[net-gold] [webdev] Web Design Update: January 29, 2010
- From: "David P. Dillard" <jwne@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Net-Gold <Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple University Net-Gold Archive <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple Gold Discussion Group <TEMPLE-GOLD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Gold <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Sean Grigsby <myarchives1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K12AdminLIFE <K12AdminLIFE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Platinum <net-platinum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:45:49 -0500 (EST)
.
Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:24:17 -0600
From: Laura Carlson <lcarlson@xxxxxxxxx>
To: webdev <webdev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [webdev] Web Design Update: January 29, 2010
+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 8, Issue 31, January 29, 2010.
An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and
development.
++ISSUE 31 CONTENTS.
SECTION ONE: New references.
What's new at the Web Design Reference site?
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/webdesign/
New links in these categories:
01: ACCESSIBILITY.
02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.
03: COLOR.
04: EVALUATION & TESTING.
05: EVENTS.
06: FLASH.
07: JAVASCRIPT.
08: MISCELLANEOUS.
09: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.
10: TYPOGRAPHY.
11: USABILITY.
12: XML.
SECTION TWO:
13: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?
[Contents ends.]
++ SECTION ONE: New references.
+01: ACCESSIBILITY.
Is Web Accessibility a Human Right?
By Vlad Alexander.
"The Web is now so tightly integrated into our society that it's second nature
to obtain employment, access education, do commerce, get information, get
entertainment and even build social relationships online. If the Web is now a
permanent and integral part of our society, then is denying a group of people
access to much of the Web a form of discrimination and a denial of a human
right?"
http://rebuildingtheweb.com/en/is-web-accessibility-a-human-right/
The Accessibility Verdict: HoustonTx.gov
By Jim Thatcher.
"First I looked at the District of Columbia web site and then New York City. We
are looking for government (non-federal) web sites that are accessible. Both DC
and NYC were disappointing, garnering a C- for accessibility with a limited
assessment..."
http://dotgov.com/2010/01/the-accessibility-verdict-houstontx-gov/
Web Accessibility Myths
By Ian Pouncey.
"There is a lot of good advice for the discerning web developer to find on the
web on how to make a website accessible, unfortunately there is also plenty of
bad or outdated advice out there as well. Here are a few of the myths of
accessibility that you may hear..."
http://ianpouncey.com/weblog/2010/01/web-accessibility-myths/
When the Right Hand Doesn't Listen to the Left
By Joe Dolson.
"Authoring forms is an important part of keeping the web fully accessible - not
just providing access to information, but allowing users to fully interact with
the web in all it - glory. Interactivity is what makes the web powerful and
persuasive..."
http://tinyurl.com/yay4c6v
Click Versus Activate
By Gregory J. Rosmaita.
"...There is too much natural language "baggage" associated with the term
"click" for it to be used in a generic manner..."
http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/wiki/Click_versus_activate
Could Ruby, a HTML 5/CSS 3 Feature, Help People with Cognitive Disabilities?
By John Rochford.
"...It is clear from the above example how Ruby could technically provide
literal alternatives. In practice, I think it won't work. Definitions of
non-literal text such as sarcasm and idioms are open to wide interpretation.
They are also culture dependent. This means people will see different
definitions for the same non-literal text, which will be confusing.
Furthermore, attempts at such definitions are likely to be clumsy and difficult
to understand, such as the above example. Ruby should not be used for this
purpose."
http://tinyurl.com/yexnmra
Guideline 3.1 Easy to Read, Please
By Olga Revilla.
"Make text content readable and understandable..."
http://tinyurl.com/ykelylj
Hey Apple, What About iPad's Accessibility?
By Suzanne Robitaille.
"In Apple's rush to debut the new iPad tablet it forgot one little piece of
marketing: Accessibility. Apple has an accessibility page but it didn't bother
to add the iPad before launching it yesterday at its headquarters. And even
though Steve Jobs' keynote was likely prepared, Apple didn't bother to add
captions for deaf or hard of hearing reporters, nor did it add captions to the
46-minute video broadcast of Jobs' speech or the video 'demo' of the new
tablet. Sheesh. Apple knows better. The good news is that all existing iPhone
accessibility features will be available on the iPad..."
http://tinyurl.com/ygvnt6n
+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.
