Designing for browsers & screen sizes

        Browser Statistics w3schools.com.

···» click here for statistics

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Looking at the current statistics, Google Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer are the most popular browsers. Each of them behave differently, supporting some but not all of the standards as defined by HTML5 and CSS3.

We see page after page on the Internet of good and bad examples of Internet design. Of course there are bound to be differing views on what makes good and bad presentation as well as function. In a previous post, I discussed the demand by some to use HTML5 & CSS3 as exclusive development tools. I would like to expand on that with a few examples of design limitations using those specific tools and what sometimes needs to be done until we all live in web harmony.

 

 

FireFox – Using CSS3 features to display rounded corners & text highlights or translucence

  

Internet Explorer 8 – Using CSS3 features to display rounded corners &  text highlights or translucence

As you can see in the above examples, FireFox 12 displays the intended presentation whereas Internet Explorer version 8 leaves the corners square and the foreground color opaque. This was something relatively simple however the level of complexity increases substantially when you’re tasked to develop a page displaying video with HTML5.

Related articles

• Which browser is safest? The answer may surprise you (betanews.com)
• HTML5 test site Check your browser for standards compatibility

. . . to be continued

End of Life – What this means to you.

According to this report, Windows XP still accounts for approximately 1/3 of computer desktops. The word Microsoft wants to spread is the end of support for XP in April 2014.

If you like Microsoft Windows, be sure to upgrade to Windows 7 or 8 before next year as they will quit dispensing software fixes. Once that happens you might as well paint a bullseye on your computer if you continue to use this product. Those individuals which create software exploits, take advantage of any computer system that doesn’t have the latest program updates. They continue to disseminate these exploits through the Internet and if you are using an out of date product, it will eventually receive a virus or some malware that will create problems for you or your co-workers.

My decision 4 years ago was to completely get off all Microsoft operating systems. My computer systems experience started when the IBM mainframe was king of the hill. I wrote assembler programs for the IBM system 360/370 series, DEC VAX and continued to use higher level languages on mini and micro computers thereafter. I taught computer and microprocessor controls at a technical school for several years. I covered hardware and software of the 6502, Z-80 and 8088 CPU’s. I continued in the private sector, designing and installing large wired and wireless networks, primarily using Cisco products. This may have not made me an industry expert in all areas but it sufficiently informs me as to what constitutes a usable product.

I use Linux Mint and I could also recommend Apple but Windows has left the station for me. Too many constant exploits and bug fixes. There’s nothing compelling for me to stay with such problems. If I had a car that required as much servicing, updating and retraining to use as a Microsoft Windows environment I would certainly have made the switch to something significantly more reliable. That for me, is Linux. I started using Linux in the 90′s with Red Hat 6 and Suse 2.1. I’ve tried several others but for the past several years I found UBUNTU to be one of the simplest and most easily supportable flavors of the Linux operating system spectrum. More importantly, I experimented with a slight branch of UBUNTU called Mint. The Mint version of the Linux OS favors using a more conventional desk top, GNOME, than when UBUNTU decided to implement Unity. Don’t misunderstand, the Unity desktop is a great look and feel however I don’t have a touch screen and that is where it would really come into play. Windows 8 patterns their own vision of a symbolic desktop. The Unity desktop is just another way of a similar presentation.

The bottom line, use whatever you want but as for me, I’m sticking with a tried and true system which typically uses fewer resources, meaning I can use somewhat older hardware and still have good performance. I also appreciate the rock solid nature of Linux and more importantly, fewer exploits and virus crud to have to be concerned over. Simply put, would you rather drive a Yugo (Microsoft OS) or a Mercedes (Linux) or a Bentley (Apple)? You decide but keep up to date on your software.

You may also want to look at the links below for additional end of life support information.

Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 Support Ends April 8, 2014 
Windows lifecycle fact sheet
Cisco End-of-Life Policy
Citrix revises end of life dates for XenApp
Apache OpenOffice – The Free and Open Productivity Suite
6 Alternative Ubuntu Desktops Worth Trying
Five things Desktop Linux has to do to beat Windows 8

Related articles

• Ubuntu 13.04 Review: Linux for the average Joe or Jane (zdnet.com)
• How Linux found its home in the enterprise (techrepublic.com)
• The Time To Listen Is Now. Linux Not Microsoft (unixmen.com)
• Software Company Anahata To Deploy Ubuntu 13.04 for Java Development (prweb.com)
• Ubuntu vs. Mint: Which Linux Distro Is Better for Beginners? (lifehacker.com)
• Ubuntu 13.04 Released, Download Now Live (omgubuntu.co.uk)
• Ubuntu Desktop Memory Comparison (l3net.wordpress.com)

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Conversations of a Mind

Many science fiction books and films used the idea of mind or thought control. Probably one of the more memorable films was the classic “Scanners“.  Technology over the past 50 years has brought us closer to some of these whimsical ideas used in these fictional works. Miniaturization, computer advancement and flat screen display technology have given us the ability to create devices capable of fulfilling some of the wizardry conceptualized in these stories.

