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HTML 5, CSS3 and Cross Browser Support

It is about time we blogged some more, it is true about getting so busy with work we forget about spreading knowledge and keeping those interested in what we do informed, we shall try to do better in 2011!!

Well I am going to write about some web development that will eventually help us designers in easier styling and basic animation using CSS. There have been many articles written about whether flash in websites will die a death and CSS will take over. It amazes us that this conversation is even raging considering CSS3 is not supported in many browsers, and IE the most used browser still (change if it you have it please!!) does not support CSS, the IE 9 new browser is better - but still building websites that are not supported with IE is dangerous to say the least.

Also flash animation provides a much better stable platform for brand animation in details CSS will never achieve, certainly not in the next 5 years. Being honest Apple should "get a grip" and support flash so certain bias developers who are "in bed" with apple stop condemning flash. Indeed android and windows based mobile technologies are supporting flash, so apple should stop there ring fencing it is a real bore.

We have to point out that we moved away from developing full flash websites several years ago as they are too bandwidth dependant, not great for SEO and generally were too interactive meaning the message of our client could be easily missed. We do however like some professional flash animation for top banners or areas where images are dominant as it really enhances a website done well.
Back to the subject!!

HTML 5 is supported in the new IE9 explorer and most other major browsers however there is still differing support for various elements of HTML5 which web developers need to understand so they do not leave web surfers or clients customers with a mess of a website.

My View of IE - Internet Explorer:

Those of us web developing for clients who's target audience use mainly IE as their browser find the whole process annoying and frustrating. There will be a few posts about IE explorer and why people should dump it as a browser, but we are looking forward to IE 9 which is supposed to be more compliant and able to utilise CSS etc better than ever before. Those along with a much faster browser in terms of flash and frames per second - so we shall certainly test drive IE 9 and provide a detailed report probably by Prash our technology blogger!!

Microsoft and Apple are certainly dominate Companies that influence the internet, how it is accessed and used as they both provide the platforms most people use, this gives them both an advantage when it comes to which browser people use. Many people with a lower degree of knowledge of such things accept what they are given with their new PC or Mac. This gives both Microsoft who like there own direction of browsing and Apple who want everything their own way to make life difficult. I for one don't like either Company, although when it comes to browsers Microsoft are the worse and no one should use it. Apple is a Company you either love or hate, my opinion is the latter:)

CSS3 is flash Dead?

There is a buzz right now that CSS3 will allow animation of sorts and will compete against flash (oh I can hear the Apple execs rubbing their designer gloves) to the point that some think flash days are numbered. However the fact is many browsers still do not support CSS3 certainly not those versions that need updating to which there are many! Also CSS3 will provide limited animation which will be great for certain applications (possibly) but could not replace flash animation and what is achieved by those with experience, such as the flash animation professionals out there.

I do agree that pure flash websites days are numbered (if not gone - hopefully) with many of us web developers moving away from that type of website. Using flash animation in place of images to enhance a website will provide a positive enhancement, in our view, but full flash websites are resource intensive, more complicated to use and just not necessary.

So our view is that CSS3 will never replace what flash can do, Adobe can rest easy and Apple should support flash:)

Well that's about it I hope this article has provided some useful info

Author Adam Stacey
Webmaster, AS Design [http://www.gloswebsitedesign.co.uk]Gloucester & Cheltenham web design

Original article source and copyright [http://gloswebsitedesign.co.uk/wp/2010/11/html-5-css3-cross-browser-support/]AS Design Blog Article source

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?HTML-5,-CSS3-and-Cross-Browser-Support&id=5737677] HTML 5, CSS3 and Cross Browser Support

9 Things to Look Forward to in Internet Explorer 9

HTML5 + CSS3 Support.
This has been one of the most troubling headaches with IE7 and IE8. HTML5 and CSS3 introduce web designers to a slew of amazing new features. Firefox and Chrome, as of today, are roughly 90% compatible with all HTML5/CSS3 features which has pretty much given designers the go-ahead to start learning and incorporating them. The problem? Internet Explorer. IE8 and IE7 are standing at roughly 25% and 11% compatible, respectively. It's still unsure just how compatible IE9 will be and how soon we can expect it to be on par with the other browsers. This lack of support has put designers in a permanent crossroad. Do you go ahead and incorporate advanced features knowing they won't show up in IE, or do you avoid them all together and wait until there is across the board compatibility? While most feel it is best to wait, others think that by incorporating HTML5/CSS3 features you create an incentive for the user to upgrade to a different browser (Firebox or Chrome, mainly). This thinking makes sense but looses ground when you take other factors into consideration. Can they switch browsers (public or corporate computers)? Do they even know what switching browsers means? It's a hard fought battle and a lot of hassle just to give Microsoft the finger.

