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1,669 changes: 907 additions & 762 deletions _cache/optimized-images.json

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578 changes: 577 additions & 1 deletion _cache/share-cards.json

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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion src/_drafts/customizable-table-columns-for-better-ux.md
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Expand Up @@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ tags:
"HTML",
"tables",
"accessibility",
"UX",
"user experience",
]
description: "The table-modifiable web component lets users hide and show table columns using the Popover API, making wide data tables a lot easier to live with."
twitter_text: "Let users choose which table columns they actually want to see."
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion src/_drafts/pull-to-refresh-for-the-web.md
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Expand Up @@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ tags:
"HTML",
"JavaScript",
"mobile",
"UX",
"user experience",
]
description: "The pull-to-refresh gesture is second nature on mobile apps, but still uncommon on the web. This web component brings it over without too much fuss."
twitter_text: "Want pull-to-refresh on the web? Here’s a web component that brings it over nicely."
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17 changes: 17 additions & 0 deletions src/posts/2005-05-26-say-what-you-mean.md
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---
title: "Say what you mean"
date: 2005-05-26 01:47:30
comments: false
tags:
- "user experience"
- "web design"
description: "While doing some DNS modifications (for this site, in fact) on AIT Domains , I received the following error message when trying to update the nameservers:"
canonical: "https://blog.easy-designs.net/archives/say-what-you-mean/"
---

<p>While doing some DNS modifications (for this site, in fact) on <a href="http://www.aitdomains.com">AIT Domains</a>, I received the following error message when trying to update the nameservers:</p>
<p><img alt="Failed to modify domain nameservers! Error: NameServer not added to easy-reader.net Invalid old value for an attribute." src="/i/posts/2005-05-26/aitErrorMsg.jpg"/></p>

<!-- more -->

<p>The site’s programmers may know what that means, but I certainly don’t. That’s not the kind of error message that should be public-facing. These guys really need to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?path=ASIN/073571410X&amp;link_code=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;tag=easydesign-20&amp;creative=9325" title="View product details at Amazon">Defensive Design for the Web</a>.</p>
35 changes: 35 additions & 0 deletions src/posts/2005-05-27-trash-dom-treasure.md
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---
title: "Trash + DOM = Treasure?"
date: 2005-05-27 02:42:47
comments: true
tags:
- "web standards"
- "HTML"
- "CSS"
- "JavaScript"
description: "I was browsing the popular links on del.icio.us today and stumbled onto Nifty Corners and (via that page) More Nifty Corners . I have to say that I am incredibly impressed with the scripting, but I fear there is something wrong with..."
canonical: "https://blog.easy-designs.net/archives/trash-dom-treasure/"
---

<p>I was browsing the popular links on <a href="http://del.icio.us/">del.icio.us</a> today and stumbled onto <a href="http://pro.html.it/esempio/nifty/">Nifty Corners</a> and (via that page) <a href="http://pro.html.it/articoli/id_599/idcat_31/pag_1/pag.html">More Nifty Corners</a>. I have to say that I am incredibly impressed with the scripting, but I fear there is something wrong with this picture.</p>

<!-- more -->

<p>Lately, <a href="http://novemberborn.net/javascript/using-dom-for-hover">there</a> <a href="http://www.adactio.com/journal/display.php/20050421185604.xml">have</a> <a href="http://www.kurafire.net/log/archive/2005/04/26/on-separating-style-and-behaviour">been</a> <a href="http://www.robertnyman.com/2005/04/25/53/">some</a> <a href="http://novemberborn.net/javascript/using-dom-for-hover/seriously">border</a> <a href="http://www.adactio.com/journal/display.php/20040804214738.xml">wars</a> over the CSS <code>:hover</code> pseudo-class and its forays into the behavior layer. Sure, it’s easier to have CSS do the work sometimes, but that doesn’t make it right. Frankly, I agree with the concept that behavior should be separated from presentation, just as presentation should be separated from content (which is why I use JavaScript to open and close the faux-<code>&lt;select&gt;</code> in my <a href="http://www.easy-designs.net/articles/"><code>&lt;select&gt;</code> Something New series</a>).</p>
<p>I am also a big believer in clean, semantic markup, so I become concerned when anyone is adding superfluous code to the document to force a design issue. I know some might say I live in a glass house, but when I see someone putting code like this</p>
```html
<div id="container">
<b class="rtop">
<b class="r1"></b> <b class="r2"></b>
<b class="r3"></b> <b class="r4"></b>
</b>
<!–content goes here –>
<b class="rbottom">
<b class="r4"></b> <b class="r3"></b>
<b class="r2"></b> <b class="r1"></b>
</b>
</div>
```
<p>into their document (even if it is via the DOM), I begin to shudder. Maybe it’s the nagging purist in me, but that just seems wrong.</p>
<p>Are we falling into the old patterns again, forcing design issues through hacky markup? Does the use of non-semantic markup (<a href="http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2004/08/23/markup-missive/">taking a page from Eric</a>, no doubt) make it OK? Does the fact that it’s inserted via the DOM make it any more valid? Where do we draw the line?</p>
<p>I don’t have the answer, but I think we need to have the conversation.</p>
13 changes: 13 additions & 0 deletions src/posts/2005-05-28-i-wanna-be-a-big-player.md
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---
title: "I wanna be a big player"
date: 2005-05-28 23:04:03
comments: false
tags:
- "business"
- "web design"
description: "I opened the latest issue of Baseline to find a giant 2-page spread for 1&1 (a hosting company), touting their “ Dynamic Content Catalog ” and it’s ability to give you “website content like the big players.” Basically, they are offering..."
canonical: "https://blog.easy-designs.net/archives/i-wanna-be-a-big-player/"
---

