Labs: the Knectar idea incubator

Thoughts from our team about web production, programming, management and design.

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The FRIGHTFUL tale of Magento upgrade path of DOOM!!

When WannaHavaCookie.com wanted to upgrade their store from Magento version 1.3 to version 1.6 we of course lept at the chance to assist, on condition that it first be tested on a secondary server. The "stage" site took less than a day to correctly establish but was well worth the caution.

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The definitive Magento controller for admin pages

When answering questions I often see outdated information and confusion about overloading adminhtml controllers . So, for the sake of reference, here is the modern way of making a controller.

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Checking shipping availability from zipcode in Magento.

A key feature of the Bedroom Furniture Discounts website is its unique "Free White Glove" delivery service which is available to customers in certain parts of the country.

To find out if they qualify for this service, customers simply need to enter their zip code into the correct field on the site, or during the checkout process. Below we've outlined our process so that you can achieve the same results with your future implementations.
 

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Redirecting Magento Customers After Log Out.

Our client NexxtShow uses a separate site for their CMS needs. They reasonably expect customers to be redirected to that site after clicking the 'logout' button.

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Extraordinary geometry - A study in three dimensions

There is no question about it; WebGL is the latest, greatest, coolest and hottest thing a geek can be doing on the web right now.



Beginners
 

If you're a geek dabbling in the new world of web 3D you have probably tried a tutorial much like this one¹ and created a basic sphere. Here is mine using the three.js engine:

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Web fonts

As designers, and in working with our design agency partners, we have often been confronted with some level of frustration in the limitations of our web choices. While sIFR (or Scalable Inman Flash Replacement) was an alternative technology to consider, its dependence on Flash has pretty much ruled it out if we need to support iOS mobile (which we do). 

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