How many of you are scared of the creepy crawlies, the lifeforms that have too many legs for their own good? We’re sure that some of you may have an entomologist gene in you, or will deny being irked by bugs, but what if they suddenly turned mechanical?

Actually, they will look really, really cool!

Here are just 25 of some amazingly sophisticated designs of bugs. Nothing can beat millions of years of nature’s work of course but darn it, some of these designs look like they came out of a science fiction movie, or should be part of one!

Although beautiful, these bugs could actually become fodder for nightmares, one that involes them taking over our world. Until then, let’s gawk at their amazing and intricate structure, and convince ourselves that we still have a sizable upper hand over them. (If they fly, we’re out of here!)

Recommended Reading: Animal Photo Manipulation: 26 Photoshopped Robotic Animals

Insect Robot. (Image Source: pysgxs)

Steampunk Ladybird. (Image Source: HDWallpapers)

Robo Ant. (Image Source: abhijith vb)

Electronic Ant. (Image Source: Luca di Filippo)

Robo Fly. (Image Source: Anthony)

Steampunk Fly. (Image Source: Anthony)

Steampunk Firefly. (Image Source: Rowdy Huizer)

Robot Scissor Bug. (Image Source: gregknightart)

Steampunk Scorpion. (Image Source: CatherinetteRings)

Robot Bug. (Image Source: The Wallpaper)

Robotic Beetle. (Image Source: Anthony)

Mechanical Mosquito. (Image Source: Billy Bon)

Tiny Robot Mosquito Drones. (Image Source: hoax or fact)

Mosquito Prototype. (Image Source: Anthony)

Robotic Creature. (Image Source: Andrew Serkin)

Mech Spider. (Image Source: Nick Hepburn)

Robot Spider. (Image Source: hdw)

Robot Bee. (Image Source: Bahay ni Leonp)

Metal Dragonfly. (Image Source: A-GC Wallpaper)

Mechanisoptera Dragonflies. (Image Source: Arthrobots)

Rutelidae Scarab Bettle. (Image Source: Insect Lab)

A Mechanical Gnat. (Image Source: JM Gershenson-Gates)

Clockwork Spider. (Image Source: JM Gershenson-Gates)

Metal Spider. (Image Source: Delawarobot)

Giant Mechanical Spider. (Image Source: conceptrends)

There are numerous plugins for creating your own guided website tour. This animated page effect is very useful to new visitors who are just learning the ropes of your website layout. How do they know all the important interface features and menu links? By using a guided tour it is easy to explain all of these features to users who are interested.

I want to focus this tutorial onto an open source jQuery plugin called Intro.js. I really like this choice because of the page dimming feature, also the easy customization of CSS to change how the tooltips look. The dependencies are also simple with a requirement for jQuery and the plugin’s own custom CSS/JS files. If you are familiar with jQuery it is very simple to get this plugin working within 30-60 minutes of development time.

My demo page will be using the Hongkiat’s CSS Equal Height demo as an example. It will guide you through all the key aspects of the demo page interface. Check out the demo link below to see what we will be making.

• Live Demo

Getting Started

I do not want want to focus much on the HTML or CSS because this is all relative to your own page. However there is something I want to point out in using Intro.js (which I did not do in this tutorial). Basically you have 2 different options for setting up the various “steps” of the tour. These steps may be hard-coded into a JavaScript array as I have done, or you may append HTML attributes onto the various elements in your page.

Here is an example from the main plugin’s demo page:

<h1 data-step="1" data-intro="Hello all! :) This project's called Intro.js.">Intro<span style="font-weight: normal;">.js</span></h1> 

data-step signifies which numerical step should be used while data-intro will hold the text to be displayed in the tooltip.

I prefer to keep this stuff inside JS variables instead because it makes the HTML cleaner, plus all the important codes are located in one file rather than scattered throughout different page elements.

But if you just want to test the waters you may use this easier technique with HTML5 data attributes.

<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>jQuery Live Demo Tour - CSS Equal Height on Hongkiat.com</title> <script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.9.1/jquery.min.js"></script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/style.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/demo-style.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/introjs.css"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://demo.hongkiat.com/_nav/js/nav.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/intro.js"></script> </head> 

Now my document head also contains scripts related to the original Hongkiat demo page. I don’t need to delve any further into these styles since they do not affect the tour in any way. But it is important to note that we need a copy of jQuery as a dependency, along with introjs.css and intro.js.

All of these files will come packaged with the plugin download off Github.

Tiny CSS Updates

Originally the introjs.css file contains a number of helpful default styles for your tooltip effects. These may be overwritten in your own stylesheet if you have a distinct look and feel to the page. All I have edited is the font size to make the letters bigger with a taller line-height property.

