web standards

Despite the fact that Blogger doesn't really pay attention to them (it's true, my blog failed the W3C validation), I've begun to really pay attention to web standards when putting my websites together. I depend on The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which is the shadowy council of wizards who through archaic rituals and naked rain dancing decide the fate of web-design failures. No not really. According to them:"The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. W3C's mission is: To lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the Web." w3.org Although, I like my definition a lot better.

These standards serve as guidelines for developers of Web applications and sites so they (the developers) can build their sites according to those standards. Usually this will ensure that any browser will see the site the way the developer had intended. So even though your site may look beautiful in Firefox, it could look like week old, regurgitated pizza in Internet Explorer (more on that later). But who cares? Why should paying attention to such things really matter? If you have a site, chances are you are providing something. Whether it's a portfolio, a store, a witty blog entry (ahem), or an insipid game, people are going to be viewing your site. So if they saunter on over to your "insert website here," and it looks like the Internet blew up, you are going to lose your audience.

I'm always surprised by the fact that web accessibility is ignored (purposefully or not). A lot of people are still unaware of how important these web standards are, or they assume more people are following them. If you are one of people that believe web standards are universally accepted and implemented and designers/developers strive to maintain the best possible quality in their work, well then you (and me unfortunately) are living on another planet.

Apparently here on Earth, the population of designers and developers who are standards-aware represent a very small percentage of those in the web business. I'm not going to raise my banner and throw a parade in celebration of the fact that I have mastered the web. Even though my code passed validation, there is still a lot more that I can do to make my sites truly accessible. There is a huge learning curve when it comes to the web and I will be a perpetual student. New technologies are sprouting like dandelions. Many developers are set in their ways for the most part. If they are smart and flexible, new technologies won't throw them. However, if they are like the many who remain stubborn, they will continue to churn out crap.

Then there is the other side of the coin - the people like me who look at web design as an art form. I may not do it the right way but I'm always trying to better my work. The problem now for me is finding a balance between my art and the skeletal structure of it all.

So, how do we ultimately find that balance? People need to take a step back and think about why they aren’t following the guidelines that have been in place for some time. Maybe they’re afraid because they know how guilty they are and are afraid of change and fear they may lose business if they do something too radical. Maybe they just don’t know what to do, or perhaps they are just lazy.


Adhering to web standards doesn't just mean making a site compliant. It is a way to provide the best quality possible and accessibility for all. When you make something, whatever it may be, you don’t want to use duct tape where nails should be used or glue where something needs to be welded. Implementing the right tools for a project is just common sense, especially if you want it done right. Usually, paying attention to them as best as you can fixes most problems for web projects. This not only ensures the longevity of a project but easy maintenance.

Now lets talk about Internet Explorer. I've already expressed my general hatred of Internet Explorer, so I won't really go into that much. It has only been recently, that I realized complying with the W3C's standards would make that much of a difference in IE. It wasn't until a site I was working on just flat out didn't work in IE. I knew about the validator but I only ever used it for CSS, which was always perfect. When I ran the site through the validator and had it fix all the errors, the site actually worked. Aside from a few things being a little off; it looked the way I had intended. Everything was where it should be. That doesn't mean I have a new love for IE, it just means I can barely tolerate it a little more than I used to.

In an article from Wired titled Why Internet Explorer 7 Will Break the Web (10/13/06), writer Michael Calore discusses Microsoft's backwards way of approaching the WC3's standards. Even though this article is two years old, the truth it spouts still holds true today. IE 7 is slightly better than it's older siblings, but it still does not match up to its cousins Firefox, Safari and Opera. Calore writes,

Microsoft's next generation browser is due to arrive in a week or two (October 18 is the word on the street), so you'd better prepare yourself for the inevitable meltdown. Much has been made about Microsoft's employment of a backward process for rolling out Internet Explorer 7. The IE7 team asked web developers to download the browser and test their sites against it. Here's the exact wording from a post on the Microsoft Developer's Network published yesterday, October 12: Prior to deployment of IE 7, we strongly recommend that you test your Web sites, extensions, and applications to make sure they are ready. Microsoft recommends that Web sites and applications are ready for the release of Internet Explorer 7 this month.

Way to go Microsoft. Not only is it backwards, but it's just plain ludicrous. Calore agrees with me, "This is totally backwards!” he writes, “Isn't this exactly the scenario that web standards were put in place to prevent?" Microsoft is a member of the W3C, but typical Microsoft likes to dictate his or her own rules. They feel that since their browser is used by approximately 80% of the web surfing public, they can do whatever they feel like. Even issue silly hats with each new user if they wanted. "

(Can I just have the silly hat?)

