From the deep
Dec 23
Why you shouldn’t use @import for CSS files
“I briefly mention that @import has a negative impact on web page performance. I dug into this deeper for my talk at Web 2.0 Expo, creating several test pages and HTTP waterfall charts, all shown below. The bottomline is: use LINK instead of @import if you want stylesheets to download in parallel resulting in a faster page.”
Dec 19
WordPress 2.9
WordPress 2.9 has been released today with bug fixes and improvements aplenty. Such as the new “Trash” instead of the immediate “Delete” function and improved Media section allowing for image manipulation.
Dec 18
Minimalist todo Web app: Teux Deux
Definitely interesting and if I wasn’t already using The Hit List and loving it I would be on it like a shot. Tip: the video is pretty funny, too.
Google browser size application
This is a pretty handy tool. It places an overlay above your layout so you can see roughly what percentage of people will be able to view parts of your site. Now, there are some caveats here, the first being that if you have a wide browser and testing a margin:auto layout then you need to resize your browser to see realistic results results. Not to mention all this should be taken with a pinch of salt as there is a Myth of the fold in modern Web design.
Dec 15
CSS Animations (Safari 4 only)
An interesting article into how you can use CSS animations to create some cool effects. Of course, these will only work in Safari 4 at the moment. Still pretty cool, though.
Dec 8
Safari Webkit and alt text for missing images
I completely agree with Roger Johansson and was recently affected by this problem when we sent our first company email newsletter—the logo didn’t appear as ‘Centation’ when images were turned off, most fustrating.
Dec 5
jQuery 1.4 alpha released
I reported a week or two ago that live() was rumoured not to support mouseenter/mouseleave, however in the jQuery release notes it states that it is. Once 1.4 goes live I’m plugging it straight into an old project and updating some of the more archaic even handlers Congratulations to the entire jQuery team on yet another fantastic set of improvements!
Dec 4
jQuery wins .NET award
I’m a massive fan of jQuery, so I was incredibly pleased to see that it had won the award for best open source application. It was up against some stiff competition: WordPress and Firefox.
Dec 2
Expression Engine 2.0 public beta
Expression Engine 2.0 beta is here. I’ve never been a great fan of EE but since the 2.0 beta is, so they say, rebuilt from the ground up I’m willing to give it another try.
Progress bar traffic lights
Not sure how this has never been thought of before. The benefits are massive. I want to see then wherever I travel, please.
Dec 1
Google dropping Gears in favour of HTML 5
“It’s official: Google is ditching its homegrown Gears offline web app API in favor of backing HTML5 for the win.”
BSOD is dead! Hello to… BSOD?
Yes, the Blue Screen of Death may no longer be too much of a problem for Windows Vista/Se7en however it seems that there is now a Black Screen of Death, BBC reports. Hooray.
Ymacs: Emacs, but for your browser (Firefox only)
“Ymacs is an Emacs-like editor that works in your browser. Which applies, at this state of affairs, only if your browser is Firefox.”
24 Ways is back with a article on RGBA colours
I’m a bit confused as to why they have started on a very basic and, frankly, old CSS3 technique. However, it does pose one or two interesting ideas.
From the journal
From the deep
Obligatory links
Create simple UML diagrams on-the-fly
yUML is an online tool for creating and publishing simple UML diagrams. It’s makes it really easy for you to: Embed UML diagrams in blogs, emails and wikis, Post UML diagrams in forums and blog comments, Use directly within your web based bug tracking tool and Copy and paste UML diagrams into MS Word documents and Powerpoint presentations.
Javascript Tidy
One thing I often need to do is to tidy javascript from it’s packed state. Often to fix the developers bugs, add new features or to modify it slightly. I give you, the Javascript Tidy, a tool I couldn’t live without.
jQuery Slider plugin (Safari style)
A pretty awesome slider. Haven’t tried it out yet but the new version seems pretty easy to skin, so you can style it however-the-hell you want (note: click the ‘jQuery Slider update’ link).