Top 10 Javascript slideshows, carousels and sliders

SpaceGallery

SpaceGallery is a new JQuery plugin that provide an impressive Time Machine like effect to your images. Very good.

Noobslide

Definitely one of my favorite slideshow. Based on Mootools, Noobslide allows numerous variations and customization, despite of its lack of offical documentation.
Anyways, we recently published Noobslide tutorials, this one for the first sample and another one for sample 7.

Accessible News Slider

Accessible news slider is cool Javascript slider, based on JQuery. I used it many times at work, and both myself and clients enjoyed it.
Sadly, it could be a bit hard to personalize it. If you’re interested in a tutorial, just ask in the comments!

SmoothGallery

In my opinion, SmoothGallery is one of the best Javascript slideshows available. In addition of the “classic” sliding effect, Smoothgallery also provide a very smooth fading between items. We’re using on our homepage here at CatsWhoCode. If you’re interested about integrating SmoothGallery to your blog homepage, you should definitely read this tutorial.

jQuery Multimedia Portfolio

Based on JQuery, jQuery Multimedia Portfolio can handle a large variety of media : text, photos, but also flv videos and mp3 audio and is simple to use. A good script.

JCarousel

jCarousel is a jQuery plugin for controlling a list of items in horizontal or vertical order. The items, which can be static HTML content or loaded with (or without) AJAX, can be scrolled back and forth (with or without animation). JCarousel is very complete, allowing you to creates vertical slideshows, text-scrollers, circular carousels, custom animations, and can be used together with Thickbox.
I never used it personally on a project, but I can’t wait to try it out!

Glider

Inspired by the carousel you can see on panic.com, here’s Glider, a Prototype/Script.aculo.us based slideshow. A really cool use of Glider has been done on the amazing WP Magazine Theme for WordPress.

Carousel

Using YUI (Yahoo User Interface), this basic carousel is semantically coded (HTML LI elements within a UL), and allows you to display your content horizontally or vertically.
A simple but good carousel, if you just need the basic effects.

Carousel slideshow

Carousel Slideshow is a Javascript showcasing script which do not require any library as such as Mootools or JQuery. It displays images in a 3D, carousel fashion. Not a bad script, but a bit too long to load on a slow connection.

Carousel.us

Nice Javascript 3D carousel, using either the prototype.js and scriptaculous.js or mootools.js frameworks. It also uses PHP Easy Reflections v3.

TOP FIVE PALACES OF INDIA

City Palace, Jaipur

The City Palace stands tall as a golden feather in Jaipur's crown. The royal palace was built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of the Kachhwaha clan of Rajputs. A fabulous synthesis of Rajasthani and Mughal styles, City Palace of Jaipur exhibits an architecture of its own class. The palace has splendid small palaces and halls in the complex, such as the Chandra Mahal, Mubarak Mahal and Badal Mahal. The famous Shri Govind Temple and the City Palace Museum inside mark another hilarious feature to the palace/. Right from the entrance, you will come across some astounding works of constructing excellence. The Mubarak Mahal will welcome you with its charming interiors. A splendid gateway will lead you to the Diwan-E-Khas (Hall of Private audience). Relish the opportunity to witness two silver vessels on display at Diwan-E-Khas. Don't forget to check out Diwan-E-Aam (Hall of Public Audience). Going further inside the palace, you will come across the main attraction of the City Palace – the Chandra Mahal. Heart thorbing works of paintings, mirror work on walls, and floral decorations will leave you standing in awe and admire the brilliance of City Palace.

The seven-storied palace has a distinctive hilarious display of Indian art and crafts. The lower two levels have the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum with a large collection of 15th century weapons, carpets and rarities. Third floor holds the drawing and the dining area with 'Sukh Nivas' or the 'Hall of Rest'. The 'Shobha Nivas' or 'Hall of Beauty', decorated with gold leaf, mica decorations and mirrors all over. The fifth floor has the 'Chavi Nivas' or the 'Hall of Images' and the sixth floor offers a exuberant view of the surrounding area. The topmost floor is called the 'Mukut Mahal' or the 'Crown building'. The epic example of royalty and supremacy, City Palace of Jaipur will surely get you spelled with the royal luxurious treatment. A must visit place for visitors.

