Designers: Contrast is king! Okay, maybe that sounds a little overzealous, but read the article, and check-out some of the tools they link to. Really good stuff! Beyond the obvious (colors should contrast enough to make things pop, but not so much as to induce nausea), the article suggests started with grayscale, and adding color afterward. One useful tool is GrayBit.com, which let’s you enter an existing URL and see what those with visual color challenges might see (see this site using GrayBit).
We’ve all seen the link: FAQs. I’ve had a few clients say “I’ve seen websites that say F-A-Q, what does that mean?” and many others say they really wanted their site to have them, and, I have to agree with the author of A List Apart‘s Infrequently Asked Questions of FAQs article, I hate them. I have never once found an answer that I was looking for. And who in the heck wants to read a slew of questions that are not the question you have just to hopefully find the one you do have? Especially in a world of such web authoring tools as WordPress and Blogger, where search is so easy… The article, however, makes some really good points regarding deciding if a site needs them, how to choose which questions to include, etc. Worth a quick read.
From HTML5 Doctor comes an article full of words that I have used many times, and nearly cried when I read: How to use HTML5 in your client work right now. I love the “client conversation”… I nearly cried… :-) The author covers everything from the this-is-so-easy-and-there-is-no-reason-not-to suggestion of changing the DOCTYPE (to <!DOCTYPE html>, how easy is that?) to using HTML5 <form> fields (like <form type="email" ...>) because they degrade beautifully to regular <form type="text" ...> in browsers that don’t yet support HTML5 and more. This is a must read.
And if you are planning to start using HTML5 (and/or CSS3), feel free to make regular use of this handy HTML5 and CSS3 Checklist!
Google Chat just got a few new cool features! Send files, video chat, phone chat and more…
An interesting break-through could be on the way for Braille readers using electronic devices.
WOW, a 3D display without the glasses! Of course, Avatar wouldn’t look quite the same on this cube…
So after Google rebuked China’s censorship, GoDaddy now follows suit! Way to stand-up for the people, guys.
Yet another example of animation moving beyond Flash. Nothing up their sleeves, Spritely gives a simple, but cool, interactive animation using nothing but HTML and jQuery. Be sure to check-out the other examples in their gallery!
I’m still waiting to be impressed enough with the <canvas> element to devote the time to truly learn it through-and-through. But here’s another pretty cool demo…
I normally don’t like to write about stuff that is not confirmed, but this one got me all tingly… Maybe it is time to start trying to learn it!
Lastly, I think most people agree that the idea of the Segway is pretty cool, but I think most would agree that everyone they see using one looks like a bit of a dork… Well, the Taurus Concept seems like a pretty cool next step! And as far as I know, you do NOT have to wear the orange jumpsuit in order to drive one…
Happy reading,
Atg