Monthly Archives: January 2010

Jan 31 2010

Signs

There are signs that things could potentially change drastically in your web browsing world. Within the past week, there are some things that should make you stand up and notice.

iPad
It’s not a matter of coolness or funkiness that should make you stand up and pay attention.  It’s the lack of support for Adobe Flash that stands out for me.  Instead, the focus on the browser to support the HTML5 standard is key.  You should read as much as you can about HTML5.  Start with the Wikipedia article to get a sense of where this upgrade to the technology is headed.  Can a singular device signal a change in direction?  Whether it’s the cart or the horse, consider that few had heard of Firewire before the fruit coloured iMacs.  Remember the outrage when the new Macbooks came without Firewire.  Many forecast the end of the world but witness the growth in digital cameras that don’t require Firewire.

Google’s Blog
Then, from the Google blog, we see this post.  It’s not big and flashy and is provided almost as friendly advice that it’s time to make sure that you’re using a modern browser.  That’s always good advice for any software as the bad guys work to exploit vulnerabilities in software.  You want to make sure that you’re fully patched.  However, the message that new features in Google Docs and Google Sites won’t work with older browsers is ominous.  You’ve got a month to upgrade and the blog post indicates that you’ll see the effects starting March 1.

Microsoft
With the leader’s share in browser installations, any change to a web browsing standard has to include Microsoft.  They are onside and, in fact, have a testing centre set up here.  There’s another sign that you cannot ignore.  A concern on the Microsoft end of things is Silverlight which would join the Flash player in a fully implemented HTML5.

YouTube
Arguably the biggest dispenser of media, YouTube, is onboard with this as well.  There is an opt-in service that lets you abandon the Flash player in favour of HTML5 for viewing your videos.

See what happens when you incorporate HTML5 into the way you’re doing things by looking at Jillion’s HTML5 Media Player’s demo.

Is HTML5 the answer?  A lot of really smart people think so.  Flash support seems to be the most noticeable.  After all, how many times do you turn on your computer and there’s a security update for the Flash player?  Or, you get to a website and receive the message “Problems playing content – update your Flash player”.  But, HTML5 is much more than alternatives to that player.

The signs are there if you’re paying attention.  Whatever browser you’re using will typically push out a message when there are upgrades.  You may or may not pay attention to it, but I would suggest that the writing is on the wall.  When you get the notification that it’s time to upgrade, you really should.  If you’re still using Internet Explorer 6, you need to read this article.

There are great browsers available that give you the full internet experience now and you’re going to want to continue it into the future.  Get on board and upgrade your browser(s) today.  It’s not terribly difficult; just take the update when it’s offered.  There will come a time when all major browsers support it on their current platform.  But, you’ve got to be running the current version.

For a really technical reading, check this out.

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Jan 31 2010

links for 2010-01-30

Jan 30 2010

The Case for Geography

If you’re fascinated by maps, geography, and geographical differences, then here’s a couple of suggestions to eat into your spare time.  It’s one thing to think that you’re on top of everything; it’s quite another to poke around and realize that you really aren’t.

Geographic Trending
For a while now, Twitter has given us the concept of trending topics.  In the beginning, they reflected trending topics from anyone who is using the service.  However, now, you can take a look at things trending on location.  Just head to the Twitter homepage and look for the Trending tab and change it to your area of interest.  Immediately, the list of trending topics are localized to your choice.  How cool is that?  Not surprisingly, “iPad” and “Haiti” seem to be trending everywhere as I check this.

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Geographical Twittering
Bing has done a terrific job of mashing Twitter messages with it’s mapping service.  And, if you’ve got Silverlight installed on your computer, the experience is greatly enhanced.  Just head over to what Bing calls Map Apps (say that quickly ten times!) and choose Twitter Maps.

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From there, you’ll be presented with the world – literally!  Find a geographic location of interest and zoom in to the appropriate level and enjoy the Twitter Messages that are local to your map view.  As I write this entry, North America is just waking up so I’ve decided to see what’s happening in Melbourne.