Extended web-font support.
One of the largest obstacles for web designers is the limited number of "web safe fonts" which are available when building a website. Web safe fonts are fonts which are almost guaranteed to work correctly on any user's computer (you know the usual players: Arial, Verdana, Times New Roman, etc). Designers have had to limit their designs to including these fonts or resort to other techniques to incorporate non-safe fonts. These techniques include things like using graphics of text rather than actual text or using a flash replacement plug-in. Now, however, modern browsers are able to ensure all users see non-safe fonts by using a simple styling process which uploads a font file to the server and automatically displays text in that font on the user's computer. Designers have come to know it as the @font-face technique, which is a part of CSS3. There are ways to include this to work on Internet Explorer browsers but with limited reliability. IE9 is expected to fully support this feature, which will make it simple to use virtually any font as part of your design.

Focus on browsing.
Google mastered this when they created Google Chrome. One of the original principles they focused on was maximizing the actual viewing area of the browser so that users could view more of the website they were visiting. This has been a serious fail point with IE in the past (and to a certain extent, Firefox). Sometimes designers see other people using IE on their computer and their first thought is, "Okay, well, they must not be all that tech savvy. You can't hold it against them, everyone is bad with some things." But then they see that their IE application is bogged down with unnecessary toolbars which clog up half of the application window and just want to gag. Firefox is also a culprit. Google Chrome got rid of the problem all together. Kudos to them and IE9. This will be the trend of the future. Figuring out how to eliminate as much of the application space as possible and maximize on the browsing space.

Slick and minimalistic application.
This goes along with the focus on browsing. It's nice to finally see an IE release that is up to par as far as beautification goes. Chrome is gorgeous. Firefox is okay after a few drinks. IE6, 7, and 8 look like grandpa's feet. But Microsoft finally put time into making a release that is pleasing to the eye and can compete with minimalistic designs of the other guys. The design of IE9 is good for a few different reasons: the translucent application bar, the new age buttons, and the use of shadowing and glowing really help to create an application to be proud of.

Improved developer tools.
Firefox and Chrome have add-ons specifically built for web developers. These allow debugging and development to flow much smoother by making document changes live in a browser window. IE 8 has a built in developer tool which is sub-par compared to the other browsers. There are also a few 3rd party tools which you can install -- but how inconvenient is that?

Javascript engine improvement.
With all the earlier talk about HTML5 and CSS3, you don't want to forget about the next most important browser language, javascript. In the past, IE has encountered numerous problems with its javascript engine. It is a nightmare trying to run some functions on IE6 or IE7 without getting either a number of javascript error boxes or faulty functions. Even running simple animations in IE8 can be a choppy nightmare. SunSpider is a popular and widely used javascript engine tester which measures a browsers engine primarily on the amount of time it takes to complete functions. A September 2010 test on every popular browser shows IE9's beta release to have an even faster engine than Safari and Firefox, but still behind Chrome and Opera. The good news is that IE9's engine is roughly 11 times faster than IE8's.

Application acceleration.
Speed, speed, speed. The fastest always wins the race, and the slowest always gets booed. IE9 taps into your computers graphics processor as a way to speed up performance when it comes to streaming audio and video, and some suggest that IE9 is even faster than anything else out there.

Windows 7 integration.
Now this is interesting. It seems Microsoft wants to market IE9 as the "Windows 7 browser." It makes perfect sense that they are finally figuring out that they own the browser AND the operating system it runs on. Why not incorporate features that Firefox and Chrome just can't do? A perfect low jab to those mean big brothers. For starters, you can pin websites in IE9 right on your windows task bar - so Facebook and Gmail are nothing but a single click away. It has been heard through the grapevine that the IE9 downloads manager will have some sort of sophisticated integration with your folders, but there has been no official word on that. It's definitely a smart move for Microsoft. They are realizing they are behind in the polls and need to use whatever weapons they can to stay ahead. If that means integration between browser and OS then by all means go for it.

