If you’re not familiar with Open Source, read this overview at the Open Source Initiative, http://www.opensource.org/. In a nutshell, Open Source is a development method that allows for collaboration among talented designers, developers and programmers, and offers shared access to source code and permits redistribution under licenses that meet the Open Source Definition. The Open Source community is truly amazing, and this development method often results in applications that surpass their commercial counterparts in quality and usability.

Some of my favorite Open Source offerings are:

OpenOffice – I use it exclusively for all of my word processing and spreadsheet needs.

jQuery – This is a fantastic JavaScript library that makes adding really cool JavaScript functionality to your websites a breeze. Check out ThickBox, which was built on the jQuery library, for a nice way to display images.

Joomla! – I love Joomla! This is a terrific, very powerful, content management solution. It’s easy to learn and allows web developers, even one-man studios, to painlessly offer content management to their clients. Try the online demo – you’ll love it!

These are just a few Open Source offerings. You can find more at SourceForge.net, just one of many sites where developers post their projects.

While you’re out there collecting all of these great Open Source apps, don’t forget to donate to the Open Source Community!

When I found out about Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor, I had to download it and test it. I was skeptical that it could really produce clean, well-formed CSS. I was happily surprised. It’s an excellent tool. The interface is very intuitive. I think anyone with a basic understanding of CSS could easily produce a full site layout with this extension. You can choose from 30 presets and several color schemes, and then customize from there. You have the ability to change id names to match your naming convention, or change width and height or padding and margin attributes. Background, text and link colors can be defined–you can even add background images and a print style sheet from within the CSS Sculptor interface. Your layouts can be saved as presets and edited as needed. Once CSS Sculptor generates the layout, you can work with it in Dreamweaver as you would any other site.

This extension can be invaluable to individual designers who need to work at a production pace; it significantly lessens initial setup time. I recreated my site design in less than 15 minutes. Larger firms could use it to standardize their layouts, saving presets that designers can share and increasing productivity. I think it really shines as a learning tool. If the comments feature is checked, the style sheet is saved with comments that explain the code. This is an excellent way for a newbie to learn to write CSS. And it validates!

My only criticism is that shorthand isn’t used as much as it should be. Other than than, I think it’s well worth the price.

While we’re on the topic of CSS, check out Sitepoint’s new online CSS Reference – http://reference.sitepoint.com/css. Finally, everything you need to know in one place. Way to go, Sitepoint!

Trying to find the perfect gift for a special designer? Here are some of my favorite ideas:

If they’re new to design and need to build a library, you could put together a book package that includes a good print design reference, like Claudia McCue’s Real World Print Production; a good basic web coding book, like Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML; and a good web design guide, like Sitepoint’s The Principles of Beautiful Web Design. These three books are good choices for any designer’s library. A subscription to How Magazine would be a great choice as well.

A subscription to an online reference site like lynda.com or Safari would excite any designer. I don’t know what I’d do without my Safari subscription. It’s wonderful to be able to search a library of design reference books and jump straight to the information you need within minutes.

Most of my fellow designers also like fine art. A gift of art supplies would definitely bring a smile to their face, and provide a much needed break from the computer.

If they’re a seasoned designer–one of the old folks, like me–you might want to get them something to help them relax and unwind. My dream present would be a wilderness retreat with no technology in sight. Of course, after a few days, I’d miss it….maybe.

Hope your holidays are filled with love and warmth. May all your scripts work on every platform and your style sheets validate.

See you in 2008.