Archive: June, 2009

The funny world of web design

June 30th, 2009 · Jacob · Design, Web No comments - Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Its been quite a while since I have been focusing on web development and related avenues. One thing is for sure! It is a really funny place to be in!

PLATFORMS

Web designing is no longer about some html-tags and css attributes concerning only the normal computer user. There are a variety of platforms that are being used for accessing information. It leads to more and more developer environments with newer functionality. The designer branches out to specialize in each one of them at each stage of development leading to multiple roles.

CATCHING UP

The biggest problem for a web developer nowadays is staying updated with the latest advancements in the web-o-sphere. The amount of content related to the field is getting enormously large by the minute. New technologies change the way content is being perceived. Just when you finish trying out and experimenting with some prevailing method, you find a better method already  available and then you turn your  focus on it. The notion of browsers and feed readers to just relay the articles has now changed to providing  the content that is relevant. Intelligent systems rely on the user activity to chuck out what is not needed for the user. Thanks to some really nifty web applications, we can still survive.

DOC-TYPES

There is  clearly a lot of buzz related to the future of web standards. There are people who support either xhtml 2.0 or html5, bombarding each other with valid reasons that cannot be dismissed by any at this early stage. There are people moving from xhtml 1.0 to older doc-types  like HTML 4.0 stating it would be easier as it provides the ‘minimal mental shift’. Other people just want to choose a side when its ready and supported by all browsers and would gladly continue the current standard of xhtml 1.0. I think people should start using the next level of specifications and only then we can elevate them to the next standard! Fortunately there are a lot of examples and good articles  that can give newbies a taste of these processions.

FONT-EMBEDDING

CSS3 @font-face is going to relieve the old web-fonts that have  served us well over past years. It is time to give them a rest and give a look into new types .  It may take some time but it seems to be the way we are going. Embedding fonts in websites seems to have disheartened many type foundries as fonts can be easily downloaded. Even when typekit was announced, people were unhappy. This time it was the customers who already had a license and expressed discomfort is buying a license through typekit again.

BROWSERS WOES IE6

Everyday I hear people cursing the hell out of IE6! I mean it is a ‘trending topic’ that just refuses to die. I wish it did! Many designers have nightmares when it comes to optimizing their website with IE6 which still many ignorant people seem to love.  Microsoft is desperately trying to make up for some lost ground by some rather weird advertisements and campaigns for IE8. Many netizens deal with IE6 by simply ignoring its existence,  use hacks,  javascript workarounds or by simply blocking the browser access. A smarter option would be to use a generic stylesheet for IE6 that simply displays the content in a structured manner.

AND MORE NEW PROBLEMS

Its like Microsoft keeps on committing new and new mistakes with Outlook 2010 deciding to go with table based layouts for viewing HTML emails disabling the goodness of CSS. Okay! So what do people who care do? Send a strong word! Fix it! Microsoft responds and defends their reasons to use the Word rendering engine and the discussion rages on. Just when we thought about the standards support of IE8 and the browser moving towards the right direction; Imagine, having to do table-based layouts for your emails.

With all these different options and  methods prevailing, its really amazing how the developer community sticks together and engages in generative discussions to push us all towards a future that is  bright and promising. After all its our funny little world of web design! :)

What college taught me…

June 14th, 2009 · Jacob · Fun, Writing 3 comments - Tags: , , , , , ,
  • The pen is the most difficult object to borrow in a college. Everyone simply has just ONE.
  • The farther you get from the blackboard, better-looking the blackboard becomes.
  • The time between two lecture periods seems like eternity. Either the first teacher has to relent or the second has to resign.
  • Assignments are reproduced with 5% accuracy at each stage of mass copying.
  • You feel the friend sitting next to you is sleeping better than you do.
  • Sitting under a fan and listening to a lecture is probably the safest things to do in college.
  • If a teacher takes two hours of topic at a stretch, it ought to be the end of the semester.
  • While writing exams, the girl next to you always seems like a university topper.
  • ..and the boy next to you seems to be thinking all the time.
  • The teacher invigilating your room is always thinking that you are about to do something off the rules. Oh come on!
  • No matter how hard you study, you always forget question number one.
  • One who wears washed and well ironed clothes everyday to college is abnormal.
  • He/She who visits the library often wants to replace their existing backpacks.
  • Define ‘Optimism’- When you leave college…
  • College canteen is the first place where you start to appreciate your moms cooking.
  • When a teacher approaches, catch your topmost button of your shirt. It gives you satisfaction that they got the wrong notion of your respect.
  • If you enter the computer lab and everyone suddenly leaves, wash your feet and come back.
  • The beautiful girl standing in front of the library holding a file is your new stand-in lecturer who will leave in two months.
  • The college bus always stops 100m away from where you are standing.

Version V: “rize”

June 12th, 2009 · Jacob · The Site One comment - Tags: , , , , , ,

My website has entered its fifth incarnation. Its been a long time since I have neglected this space. Earlier the content used be just a blog at a different location. I have transferred all of the blog, portfolio and other content to this domain.

Platform

I did stick around with good ‘ol wordpress, entrusting it with a weak database structure that was inherited from old vestec modules. A few tweaks and it was good to go. The portfolio entries too followed suite and collapsed into the wordpress structure.

Archives

The depository containing the entries will sport a new look. I based the design on the beautiful typographical poster of Mike Geisser, called Weapons of Mass destruction.

Journal

The journal is about 3 years old. The styling is particularly inspired from Jonathan snook’s website, adapting his three-column goodness in a healthy way. Ofcourse! Nowadays, It simply wouldn’t do with your latest tweet basking in top-sidebar. The usual link-love, delicious crumbles and other connections are tucked neat into the elegant sidebars.

Compatibility

The biggest news for IE6 is that it no longer has any privilage for accessing my regular stylesheets. Earlier I had plans to just disable content for the imcompetent browser. I’ll go easy on it this time thanks to Andy Clarke’s Universal Style sheet for IE6.

So, What do you think about the new theme?