“To be fair,” Calore continues, Internet Explorer 7 offers more support for web standards than previous versions.” Despite all of this, you still need to do a bit of tweaking to get sites to look identical in Firefox and IE. Apparently people have been complaining and Microsoft actually listened. According to another article from Wired.com, IE 8 will actually adhere to web standards. Scott Gilbertson writes,

Microsoft's Internet Explorer team has backed down and announced that the upcoming IE8 will support established web standards out of the box. The news reverses Microsoft's earlier decision that, while IE would bring improved support for web standards, those features would be disabled by default ... IE8 will still feature three rendering modes, a "super standards" mode, where pages are rendered according to web standards, an IE7 standards mode, which mimics the incomplete support in IE7, and what Microsoft charitably calls IE6's "standards mode" The key change is that by default IE8 will render pages using the "super standards" mode, which means that if you've been creating webpages based on the W3C's established guidelines, IE8 should handle your site without issue (assuming IE8's standards support is as good as the IE8 team is promising).

Excuse me while I laugh. I feel that it would be a cold day in hell if IE actually worked the way it is supposed to. It will also make my job as a designer a lot easier. However the chance that the general web surfing public will download the new IE is very slim. Some people are still stuck on using IE 6, and in some cases IE 5. So while IE 8 may eliminate many issues that its predecessors had, there’s no way of knowing that it will run perfectly. Look at what happened with Vista.

The moral of the story is if Microsoft adhered to the standards from the beginning (which coincidentally, they helped to develop) then we may not be in this situation today. Why is it that Firefox and Safari can work so perfectly and IE is like the retarded kid on the back of the web design bus? (Yeah I'm going to hell).

While I, and many other designers long for a design utopia where everything works, it may be a pipe dream. Microsoft always promises diamonds but we usually end up with rusty fake gold that turns your fingers green.

Anyway, I think I've said all I can about this topic. I'm going to get back to work now - which would involve tinkering with HTML code to make sure it works everywhere. Maybe I should hire those wizards.

hi supernintendo chalmers!

I'm in love. I didn't know it was possible to love a hunk of plastic this much. No, I'm not talking about anything dirty; I'm talking about my brand new Nintendo DS. (By brand new, I mean used, but it's in pristine condition and it’s new to me). I never wanted a game boy when I was a kid. While I enjoyed playing Kirby on my cousin's, I never had much interest in owning one, nor could I convince my parents to buy me one or any other system, like the SNES or N64. Their argument always was "you already HAVE a game system" meaning the old school NES. Which, I did revive in middle school playing The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, and 3, and the old standby Tetris. I got a PS1 in High School, playing only Spyro, Chrono Cross, and Final Fantasy 8 & 9 - then abandoning it because I lost interest and I have the attention span of a goldfish. Despite that however, I'm surprised I played them for as long as I did.

And then there was college. I had weird periods of downtime. I longed for a SNES and a stockpile of games to not only waste time but also keep me from doing my homework and you know, friends and a life. But I lacked the funds. I think my average bank balance throughout college was 300 bucks. I discovered Emulators! Whoever developed this very illegal bit of software should be crowned and worshiped by people like me - poor, game hungry college or post college students. I have NES, SNES and N64 emulators on my computer. Come and arrest me Nintendo.

So anyway, I've wanted a DS for a while. I don't know what sparked it other than how cool it looked and it's portable. I think the final push was a commercial for the New Super Mario Bros. game. There is a power up where you turn into a Mario who has essentially taken growth hormones and grows to 5 times his normal size. There are many other enjoyable aspects of the game too. But there are too many to list.

Having beaten the game however, I am quite sad. I'm going to miss that fat little Italian stereotype in red pants. The good news is, I have Mario Kart and Tetris on their way, and as of today I own the Simpsons game. It's like the XBox game but bitty and DS'erized. It's really fun; so far I have played as Homer, Bart and Lisa. If I can play as Maggie, I will be a happy bunny.

I now have something new to spend my money on. Although, I don't think I can ever spend enough money on gadgets (I'm going to buy a new ipod eventually, I just bought headphones, and there's an LG cell phone calling my name, aka taunting me until my contract is up and I can trade in my current phone for the new shiny one).

So, I'm going to geek out with my DS and see how much of my life I can destroy.

No really, this is where most of my money goes

I'm a Mac user. That statement alone will usually get me flayed, drawn and quartered, then repeatedly bashed on the head with a frying pan by most PC loyalists. I fail to see the animosity sometimes. We have the same basic computer hardware. Macs just do things a little differently .... and better. (Okay, you may now get your torches, sharp and pointy things, and stabby stabby knives ready).