#tourbtn { position: fixed; right: 15px; bottom: 35px; } #tourbtn a { background: #bac081; padding: 8px 15px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; font-weight: bold; color: #454a50; text-decoration: none; -webkit-border-radius: 4px; -moz-border-radius: 4px; border-radius: 4px; } #tourbtn a:hover { background: #cacf96; }

These other alternate styles are only important for creating a tour button found in the lower-right hand corner of the page. This displays only once after the user initially visits the page and offers a brief tour, if needed. For my demo the guided page tour will start automatically, but some users would rather setup a tour button instead.

jQuery Codes with Intro.js

There is not a whole bunch of difficult JavaScript to understand but the syntax is rigorous when you are unfamiliar with the language. I will break it down into block sections; that way it’ll be easier to understand. Please note all of these codes are contained at the bottom of my HTML page.

However you could make a separate JS file to segregate codes if that is easier.

$(function(){ var introguide = introJs(); // var startbtn = $('#startdemotour'); }

First we setup an important variable related to the tour feature. We make a new tour variable named introguide which calls the main introJS plugin function. The startbtn variable can be used for setting up a related tour button in the page. Afterwards we need to setup a large index containing each tour’s step(s), targeted element, and tooltip content.

 introguide.setOptions({ steps: [ { element: '.nav-bar', intro: 'This guided tour will explain the Hongkiat demo page interface.<br><br>Use the arrow keys for navigation or hit ESC to exit the tour immediately.', position: 'bottom' }, { element: '.nav-logo', intro: 'Click this main logo to view a list of all Hongkiat demos.', position: 'bottom' }, { element: '.nav-title', intro: 'Hover over each title to display a longer description.', position: 'bottom' }, { element: '.readtutorial a', intro: 'Click this orange button to view the tutorial article in a new tab.', position: 'right' }, { element: '.nav-menu', intro: "Each demo will link to the previous & next entries.", position: 'bottom' } ] });

Notice this data is setup by calling introguide.setOptions({}) which is an inner function of the plugin. We pass an array set with the list of steps for our guided tour. The elements may be any typical jQuery selector although classes are often not recommended unless you only have 1 on the page.

The position value is also available using data-position but it will default out to the bottom. I am including this key in each step merely for clarity.

The only line of code we need is to call introguide.start(). This may be kept inside an event handler which triggers only after the user clicks on a link or button. However it’s not a requirement, and the tour can initiate right after the DOM finishes loading.

 introguide.start(); /** startbtn.on('click', function(e){ e.preventDefault(); introguide.start(); $(this).hide(); }); * oncomplete re-display the button * hide by default since we don't need this functionality. introguide.oncomplete(function() { if(startbtn.css('display') == 'none') { startbtn.show(); } }); introguide.onexit(function() { if(startbtn.css('display') == 'none') { startbtn.show(); } }); **/

There are callback functions to use whenever the tour finishes, and we can use these callbacks to re-show the button if needed. I have these codes commented out for this demo but you should know these callback methods are available to run any JS codes after the tour finishes, or after the user exits the tour at some point.

I really like the Intro.js plugin because documentation is straightforward and easy to understand. This can work in almost any webpage using jQuery as an included library. I like this example running over the Hongkiat demo layout because it shows exactly what is possible in a typical website tour. I would advise everyone interested in this technique to keep your eyes open!

Plenty of new social networks and startups are using guided tours, and when you find such examples online they can be immensely beneficial when crafting your own website tours.

• Live Demo
• Source Code

Related Libraries

Although my personal preference leans towards Intro.js I cannot say this is the absolute best solution. There are so many other alternative website tour plugins which are worth mentioning in this article. Check out the small list below where I have compiled a roundup of related JS tour plugins which may be useful to developers.

• Joyride Feature Tour
• Pageguide
• aSimpleTour
• Bootstro.js
• Trip.js
• Crumble
• Tourist.js
• Chardin.js

Final Thoughts

A guided website tour can provide so much benefit to your new startup or redesigned layout. Usability is crucial for the successful performance of any website. And a guided webpage tour is an exceptional method to build up comfort using any layout. I hope this tutorial may offer a peek into the wonders of Intro.js and building guided tours for your users.

If I have glossed over any confusing topics or if you have further ideas please share with us in the post discussion area below.

Running out of space in your iOS device? Try deleting some of the unused apps. But then we might need it later on, so that may not work for everyone. Hey, what about recovering some storage capacity by removing the space-hogging files? And you can do that easily with PhoneClean.

iMobie PhoneClean is a desktop tool which cleans up your iOS device to release some extra space back for use. It deletes files such as temporary files, cookies, script files, media files that failed to sync properly, and cached and offline files. PhoneClean is available for both Windows and Mac.

