+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE. - Volume 10, Issue 06, August 4, 2011. An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development. ++ISSUE 06 CONTENTS. SECTION ONE: New references. What's new at the Web Design Reference site? http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/ New links in these categories: 01: ACCESSIBILITY. 02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. 03: EVALUATION & TESTING. 04: EVENTS. 05: FLASH. 06: JAVASCRIPT. 07: NAVIGATION. 08: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS. 09: TOOLS. 10: USABILITY SECTION TWO: 11: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? [Contents ends.] ++ SECTION ONE: New references. +01: ACCESSIBILITY. Web Accessibility and SEO By Jared Smith. "What is the value of finding content if the user experience and accessibility of that content is poor?..." http://webaim.org/blog/web-accessibility-and-seo/ Screen Reader Support for Abbr and Span on Mobile By Henny Swan. "If looking for a solution that works seamlessly across desktop and mobile browsers it looks like and is not it. What works best for screen readers on desktop browsers is however this seems to have the worst support on mobile..." http://www.iheni.com/screen-reader-support-for-abbr-and-span-on-mobile/ My Challenge to the Accessibility Community: We Need an Accessibility Body of Knowledge By Karl Groves. "...Let's all step up to put together a compendium of information on web accessibility and other (closely) related topics. Let's put together something which provides clear, actionable information that helps everyone involved in web design, development, and management understand the 5 Ws of accessibility. It should be seen as the central body of knowledge for accessibility..." http://www.karlgroves.com/2011/07/30/my-challenge-to-the-accessibility-community-we-need-an-accessibility-body-of-knowledge/ Google Plus Keyboard Accessibility By Dennis Lembree. "...Google+ is more accessible than most Google apps, especially for a new one. But that's not saying much; there are still many issues to resolve. And again, the list of problems on this post are only a subset of issues. It's sad the such a huge, powerful, rich technology company can't get the basics of web accessibility, even when they planned it from the start." http://webaxe.blogspot.com/2011/07/google-plus-accessibility-check.html Court Rules in Favor of JetBlue - Airline Websites and Kiosks Not Covered by State Law By The Office of Lainey Feingold. "In a blow to the rights of people with disabilities in California and across the country, a second United States federal judge has ruled that state anti-discrimination laws do not apply to airline websites and kiosks. In a closely watched case against JetBlue Airways, Judge Joseph Spero ruled on August 3, 2011 that regulations issued by the United States Department of Transportation Ñ no matter how weak and ineffective Ñ strip away the rights California residents with visual impairments to access and use JetBlueÕs website and airport kiosks..." http://lflegal.com/2011/08/jetblue-order/ QR Codes - Uses and Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities By Disabled World. "Information on mobile phone scannable QR codes including accessibility issues and practical uses of QR code technology to assist persons with disability...." http://www.disabled-world.com/assistivedevices/apps/qr-code.php Using ARIA to Fix Non-Standard Images on Flickr By Ted Drake. "...ARIA roles and attributes allow us to fix this non-semantic presentation. ARIA roles allow us to take a container and tell the user it should be treated like another. The aria-label attribute also allows us to place alternate text on this pseudo image..." http://yaccessibilityblog.com/library/aria-fix-non-standard-images.html +02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. Hiding Content By Dan Stringer. "...In this post I will identify some of the common techniques that are used to hide content and will attempt to identify the implications of using these techniques. I will also attempt to identify appropriate situations in which each technique could practically be put to good use. All of the techniques that we have identified below have been tested with Jaws 12 and NVDA 2011.1 using Firefox 4, Firefox 5 and Internet Explorer 8. In addition the examples were tested with voiceover on Apple OSX 10.6.4 with Safari..." http://www.nomensa.com/blog/2011/hiding-content/ An Introduction to CSS3 Media Queries By Michael Rohde. "While HTML5 has been on everyone's mind lately, the use of related technologies such as CSS3 media queries are becoming increasingly important as well. Visitors have certain expectations when viewing your site on everything from a desktop to a laptop to a netbook to a tablet to a handheld. They expect your site to maintain a high level of user experience satisfaction no matter how or where they see your site. This article dives into methodologies and techniques for using CSS3 media queries..." http://www.htmlgoodies.com/html5/tutorials/an-introduction-to-css3-media-queries.html CSS3 Media