<p>I opened the latest issue of <a href="http://www.baselinemag.com">Baseline</a> to find a giant 2-page spread for <a href="http://www.1and1.com">1&amp;1</a> (a hosting company), touting their <a href="http://order.1and1.com/xml/order/HostingOverviewContentmoduls"><span class="initial quote">“</span>Dynamic Content Catalog<span class="final quote">”</span></a> and it’s ability to give you “website content like the big players.” Basically, they are offering to syndicate content (news, sports, games, etc.) onto your site, so you no longer have to worry about keeping your site fresh or interesting.</p>
<p>I feel like this is an attempt to reintroduce the idea that every site needs to be a portal (why that concept is still floating about I’ll never know). I also see this as as flying in the face of one of the most important business objectives: establishing a brand, voice, etc. through copywriting. If all you have to offer your clients is data with no distillation, why bother?</p>
26 changes: 26 additions & 0 deletions src/posts/2005-06-06-why-intel.md
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---
title: "Why Intel?"
date: 2005-06-06 21:19:40
comments: false
tags:
- "industry"
- "business"
description: "I’ve been doing a little research lately into new laptops and I am finally starting to understand a little more about processors, etc. , so I am dumbfounded to hear that Apple is dumping IBM ’s PowerPC chips for Intel’s Pentium line..."
canonical: "https://blog.easy-designs.net/archives/why-intel/"
---

<p>I’ve been doing a little research lately into new laptops and I am finally starting to understand a little more about processors, etc., so I am dumbfounded to hear that <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jun/06intel.html">Apple is dumping <abbr title="International business Machines">IBM</abbr>’s PowerPC chips for Intel’s Pentium line</a>. From my experience, <a href="http://www.intel.com">Intel</a> chips a) run really hot and b) suffer from a severe processing bottleneck (3.2 Gigahertz with a 533 Megahertz Front-Side Bus? <abbr title="what the fuck?">WTF?</abbr>). It seems to me that it would have made more sense for <a href="http://www.apple.com">Apple </a> to go with <a href="http://www.amd.com"><abbr title="Advanced Micro Devices">AMD</abbr></a>, they’ve got incredibly powerful chips which I understand do not suffer from these problems. Maybe there’s something I’m missing, after all, I’m not a chip guy (or a <a href="http://wiredblogs.tripod.com/cultofmac/index.blog?entry_id=1125226">Hollywood mogul</a>).</p>

<!-- more -->

<p>Enough about the switch, I wanted to share some humor. I love this exchange on <a href="http://www.slashdot.org">Slashdot</a> in reaction to the news:</p>
<blockquote cite="http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=151831&amp;cid=12738056">
<p>Dispel any remaining doubts; we are now living in the evil mirror universe.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote cite="http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=151831&amp;cid=12738130">
<p>I’ll believe that when the Red Sox win the World Series!</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote cite="http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=151831&amp;cid=12738199">
<p>Yeah, right — that’s about as likely as finding out who Deep Throat is.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can <a href="http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/06/1752234">read the whole trail</a> if you like.</p>
18 changes: 18 additions & 0 deletions src/posts/2005-06-20-standardizing-nomenclature.md
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---
title: "Standardizing Nomenclature"
date: 2005-06-20 14:54:15
comments: false
tags:
- "web standards"
- "web development"
description: "I agree with Richard : peoples’ eyes do glaze over when you say “semantic,” but they don’t have to. When Molly & I co-teach or when I am on my own, I always try to strike a balance by alternating “meaningful” and “semantic.” I feel it..."
canonical: "https://blog.easy-designs.net/archives/standardizing-nomenclature/"
---

