+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE. - Volume 10, Issue 33, February 9, 2012. An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development. ++ISSUE 33 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: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE. 07: JAVASCRIPT. 08: MISCELLANEOUS. 09: NAVIGATION. 10: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS. 11: TOOLS. 12: USABILITY. SECTION TWO: 13: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? [Contents ends.] ++ SECTION ONE: New references. +01: ACCESSIBILITY. Writing Good ALT Text By The Guild of Accessible Web Designers. "One of the first things anyone learns about accessible web design is the importance of the alt attribute on images. If you are using XHTML, image tags without alt attributes won't even validate, so ensuring this information is provided becomes even more important. Writing alt text is easy, but writing it well enough for it to be a help rather than a hindrance can take some thought..." http://www.gawds.org/show.php?contentid=28 Multimedia Lectures - Tools for Improving Accessibility and Learning By Mary Bart. "...Accessibility is not optional but rather a critical success factor..." http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/multimedia-lectures-tools-for-improving-accessibility-and-learning/ Web Accessibility Testing: Do Automatic Testing First By Karl Groves. "...By initially testing for a subset of high impact issues, you can get quick wins that help minimize the pain experienced when an organization is new to accessibility. Then you can build on those successes by including a few more of the more subjective things and/ or including some manual testing. Increasing the scope gradually and deliberately will help minimize the perceived impact." http://www.karlgroves.com/2012/02/02/web-accessibility-testing-do-automatic-testing-first/ WCAG 2.0 Parsing Error Bookmarklet By Steve Faulkner. "...It is true (as far as I know) that there is no currently available dedicated service or software for checking 4.1.1 Parsing. What I do and advise clients to do is use the W3C validation service to check their code as the checks required for parsing criterion conformance are a subset of the checks that are made when validating HTML code..." http://www.paciellogroup.com/blog/2012/02/wcag-2-0-parsing-error-bookmarklet/ CNN Sued Over Lack of Closed Captioning on Website By Bob Egelko. "A federal magistrate has refused to dismiss a suit by deaf Californians against CNN for its refusal to add closed captioning to news video clips on its website..." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/03/BAKK1N2SST.DTL#ixzz1lRloAurO +02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. Using max-width on Images Can Make Them Disappear in IE8 By Roger Johansson. I recently ran into a problem that was really hard to figure out. I was working on a responsive design where I used img {max-width:100%;} to make sure that images would be downsized rather than overflow in narrower viewports. http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/201202/using_max-width_on_images_can_make_them_disappear_in_ie8/ One Design to Rule Them All? By Karine Joly. "Responsive web design in higher education...Notre Dame's new home page, launched in July 2011, has been the most talked about RWD implementation within the higher ed web community so far...More and more institutions, including Vassar College (N.Y.) and West Virginia University, have also embraced the RWD approach for existing websites or new web projects..." http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/one-design-rule-them-all Irresponsibly Responsive - Tower of Babel By Niels Matthijs. "2011 was an exciting year for the web development community. We saw the rise of mobile, coined concepts like mobile-first and responsive and braced ourselves for a future where anything could be seen by anyone, anywhere, on any device. It was a great year for experimentation and mucking about, but now it's time to get serious. The question is, can we still control the beasts that responsive and mobile-first have become?..." http://www.onderhond.com/blog/work/irresponsibly-responsive Image-y Nation By Jeremy Keith. "...Josh is working on a responsive project at Clearleft right now-and doing a superb job of it-where he's deliberately cutting the server-side aspect of responsive images out of the picture. He's still starting with the small (mobile) images by default and then, after the page has loaded, swaps them out with JavaScript if the viewport is wide enough..." http://adactio.com/journal/5208/ +03: EVALUATION & TESTING. Communicating User Research Findings By Jim Ross. "...Even the best research can lose much of its value when presented in a poorly executed deliverable that doesn't clearly communicate research findings and recommendations. Following these guidelines can help you to deliver useful findings and recommendations without putting everyone to sleep." http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2012/02/communicating-user-research-findings.php Strategies for Choosing Test Devices By Stephanie Rieger. "...When choosing devices, we've found it helps to consider a variety of factors..." http://stephanierieger.com/strategies-for-choosing-test-devices/ +04: EVENTS. Mobile World Congress 2012 February 27 - March 1, 2012. Barcelona, Spain http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/ An Event Apart Washington, San Francisco November 6-8, 2012. San Francisco, California, U.S.A. http://aneventapart.com/2012/sanfrancisco/ +05: FLASH. Adobe Confirms: No Flash for Chrome on Android By Ryan Paul. "Google issued a beta release of Chrome for Android earlier today. The browser provides support for modern web standards and includes a number of compelling features that aren't available in the Android's default browser. One noteworthy Chrome desktop feature that isn't included in the mobile port, however, is the integrated Flash runtime." http://www.webmonkey.com/2012/02/adobe-confirms-no-flash-for-chrome-on-android/ +06: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE. IA Strategy - Addressing the Signatures of Information Overload By Nathaniel Davis. "...In this article, I have reviewed six traceable signatures of impending conditions of information overload. If, as an IA practitioner, you hold yourself to high standards, I challenge you to test the use of these signatures. I also