SVG support.
This one is last for a reason. SVG is one of the most versatile, exciting, and incredible features of web design. For those unfamiliar, SVG is essentially a technique used to create two-dimensional shapes and figures on a website -- without the actual use of images but rather with a few lines of code. To this point, SVG has been incomplete and unsupported with prior releases of Internet Explorer. All of that is about to change as soon as IE9 launches.

IE9 is expected to be released in mid-2011.
Those who are interested in testing out the new browser can download the beta version of Internet Explorer 9 for free at rel=nofollow [http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fie.microsoft.com%2Ftestdrive%2F&sa=D...]ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/

Jim Filbert is a front-end developer for Biznet Internet Solutions. He specializes in creating visual front-ends of websites using XHTML, CSS, and Javascript while focusing on cross-browser compatibility and accessibility. Based in Wixom, Mich., Biznet Internet Solutions is a full-service Web solutions company, focusing on business and mobile Web sites, advertising agency support and Internet marketing, including search and social media marketing. For more information, visit [http://www.biznetis.net]http://www.biznetis.net.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?9-Things-to-Look-Forward-to-in-Internet-Explorer-9&...] 9 Things to Look Forward to in Internet Explorer 9

Internet Explorer 9 Beta

Microsoft has released a public beta of their upcoming browser edition Internet Explorer 9 at an event dubbed "Beauty of the Web." After years of complacency, it looks like the IE team has finally decided to start fighting back in the browser wars. Right now, the choice between IE9, Chrome 6 and Firefox 3.6 is really one of personal taste. "The browser is a stage. It is the backdrop of the web," said Corporate Vice President of Internet Explorer Dean Hachamovitch.

With version 9, Microsoft's browser has been seriously streamlined, and finally starts looking like an application that belongs on modern PCs. The condensed top bar, which squeezes the OneBox,tabs and navigation buttons into a single row, is a welcome change that lets you see more of a website. IE9 is faster, has better support for HTML5 and CSS3, and seems better-tuned to the needs of the user than previous versions did. Microsoft has streamlined the interface, making the browser less apparent and allowing the user to focus more on content. Likewise, the addition of pinned websites makes accessing frequently accessed bookmarks faster and adds some great features by way of jump lists.

New features of version 9

Perhaps the most exciting feature in the newest IE is Pinned Shortcuts. Drag the favicon from the OneBox to your taskbar, and Windows will treat that site as if it were its own application. Clicking on the shortcut will launch the page in its own browser window.

One of the most important improvements IE9 brings to Web developers - the ability to use a wide variety of fonts without having to Photoshop images of them. This alone could save days in the time it takes to create and update websites, and let designers focus more on the design of the site and less on the mechanics of creating it.

IE9 joins the JavaScript speed team, revving up performance in other ways with graphics hardware acceleration. Finally, IE9 has become a "modern" browser, by supporting new Web coding techniques like HTML5, CSS3, Canvas, and SVG.

From OneBox, you navigate directly to a site, search Bing, Google and other services, and pull sites from your history and bookmarks.

You can rearrange tabs by dragging them around, and even "tear" them off the top of the browser to move windows around. If you have Windows 7, you can drag one tab to the left edge of the screen and another to the right.

IE9's design screen is rather spartan, and that's a good thing. There are fewer visible controls at the top of the browser to clutter things up, though the back arrow, much as in Firefox, is larger now because of how frequently people click that button.

Microsoft has built a somewhat Firefox-y looking download manager into Internet Explorer 9. IE users will finally have a single pane which maintains download history and provides centralized access to running or opening downloaded files.

IE9 also adds GPU-accelerated rendering to the browser. At the moment, this is only minimally useful, but it will eventually enable better video playback and high-quality 3-D graphics on the Web.

IE9 harnesses the PC's hardware to accelerate graphics, videos and text. The result is that IE9 is able to render heavy graphic interfaces far better than even Chrome or Firefox.