Advances in technology have given us the ability to not only create smaller devices, it has also provided the opportunity to develop formerly whimsical ideas into reality. For instance, how many of us would like to be able to move objects with our thoughts? Great idea, right? We have seen these ideas in movies and magic tricks. Perhaps now without any sleight of hand we can see how this is possible with soon to be released tech.

The brain also produces small electrical signals to control the entire body including things we take for granted such as breathing and the heart pumping blood. This is one of the reasons a Taser is so effective in overriding the body as it can no longer control the muscles due to the overload of the Taser voltage applied to our muscles.

Using amplified brain waves the idea is to convert these signals into something useful to move objects as seen in this article for amputees, control computer input or perhaps another use yet to be imagined.

Many years ago I worked for a company [ Measurex ] that used a variety of sensors, IR, low level x-ray and motion to control the quality of paper manufacturing while keeping cost at a minimum. This industry is referred to as process control. The concept of taking low level signals and through computerization control large electrical devices such as motors and valves. It was late 20th century technology introduced to control late 19th century manufacturing process. This is carried on in numerous ways including the production of electrical energy in Nuclear, Coal and Natural Gas power plants.

Initial public funded founder of Interaxon, Ariel Garten says Muse works using the same technology used in hospitals known as Electroencephalography (EEG), which records electrical activity along the scalp.

brain-sensing headband

Muse is embedded with four sensors that allows you to see and track your brain’s activity, in the same way a heart rate monitor gives information about your physical activity. You can also use your mind to control games and applications supplied with the headband, according to Garten.

Using the low level signals from the brain picked up by the headband worn device, these waveforms as demonstrated in the following video can be applied in many ways. If we understand their significance and can repeat the pattern these signals can be recognized by an external device to apply motion in an electrical mechanical device or movement for a computer interface.

Potatoes Over People

Boeing uses potatoes instead of people to test wi-fi

December 21,  2012 BBC News & Technology describes how loading a plane with potatoes is used to test for adequate wireless communication throughout the passenger seating area. It’s a creative method to assist working in the real world. I’ve faced problems while testing for coverage which could have used a little more real world simulation.

Of my previous wireless experience I recall being called back to review a major grocery chain warehouse in Miami. They used wireless forklift terminals throughout the facility to locate, pick and put-away items. I didn’t survey or install this specific warehouse however I learned in similar facilities you have to make allowance for liquids such as stacks of laundry detergent. Powder detergent doesn’t absorb radio waves but any liquid does. This call came to me when the summer hurricane preparation season was in full swing. All Florida grocery chains stock up on water in order to be prepared to sell out should a hurricane be targeted for the area.

When I arrived, I was shown the area of the building where wireless coverage was practically nil. They said it started to degrade and then as more stock was received the fork lift operator could only communicate with their warehouse application when they drove to the end of the aisle. I easily viewed the cause of the problem before me. It wasn’t necessary to break out the diagnostic tools to find the source of the problem. They erected 4 rows of 40 foot high cases of bottled water.

Just like the potato and human body, water is the significant component to radio signal absorption. Add more people in a plane and the ability to transmit and receive a signal is greatly attenuated. Since the human body contains approximately 55 to 60% water along with a few minerals, signals become weaker as the density of humans per given area increase. The exterior of a modern aircraft, usually aluminum, is perfect to contain almost all signal. Only the windows themselves provide a passage for wireless signal.

There are numerous tools available to check wi-fi coverage and I will include a few for you to examine. I’m not promoting any of these tools.
WiFi Mapper
AirMagnet
Nuts About Nets
Security Analysis WPA/WPA2

Related articles

• You’re A Sack Of Potatoes (robert.accettura.com)
• Boeing Tests In-Flight Wi-Fi … With Potatoes (pcmag.com)
• Boeing Uses Sacks of Spuds for In-Flight WiFi Tests (technewsworld.com)