City Palace, Udaipur

In the heart of Udaipur stands the royal City Palace. Built in granite and marble and surrounded by enduring fort walls, the largest palace complex in Rajasthan gives a majestic sensation with its charming white beauty. Originally built by Maharana Udai Singh of the Sisodia Rajput clan, the City Palace of Udaipur is located on one side of Pichola Lake. In fact, the mesmerizing view of the giant fortress from the Pichola Lake is an unmatched experience.

A blend of Medieval European and Chinese architecture, the City Palace of Udaipur is one of the most visited destinations by tourists across the world. The 'Hati Pol', or the 'Elephant Gate' marks he entrance of the palace from the main road. The Jagdish Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu which is the biggest and most beautiful temple of Udaipur is situated inside the palace. The 'Bara Pol' or the 'Great gate' on the northern end leads to the first court yard, which joins Tripolia or the 'triple gate'. Between the two gates there are eight carved marble arches or 'Toranas' under which the rulers in the past were weighed against gold and silver. Beyond the Tripolia lies the arena where elephant fights were staged.The palace has many enclosures with luxurious apartments surmounted by balconies, hanging gardens, massive octagonal towers and cupolas to get make you stand in awe and admire its beauty. The main part of the palace with its several ' Mahals' is now preserved as a Museum. The 'Krishna Vilas' has a remarkable collection of miniature paintings depicting royal processions, festivals and games of the Maharanas. 'Mor Chowk' has unique glass mosaics of peacocks, set in the walls showing the three seasons of summer, winter and monsoon. The 'Manak Mahal' ( Ruby Palace) has crystal and porcelain figures. The Moti Mahal( Palace of Pearls) has lavish decor and the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of mirrors) has inlaid mirror work. There is a Hawa Mahal and a Bari Mahal with a fine garden build on a 90 feet high natural rock formation. Other main attractions of the palace are the 'Bhim Vilas', 'Suraj Gokhala', 'Zenana Mahal', 'Dilkusha Mahal'. 'Laxmi Vilas Chowk', Amar Vilas and 'Chini Chitrashala'. Experience the princely stay at the royal City Palace of Udaipur.

Lake Palace, Udaipur

Located in the middle of Lake Pichola, the Taj Lake Plalace of Udaipur is a must visit place for everyone. The exuberant view of white marble and mosaic glistening in the moonlight is a memorable sight for a lifetime. The palace was built in 1746 by Maharana Jagat Singh II, 62nd successor to the royal dynasty of Mewar – believed to be descendants of the Sun God. Set against the backdrop of the majestic Aravalli Mountains on one side of the lake, and lofty palaces on the other, the Taj Lake Palace spreads across a four-acre island. The courtyards lined with columns, pillared terraces, fountains and gardens add to its impressive image. The rooms are decorated with cusped arches, inland stones of pink, and green lotus leaves and painted mirrors. Relish the opportunity to be at most luxurious and romantic apartments like the Bada Mahal, Kush Mahal, Ajjan Niwas, Phool Mahal and Dhola Mahal. Among the facilities available are swimming pool, conference hall and a bar. Other events of recreation organised here are excursions in and around and a bar other events of recreation organised here are excursions in and around Udaipur. The royal restaraunts, bars, coffee shops, banquet halls and conference rooms are the developed versions of various large halls like Bada Mahal, Kush Mahal, Sajjan Niwas, Phool Mahal and Dhola Mahal. A half submerged idol of a dancing women iIn the middle of the lake is a treat to watch. It is said that a lady dancer told the ruler of the palace that she can cross the lake Pichola on a rope, dancing all the way. The king bet half his kingdom if she could do it. The lady accepted the challenge and almost completed the ropeway when king, fearing the loss of half his kingdom, cut the rope and the dancer fell in the lake. Visit the City Palace of Udaipur to experience the royalty of Mewar.

Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur

The Umaid Bhawan Palace at Jodhpur is one of the largest and grandest private residences in the world. The palace was built by 3000 artisans worked over 14 years. The palace is spread around a million square feet of the finest marble. A visit to Jodhpur is incomplete without a stay at the Umaid Bhawan Palace. Ever since its opening In 1977, Umaid Bhawan has remained one of the top heritage hotels in India. The royal stay in some of the most luxurious suites including Maharani Suite, Maharaja Suite, Royal Suites, Historical Suites and Palace Rooms offer the sensation of being the king.

The Maharani Suite is aptly dominated by a Norblin mural of the Goddess Kali etched on shining black glass. The Maharaja Suite exudes a masculine panache with dramatic Noblin frescoes of leopards, tigers, horses and monumental art deco furnishings. The Royal Suites offer luxurious art deco style offering with mirror finished terrazzo and large bedroom and sitting area, overlooking palace lawns and fountain courtyard, all to give you the royal sensation. The hotels Regal Suites, designed in Art Deco style, were once reserved for visiting royalty. Presently, they serve as Historical Suites. Embellished with art deco interiors and equipped with modern conveniences, the Palace rooms offer a glimpse into a privileged bygone lifestyle. Besides this, the multi-cuisines menus and royal banquets like 'Risala' restaurant, 'The Pillars' coffee shop and 'The Trophy Bar' offer luxury meals also. A visit to Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur is a mesmerizing experience.

Lalgarh Palace, Bikaner

The Lalgarh Palace of Bikaner was constructed by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner in 1902, in the loving memory of his father Maharaja Lal Singh Ji. An architectural splendor of red sandstone, the palace was designed by Sir Swinton Jacob. Bikaner Lalgarh Palace is a unique blend of Rajput, Mughal and European architecture on the outside. The interior of the palace have a touch of oriental architecture. The palace has some fascinating lattice work and filigree work. The palace has now been converted into a hotel. Adding to the magnificence of the palace are its terraced lawns the 'Bougainvillea' bushes. Spotting peacocks roaming around the palace is an amazing sight. The Palace also houses a rich collection of well-preserved paintings, hunting trophies and old photographs. A library having the largest collection of original Sanskrit manuscripts on parchments, copper and gold and silver plaques adds to the heritage of Lalgarh Palace. The palace also comprises of a museum, displaying an amazing collection of miniature paintings, manuscripts, weaponry and even a World War I bi-plane. Also a part of the museum is a unique collection of books, photographs, manuscripts and albums dating back to the old times. A visit to Lalgarh Palace can simply be termed as a visit to royal heritage of Rajasthan.

NetOp 9.0 Installation (must do it) - Installshield based

Well, here I go again. I have to fix it and solve it today.

Standard approach:

1. download uk.exe from the updates section (netop.com)
2. start uk.exe and select advanced then save installation files (c:\@netop\setup -> %setupfolder%), deselect windows installer files and then select only host modules.
3. download deployment utility (full version), install it
4. start ndu and click on configure in the Section “2″, template area
5. Configure all settings that are necessary including security settings.
6. This will generate a setup.iss in %programfiles%\netop deployment utility\media
7. Copy this file to %setupfolder%
8. install using setup.exe -s -SMS from %setupfolder%

The installation stops running hosts and installs the application. That’s what I wanted because the uninstalling of the old version usually runs perfectly well when using netop installshield setup.

After the installation I need to configure all additional settings by hand.

But first there I faced some issues already:

The installation did not require a reboot.

1. After installing the NetOp Host is running but the host windows is being displayed. That’s not what I’ve specified.
2. When Iexit the netop host it crashes ~8 times (nhstw32.exe)

Now, I reboot and lets see what happens:

1. Netop host runs iconized in the notification area.
2. Exiting the host does not show any crashes anymore.

We do need a reboot after installation of netop host.

Oops, the host crashed after exiting, like before the reboot. Not good.