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It is most effective if people have elected to turn on the geotagging features from the setting page of your Twitter account.  This will be an individual decision.  By default, it is turned off.

So, you have yet another couple of ways to enjoy the ongoing discussions that Twitter offers.  Yet another way to explain things when your friends “don’t get it”.

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Jan 30 2010

links for 2010-01-29

Jan 29 2010

Me, myself, and I

As I was browsing through my Twitter timeline this morning, I was specifically looking for something that I’ve been curious about for some time.  Specifically, I was looking for pronouns.  Goodness knows that nobody will confuse me with a real writer with a deep knowledge of the English language.  I can put two or three words together to form a blog entry and that’s about it.  I’m happy with that.

My focus on pronouns though has been something that’s been bouncing around in my mind for a while now.  The concept is whether they appear or whether they don’t and do they correlate to my interest in the message.  I remember a comment that my father once said that we should all strive to be good by making others look good.  I also remember the system operator of System EX-10 Canada, a multi-line BBS system who always talked in terms of “We”.  There was a time when I got to visit the “inner sanctum” which turned out to be a basement with multiple computers running the software.  I think “We” referred to the machinery because there certainly wasn’t a staff running the operation.

Today, huge amounts of communication flows through Twitter, Plurk, and Facebook in my world.  Your communication vehicles may be different.  The thrust is to get the message out – to communicate – to get to the point.  In Twitter, for example, you’re limited to 140 characters so there are times when you really need to focus on crafting your messages.  There are two things that I’m seeing. 

First of all, we see the creation of what my friend Margaret calls “MSM Speak”.  You know the stuff – LOL – BRB – the terms that we’ve all accepted as being part of the online experience.  A true butchering of the language but it seems to be a price that we’re happy to pay.

The other thing is that pronouns are harder to find.  Instead of complete sentences, writers are starting to focus on the predicate of their messages.  I’m noticing messages that very action oriented.  As a reader, you tend to fill in the subject with your own appropriate subject and usually the pronoun.  Sometimes, you fill it with “I”  and sometimes, you use the word "We”.  It’s an interest process and I find it very inviting and engaging as a reader.

Not all messages are like that though.  We have the “Rock Stars” who very clearly want to make the message all about them.  In this case, the message almost always includes references to “I” or “Me” and there’s no doubt that they’re focussing on themselves.  The other interesting observation is that this type of user doesn’t really want to engage in a conversation.  They just want to tell you what they’re doing.  “Here is a picture of my big toe”.  Like that’s going to increase the collective knowledge of their followers.

I’m certainly not a linguist but I know what I like to read.  I’m finding that the absence of pronouns a real magnet for my reading eyes.  Messages that start with “I” are increasingly glossed over.  Now that I’ve taken the time to write these thoughts, I’m sure that I’m going to continue to fixate on this.  With all that’s available for the reading and the learning, what catches your attention?

Jan 29 2010

links for 2010-01-28

Jan 28 2010

So, now we wait

Yesterday, the much anticipated release of the new Apple tablet garnered attention throughout the world.  Everyone was looking for details about what this thing would be and would it live up to its expectation.  It has been long thought of as yet another “game changer”.  So, I did a lot of reading to get all sides of the discussion.  If it truly is a “game changer”, how would it change the game?  Maybe another question is – what is the game that it’s going to attempt to change?

Apple Canada was very quick to get the content up on its website so that you could get some of the details and specifications.  In great marketing fashion, there are some great images so that you can see what it will look like.  I think it was certainly a tale of the times that Facebook is front and centre on the page.  What’s really intriguing is that the existing iPod/iPhone applications will work right away and that there are development efforts ongoing for more.  Of note, you’ll find applications for Apple’s iWork suite of tools.