<p>I agree with <a href="http://www.clagnut.com">Richard</a>: peoples’ eyes do glaze over when you say “semantic,” but they don’t have to. When <a href="http://www.molly.com">Molly</a> & I co-teach or when I am on my own, I always try to strike a balance by alternating “meaningful” and “semantic.” I feel it is important that “semantic” does not go away because it does have value. That said, it is necessary to relate to your audience, no matter what their level or experience, so I think alternating the terms and showing the interchangability of the two is beneficial for everyone.</p>

<!-- more -->

<p>It is also very important to stress the difference between “structure” and “semantics.” Way too many people (myself included) have used these terms interchangably, when they are not the same. “Semantics” is about meaning whereas “structure” deals with the framework of your markup. Some say structure has only to do with your XHTML skeleton (DOCTYPE, <code>html</code>, <code>head</code> & <code>body</code>), but I view a page like a house. To me the “structure” is the framing upon which you build your roof, walls and floors. In XHTML, that translates not only to your document skeleton, but also to how you use <code>div</code>s to “frame” your content, how you use heading tags to designate content sections, etc.</p>
<p>Confusion arises in some cases when elements are both. In the case of heading tags, they are semantically meaningful (each tag conveying the relative importance of the heading it wraps in relation to the document and the other headings) <em>and</em> structural (forming the document outline). Additional confusion seeps in when we discuss how structural <code>div</code>s should be identified or classified semantically.</p>
<p>These sorts of nomenclature confusion are things we need to overcome. Our industry is still very new and we are all learning a little more every day. Sharing a common language is very important for effectively communicating (especially in our global community) and is something I think needs to be stressed even more as we move forward. I think this is yet another area where we need to establish standards and, by having <a href="http://www.clagnut.com/blog/1487/">discussions like this</a>, we are taking the first steps toward establishing those.</p>
17 changes: 17 additions & 0 deletions src/posts/2005-07-15-rip-dif.md
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---
title: "RIP DiF"
date: 2005-07-15 03:18:31
comments: true
tags:
- "blogging"
- "personal"
description: "Sad news, friends… Design In-Flight is closing shop. This very young, yet stellar PDF -based magazine was off to a fantastic start, but, as Andy put it , changes in his personal and professional life have conspired to make DiF ’s..."
canonical: "https://blog.easy-designs.net/archives/rip-dif/"
---

<p>Sad news, friends… <cite><a href="http://www.designinflight">Design In-Flight</a></cite> is closing shop. This very young, yet stellar <abbr title="Portable Document Format">PDF</abbr>-based magazine was off to a fantastic start, but, as <a href="http://www.modulo26.net/">Andy</a> <a href="http://www.designinflight">put it</a>, changes in his personal and professional life have conspired to make <abbr title="Design In-Flight">DiF</abbr>’s continued publication an impossibility.</p>

<!-- more -->

<p>Though I am disappointed at losing such a great publication, I understand where Andy’s coming from. Having spent six years of my life devoted to <a href="http://www.thefritz.com">a magazine I started in college</a>, I know how tough it can be. I put <cite>the fritz</cite> on hiatus in the summer of 2000 when I moved to Connecticut, hoping to restart it again as a solely web-based publication, but time has conspired to keep it only a homepage. Will I ever find the time to get it going again or is it only wishful thinking? I’m not sure. I guess time will tell.</p>
<p>Andy, best of luck to you in your future endeavors.</p>
23 changes: 23 additions & 0 deletions src/posts/2005-08-02-halleluiah.md
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---
title: "Halleluiah"
date: 2005-08-02 16:29:14
comments: false
tags:
- "web standards"
- "CSS"
- "browsers"
description: "I finally got around to reading Chris Wilson’s post about standards support in IE 7 and I have to admit I am more than a little giddy. Working for an ad agency , most clients (and the majority of my coworkers) have not gotten the whole..."
canonical: "https://blog.easy-designs.net/archives/halleluiah/"
---

<p>I finally got around to reading <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/07/29/445242.aspx">Chris Wilson’s post about standards support in <abbr title="Internet Explorer 7">IE7</abbr></a> and I have to admit I am more than a little giddy. Working for an <a href="http://www.cronin-co.com" title="I work for Cronin and Company, but have not (as of yet) worked on the site, so don't hold me responsible ;-)">ad agency</a>, most clients (and the majority of my coworkers) have not gotten the whole Web Standards thing, mostly because they only use <abbr title="Internet Explorer">IE</abbr>. I can’t express how much relief I feel that <abbr title="Internet Explorer 7">IE7</abbr> is going to fall in line with most of the other browsers out there with regard to standards support.</p>

