Apple Introduces MacBook Wheel

A hilarious video by The Onion taking a humorous approach to Apple’s philosophy:

While the report is completely fictitious, there are a number of valid points made (through exaggerating):

• Apple are always desperate to be “innovative” in anyway, to the point of over-looking what the consumer is actually looking for
• In  many cases, the company looks to sell features as “must-haves”, and people learn to like it
• They make “revolutionary” announcements (like that of the iPhone), when the release is always months and months later
• The most important part of owning a Mac or an Apple product, is to proudly show it to everyone
• They are outrageously over-priced. Very few people can argue that what you pay for Apple products is completely nonsensical

Therefore, even though the video’s there to make you laugh, I think the Onion News Network makes valid arguments that is important for us, the consumers, to discuss and be aware of.

typeface.js: Redefining System Fonts

It seems like JavaScript is really picking up, as more and more developers join open source projects to bring fascinating features to the web. The latest of which is a project called typeface.js that renders the fonts of a given website using JavaScript, <canvas> and VML. This means that, instead of creating images for all of the text that will be using anything other than the default system fonts, developers will be able to embed the font via a type of typeface add-on, and type away!

The project is still in experimental phase, but seems excitingly promising.

Some of the fonts that can be embedded using typeface.js

Whenever designing or developing a website, you are inevitably tied to the following fonts:

• Arial
• Comic Sans MS
• Courier
• Georgia
• Impact
• Lucida
• Tahoma
• Times New Roman
• Trebuchet MS
• Verdana

There are a couple of others, but that is pretty much the safe list. After a while, websites become repetitive as everyone is using the same group of fonts for text (while relying on images for the special ones). Now, with the typeface project, the future looks bright.

Not only that, but the website actually offers a conversion tool that allows you to upload a font for it to be rendered in your website. The project in general is still requiring some work before it’s ready for wide deployment, but as always, open source projects can’t go wrong.

When Will IE6 Come To An End?

As a web designer, it’s quite a task to explain to a regular user the disadvantages of Internet Explorer 6.0. Mostly because there are so many reasons to hate the Microsoft browser, that anyone who has to deal with its annoyances will rush into yelling and swearing, and would never be able to make a rational argument. But generally speaking, this is why no one should even consider using IE6:

1. It does not comply with web standards
   That basically means that web designers and developers have to spend an extra 40% of the time of the project just to make the website look acceptable on it. In many cases, developers give up because you can never make it render the website properly. But unfortunately, that does not change the fact that there is still a significant number of users that continue to stick with it.
2. It does not support .png with transparent  backgrounds
   This is just appalling. There are numerous designs that rely on images with a transparent backgrounds, while using alpha. This means that images that have a shadow, for example, or any sort of gradient, while being on a transparent background will not show up correctly in IE6. The .png format is the only common one that supports those features, and it cannot be rendered by the disgraceful browser. There are some hacks and work-arounds, but they don’t always work, and are inefficient.
3. It is insecure
   The number of security holes and vulnerabilities is yet another impressive achievement by Microsoft. When browsing the web, it is extremely vital to be safe from potential threats, and with IE6, you are far from that.
4. Its performance is really sad
   While there are unlimited browser tests out there that would prove this point, it doesn’t take much to realize how much slower IE6 is compared to any browser, on any operating system. It’s slow, it’s sluggish, and just ruins the experience that is normally enjoyable.
5. Lacks many features
   Who can browse without tabs? How can you surf the net without your favorite Firefox add-ons? After a while, we become used to certain features and certainly cannot live without them. Since IE6 is outdated, users are limited and cannot take advantage of the true beauty of the Internet.

With all of those problems, IE6 continues to be a popular browser. In fact, 14% of the browser market share belongs to IE6. If you haven’t heard, there are strong movements across all corners of the Internet to wipe IE6 off of the world map:

• RIP IE6
• Bring  Down IE6
• IE Sucks
• Dear IE6, please leave

RIP IE6

Despite the aggressive campaigns and awareness techniques, Internet Explorer continues to have a significant market share. Ironically, that is mainly Microsoft’s fault. Firstly, IE6 comes pre-installed with Windows XP. And since many users do not allow automatic updates, they remain using this primitive tool. To make it worse, Microsoft released Windows Vista, which was a complete failure, thus forcing users to downgrade to XP, and not not even upgrade their browser. So not only do they produce the worst web browser to date, they reassure it’s prolonged existence with an even worse operating system.