The browser is expected to air in 2011 for Windows Vista and Windows 7. The bad news? Microsoft has said it will not support Windows XP, an OS still used by approximately 60 percent of the market. Crashes and irregularities aside, IE 9 is a great direction for Microsoft and its one we hope it is a path the company continues to walk down.

Trendy News & Articles http://newsnart.blogspot.com/

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Internet-Explorer-9-Beta&id=5044988] Internet Explorer 9 Beta

3 Simple & Effective Ways To Find Info On ANY Home Business You Are Considering

Whether you're looking to start your own home business, or if you are already the owner of one, we all know how vital it is to be able to find and gather research information about a company. Often it is on this gathered information that our decision to move forward or not is based. While this research stage is very important for obvious reasons, there are occasions when it may be difficult to find the information you want. When this happens, there's no need to be alarmed...yet. There's still hope that you can find the information that you need.

If ever you find yourself in this situation (or even before you do), try the following 3 easy steps:

1. The first step is not only the simplest, but it's also the most obvious. By performing your basic internet search on a major search engine (ie: Google, Bing, etc.), you should be able to more than enough valuable information that way. To make the search engines return the most results, you can do a search on your topic of choice by just entering your topic's keywords (ie: best affiliate program). To make the search engines return results that a more narrow and focused, enter your keywords WITH quotation marks (ie: "best affiliate program"). Either way, it should go without saying that the internet is the first place to begin your search for useful information on any home business.

2. If the internet doesn't give you all (or any) of the information that you need, you may also want to see if you can find the info that you're looking for in a published book or magazine. What's cool is that even these can be accessed online in most cases. You can buy, download or subscribe to sites with relevant info. While some of these may come at a minimal cost, there's always the local library and or your local Barnes & Noble (just go, sit & read books/magazines and get your research information for free if you don't want to spend any money).

3. Finally when all else fails, you can always seek out someone to simply "ask". That's right, you will be surprised how great this step really works. Any trustworthy company with a business opportunity should have valid way of being contacted (if not then this should be a red flag itself). Whether they allow phone calls or emails only, I strongly recommend sending them a direct request for the information that you are seeking. This approach is valuable for a number of reasons. First, you get to go straight to the source for the info you want. Second, you also get a chance to see firsthand hand what it's like to "work" with them on some level. Yeah, I know you're just re requesting info, but this will at least give you a chance to see how prompt they are at getting back to you - or if they get back to you at all.

All in all, don't get discouraged if you find it a bit challenging at times to find the info that you're doing research for. And no matter what, don't short change or neglect the research process. If you do, you may very well be short changing yourself in the long run.

As always, good luck with your research and much success with whichever business you decide to go with. Thanks for your time and GOD Bless!

Walt

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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?3-Simple-and-Effective-Ways-To-Find-Info-On-ANY-Hom...] 3 Simple & Effective Ways To Find Info On ANY Home Business You Are Considering

The 3 Must Have Firefox Add-ons

What I love about the Mozilla Firefox browser is its customizing. It has many add-on which improve upon the already great browser, giving the user the ability to add anything he thinks is missing in his web experience easily and absolutely free.

1. Adblocker plus - this one is also on Microsoft IE and is a must indeed. It basically does what it says, blocks most of the ads you encounter while surfing the net. This is essential for any person who is tired of seeing those annoying banner every time you enters you're favorite sites. Another cool benefit is each ad or banner blocked means faster loading times for sites, especially the 'heavier' websites out there. It is very easy to set up and like all Firefox add-ons is totally free.

2. Greasemonkey - this one is another great Firefox add-on it gives you the ability to install 'mini-add-ons' which are basically small scripts, that change the way you view or use a given website, made by the users of the Greasmonkey add-on. There are so many small scripts for almost every website out there, not all are useful but you are bound to find one or two you like for your favorite sites.

3. IE tab plus - Although almost all websites support Mozilla Firefox Browser, it's unfortunate that an annoying few still don't support Firefox in even if it's just a small part of the site. So it's helpful to have this little ad-on which simulates Microsoft's IE within a Firefox tab or window. Its very simple to switch to IE mode and start surfing just like you would in Explorer only inside your trusty Firefox browser.

Enjoy!

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-3-Must-Have-Firefox-Add-ons&id=4792455] The 3 Must Have Firefox Add-ons