In typical cheap-o me fashion, I couldn’t quite figure it out until I heard the price.  Going through the details indicate that it’s going to start at $499US and then upward from there depending upon memory, 3G, etc.  So, where does this fit into the computing scheme of things?  A MacBook entry model comes in at $999US.  It has a keyboard and is more of what I think about when I think of a computer that’s portable and personal.  But, the imagery indicates that when you turn the iPad on its side, you’ll have an onscreen keyboard that’s ready for input like a traditional keyboard rather than the finger typing that you had to learn on the iPod.

So, I’m out to try and hear many sides of this as I try to get my head around it.

  • CUE has a workshop ready to go in May.  At $600, you get the workshop and your own iPad;
  • Apple has a video online ready to talk about the design and philosophy of the product;
  • Since people didn’t know until yesterday, it was great to see mockup advertisements to see how close to the final product people could guess;
  • Is Apple alone in this design?  Read this article to see alternatives;
  • Details about the iPad and its various models courtesy of Gizmodo;
  • Things that are wrong about the new product;
  • and concerns about the Digital Rights Management that are part of the product.

Where does it fit into education?  Certainly it’s portable and will be a tough competitor to the iPod/iPhone in terms of portability and room in the backpack.  It has the potential to make collaboration possible with the youngest of students.  We’ve seen interactive tables for this area.  What if the same applications were made for the iPad and you just put it on top of a student’s desk and have the users gathered around the desk?  Certainly a great deal cheaper and more flexible than the alternatives.

How about for the older students?  My Computer Science background kicks in here.  Imagine a copy of Scratch that runs on this device where students can move the objects with their fingers rather than a mouse.  Perhaps an increased level of involvement in programming projects?

I’m still mulling around in my mind just exactly where a device like this fits.  My first reaction was “hey, this looks like a digital picture frame”.  Could I hang it on the wall or prop it up and interact with it via the bluetooth keyboard and mouse that Apple sells?  Will it replace my $300 Netbook where I can download and run a myriad of applications from any of the repositories available to me?  I’m a big user of open source software.  Will the equivalent be available through the Application store?  Will it run Flash?  That’s a big shortcoming of the iPod/iPhone when you’re using the web.

So, I sit here pondering this new device.  Since it’s not available for purchase right now, I don’t have to worry about making a big decision any time soon.  I’ll just wait like the rest of the world and  just continue to read and research and form my own opinion.

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Jan 28 2010

links for 2010-01-27

Jan 27 2010

History and the Big Five Browsers

Don’t you just love talking to today’s modern internet user.  You know the ones.  “Internet Explorer is Old School”.  You need to be running blah, blah, or blah.

Do they really know their stuff?  Do they recognize that Internet Explorer is not, in fact, old school but an ongoing web browser in development.  It’s a good product to have in your online productivity suite.  As a web developer, you should be testing your efforts against all of the contemporary browsers to make sure that they all look and work the way that you intended.  What else should be in your arsenal?  Definitely, you should also be testing against Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Chrome at least.

But is that all there is?  Have you ever been curious about the history of these things?  Just where did they come from?

Below, you’ll see an excellent visualization of browsers from over the years.

image

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Timeline_of_web_browsers.svg w:en:Creative Commons

Yeah, I know it’s small.  Take a look at the original image here.  How many of those browsers have graced your hard drive?  I find it amazing that there are so many excellent programmers producing so many excellent products in the quest to build the perfect browser adapting to changes in technology and standards as they come along.

Web development has challenges above and beyond that as well.  There are people that would do bad things to your computer by way of your connectedness and your choice of browser.  None of these browsers are sitting at version 1.0 as they strive to keep the end user safe and able to browse to any website on the internet.

There’s a great deal of educational value in studying the history of web browsers.  They represent a living and breathing documentary of how the entire world browses the internet and uses information.  Discussions about security and e-commerce can be drawn from the content of this study.  Few of the browsers are built from the ground up.  Instead, many are based upon the works of others.  Do you remember Mosaic or Netscape?

And to the “new school” browser … I would suggest that you don’t really understand the internet and web browsing until you’ve mastered Lynx.

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Jan 27 2010

links for 2010-01-26