High Contrast Proof CSS Sprites
By Steve Faulkner.
"CSS sprites are a useful method to display graphics while preserving bandwith
and improving page rendering times. One of the problems with CSS sprites when
it comes to their accessibility is that some operating system display themes
such as Windows High Contrast mode have the effect of hiding CSS background
images. So if an alternative version of the image is to be displayed when a
user changes the default theme to suit their requirements, the developer has
needed to provide an alternative with images inserted inline rather than as
CSS background images. In many cases the developer does not do this, as it is a
lot of extra work and undermines the performance benefits of CSS sprites..."
http://www.paciellogroup.com/blog/?p=514
70+ Essential Resources For Creating Liquid and Elastic Layouts
By Zoe Gillenwater.
"...Check out these great online resources on creating liquid/fluid and elastic
layouts, including sources for design inspiration, downloadable templates,
frameworks, articles and tutorials...."
http://tinyurl.com/yf4xnsq
Up Late with CSS3, and Loving It!
By Andy Clarke, John Allsopp, Dan Cederholm, Miraz Jordan.
"Andy Clarke believes in experiments, Dan Cederholm is excited about layering,
and John Allsopp reveals an nth-child secret. Learn the favorite CSS tricks of
these three web design experts. Deck: Andy Clarke believes in experiments, Dan
Cederholm is excited about layering, and John Allsopp reveals an nth-child
secret. Learn the favorite CSS tricks of these three web design experts."
http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1439190
IE Background RGB Bug
By Chris Coyier.
"Using RGBa for progressive enhancement is getting more and more popular, which
is awesome. Even nearly a year ago it was pretty much ready to rock. A great
way to handle the progressive enhancement part is just to declare a fallback
color before the RGBa value, so older browsers that don't support it will get a
solid color version..."
http://css-tricks.com/ie-background-rgb-bug/
Find Unused CSS Selectors With CSS Usage, A Firebug Extension
By Neal Grosskopf.
"As a website grows so does its stylesheet. The problem is, the opposite is not
true. As a pages get removed, seldom do the selectors in the external
stylesheet. This becomes even worse with multiple employees, especially if
people come and go. Enter CSS Usage..."
http://www.nealgrosskopf.com/tech/thread.php?pid=66
+03: COLOR.
Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color
By Cameron Chapman.
"Color in design is very subjective. What evokes one reaction in one person may
evoke a very different reaction in someone else. Sometimes this is due to
personal preference, and other times due to cultural background. Color theory
is a science in itself. Studying how colors affect different people, either
individually or as a group, is something some people build their careers on.
And there's a lot to it. Something as simple as changing the exact hue or
saturation of a color can evoke a completely different feeling. Cultural
differences mean that something that's happy and uplifting in one country can
be depressing in another..."
http://tinyurl.com/y8a49dk
+04: EVALUATION & TESTING.
Testing Expert Users
By Jakob Nielsen.
"It's more difficult to conduct usability studies with experienced users than
with novices, and the improvements are usually smaller. Still, improving expert
performance is often worth the effort."
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/experienced-users.html
Why Testers?
By Joel Spolsky.
"...You don't have to be a programmer to be a tester. A lot of companies want
testers to be programmers who write automated test suites. It seems more
efficient that way. This reflects a misunderstanding of what testers are
supposed to do, which is evaluate new code, find the good things, find the bad
things, and give positive and negative reinforcement to the developers..."
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2010/01/26.html
+05: EVENTS.
Web APP Masters Tour
April 27-28, 2010.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.
http://www.uie.com/events/web_app_masters/
UX Fundamentals
June 11, 2010.
Brighton, United Kingdom
http://workshopsfortheweb.com/uxfundamentals/
Web APP Masters Tour
June 6-7, 2010.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
http://www.uie.com/events/web_app_masters/
Usability Testing
July 16, 2010.
