08.26.13 |
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Developer Tim Kadlec, talking about the power of the web’s ubiquity:
When we use techniques that work only on top-of-the-line modern browsers, but don’t consider what happens in other browsers, we’re crippling that super power.
When we build fat sites that are incredibly slow to load on older devices or slower networks, if they can even load at all, we’re crippling that super power…
When we slam the door on people because of the device they’re using, we’re crippling that super power.
08.23.13 |
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There’s been lots of hype around both the PS4 and XBox One regarding the state of launch titles. Ars Technica gaming reporter Kyle Orland presents the numbers on each side, divided by exclusivity, genre, and more. It’s a helpful guide and a potential factor in deciding which console to pick up.
08.22.13 |
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There’s many web based color picker tools out there, but when you want to learn as much as possible it’s hard to go wrong with Color Hexa. To quote the description:
ColorHexa.com is a free color tool providing information about any color. Just type any color values (view full list here) in the search field and ColorHexa will offer a detailed description and automatically convert it to its equivalent value in Hexadecimal, Binary, RGB, CMYK, HSL, HSV, CIE-Lab, Hunter-Lab, CIE-Luv, CIE-LCH, XYZ and xyY.
08.21.13 |
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I’m a much bigger fan of the picture element syntax but this is one big step forward for responsive imagery on the web.
08.21.13 |
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Web developer and speaker John Allsopp:
So, next time you want to bash Google, be my guest. I’m pretty sure they won’t “go pee pee in their big boys slacks”. But don’t beat up on the concept of openness, as if those who champion the latter, necessarily support the former uncritically (if at all). Rather, you really should be getting down on your knees and giving thanks for openness, as we all should. Those of us who have been around the block a few times know how much the extraordinary modern world of the technology, and so all of us, owe to it.
08.20.13 |
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A big step in the right direction for catering to indie developers. Microsoft still isn’t out of the weeds: their decision to not make the Kinect required is baffling, and there’s many other moves that suggest a platform without a strong vision. But adding an indie friendly publishing platform is a uniformly great decision.
08.19.13 |
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Designer Dmitry Fadeyev covers the basics of UI design. One of his last paragraphs really stands out:
The order the three parts are satisfied is important. A beautiful work that is not usable is worth less than an ugly one that does its function well (unless, of course, if its function is to be beautiful). Thus, we must first of all ensure that every element of the interface is clear, then ensure that their relationships are well defined, and then ensure the work has aesthetic unity.
Fundamentally, core functionality comes before aesthetic beauty. It’s a principle that’s missing from so many UI mockups I see on Dribbble, blogs and other sources.
08.16.13 |
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Andy Greenwald nails the big confrontation that ended Breaking Bad’s latest episode (Spoilers ahead):
Forget the delicate dance of cat and mouse a generation of TV built on coy delay had prepped us to expect. Here, the cat punched the mouse in the nose and called him a monster. The mouse then stood up, casually brushed himself off, and transformed into Satan. It’s awfully rare to see television so unafraid of delivering on what it has promised. And it’s quite possible that no show has ever promised more than Breaking Bad.
08.16.13 |
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The A.V. Club’s Todd VanDerWerff, writing a great companion piece to the Grantland article I linked to earlier this week:
In a way, this is the show simply taking the greatest weakness of clockwork plotting—a tendency to make everything all about one thing and the emptiness of character and theme that can provoke—and turning it into a strength through sheer relentlessness. With rare exceptions…every element of this story is about what happens after Walter makes his choice in the pilot. This isn’t a new thing to say about the show, by any means, but it’s often hard to appreciate just how thoroughly this kept the series from the kinds of goofiness that other clockwork-serialized shows have collapsed into.
08.14.13 |
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The combination of PhantomJS and CasperJS make for a fairly straightforward yet vigorous form of unit testing. The only problem I’ve had from before is just knowing exactly where to start; Google searches and YouTube tutorials can pull you in many directions. That’s why developer Danny Croft’s little mini tutorial (far from comprehensive, it just starts you off) was helpful – as long as you can install from Homebrew you should be in good shape.