encourage you to discover new ones. Then, apply and share your insights, because almost 1 trillion dollars of lost productivity are on the table for organizations of all sizes, who could benefit from reducing these costs through a sound information architecture strategy." http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2012/02/ia-strategy-addressing-the-signatures-of-information-overload.php +07: JAVASCRIPT. If You Use the WAI-ARIA Role 'application', Please Do So Wisely! By Marco Zehe. "This goes out to all web developers out there reading this blog and implementing widgets and other rich content in HTML, CSS and JavaScript! If you think of using the WAI-ARIA role ÒapplicationÓ in your code, please do so with caution and care! And here's why..." http://www.marcozehe.de/2012/02/06/if-you-use-the-wai-aria-role-application-please-do-so-wisely/ Understanding ARIA Widgets By Todd Kloots. "ARIA is a W3C specification that can be used to dramatically improve the accessibility of custom widgets, especially for users of screen readers. For those unfamiliar with ARIA this article aims to explain the unfamiliar through the lens of the familiar: existing HTML widgets..." http://yaccessibilityblog.com/library/understanding-aria-widgets.html +08: MISCELLANEOUS. An Interview with Kevin Chao By Henny Swan. "Kevin Chao seems to be everywhere tweeting, commenting and contributing to lists about various products and companies ranging from Apple, NVDA, Adobe, Google and Android. He's a student, visually impaired and lives in the USA and as he himself admits loves to 'get under the hood' of technologies to see how they work and how they can be improved..." http://www.iheni.com/an-interview-with-kevin-chao/ Inside the CSS WG: Daniel Glazman, Co-Chair By Molly Holzschlag. "In a new series web standards advocate Molly Holzschlag gives us exclusive access to the W3C CSS Working Group and interviews its members about their work and vision. Today she quizzes the group's co-chair, Daniel Glazman..." http://www.netmagazine.com/interviews/inside-css-wg-daniel-glazman-co-chair On Mobile Web Development By Tiffany B. Brown. "Much of what we see is that developers rely on a specific browser (e.g., Webkit) and they forget about other engines on various devices, including Opera, Firefox, and others. The problem seems most persistent on mobile, perhaps because of Webkit's market share. Things break and developers don't understand why; or they don't notice the problem, of if they do they do browser sniffing to avoid the problem..." http://tiffanybbrown.com/2012/02/01/on-mobile-web-development/ +09: NAVIGATION. Should Links be Underlined? By Gerry McGovern. "The most important thing is that a link is clearly understood to be a link. That way, when you scan the page you can immediately identify the links..." http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2012/nt-2012-02-06-Should-underlined.htm Skip Links and Standards? By Russ Weakley. "Question: Are there any standards associated with skip links? Answer: Yes! In order to comply with Success Criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks - you must provide a mechanism to 'bypass blocks of content that are repeated on multiple Web pages. (Level A)' " http://www.maxdesign.com.au/2012/02/02/skip-links/ How Taxonomy and Metadata Leads to Findability By Theresa Putkey. "Taxonomy and metadata are becoming much more popular these days. Companies need to keep track of their information, but can't use traditional classification systems, such as Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress Subject Headings. In the last 10 years, faceted taxonomies have taken on new importance on the web; XML has upgraded the visibility of metadata. Having the skills to create taxonomies and metadata will serve you well. Most people don't have the instinctual skills to create information organization structures that are useful or the practical knowledge and experience to be confident in the structures they create. Understanding how taxonomies and metadata feed into user interfaces allows you to recommend good designs that improve findability." http://e3contentstrategy.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-taxonomy-and-metadata-leads-to.html +10: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS. Semantic Mark-Up By BBC. "Semantic mark-up is HTML that describes the content, rather than the manner in which the content is presented. It allows the meaning to be delivered to users regardless of the browser they use, so that content can be provided to the widest possible audience..." http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/futuremedia/technical/semantic_markup.shtml Structure First. Content Always. By Mark Boulton. "We have to start somewhere. Something has to come first..." http://www.markboulton.co.uk/journal/comments/structure-first-content-always HTML5 Web Camp Silicon Valley By Microsoft. Microsoft's HTML5 Web Camp videos are now online. http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/HTML5-Web-Camp/HTML5-Web-Camp-Silicon-Valley +11: TOOLS. W3C Launches New Markup Validation Service By W3C. "The W3C has launched the Nu Markup Validation Service, a non-DTD-based markup validator being made available to the community in parallel to the existing DTD-based validator.w3.org W3C markup validator. The W3C Nu Markup Validation Service uses the same backend as the Validator.nu site, which is also the backend for the HTML5-checking feature of validator.w3.org..." http://www.w3.org/News/2012.html#entry-9353 +12: USABILITY. Fact vs. Fiction - What Usability is Not By Vishal Mehta. "A close friend asked me a few days ago Ð ÒYou've covered decent ground on the science, dimensions, characteristics, design aspects, process and pervasiveness of usability considerations. How about doing a reverse bit? What usability is not about? Or the myths of usability?Ó I jumped at the chance..." http://www.uxbooth.com/blog/fact-vs-fiction-what-usability-is-not/ Recent Findings On Captcha and The User Experience By Kim Krause Berg. "The opinions on what makes a form or Web application user friendly may vary but most everyone dislikes Captcha fields. Some Captcha's are so difficult to decipher they actually increase form and page abandonment..." http://searchengineland.com/recent-findings-on-captcha-the-user-experience-109779 [Section one ends.] ++ SECTION TWO: +13: 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.]