Brighton, United Kingdom
http://workshopsfortheweb.com/usability/
Web APP Masters Tour
July 12-13, 2010.
Seattle, Washington , U.S.A.
http://www.uie.com/events/web_app_masters/
Mobile HCI 2010
September 10, 2010.
Lisbon, Portugal
http://mobilehci2010.di.fc.ul.pt/
+06: FLASH.
With iPad, Apple has Started a New Browser War
By Stefan Mischook.
"...Apple does not like Adobe Flash and they are not supporting it on iPad and
iPhone..."
http://tinyurl.com/yfnzuoz
+07: JAVASCRIPT.
Unobtrusive JavaScript is Not Necessarily Accessible JavaScript
By Roger Johansson.
"Plenty of JavaScript demos and tutorials that you come across on the Web note
that they are implemented using unobtrusive JavaScript. While that is great and
should always be encouraged, some people seem to believe that unobtrusive
JavaScript equals accessible JavaScript. That is not always the case..."
http://tinyurl.com/y95j9pt
How To Emulate a Foreach Loop in JavaScript
By Rob Glazebrook.
"JavaScript does many things well, but one area I've always had trouble with is
the array and array-manipulation department. For example, this weekend I was
working on a project that required me to iterate through a JavaScript array and
perform a set of functions on the values within. In PHP, that would have looked
something like this..."
http://www.cssnewbie.com/emulate-a-foreach-loop-in-javascript/
+08: MISCELLANEOUS.
A Little Less Conversation
By Joel Spolsky.
"Have you ever invited employees to a meeting just so they wouldn't feel left
out? If so, you may be an overcommunicator..."
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100201/a-little-less-conversation.html
+09: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.
YouTube Embraces HTML5, But Stops Short of Open Web Video
By Scott Gilbertson.
"Google is now offering up YouTube videos using HTML5's next-generation video
tag. But this advancement is only available to those surfing with Chrome or
Safari- Firefox and Opera users need not apply..."
http://tinyurl.com/ylbyxfd
HTML5 Video: 25% H.264 reach vs. 95% Ogg Theora Reach
By Silvia Pfeiffer.
"Vimeo started last week with a HTML5 beta test. They use the H.264 codec,
probably because much of their content is already in this format through the
Flash player..."
http://tinyurl.com/yfzc775
YouTube and Vimeo Support HTML5 Video
By Richard Clark.
"Unless you've been hiding under an XHTML2 shaped rock for the past week or so,
you'll know that both YouTube and Vimeo have announced plans to support the
HTML5 video element. Two blog posts published last week announced that the two
major players in online video are experimenting with the HTML5 <video>
element..."
http://html5doctor.com/youtube-and-vimeo-support-html5-video/
The Video Element In HTML5 - Great Possibilities, But Also Codec And Licensing
Problems
By Robert Nyman.
"Man has always been inspired by things moving around and giving away noises,
so it was just a matter of time before video content showed up on the web. For
a number of years, Flash was the de-facto standard of showing video, but now,
with HTML5, the video element has made its way into our lives..."
http://tinyurl.com/y96bxy5
Tutorial on HTML5 Open Video at LCA 2010
By Silvia Pfeiffer.
"During last week's LCA, Jan Gerber, Michael Dale and I gave a 3 hour tutorial
on how to publish HTML5 video in an open format. We basically taught people how
to create and publish Ogg Theora video in HTML5 Web pages and how to make them
work across browsers, including much of the available tools and libraries.
We're hoping that some people will have learnt enough to include modules in
CMSes such as Drupal, Joomla and Wordpress, which will easily support the
publishing of Ogg Theora. I have been asked to share the material that we
used..."
http://tinyurl.com/y9ocdqc
10: TYPOGRAPHY.
@font-face Browser Support and Tutorial
By Estelle Weyl.