However, there is reason for optimism. The awareness campaigns are reaching more and more users and the Firefox add-ons are catching on by word of mouth. Much more importantly, the official release of Microsoft Windows 7 is just around the corner (ETA: October 2009), which will either ship with Internet Explorer 8, or with nothing at all. It’s simply a matter of time.

To all of the web designers and developers out there, I tell you: hang in there, this will all be over soon.

jsAnim: Beginning of the End for Flash?

As I was stumbling upon the web, I came across the jsAnim website. The first impression that comes to mind when you open the website is that of vector-based, colorful Flash animation. Interestingly enough, though, it is yet another example of animation and cool effects achieved through pure JavaScript – no plugins required. Just like jQuery has introduced a wide range of animation effects and interactive content, JsAnim looks to rid the users of Flash, especially if all they’re going to do is relatively basic vector animation.

In an earlier post I made about the Solidays festival website, I talked about an example of impressive and intuitive Flash use. Unfortunately, many websites seem to be using Flash for the wrong reasons, and quite a number of developers have opted to fully rely on CMS-driven websites at the cost of some of those cool effects that can give you the edge in a website or online application. Nowadays, with the rise of JavaScript libraries such as jQuery and JsAnim, you can get the best of both worlds by integrating the JS files and calling upon them when needed. The result would be simple, professional and extremely easy to manage/maintain websites, that boast special effects and animation. This is not to say that Flash, as we now it, will cease to exist. Rather, this allows for developers to make a clear-cut choice: either develop the entire website in Flash, and take advantage of the unique features it gives you, or stick to XHTML and CSS using a CMS with JavaScript libraries integrated. The latter of which is by far the most popular choice.

One of the most impressive features of JsAnim is the small file size of just under 25KB. And unlike jQuery, you’re not going to be installing plugins that may increase the file size and require more time to load, at least not for the time-being. At version 0.2, this is only the beginning, and it can only get better.

My observation is that the difference between a multimedia developer and a web designer is growing bigger and bigger. Future generations of designers will have to make a choice earlier on, as it is going to be almost impossible to specialize in both areas. But who knows? Maybe ActionScript can go back to its JavaScript roots, and we get a Flash that integrates seemlessly into a website without requiring a plugin or any kind of special treatment.

Internet Censorship Explained

An excellent video by Good Magazine explaining all of what is involved in censoring internet access.

The Great Firewall of China

Seemingly not satisfied with censoring major websites like Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia, the Chinese government has ordered all PCs sold in the country to have a pre-configured software installed that would block all websites with pornographic content or language. Starting Juy 1st, anyone purchasing a new PC will have his hands tied, thanks to “Green Dam Youth Escort”, the latest technology that the Chinese government has been working on for years. In fact, they have deployed a special “Internet Police” body of more than 30,000 officers to ensure fluidity and compliance with orders.

China's Internet censored

Very few people would be willing to make a big fuss about the censorship of adult content, for various reasons. Firstly, many conservative families would actually like to prevent their children from accessing disturbing content. Secondly, no one would be proud of defending pornography, that would say many things about you that you wouldn’t like people to think. Moreover, with so many problems and human rights’ violations throughout the People’s Republic of China and beyond, there are more important things to worry about (such as basic daily needs), and there have been too many failures (According to Amnesty International, China has the largest recorded number of imprisoned journalists and cyber-dissidents in the world), so you wouldn’t want to mess with the authorities.

However, this is not an issue of pornography, it’s much bigger than that. The fact that the Chinese government can track the sites visited by every single person, and the fact that they now have the ability to censor any website whatsoever, makes the only free method of communication ever to exist almost completely impotent. It is a clear attempt to isolate the Chinese population from accessing information from the rest of the planet, and this will inevitably lead to dire consequences. While many governments are not fully aware of the power that the people posses thanks to the Internet, the Chinese authorities have done their homework and are taking all of the necessary measures to ensure totalitarianism.

What many do not realize, however, is that the Chinese government would’ve never succeeded in censoring and filtering internet access if it wasn’t for the helping hands from some of the American corporations. Google, for one, is a prime example of a company that claims to follow a certain philosophy, but acts hypocritically. Thus, while Google.com is censored, Google.cn is publicly accessible throughout mainland China. That is because Google were kind enough to offer the service of providing the Chinese with a stripped-down, filtered version of the original search engine.

As stubborn as they may be, there is very little the Chinese government can do to maintain the inevtiable explansion of the web. Sooner or later, the leackage cracks will be to big to handle, and the power will be restored to the real owners: the people.