Queries - Elixir or Snakeoil? By James Williamson. "...So...where does that leave us? Just like every other technique in your toolbox, mediaqueries simply add to your capabilities.Are they right for every project? Of course not. Mobiledesign is far more than simply designing for a smallerscreen. However, given the right circumstances, media queriesallow you to optimize designs for the mobile environmentin a way that we weren't able to do before.Deciding when, and if, to use them is, after all, your job." http://www.slideshare.net/jameswillweb/css3-media-queries-mobile-elixir-or-css-snake-oil Style Twitter Posts on Your Site with CSS3 By Zoe Gillenwater. "Lists of recent tweets tend to look a bit boring. Zoe Mickley Gillenwater, author of Stunning CSS3, explains how to use the new properties and selectors of CSS3 to enhance the look of a tweet list in modern browsers..." http://www.netmagazine.com/node/1271 +03: EVALUATION & TESTING. Outsourcing Your User Research Is Like Outsourcing Your Vacation By Jared Spool. "Hang around me long enough and you'll hear me say this: 'Outsourcing your user research work is like outsourcing your vacation. It gets the job done, but probably won't have the effects you were seeking.'...Once you're in the habit of doing your own research, you'll never want to go back. It's just too awesomely addicting and useful." http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2011/08/02/outsourcing-your-user-research-is-like-outsourcing-your-vacation/ +04: EVENTS. Accessibility Camp DC October 22, 2011. Washington, DC, U.S.A. http://www.accessibilitycampdc.org/ UX Intensive 2011 Chicago October 24-27 2011. Chicago, Illinois, USA http://uxichicago2011.eventbrite.com/ Hardboiled Web Design Manchester with Andy Clarke October 28, 2011. Manchester, England, United Kingdom. http://stuffandnonsense.eventwax.com/hardboiled-web-design-workshop-with-andy-clarke Full Frontal JavaScript Conference November 11, 2011. Brighton, England, United Kingdom http://2011.full-frontal.org/ Accessibility Everywhere: Groundwork, Infrastructure, Standards (AEGIS) International Conference November 28-30, 2011. Brussels, Belgium http://www.epr.eu/aegis/ +05: FLASH. Farewell Flash? Adobe Launches HTML5 Web Animations Tool "Adobe Edge" By Sarah Perez. "Today, Adobe is launching a new tool called Adobe Edge which will allow creative professionals to design animated Web content using Web standards like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript. Not Flash..." http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/farewell_flash_adobe_launches_html5_web_animations_tool_adobe_edge.php Four Things You Need to Know About Adobe Edge By Brad Reed. "While you shouldn't expect Adobe's Edge to replace its Flash standard anytime soon, it will act as a gateway for the company to start using HTML5. To help guide you through what Adobe Edge will and won't do, we've put together a quick compilation of key facts about Adobe's newest HTML-based Web animation technology..." http://www.macworld.com/article/161486/2011/08/adobe_edge.html Experiments with Adobe Edge By Anna Debenham. "A development version of Adobe Edge came out today, and I thought I'd give it a quick play to see whether it would be useful for any of the projects I'm working on..." http://maban.co.uk/58 Devs Respond to Adobe Edge By Tanya Combrinck. "We speak to leading developers about the newly released web animation tool, and discover concerns over HTML5 branding and absence of SVG and canvas, although Adobe stresses it's still early days..." http://www.netmagazine.com/features/devs-respond-adobe-edge Living on the Edge - New Adobe Animation Tool Sparks Necessary Conversations By Chris Heilmann. "Adobe made quite some splash in the last days by releasing Edge, a Flash-like tool to create HTML5/CSS3/JS driven animations. There is a need for a tool like that and I for one am very happy to see that Adobe are recognising this. Other tools that try to tackle the same task are already around, with the yet to be released Animatable being shown at quite a few conferences and Radi leading the way." http://hacks.mozilla.org/2011/08/living-on-the-edge-new-adobe-animation-tool-sparks-necessary-conversations/ +06: JAVASCRIPT. JavaScript Creator Says the Language Wasn't Just Dumb Luck By Klint Finley. "JavaScript creator Brendan Eich has spoken out against the perception that JavaScript was an arbitrary or random success. In a comment at Hacker News Eich explains the historical context from which JavaScript emerged and how it was unlikely to have happened any other way..." http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2011/07/javascript-was-no-accident.php +07: NAVIGATION. Marking Up the Current Page with HTML5 Links By Leonie Watson. "...The HTML5 specification subtly changes the purpose of the element though. Instead of marking up content with strong emphasis, it should be used to markup content of strong importance..." http://tink.co.uk/2011/07/marking-current-page-html5/ +08: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS. Understanding HTML5 Semantics By Stephanie (Sullivan) Rewis. "If