Latest somethingdark news

SDk goes mobile!SDk Updates

Thurs 02 Dec, 2010.

We said we’d do it, and now we’ve just done it: today marks the release of SDk:Mob, the version of SomethingDark webmagazine developed specifically for mobile devices with internet capability.

Chris has worked overtime for the last two weeks to get SDk:Mob up and running, and some late-night proof-reading saw the last bugs ironed out in the text and formatting.

For some of the technical background, see our HTML vs. flash page, but, briefly, a streamlined version of SDk magazine can now be viewed at your convenience, on your mobile device, including on those larger devices such as the Apple iPad that do not come with the capability to view Flash-based sites (at least not without the purchase of extra plug-ins).

The full SDk website now has a link to SDk:Mob in the footer, and SDk:Mob has a link to the full site, so why not take a look at our new baby at m.somethingdark.eu; alterntivley, if you're an iPad user, check out our iPad magazine information page, or just go right ahead and view the website as normal – no special app needed.

In detail: why we opted for HTML over flashSDk Updates

Wed 17 Nov, 2010.

For some time we've been pondering on whether to explain in some detail why we chose to produce SomethingDark – the magazine as well as the website – as an HTML-based entity. We touched on the subject in our "more What is SDk?" document, which we made available after SDk01 was launched, but the itch to go the whole hog persisted.

Well, we've just scratched that itch, and the result is a much more detailed explanation of why we bucked the trend of doing an online magazine in flash, and why we think we're on a winner with HTML. We do go into the technology a bit, so those into the tech aspect will be like pigs in mud, but it does also make for interesting and straightforward reading for anyone wanting a glimpse of what we researched and considered before proceeding with SDk's development.

So, please help yourself to our HTML vs. flash page. And, perhaps, do a little pondering yourself.

Securing the right mix for SDk02, and looking to the futureSDk Updates

Wed 10 Nov, 2010.

We have an extensive lineup of international contributors for SDk02 after a long and frustrating period of securing not just the kind of artists and writers suited to SDk, but the right mix of people and work for issue 02. Securing the right contributors hasn’t been the end of it, but we’re beginning to really move now with contributions. No-one said SDk would be easy…

However, every time we look at the way issue 02 is shaping up, we are more convinced than ever that the SDk way of doing things is right, and in fact is somewhat unique – and we have gone into detail on this with our entry into certain UK national awards. We’re playing with the big boys here, but we think we’re in with a chance.

On this, it’s a pity we haven’t got the wherewithal to produce SDk more frequently, because if we did, issue 02 would have been out by now, and issue 03 would probably also be out by the time judging for said awards was finalised – and SDk03, paradoxically (compared with the adventures of SDk02), is all but a done deal, and what a “deal” it will be when it’s published in the first half of next year....Read more

Contributor galleries updated and refinedSDk Updates

Thurs 12 Aug, 2010.

We value our contributors and one of the ways we demonstrate our commitment to them is by maintaining substantial, up-to-date profiles for them in our Contributor Directory on the SDk website.

Obviously, we can only make a profile substantial if a contributor wants a substantial profile, but we’ve put in the effort and the site development to allow a contributor to make their SDk pages (yes, that’s plural) a de facto home site – and mini-portfolio – should they wish to take it this far. We are happy to oblige.

To this end, we have just finished updating galleries for SDk01’s contributing photographers and artists, and we have paid great attention to detail in arrangement and presentation, including a new Lightbox display system complete with essential artwork and model information, and comments.

We invite visitors to take a look: http://www.somethingdark.eu/contributors

We've done it againSDk Updates

Wed 28 July, 2010.

Google have just informed us of our latest website-speed stats, and a little experimentation has paid off, as we've managed to improve on what already was pretty amazing progress.

Google now reporting the following:

"On average, pages in your site take 0.4 seconds to load (updated on Jul 26, 2010). This is faster than 98% of sites." - Google Website Performance.

We couldn't be more happy, and can't wait to get our new server, which is pending, churning away at it too as that may even give us that extra percent (we can dream).

SDk01 press release available from the What is SDk? pageSDk Updates

Tues 06 July, 2010.

We sent our press release to a select list of people very promptly, but, since experiencing such a positive response on the launch of SDk, we now can’t get it out fast enough. So we’ve made the SDk01-launch press release available as a downloadable PDF from our What is SDK? page.

New banners - help spread SomethingDarkSDk Updates

Thurs 01 July, 2010.

We've just added two banners (below) so that if you experience the divine, mad desire to spread SomethingDark over the far regions of the internet, you may certainly do so.

If you want the HTML code that you can copy+paste into your own webpage or blog, then click here and enjoy.

At last… through the haze, we let the magazine speak for itselfSDk Updates

Fri 25 Jun, 2010.

Chris came close to losing his mind, and Mario Puzo would have been proud of Daryl, who had taken to lying on the office floor for an hour or so at night – “hitting the mattresses” in Godfather parlance.

What are we talking about? Through the haze of vision and blur of mind, we are exhilarated, relieved, ecstatic, exhausted, blithering to announce that finally, at last… SomethingDark was unleashed upon an unsuspecting world at around midnight Thursday 24–Friday 25 June.

Since we aren’t capable of saying much else right now, it’s best to let the magazine speak for itself.

The blessing of timeSDk Updates

Thurs 03 Jun, 2010.

Time has been the major factor to negotiate in creating SomethingDark webmagazine; we realised at the beginning it was a mammoth undertaking for two people in their spare time, and the clock certainly hasn't been favourable... until now.

Aside both of us going through significant life changes during SDk's development, it has also provided the opportunity to discuss and then test new ideas regarding the implementation of the magazine – ironically, something the prolonged development period has helped.

Whilst on this topic, the latest is the decision to switch the programming language in which SDk is developed, as well as the implementation of new page-caching techniques, to make the website as efficient as the latest technology will allow. Obviously such radical decisions take a while to implement, but a total re-write of the underlying structure of the website by Chris is almost complete, taking the whole webmagazine out of a beta-style implementation full of ideas and hacks, and turning it into a complete, well-oiled machine....Read more

Alive and kicking… and so is our obsessionSDk Updates

Wed 28 Apr, 2010.

We know we have given cause for contrary impressions, but we are both still alive and kicking, and have to say that SDk has become something of an obsession for us, despite, or perhaps because of, all the delays and frustrations we've experienced along the way.

Chris is now taking a two-month break from his day job, and Daryl is likewise busy clearing the decks, to concentrate on the last big push to finish SDk and get it into the real world.

We're looking forward to it.

And the obsession will continue.