there are two subsequent releases of WP 2.3 since I last updated. Other than that, ZenPhoto 1.1.4 has been released.

In any event, the last of the Haiku.seasonals for the main site has been released. This is Haiku.renewal, the spring theme.

That’s all for now.

~DC

The gallery has just been upgraded to the recently-released ZenPhoto 1.1.3. This new release of ZenPhoto is much more stable than the previous along with many new features and security upgrades. Fortunately, I got the gallery up and running in no time after the upgrade as there were no major (actually, none at all) changes that needed to be made to the Haiku.Inspired ZP theme. However, much of the configuration were reset during the upgrade so there are still a bit of renaming, retagging, and reordering that I must do. Other than that, the upgrade went very smoothly.

ZenPhoto is a light-weight, easily customizable web gallery script that can be easily bridged with Wordpress and other blog software or can function as an excellent standalone photo album program. For more information and to download, visit ZenPhoto.org.

~DC

I am excited to announce that Powervortex:gallery, which is proudly powered by the gallery application ZenPhoto, has been featured in the ZenPhoto Showcase. The Showcase “is a selection of sites that make exceptional creative use of ZenPhoto either as a pure installation or in combination with others systems like Wordpress.” I am greatly honored that my website has been given such recognition and I would like to thank the ZenPhoto team for inducting my site into their Showcase and for developing such an excellent product.

ZenPhoto is a lightweight, efficient, Web 2.0-grade gallery software that is not only easy to use but also highly flexible to customize. It is a great gallery program for those of you trying to finding something to integrate with your blog that is not bloated like Gallery2. In any event, it is an excellent gallery script that truly “does have everything you need for your online gallery.”

~DC

Lets not go off the enlightenment pun too much now.

Well,  so far, the ZenPhoto/Wordpress bridge seems to be working. I just installed ZenWordpress (formerly known as ZenPress before the branding issue) and it seems to be finally working. Initially, I had some issues with the image not showing up and me getting a 500 internal service error but I seem to have fixed that with some tweaking with the .htaccess file. Hopefully, after some more tweaking, I can finally completely do away with Gallery2 and use ZenPhoto to its potential.

Speaking of .htaccess, I am planning to also do away with ugly URL’s with those ?this=that&whatnots with the .htaccess/mod_rewrite stuffs with this blog. That will come soon. I will need to make some adjustments to Haiku.legacy first. Anyway, stay tuned for more.

~DC

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Well, I could have thrown a Haiku off of this theme as I did back with the Haiku.autumnal announcement post. But…I’m not going to because I can’t think of anything right now.

Anyway, there it is, the first screenshot of the Haiku.inspired (still considering the product(red) reference) theme. This is the album/subalbum view, the only component complete so far other than the global components. As I did with Haiku.legacy (the Wordpress variant), I code all the HTML/CSS first before doing the PHP work with the application-specific API. ZenPhoto is said to be very themeable but some of the HTML such as for the album listings are a bit complex so let’s hope so it will be ultimately compatible.

~DC

p.s., Yes..I uploaded this screenie on Gallery2 and not the new gallery. The thing is, I still have not found a working and tested Wordpress plugin that allows me to insert ZenPhoto images. I will complete the switch when I find one.

I’m working right away to do away with Gallery2. The new gallery is already up and running. However, the only stuff there currently are my 2006 and 2007 photographic portfolio. The rest will come soon. Furthermore, it’d be great if a Wordpress plugin (sidebar widget and such) for ZenPhoto bridging will be released soon. There was one created for the old version of ZenPhoto, but it is doubtful that it works with 1.1.

Anyway, here we are: Powervortex:gallery

Edit: the :gallery theme is still the ZenPhoto default. The Haiku variant (Haiku.inspired) is in the works.

~DC

ZenPhoto 1.1 is OUT! Just read the release here few minutes ago. Well, for now, the ZenPhoto homepage is still the same as before but here are the download links: .zip .tar.gz.

Anyway, let me be the first to say, great job ZenPhoto Team! (Actually, I am.)

Now, hopefully the Wordpress plugins and whatnot will soon follow.

~DC

Well, as it turned out, ZenPhoto 1.1 was not released today…uh…yesterday (as I’m writing the rest of the post TODAY rather than at somewhere around midnight on 11/1).

Supposedly there are some “show-stopping” errors that need one+ more days to fix. That was posted on 11/1. As I write this around 9:09 PST on 11/2, these “show-stopping” errors apparently still have not been fixed.

Well, although I am somewhat disappointed by this delay, if it is worth making ZP better, it is definitely worth the wait. As long as the wait is not too long (*ahem..Windows Vista), the above saying holds true.

~DC

First of all, Happy Halloween! Due to various factors, I am again before (somebody else’s) computer screen in lieu of going out trick-or-treating.

Secondly, as another new month approaches (and another month passes permanently :\), I have ruminated about what’s coming up in the near future that I can look forward to. Here goes:

• November 1: Tomorrow, ZenPhoto 1.1 will be released (hopefully)! Finally, the subalbum-supported release is stable. I really can’t wait to set up a new gallery and not have to worry about any end-user problems, such as those that the bloated Gallery2 tends to have.
• November 3: WEEKEND!!! And especially the weekend after the completion of the (I will not go into details) heavy workload of this week. Even more so, I will finally be able to return the power supply and hopefully finally fix my computer.
• November 13: The second-generation Zune lineup is released. Although I am not getting a new Zune, I will have the highly-anticipated firmware update that gives my Zune 30 all the new features (as well as the sleek new UI).
• November late-20-ish: Turkey Day! I am still compiling the list of stuff I am thankful for (and believe me when I say the list is pretty damn long :D)…and there’s also the day-after-Turkey-Day shopping sprees (for me, its all the heavily- discounted geek stuff :]).

Anyway, just laying out what’s ahead.

~DC