Recommended Reading: 15 (More) iPhone Tips & Tricks You Probably Don’t Know

Clean iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch

PhoneClean is available for download here. Before starting to clean your iOS devices with PhoneClean, it is advisable for you to do an iTunes backup first. In case something goes wrong, you still have your iTunes backup to restore it to your device.

By connecting your device with PhoneClean it will show you the details of your device. PhoneClean allows you to choose which type of files that you want to scan (and subsequently delete) from the iOS device. There are four types of file:

• Temp and Junk files
• Cache and Off-line files
• Cookie and Script files
• Sync-failed Media files

As you can see for this review, our sample device has 19.19GB free space and 10.34GB used space. Let’s see how much free space we can recover after scanning.

Scanning can take up to a few minutes depending on your device capacity.

By clicking on the ‘arrow’ icon under Detail, a list of apps will be shown, along with the number of files it has and the sizes. Uncheck the apps that you do not want deleted. Go back and click on Clean up when you are done.

After it finishes cleaning it will display the amount of space that has been recovered.

Conclusion

iMobie PhoneClean is a straight forward desktop tool that helps you to clear data and recover space just like how they described it on the website. After the clean-up, we discovered that all of our apps are like how it is before the clean-up and our accounts are all still logged in i.e. in perfect condition after the clean-up.

Most of us capture moments and events which later on make it to the Web one way or the other. We upload all our photos and videos from our numerous devices to a Cloud storage, the computer, or a social network. But if you want to make the process less painful, here’s a better way to save and secure your pictures and videos: Picturelife.

Picturelife is a new service founded by OMGPOP’s founder, Charles Forman. Unlike other photo backup and sharing services, Picturelife allows you to sync photos and videos instantly or automatically from 12 social services and devices. Currently, Picturelife supports Android, iPhone, Mac and Windows devices.

Getting Started

To get started, Picturelife requires for you to sign up for an account on their website. After registering and downloading Picturelife to the devices you want to sync between, it will bring you to your dashboard.

The dashboard is where you can share, upload and organize your photos, or that is too much work for you, Picturelife will easily and quickly do it for you.

Photo Editor

A unique feature of PictureLife is a simple photo editor built into the service. The photo editor allows you to rotate and flip the image, add multiple photo effects such as fuzz, rainbow, sepia, bloom and many more. Again if you don’t want to mess with different photo effects, Picturelife will automatically enhance your photo with the click of a button.

Sharing Your Photos

You can easily share a photo with your family and friends with Picturelife by simple clicking on the content you want to share and click Send. You can choose to share a full album, a single picture or even an event. Sharing is possible via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, to a fellow user of Picturelife or by sharing the link to the image.

An added feature is the "who can see" permission setting. Photos that you share can be set to private or public mode. You can even choose the individuals you want to allow access to the photo or even to everyone in your Picturelife friends list.

Account Syncing

Here’s the fun part. The service also allows you to sync your content and photos from other website and hosting services. Theses accounts can be found and linked up in your Settings tab next to the search bar.

Add and sync services like Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Google, Instagram, SmugMug, Tumblr and Twitter. In the case of syncing photos with Facebook, it even saves the photos that friends have tagged you in.

Photo Places

Picturelife can also organize and create a full feature map based on the GPS locations of your photos. This only works with GPS-enabled devices. It is a small but pretty cool feature that will make a huge difference in the long run.

Pricing

Picturelife offers its users 5 GB of free space that can hold approximately 1,700 photos. For $7/Month users can get 100 GB (that’s like 34,000 photos’ worth). If you want more, go with the Premium Plus plan, which offers 300 GB worth of storage (for 100,000 photos – sounds like a challenge, doesn’t it?).

Advantages

• Cross platform photo sharing and syncing on the web, Mac, Windows, Android and iOS devices.
• Account syncing with major services like Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Google, Instagram, SmugMug, Tumblr and Twitter.
• Reasonable pricing for storage and accounts.
• Photo mapping for photos taken with a GPS enabled device.
• Share photos with only the people you want.
• Organization through events, people, places and albums.
• Easy-to-use scroller for image and video sizes.
• Receive images from friends and family with the built-in Picturelife Inbox system.

Disadvantages

• No account sync to Youtube, Vimeo or a mobile video service such as Vine.
• The design is somewhat dark and too simple.
• Social part of Picturelife is not promoted well enough (Hard to find).
• Friend stream is nothing to get excited about, pretty plain design and not many functions.

Conclusion

Picturelife is a wonderful photo saving and sharing service. It cannot replace your Instagram, but is most likely one of the best photo-hosting services/apps available out there. With reasonable pricing, multiple-device and service syncing, numerous sharing options and more, Picturelife is definitely a good tool for all your photo backup needs.