Tag Archives: html5
We’re going to change things up a bit for this month’s Tech Trends post. Instead of quickly discussing a handful of new trends in technology, the focus now will be on a single important topic. This month that topic is a hidden gem in HTML5 called Microdata. When we hear about the capabilities of HTML5, we typically see things like Geolocation, CSS animations, mobile-compatibility, native audio/video support, or even 3D WebGL experiences — but rarely is there any discussion about how HTML5 can help drive more traffic to websites via search engines. This is where Microdata comes in and it’s going to fundamentally change the way we discover and consume content on the web.
Microdata is a component of HTML5 aimed at adding more semantics and contextual information to existing content on a page. By doing so, Microdata provides others, like search engines or browsers, with more information about the contents of a page. This allows them to handle data in new and interesting ways. For example, a product detail page may list out a product’s SKU, pricing, reviews and availability — but there’s no real way for Google’s search engine crawlers to know exactly what that information means. With Microdata, we can explicitly tell Google how much our products cost and what rating our users gave it. But why would we want to do this? Read More
1. Google Introduces Dart: A Structured Programming Language for the Web
JavaScript has been the language of the web for over a decade now. It’s provided us a facility for creating dynamic experiences and complex behaviors inside of our browsers. And recent advancements in JavaScript engines (such as Google’s V8 engine that powers its Chrome browser) have allowed us to push the boundaries of what was previously impractical.
However, JavaScript developers such as myself often have a love/hate relationship with the language. While JavaScript is simple, dynamic and usually a pleasure to write, it arguably lacks the structure, speed, security and features of many other languages. However, this shouldn’t be a surprise, considering JavaScript was created in essentially 10 days back in 1995.
Google’s recognized these weaknesses in the language that powers the web — which is why they’ve created the Dart programming language. Dart’s goals, as mentioned in Google’s blog post, are to ensure the language is structured yet flexible, familiar and natural to developers, and (probably most importantly) high performance. To accomplish this, Dart borrows ideas from languages such as Java, JavaScript and Smalltalk. 
But Dart faces a number of challenges. First is developer adoption. One reason JavaScript took off so quickly was it’s ease-of-use and low barrier to entry for developers. In order for Dart to fully gain support from developers, it first needs to be widely supported in browsers which I see as Google’s biggest obstacle. JavaScript is already so prevalent. Why should browser makers go through the trouble of supporting another language? Google needs to come up with some compelling reasons and examples of what Dart is capable of.
Adobe Acquires TypeKit and PhoneGap to Broaden its HTML5 Toolset
Adobe made some big announcements yesterday at their Adobe MAX conference. Adobe announced two new acquisitions: Nitobi (creators of PhoneGap) and Typekit. PhoneGap is an impressive platform for developing native mobile applications using web technologies such as HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. TypeKit is a popular service used for enabling developers and designers to embed custom font faces on websites – enabling web content to be beautiful as well as accessible and search engine-friendly.
With these acquisitions, Adobe’s clearly proclaiming their support for web standards and sees standards as playing a large role in their future. There’s been an obvious controversy around Adobe’s position on standards-based web technologies like HTML5 when they’re also promoting the use of their Flash product. But today, it’s even more clear that Adobe is vying to maintain their position as a leader in publishing for the web.
After watching the responses around the web regarding these two acquisitions, it’s clear there is some hesitation and doubt that Adobe will be able to maintain the integrity of these two companies. There are some questions around whether or not Adobe will simply just introduce more corporate bureaucracy and ultimately be the demise of these acquisitions.
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Continuing our monthly tech trends feature, here are a few of the stories on my mind this February.
HTML is the new HTML5
We’re all aware of the buzz around HTML5 and its offerings on the modern web. However, that buzz is getting a new name: HTML. That’s right, it’s just called HTML according to Ian Hickson (editor of the spec formerly known as HTML5). What does this mean? The HTML specification will become a “living document” — that is, constantly evolving, just like browsers do. It makes sense.
IP Addresses Are A Changin’
IP addresses are the Internet’s phone numbers — and these numbers are running out. In fact, researchers believe that by the end of 2011 we will run out of IPv4 addresses. But there’s a solution: IPv6. Imagine adding an area code to your IP addresses, except that area code is 96 characters long and not just numbers — that’s IPv6. However, hardware and software updates need to be made by both servers and clients to support this new and necessary standard. A number of big shots have pledged to participate in “World IPv6 Day”.
Ad Tracking Opt-out
Browser manufacturers are beginning to implement their own solutions for allowing users to disallow Internet advertising companies from tracking users. Even Google! Other proposed solutions involve a “Do Not Track” header sent from the browser, telling the website’s server to respect the user’s privacy by not tracking them. No legislation is currently enforcing this privacy, nor has any of these solutions been standardized — but experimentation is beginning and it will be interesting to see what shakes out.
Ben Truyman | Critical Mass Chicago
In this post, I’d like to outline a handful of techniques and technologies we as creators for the web can employ today. Although some of these methods are only available in more modern browsers, I hope to explain how we can still maintain support and offer alternative solutions for older browsers.