<!-- more -->

<p>Improvements of particular note are alpha transparency in <abbr title="Portable Network Graphics">PNG</abbr>s and support for <code>&lt;abbr&gt;</code>s. When it comes to CSS, a whole host of bugs/issues have been fixed (mostly culled from <a href="http://www.quirksmode.org/bugreports/">Quirksmode</a> and <a href="http://www.positioniseverything.net">Position is Everything</a>). I am left with two nagging questions, however:</p>
<ol>
<li>Will the <code>* html</code> CSS hack still be supported in <abbr title="Internet Explorer 7">IE7</abbr> or will that be phased out so <code>* html</code> only affects <abbr title="Internet Explorer 6">IE6</abbr> and below?</li>
<li>Has the DOM interface been upgraded so we can run more powerful scripts in <abbr title="Internet Explorer 7">IE7</abbr>?</li>
</ol>
<p>Overall, I think this is a <strong>huge</strong> step forward. I have to hand it to Chris, the <abbr title="Internet Explorer">IE</abbr> team and <a href="http://webstandards.org"><abbr title="Web Standards Project">WaSP</abbr></a>’s <a href="http://webstandards.org/press/releases/archive/2005/07/05/index.html">Microsoft Corporation Task Force</a> for making this all a reality. A very hearty thank you goes out to all of you, you made my year.</p>
<p><em>UPDATE:</em> A <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/09/02/460115.aspx">recent blog entry on <abbr title="Internet Explorer">IE</abbr> Blog</a> has informed us that the <code>* html</code> selector will not be supported by <abbr title="Internet Explorer 7">IE7</abbr> in “strict” mode.</p>
19 changes: 19 additions & 0 deletions src/posts/2005-08-22-dif-is-dead-long-live-dif.md
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---
title: "DiF is dead. Long live DiF."
date: 2005-08-22 14:55:21
comments: false
tags:
- "blogging"
- "personal"
description: "Just when I had gotten over the loss of Design In-Flight , the magazine relaunches as a web-only publication. From the history/about page :"
canonical: "https://blog.easy-designs.net/archives/dif-is-dead-long-live-dif/"
---

<p>Just when I had gotten over <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20050903202544/designinflight.com/" title="RIP DiF">the loss of Design In-Flight</a>, the magazine relaunches as a web-only publication. From the <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20050903142238/designinflight.com/about/">history/about page</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>With the reduction in production efforts with this format, and a slightly less rigid publishing schedule, <abbr title="Design In-Flight">DiF</abbr> is sure not to disappear again.</p>

<!-- more -->

</blockquote>
<p>I certainly hope so. Welcome back!</p>
26 changes: 26 additions & 0 deletions src/posts/2005-08-26-estate-tax-thoughts.md
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---
title: "Estate Tax Thoughts"
date: 2005-08-26 17:53:01
comments: false
tags:
- "society"
- "philosophy"
- "personal"
description: "Congress in going back into session after their summer recess and they will be taking a vote on the Estate Tax (or “Death Tax” as some people like to call it). It is a hotly contested issue that I feel very strongly about. The truth is..."
canonical: "https://blog.easy-designs.net/archives/estate-tax-thoughts/"
---

<p>Congress in going back into session after their summer recess and they will be taking a vote on the Estate Tax (or “Death Tax” as some people like to call it). It is a hotly contested issue that I feel very strongly about. The truth is that a lot of public services depend on the revenue generated by the estate tax <em>and</em> the number of people affected by it is less than 1.4% of the population. I should be so lucky to be wealthy enough for my children to have to pay the Estate Tax.</p>

<!-- more -->

<p>I recently wrote to my Senators and Representative to let them know how I feel and I thought I’d share it with you. Maybe you’d like to <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/">write to yours</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Dear Senators Dodd and Lieberman and Congresswoman DeLauro,</p>
<p>I am a small business owner and I support preserving the Estate Tax. I owe my life and business to the America the Estate Tax has helped build.</p>
<p>The Estate Tax provides the needed revenue to create wonderful services and opportunities for many companies. Without the internet (which the Estate Tax helped fund), I would not be able to be the successful Web Designer I am. In fact, my career path would never have been an option. Likewise, I may not have had the education to do my job—“nor my employees, theirs—“had it not been for the public school system, also funded in-part by the Estate Tax. Without a stable mail service, I would not be able to send the invoices and receive the payments my buisiness depends on. Without the infrastructure our public highways and roadways provide, I would not be able to travel to meet with clients and my business would suffer. The same goes for air travel: it would not be as safe or reliable if the Federal Government had not used tax revenues (including the Estate Tax) to make it so.</p>
<p>If I should become so wealthy that my children would even have to pay the Estate Tax, I do not feel it would be unfair for the U.S. Government to ask for a little back to repay the society that has made my business, job and lifestyle a reality. In order to ensure future generations can acheive the success that I have, we need to keep the Estate Tax.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>Aaron Gustafson</p>
</blockquote>
<p>—–</p>
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