http://www.zeldman.com Web design news and insights since 1995 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:27:30 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In Issue No. 269, master the basics of progressive enhancement and look back in orange at the first ten years of A List Apart. Understanding Progressive Enhancement by AARON GUSTAFSON Steven Champeon turned web development upside down, and created an instant best practice of standards-based design, when he introduced the notion of designing ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/10/07/a-list-apart-no-269-understanding-progressive-enhancement-10-years-of-ala/ An Event Apart Chicago, the final AEA event of 2008, has sold out. If you’ve already secured a seat for this remarkable two-day web design conference, we look forward to seeing you October 13–14 at the Sheraton Towers Chicago—along with Andy Clarke, Sarah Nelson, Robert Hoekman Jr., Jason Fried, Cameron ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/29/an-event-apart-chicago-sells-out/ Q. Why did the semantic web cross the road? A. @#$% you! Issue No. 268 of A List Apart fine-tunes the mechanics of progressive enhancement and rethinks the assumptions of standards-based design: Web Standards 2008: Three Circles of Hell by MOLLY E. HOLZSCHLAG Standards promised to keep the web from fragmenting. But as the web ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/23/ala-268-rethinking-standards/ A List Apart, for people who make websites, is slowly changing course. For most of its decade of publication, ALA has been the leading journal of standards-based web design. Initially a lonely voice in the desert, we taught CSS layout before browsers correctly supported it, and helped The WaSP persuade ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/18/a-list-apart-is-changing/ It is illegal to make false claims in a TV or radio commercial unless you are running for political office. If you're selling toothpaste, your claims must be vetted by legal and medical professionals. But not if you're selling a candidate. If you're selling a candidate, not only can you lie about ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/15/a-modest-proposal/ Dear AIGA: I am a member in good standing and was honored to be part of the AIGA site redesign. I received your email about the AIGA Business and Design Conference and am impressed with the speakers at the main show, as well as the 20/20 presenters. You have chosen brilliant talents ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/12/dear-aiga-where-are-the-web-designers/ On September 11, 2002, I found myself in a place as strange as Vegas. I was there to speak at a web conference. They must have gotten a good deal on the rooms, it being the first anniversary of the attacks. "They're holding a conference on September 11th?" I had ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/11/the-lessons-of-september-11-2002/ In Issue No. 267 of A LIST APART, For People Who make Websites... Look at it Another Way by INDI YOUNG Before you can solve a user’s problems, you must see them as that user sees them. Once you understand what drives people’s behavior, not only do new ideas flow freely, but the ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/09/mental-models-yipes-stripes/ Two weeks out of warranty, my iPhone 1.0 becomes a turnip. Cost to replace an out-of-warranty iPhone 1.0 with a refurbished version of the same model: $199. Minimum wait time to receive the $199 replacement at the 57th Street Apple Store: two hours. That's 120 minutes, folks. Can I leave and ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/06/phoneless/ Comments off. [tags]apple, ichat, firewall, hivelogic, danbenjamin, zeldman[/tags] http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/03/communication-marches-on/ Between hurricanes and hericanes, you could easily have missed the technology news. Released yesterday in public beta, Google Chrome is a standards-compliant web browser created to erode Microsoft's browser dominance (i.e. to boost Google's web dominance) while also rethinking what a browser is and does in the age of web ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/03/a-bug-in-google-chrome/ PollTrack is a new website that combines poll tracking data and written analysis to decipher "what voters are actually thinking and feeling" in the lead-up to the election. The site is not complete: sections are unfinished, artwork is rough, and usability problems involving labeling ("Today's Map Today") have yet to ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/02/tracking-elections-from-the-ground-up/ I'm still having medical problems, and at 4:00 AM I awoke in pain. The nightmare that woke me concerned a town called Gale, Kansas. It was a town for young murderesses and their parents. If your child had killed another child, your family would be relocated to Gale, to start a new life ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/09/02/a-town-called-gale/ Join Knowbility in urging the University of Texas to reconsider its decision to close the Accessibility Institute, founded and led with distinction by the late Dr. John Slatin. Keep John's work alive. Sign the petition. [tags]accessibility, johnslatin, accessibility institute[/tags] http://www.zeldman.com/2008/08/29/save-the-accessibility-institute/ Released Wednesday, August 27th, SiteAssist Professional creates entire CSS-based websites in minutes. Since that sounds ridiculous and impossible, I'll say it again: the product creates websites in minutes, with clean markup, and nicely optimized CSS. The software package includes 14 designs, each with 12 color schemes. You can customize everything and ... http://www.zeldman.com/2008/08/29/siteassist-professional/