This is not going to be an argument about why I think my Mac Book Pro is the best thing since Reese's Peanut Butter cups (because nothing actually is), this is about my abusive, sadomasochistic relationship with Apple. Oh yes, Apple has me bound and gagged and whips me on a daily basis. Dangling shiny, shiny iPhones in front of my face that are just beyond my reach and price range.

The last time I was at the Apple Store, I spent close to 300 dollars, the time before that about 3000 (most of it being my Dad's money), and several hundred dollars prior to that. Software, two iPods, laptop cases, an eMac (which I didn't actually pay for). All in all, I and my father, have given a lot of our money to Apple.

It makes my credit card and my bank account sad when I buy these expensive toys. I could just as easily sell out to Microsoft, but I don't! I continue to return to Apple like a love sick puppy who's been beaten too many times and keeps coming back for more! Or a whore who enjoys really violent, s&m sex. Okay, that was a little graphic.

As sometimes happens, your pretty little Mac becomes possessed by the devil. If you didn't pay for Apple Care (the extended 3 year warranty) or your Apple Care has run out, you can expect to pay out the butt for the repairs. Apple is really good at creating great products that are often fatally flawed. One would think after having 4 Apple computers die on me, that I would run screaming for the hills, vowing to stay as far away as possible from the Apple store. That I had learned my lesson.

And yet, that love sick puppy analogy comes back into view. Apple owns my soul, and as long as they make beautiful pieces of machinery that perform like they were made by God (SOMETIMES), I will be their bitch once more. Whip me again Steve (Jobs that is).

And now, the Apple store is hiring really cute nerdy boys that tend to nerd flirt their way into making me buy something. Damn you Apple! Don't you know that cute nerdy boys are my favorite? That I wish one of them was my boyfriend to get me a really kick ass discount? And you know, a shiny new Mouse on for my birthday? Is that too much to ask?

Somewhat Useless Japanese Gadgets

I love Japan, and all Asian countries for that matter. If not for it's kooky, innovative art and fashion, than the mindfuck that is Japanese anime. I frequent the oh so cute and trendy tech blog, Geek Sugar, home to random blips of technology, geek chic laptop bags and devices and some of the strangest Japanese gadgets I have ever seen. From the country that brought us Nintendo, here are the contenders for weirdest Japanese gadgets (The following were all found on geeksugar).

This is an actual woven rug, but in tiny, mousepad form. They are available for $19 each from Museum, Persian, Native American, Gregorian, Designer, and Woolrich collections from joshinweb.jpg. Don't get me wrong, I love me a Persian/Oriental rug. I think they add texture to an otherwise drab room. I never thought however, to put one under my mouse. Sure, it would probably be better looking than my black gel filled pillow mouse pad from Staples, but I would wonder how an optical mouse would fare on it.

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While weird, this is actually kind of useful. Everybody knows that UV rays are slowly killing us all. Limiting one's time is essential these days. Wouldn't it be cool if your cell phone could tell you how strong the UV index is? The neat little charms start out as white and change colour as they absorb sunlight. (If you can read Japanese, you can buy them here). The price starts at $6, but goes up by how many beads and bling you decide to add (there is an option to add real Swarovski crystals). It may be a neat thing for people who, unlike me turn violently red without obsessively reapplying sunscreen, worship the sun.

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This was actually found on gizmodo.com. If I were maybe 10-15 years younger, I would want these for my doll house. Considering I had one of these chairs in normal size (I think it was pink with daisies on it), my tea parties with Barbie, Donatello, a rubber Ducky, and Snoopy would have been much cuter. However, I think the purpose of this mini chair is to act as a stand for one's ipod, cell phone, or as pictured, a pile of paper clips (cause you know, they need a place to sit?). I don't even know where one could buy this thing, or why one would want to. If your ipod says, "I'm tired of laying on your desk, give me a chair," first of all, wonder what you are smoking to make you think your ipod is talking to you, and then maybe consider hunting down this mini chair.

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Remember that scene in Return of the Jedi where R2D2 is serving drinks? Well I think whoever came up with this little dude totally was trying to recreate that scene. According to Geeksugar,

"The robotic refrigerator Asahi - named after the beer of course - not only pours the beer for you, but he keeps it cool in his inbuilt refrigerator as well."

I know a lot of boys who would love to have something like this in their apartments. It requires far too much energy to put down the Wii controller and get a beer! Why not make your little robot do it for you? I would probably replace the beer with really good Sangria, but that's just me. Apparently this is only available in Japan. Can you see this running around at a super bowl party? Hey give it another purpose and put the dip bowl on its head!