"Up to now, web developers were limited in what typography they could use on a
website to what the client had installed in their environments. Now that we
have finally convinced designers to not include any fonts outside of georgia,
helvetica, arial, times roman, and a handful of others because of the awfulness
of text images, @font-face allows us to retrain designers to use unique fonts,
only if they have the legal right to post those fonts on the web..."
http://www.evotech.net/blog/2010/01/font-face-browser-support-tutorial/
+11: USABILITY.
Everyday Usability - 14-Point Checklist for Success
By Kimberly Krause Berg.
"...Here are some ways you can take a fresh look at your website every day to
ensure maximum usability..."
http://tinyurl.com/cs299b
Writing for the Web: The Right Strategy
By Shay Howe.
"When it comes to designing a website, content is often overlooked, but why?
Very rarely do users browse the web looking for a good design or decent
experience. Users come for the content. Not giving them what they want with
poorly written content will frustrate users. Not only does it waste their time,
but your time as well..."
http://www.shayhowe.com/web-design/web-content-strategy/
The Differences between Usability and User Experience
By RJ Owen.
"Usability refers to the ease with which a user can accomplish his or her goals
using any tool...Somewhat in contrast, user experience refers to the way a user
perceives his or her interaction with a system. User experience design
encompasses both interaction design and visual design and seeks to promote an
interface that is pleasing to the user."
http://www.insideria.com/2010/01/the-difference-between-usabili.html
+12: XML.
Using SVG For Flexible, Scalable, and Fun Backgrounds, Part I
By Shelley Powers.
"Many of us think of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) as an also-ran: fine for
charts and tables, but not much else. Yet SVG can actually enhance a site's
overall design, and can be made to work in even the most stubborn browser. In
Part I of a two-part series, Shelley Powers covers important basics of working
with SVG, including browser support and accessibility...."
http://tinyurl.com/yhugens
Using SVG for Flexible, Scalable, and Fun Backgrounds, Part II
By Shelley Powers.
"In Part II, dig deeper into the technology behind using SVG for your site
design. Explore how to incorporate SVG in a cross-browser friendly manner,
including using SVGWeb to ensure that the SVG shows in Internet Explorer. And
discover the unique characteristic that makes SVG ideal for page backgrounds:
scalability..."
http://tinyurl.com/yhoku4y
The Problem with SVG and Canvas
By Kilian Valkhof.
"SVG and canvas are awesome technologies, and are changing the way we use
graphics on the web. I love working with both, and support for both keeps
improving (IE9 might even support SVG!) However, they have one problem that is
really getting to me, and it's not even their fault."
http://kilianvalkhof.com/2010/design/the-problem-with-svg-and-canvas/
[Section one ends.]
++ SECTION TWO:
+13: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?
Accessibility Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/accessibility
Association Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/associations
Book Listings.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/books
Cascading Style Sheets Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/css
Color Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/color
Dreamweaver Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/dreamweaver
Evaluation & Testing Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/testing
Event Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/events
Flash Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/flash
Information Architecture Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/architecture
JavaScript Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/javascript
Miscellaneous Web Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/misc
Navigation Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/navigation
PHP Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/php
Sites & Blogs Listing.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/sites
Standards, Guidelines & Pattern Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/standards
Tool Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/tools
Typography Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/type
Usability Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/usability
XML Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/xml
[Section two ends.]
++END NOTES.
+ SUBSCRIPTION INFO.
WEB DESIGN UPDATE is available by subscription. For information on how to
subscribe and unsubscribe please visit:
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/webdevlist
The Web Design Reference Site also has a RSS 2.0 feed for site updates.
+ TEXT EMAIL NEWSLETTER (TEN).
As a navigation aid for screen readers we do our best to conform to the
accessible Text Email Newsletter (TEN) guidelines. Please let me know if there
is anything else we can do to make navigation easier. For TEN guideline
information please visit:
http://www.headstar.com/ten
+ SIGN OFF.
Until next time,
Laura L. Carlson
Information Technology Systems and Services
University of Minnesota Duluth
Duluth, MN U.S.A. 55812-3009
mailto:lcarlson@xxxxxxxxx
[Issue ends.]
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