I recently wrote a tutorial on using SimplePie to parse your Google Reader shared items Atom feed (or any other RSS/Atom feed for that matter). However, after implementing it on this site (in the sidebar here) and testing it for a month-or-so, I’ve found page load times are very slow whenever SimplePie parses the feed and updates the cache. I had it set to request an update every hour (3600 seconds), which in hindsight is probably too often for my needs. (more…)

Google recently launched some updates to Google Reader. This includes the ability to search for users who are sharing items publicly from within Reader. You can also search for keywords to find people who are talking about topics of interest to you. (more…)

Using a JavaScript framework such as jQuery enables you to add interactivity and increased functionality to your website.

You don’t have to be a programming whiz to be able to use some of the features on jQuery. As you familiarise yourself with the code, you will probably find adjusting code to suit your needs quite straight-forward. (more…)