Vintage Egyptian Inspiration

I came across vintage Egyptian film posters dating back half a century and thought to share the inspiration. If you take into consideration the resources available at the time, I would personally say that the Egyptian artists back then were much more creative than the ones around nowadays. Not to take anything away from contemporary Egyptian artists, in the different fields, but no one can deny that modern film posters lack the necessary charm.

The Dreams of Spring

The People Inside

The Last of the Bunch

Looking for future trends and techniques is not always the answer. sometimes we can look back at our own history for new ideas. You can view a large collection of vintage Egyptian film posters at Kodak Agfa’s Flickr page.

Solidays Festival Website

Every year, a massive music festival is organized in Paris in solidarity against AIDS. Solidays boasts some of the big names, such as Manu Chao, as well as many up and coming groups and artists. The build up to the big event has enjoyed a lot of success, thanks in particular to their inspirational website.

The Solidays annual music festival has an impressive website

With the rise of Content Management Systems, fewer web designers are choosing to work with Flash. While this topic is too big to be briefly brought up here, for the time-being, it is suffice to say that many developers chose to stick with XHTML and CSS as it is much easier to maintain, and much more flexible overall. Especially now with jQuery on the rise, there is a movement away from Rich Internet Applications, towards CMS-driven websites.

However, a website like Solidays.com reminds us all of the unprecedented beauty of Flash. We have forgotten that there is much more to Flash then actionscripted animation and vector graphics. The entire website feels like a short movie that has you glued to the screen (not to mention your ears’ full attention to the catchy tunes), and is truly a pleasant experience. Their use of colors is rejuvenating, and the animation techniques implemented are just glorious. The best part of it is that it’s not all looks and no brains, as you’d expect. In fact, the Solidays website is packed with information about every artist performing, plus general information the visitors would need.

On the one hand, the internet needs CMS-driven websites, giving power to the regular user to manage and maintain his or her website with minimal technical knowledge. But on the other hand, it is always refreshing to surf interactive and creative websites such as that of Solidays.

960 Grid System

When designing a new website, it is always important to be extremely organized and plan everything out from step one. That will avoid complications, and more importantly, help produce professional, sleek results.

The 960 Grid System is free CSS template that creates a 12-column style sheet. This allows you to organize the placements of the divs throughout your web page. The reason why it’s called 960, is because the majority of the websites created now are optimized for users on a 1024 x 768 screen resolution. Therefore, the maximum width would be 960 pixels.You can find examples of websites that are built on the 960 GS on the homepage.

If you are not going to stick to the standard 12-column template, you can always use the Custom CSS Generator available that will produce the file for you. Or you can just use the alternative 16-column style sheet, also freely available on the website.

One of the aspects I like most about the free service/tool, is the ability to download templates to incorporate while you’re in the design phase. Therefore, when you’re starting a new project, if you’re working with Photoshop, for example, you can download the .psd file that shows the columns, and base your design on that infrastructure. That way, when you get to the development phase, everything is a lot easier, and you’re website will be compatible with all modern browsers.

Along with the CSS file carrying the different-sized divs that you’re going to be working with, the 960 GS also includes a reset CSS file. If you haven’t been resetting your CSS when developing websites, that you should read this article to know why you should. But basically, resetting avoids a lot of browser incompatibility issues.

The downfall is that the CSS file holds a lot more classes than you’re going to be needing. But the easy way out is to erase all of the classes that you haven’t used after the initial code has been laid out. Realistically, however, you probably have more important things to worry about, than the few extra bytes produced by the style sheet.

After you’ve called on the CSS files, your markup will look something like this:

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<div class="container_12">
    <div class="grid_7 prefix_1">
        <div class="grid_2 alpha">
            ...
        </div>
        <div class="grid_3">
            ...
        </div>
        <div class="grid_2 omega">
            ...
        </div>
    </div>
    <div class="grid_3 suffix_1">
        ...
    </div>
</div>

Overall, a great base for your websites, and a tool that we should all be using.

Microsoft “Table”

The Microsoft Surface has been announced for a while now, but this video takes a sarcastic approach to the same advertisement Microsoft had used to market their new product. Besides the fact that it is hilarious, it’s also interesting to see how some new “innovations” do not always go hand-in-hand with users’ demands, but rather dictate what the user wants/needs:

It is an example of how many companies forget to look for what the user needs, as appose to coming up with features that can eventually be sold as a “must-have”.