A Bit of History
Back in 1997, I had just began dipping my feet into web development — more specifically HTML. Later that year, a new version of the HTML specification was to be released, known as “HTML 4.0”. Three U.S. Presidents, a dot-com bust and a housing bubble later we find ourselves still writing the same old HTML, now “HTML 4.01”. CSS shared a very similar story. Technicalities aside, my point is simply this: HTML and CSS have not seen a new major release of their specifications in several years.
The Future Is Now
You may have heard that there are two new kids on the block: HTML5 and CSS3. Although both of these specifications haven’t been finalized, modern browsers are beginning to implement features of HTML5 and CSS3. Of course, older browsers don’t have most of these features, but that’s okay.
Think about this for a moment: we’re still supporting and trying to create “pixel perfect” designs for Internet Explorer 6, a browser shipped with Microsoft’s nine year old operating system Windows XP. Let me say that again, we’re still designing websites that are meant to look exactly the same in modern browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome but also a browser that is almost a decade old. Sad, but true.
Here’s where I propose we ditch that old idea and start using something I call “pixel imperfect” designs by using a well known strategy called Progressive Enhancement. Essentially, one design does not fit all browsers anymore. We need to accept the fact that browsers ARE different and they each offer their users different capabilities. We’ll need to start creating variants of our designs to show the potential experience in both modern and legacy browsers. What’s great about using Progressive Enhancement is that we can design our solutions in a way that less capable browsers still receive a great experience because we’re simply “layering” on new features that more capable browsers will utilize when they’re supported.
Implementations
Font Embedding
Arguably one of the most (if not THE most) important additions to CSS3 is the official support for embedding fonts. No longer are we stuck with having to cut images or use Flash when we want to use fonts not considered “web-safe”. We can use whatever fonts we want as long as the seller of the font permits web embedding. Several font providers like Typekit and FontShop are already providing solutions for embedding fonts on the web.
No more opening up Photoshop to do minor copy tweaks, or re-cut all of a site’s images containing copy when we want to translate it to another language, or using slow Flash solutions unsupported by most mobile platforms.
The best part about CSS3 font embedding: it’s supported in virtually all browsers used today! That includes Internet Explorer 4+, Firefox 3.5+, Opera 10+, Safari 3.1+, and Chrome 4+.
By Neil Clemmons | Critical Mass Chicago
There’s a lot being written about the iPad – reviews, new applications, the ongoing debate on Flash, what the device does and what it doesn’t do.
Beyond the device, however, there are some implications and the longer-term impact it will have as we create digital experiences. New devices and interfaces have a profound impact on consumer expectations, competitive moves, and the evolution of digital interfaces. The Wii ushered in new interface concepts and ideas. Same with xBox and xBox Live. The iPad will do the same in its influence on the conventions and expectations of our industry.
We have several of the Wifi iPads in our offices and have had a number of discussions with our team about its implications. Some see immediate opportunities for the iPad to ‘fit in’ to their lifestyles. Others are still debating if it replaces something or is a supplemental access and consumption device. It’s bigger than a phone with no ability to do more than SKYPE calls. But it’s not quite a notebook with all the file access and productivity tools – so the iPad makes compromises in both directions. The limitations will change in time as new applications, new peripherals, an updated OS, and improved connectivity come.
One thing the smartphone and iPad do is to force a focus on ‘what’s important’ versus ‘what’s possible.’ As sites or applications evolve, they become more bloated, more confusing, and lose the punch they can have. Redesigns of a site or an application can be liberating, in removing the old conventions. But invariably we worry about ‘moving the cheese’ of the habituated consumer and thus add rather than subtract in making experience design tradeoffs. This is where Apple and the developers of iPad apps demonstrated tremendous courage in leaving behind the conventional interfaces and tools. We need more courage to advance the customer experience.
What’s the take away after a week of using the iPad from an experience standpoint?
Here are the 7 Areas of Implications for digital marketers:
#1 – Fragmentation.
Josh Bernoff (Forrester) wrote about the Splinternet earlier this year. That theme is in full force on the iPad. Media and content fragmentation continue as new devices enable content consumption in new and different formats. Information ubiquity that started with the smartphone is further exacerbated with a new form factor. iPhone apps that are played on the iPad look OK, but you’re much more engaged by an iPad native app. The need for liquid experiences that adapt to the screen become even more important as we look at alternative form factors.
#2 – Development Challenges.
We have to think differently about how content and experiences are created, disseminated and maintained. Monolithic frameworks start to break down when there are hundreds of thousands of developers creating new experiences. And with Apple changing their developer terms and conditions, it looks like Apple will expect you to use their tools and frameworks, rather than many of the cross-platform frameworks. We have several clients working with Android, iPhone, Blackberry and other instances for applications. The iPad and follow-on products from other vendors based on Windows 7, Chrome, or Android tablets will further exacerbate the challenge of consistency and maintainability.
#3 – Personalization.
We’re at the early stages of more personal (and relevant) consumption of media – that means the customer is even more in control of the experience. Most will seek out an application rather than a web browser to consume their content where possible. Android, the iPhone OS, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry are all targeting what Mary Meeker with Morgan Stanley says will be a bigger market than the desktop PC market by 2014. The browser lives on at the desktop, but many of these new devices will take a very different approach to content and experience access. Remixing content from feeds, apps, alerts, and personalized experiences will become even more important. Add in the intersection of social to these experiences and you quickly see that use cases with these new devices will become even more personal.