your business is like mine, you've been hearing a lot of HTML5 this and HTML5 that lately. Lots of talk about the "Flash killing" video element, animations with canvas, geolocation, and much more. In fact, the buzz around HTML5 has been extended to include things that aren't even HTML5 at all. All over the web, people are talking about the new expressive capabilities of CSS3 while calling them HTML5. Often forgotten in the overwhelming marketing buzz of HTML5 are the new elements introduced and other semantic changes. In this article, I'd like to help you understand and learn to properly use these not-necessarily-exciting, yet definitely very important new, semantic elements. While the subject may seem dry and boring, there's actually a new richness you can add to your markup with the proper use of these new elements..." http://www.adobe.com/devnet/dreamweaver/articles/understanding-html5-semantics.html Thoughts on the HTML 5 Working Draft By Jonathan Avila. "...There are many new and redesigned aspects of the HTML 5 that promote accessiblity in web based documents. However, the effort must continue to ensure that all content can be made accessible to users at the level of the specification. For instance, guidelines such as the WCAG version 2.0 cannot be fully implemented for canvas content. Furthermore, more instructions in the API sections of the HTML 5 documentation must be included to support access to content via the keyboard. It has been 14 years since the last major update of the HTML specification (version 4.0) and the new specification is much needed to provide consistency and increased structure to the web." https://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/2011/08/03/thoughts-on-the-html-5-working-draft +09: TOOLS. 10 Excellent Tools for Responsive Web Design By Jason Gross. "...Tools have started to spring up to provide us with shortcuts and helpers for common responsive web design tasks. Let's take a look at just few that I find the most useful..." http://sixrevisions.com/tools/responsive-web-design/ +10: USABILITY. Defer Secondary Content When Writing for Mobile Users By Jakob Nielsen. "Mobile devices require a tight focus in content presentation, with the first screen limited to only the most essential information..." http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-content.html Verbalizing About Visuals - Targets, Team, and Tag Lines By John Sorflaten. John Sorflaten addresses visual vs. verbal design approaches. http://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/usability-newsletter.asp#research [Section one ends.] ++ SECTION TWO: +11: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? Accessibility Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/accessibility.html Association Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/associations.html Book Listings. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/books.html Cascading Style Sheets Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/css.html Color Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/color.html Dreamweaver Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/dreamweaver.html Evaluation & Testing Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/testing.html Event Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/events.html Flash Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/flash.html Information Architecture Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/architecture.html JavaScript Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/javascript.html Miscellaneous Web Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/misc.html Navigation Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/navigation.html PHP Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/php.html Sites & Blogs Listing. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/sites.html Standards, Guidelines & Pattern Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/standards.html Tool Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/tools.html Typography Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/type.html Usability Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/usability.html XML Information. http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/xml.html [Section two ends.] ++END NOTES. + SUBSCRIPTION INFO. WEB DESIGN UPDATE is available by subscription. For information on how to subscribe and unsubscribe please visit: http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/webdev_listserv.html The Web Design Reference Site also has a RSS 2.0 feed for site updates. + TEXT EMAIL NEWSLETTER (TEN). As a navigation aid for screen readers we do our best to conform to the accessible Text Email Newsletter (TEN) guidelines. Please let me know if there is anything else we can do to make navigation easier. For TEN guideline information please visit: http://www.headstar.com/ten + SIGN OFF. Until next time, Laura L. Carlson Information Technology Systems and Services University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth, MN U.S.A. 55812-3009 mailto:lcarlson@d.umn.edu [Issue ends.]