Retro gaming symphony

Love this. Only really works for gaming geeks though!

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Is WAP making a return?

Facebook is launching a zero version of its site. It intends to be data light and charge free!

What this immediately reminded me of were the olden days of WAP - text after text after text.

Indeed, although this version allows you to update your status and communicate with friends, as soon as you click on a link to view a photograph the free status stops.

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I can see a benefit with providing the most stripped down version of the site - accessible to more people on more phones. However, this contrasts with what I have been pursuing in my testing - promoting design on touch phones.

Whether WAPs legacy is to face a resurgence, as this 0 version could help set itself as another form of communication, like text, or email remains to be seen. It really does open up that possibility. But I thought that Facebook worked because people could nosey and comment on everybody's photos?! A desktop/laptop priviledge, or is it in fact contextually unsuitable for photos on mobile devices? - Not quite what my results said for art #3, 5, 6.

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Final artefacts produced

To round up all that I have made, mobile site/app wise, for my research into touch screen devices, the artefacts can be viewed on the links below:

Wedding Photography - available at: http://www.ashleyelton.co.uk/josefsamuel

Delicious Miss Dahl - available at: http://www.ashleyelton.co.uk/artifact5d

Chinese Horoscope - availablet at: http://www.ashleyelton.co.uk/artifact6

Obviously it goes without saying that these are best viewed on a mobile device! Preferably iPhone or Android.

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Flash to Javascript/JQuery to CSS3

Found this article and think it proves really promising for interface design.

http://webdesignledger.com/tutorials/13-pure-css-techniques-for-creating-javascript-like-interactions

CSS is a really simple coding language and so with the main forward-thinking browsers having adopted CSS3 (albeit with certain ones holding mass-consumer-progression back) I think in the very near future you shan't need plug-in libraries and sites should be lighter and leaner (code wise) - just what Google wants.

Exciting times ahead... oh how geeky.

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Still waiting for 70% of the internet to catch up...

This image above shows HTML5 comparability by the end of 2010. It almost encourages you to think that people still using IE6/7/(perhaps 8) deserve to be served less styled, less standards compliant content.

Still, I'm hopeful for IE9. HTML5 and CSS3 are welcome additions there, only problem remains is that people don't update their browsers!! Microsoft should perhaps send out ballot boxes more regularly.

Original article at: http://gizmodo.com/5542661/html5-going-to-be-on-most-modern-browsers-by-end-of-2010

PRP - artifact #6 - evaluation

This is my final writeup that ties up the last artifact created.

Those with touch screen devices, particularly Android and iPhone should point their browser to tinyurl.com/chinesehoroscope

"The final artifact sought to build on everything learnt in the previous test periods, whilst also contesting claims made in the literary sources.

CSS3’s opacity (RGBA) and rounded-corners were used, aware that degradation to lesser-equipped phones would equate to lesser-finessed visuals. Equally, typeface replacement plug-in Cufon was used, believed to offer the same assurance.

JQTouch’s anchored sections fuels a sense of speedy page loads, requiring only one index page for the entire site. Despite working for iPhone and Android, this plug-in unfortunately blocked less-equipped handsets from navigating the site. Consequently, plain anchors should be considered.

Pseudo-hover states were achieved through two means. Javascript image swaps were utilised on the homepage, but required pre-loading of the images. Windows/Mac OS exit buttons were implemented in the top-left of content boxes which when tapped expand beyond the finger to acknowledge the touch, achieved through image sprites. Sprites proved the more successful choice, functioning on more devices.

Graphically-led approaches raised caution in the literary sources but proved understandable to users. Comments were complimentary, “I liked the ‘x’ button” presumably due to its cohesion with desktop interface design. Additional symbols were used to depict positive (♥) and negative (✘)values. All test subjects interpreted these symbols correctly.

Fluid sizing was a successful consideration with both portrait and landscape wrapping content correctly. Despite some use of text-size:small, a 100% consensus ratified legible text.

Overall this artifact demonstrated that with the correct technology, relatively quick page are achievable alongside graphics permitting design. However, it also displayed the failure commonplace in alternate devices, mimicking desktop browser inadequacies experienced not long ago. If required to provide for all handsets, designs need to be limited, focusing more on page size. Alternatively, aesthetically pleasing design backed with component optimisation will require a per handset focus, almost app-like, for now."

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Most of these points form to become a useful guide of what to include (and what not to include) in a touch screen mobile site design.

I am surprised in that some of the comments made in the literary sources have been disputed by my test results, a case in point being the use of images, or symbols. Admittedly though their use has been sparing compared to a desktop design, they still add worth to artifact #6. I think a good testament is that I would use them again in future builds of mobile sites, albeit aware of the risky repercussions and so paying suitable time to assess their success and effectiveness in the designs.

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Proof the web has been and is being spammed?

Read this - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10105978.stm

To behold what is being said here, in the 70s, billions of web site domains were enough. Billions. 10,000,000,000 at least.

We now have only 300,000,000 left and its set to run out in April 2012.

Makes me think about all that is actually taking up all the space. Blogs, forums, feed sites, redirecting portals, torrent seeds, mySpaces, Facebooks. Surely we're spamming the internet?

Worry not though, trillions, (1,000,000,000,000s) more web domains will be available once more companies start adopting IPv6. Wonder what else we can fill the web with then?

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