Found out that the crash always happens when right clicking the host icon in the notification area and then selecting exit. If I restore the window, i.e. the host window is being shown, and then close it, it does not crash. (I am working on Windows XP sp2)

I finished configuring the netop host with the windows security groups G_IT_Netop_admins and G_IT_Netop_users.

I then tried to manipulate the installation by copying the old .ndb files over the old ones in the %allusersprofile%\Anwendungsdaten\danware data\Netop remote control\host folder

Does not work!!

On the machine I am working was an old version installed and it did have it’s configuration files in another folder %allusersprofile%\Anwendungsdaten\danware date\host\

It uses that path for storing the configuration files.

This is what netop admin guide has to say:

And here is how to change the default location of the files. Maybe I have to do this, or I’ll copy all config files to both possible locations.

I believe this to be my mistake!!!!!

I found out that the new installation installs itself in %programfiles%\danware data\host and that the old installation used the netop remote control folder before the host. I always do have trouble with the paths.

The old installation was not completely removed. All files and folders in %programfiles% and %allusersprofile% still exist. I’ll have to cleanup myself.

Remember: %programfiles%\danware data\host -> This is the correct folder for the new installation

Now I will package it with enteo. This is in another post

Microsoft GIF Animator (Freeware)

Create or find an image.
I found these eyes in a magazine article. Scanned in as bmp, sized and overlaid the eyes for a match. Where it didn't match, I cloned the first and pasted in on the second image. Saved as gif file.  Cartoons are a lot easier. Images are everywhere. Offsetting, flipping  and rotating images all give movement. Now let's animate.


Open Microsoft Gif Animator.
Don't have? Download: Click Here
Microsoft offers this as Freeware. Self extracting zip file 1.03 megabytes. Be patient, it's worth it and it's Free.
"Animation" Tab
1. Prepare the gif files you want to animate and store in one folder. This animation has two gif files or images.
2.Click Open File Icon 2nd from left, Find the first file you want and click OK. To add the 2nd file, click the + (plus) icon and find the 2nd file, Click OK and the file will insert in frame #1 and move the first choice to frame #2. If not in correct sequence, select the frame which shows a blue border around it after selection, click up arrow. One click of up arrow will move the frame up one and the replaced frame will move down one. I checked looping and inserted 4 for my repeated count before stopping. For continual looping, check "Repeat Forever". "Trailing Comment" is for copyright and creation notations. I duplicated first image in Frame #3 because when it stopped, I wanted the eye open and it stops on the last frame of the sequence.


Image" Tab Settings
1.Image is 165 pixels wide and 144 pixels tall.
2. They are all the same size so "Left" and top settings are "0" by default. Keeping this simple to begin with, I'll cover smaller image settings in later lesson and reason for smaller images.
3. Frame #2 is selected and inserted duration at 50, which is 1/2 of a second. 100 is one second. Frame #1 was set at 200 and Frame #3 was set at 100.
4. "Transparency is not selected, so I don't have to select a transparent color. Cover this in later lesson.
5. I'm ready to preview and see if my settings are what I want. If not, stop the preview and go back and select the frames you want to change the settings to make faster or slower. To Preview, Click diamond button pointing to the right to run animation.
6. Save grouping by Clicking multiple save icon, 5th from left button. The animation is now package as one gif file, ready to run in Stationary or html document when installed.
Note: This was designed to go on a white background for seamless viewing as the image background is not transparent and is white. 


View of finished animated eye. Copy, Save and open in MS Gif Animator, Review and change the settings and then preview to see the effects of the settings. 
You can edit any animated gif file you find on the web as well in the same manner.
Respect copyrighted material. This image is set to run forever so you can see the effects of the animation. I wanted a flirtatious wink not a blink. Did I succeed?


Practice:  Copy, Save my animated gif example. Open it with MS Gif Animator to see the construction and settings and then insert it on your email stationary. 
This program is limited to gif format picture images.  There are animators for other images like jpg and bmp but they want about $49 for their program.  The key is the quality of your paint program saving a gif file, not the animator program. If you have the money, buy a better paint program like Adobe Photoshop.