[webdev] Web Design Update: April 22, 2011

[Laura Carlson]

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 9, Issue 43, April 22, 2011.

An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web
design and development.

++ISSUE 43 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: BOOKS.
03: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.
04: EVALUATION & TESTING.
05: EVENTS.
06: JAVASCRIPT.
07: MISCELLANEOUS.
08: NAVIGATION.
09: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.
10: TOOLS.
11: USABILITY.


SECTION TWO:
12: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?

[Contents ends.]


++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

Tools and Tips for Creating Transcripts
By Glenda Watson Hyatt.
"Last week I shared the benefits of providing a transcript in addition
to captioning a video (an accessibility must!). But, short of
transcribing each word yourself, how do acquire the transcript?..."
http://blogaccessibility.com/tools-and-tips-for-creating-transcripts/

Accessibility and Web Innovation - A Constant Struggle
By Chris Heilmann.
"Accessibility is part of everything we do - the physical world has
become much better in the last decades because we care for the needs
of people with disabilities. Lowered kerbs on sidewalks, OCR Scanning,
subtitles and captions on movies and TV programs - these are all
things invented for a disability need but we all now benefit from it.
The same can and should happen in interface design and web
development. If you think about it, the features that make a good
mobile interface also cover a lot of needs of different disability
groups. So why don't we work together?..."
http://hacks.mozilla.org/2011/04/accessibility-and-web-innovation-a-constant-struggle/

Enhancement to and Replacement for longdesc
By Vlad Alexander.
"...ObjectDescription is a service via website and API that stores and
serves image descriptions. To use this service with longdesc, a user
enters a URL to a given image, enters a description for the image, and
in return gets a URL they can enter into the longdesc attribute..."
http://rebuildingtheweb.com/en/longdesc-replacement/

Image alt Attributes Not Always Required in HTML5
By Adrian A. Roselli.
"It has long been accepted that the alt attribute of the <img>
element, while not a perfect method to provide a text alternative to
an image, is still a necessary attribute to provide at least some
level of access to the image content for users who cannot see the
image (whether by disability or otherwise)..."
http://blog.adrianroselli.com/2011/04/image-alt-attributes-not-always.html


+02: BOOKS.

Coombs, Norman. Making Online Teaching Accessible, Jossey-Bass, 2010.


+03: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

Updated WD for CSS3 Speech
By Bert Bos.
"...The Speech module contains properties for output of documents to
synthesized speech. They control voice, volume, pitch, speed, pauses,
etc. They are intended to be compatible with SSML (Speech Synthesis
Mark-up Language), so that a CSS style sheet can not only be used to
render a document as speech, but can also serve to convert a document
into SSML instructions. The module replaces the deprecated 'aural'
media  type in the appendix of  CSS level 2..."
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-style/2011Apr/0588.html

Faking 'float: center' with Pseudo Elements
By Chris Coyier.
"...We're going to do it by using floated pseudo element placeholders.
We'll put one in each column of text1, one floated left, one floated
right. The pseudo element should be the height of the image, and half
of the width (or so... remember you'll want some padding and there is
the gutter to factor in)..."
http://css-tricks.com/float-center/

More Module Updates from the W3C
By Chris.
"The W3C CSS Working Group have introduced a new module to CSS3, the
CSS3 Grid Layout module, as well as released two further updated
specifications, for the CSS3 Multi-column Layout and CSS3 Text
modules.
http://www.css3.info/more-module-updates-from-the-w3c/

Powerful New CSS Techniques and Tools
By Smashing Magazine.
"The hard work of front-end designers never ceases to amaze us. Over
the last months, we've seen Web designers creating and presenting a
plethora of truly remarkable CSS techniques and tools. We have
collected, analyzed, curated and feature latest useful resources for
your convenience, so you can use them right away or save them for
future reference..."
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/04/18/powerful-new-css-techniques-and-tools/


+04: EVALUATION & TESTING.

User Research Is Unnatural, Part II: Making User Research More Natural
By Jim Ross.
"Short of espionage or spending years living with a group of people
conducting true ethnography, user research will always be somewhat
unnatural."
http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2011/04/user-research-is-unnatural-part-ii-making-user-research-more-natural.php


+05: EVENTS.

Accessible Web Forms
May 10 - June 2, 2011.
Online Class
http://www.webprotraining.org/AccessibleForms.html

Accessibility Camp Seattle
May 20 and 21, 2011.
Seattle Washington, U.S.A.
http://accessibilitycampseattle.org/blog/


+06: JAVASCRIPT.

How to Find the Center of an Area Element with JavaScript
By Roger Johansson.
"In a recent project I was working on a script interacting with an
image map consisting of irregular areas and needed to find the center
of each of these areas. I couldn't find a function to do that so I
wrote my own. It's pretty simple, but in case anyone else needs this I
thought I'd share. The function takes two parameters..."
http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/201104/how_to_find_the_center_of_an_area_element_with_javascript/

(More) Assignment in Conditions
By James Edwards.
"...Though quite a few of you felt that the syntax was too confusing
to be worth using; that it just makes for code which is too difficult
to read..."
http://blogs.sitepoint.com/more-assignment-in-conditions/

A Collection of JavaScript Gotchas
By Jonathan Cardy.
"This article is an introduction to the weird side of JavaScript, and
it definitely has a weird side! Software developers who usually write
code in another language will find a lot of intriguing "features" when
they begin to write code in the world's most widely used language.
Hopefully even seasoned JavaScript developers will find some new
gotchas in this article that they can watch out for..."
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/scripting/javascript-gotchas.aspx


+07: MISCELLANEOUS.

Norman Coombs, Ph.D., Pioneer of Accessibility Teachings for Equal Access
By Valerie Chernek.
"All will agree that some folks just think more brilliantly than
others and accomplish things that many of us can only accomplish in
our dreams.  These visionaries come up with terrific ideas and take
them to unimaginable places. And when it comes to doing good works
with a brilliant passion, Dr. Norman Coombs take the prize..."
http://blog.bookshare.org/2011/04/05/norman-coombs/


+08: NAVIGATION.

Make Links Focusable (or use real buttons)
By Roger Johansson.
"When creating functionality that depends on JavaScript, many use a
simple link (a element) to create a trigger for the function - you
click it and something happens..."
http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/201104/make_links_focusable_or_use_real_buttons/

Web Navigation Must Face Forwards, Not Backwards
By Gerry McGovern.
"People are on the Web to do something very specific. Great navigation
relentlessly focuses on what is ahead."
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2011/nt-2011-04-18-Web-navigation.htm


+09: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.

HTML5 Accessibility Chops: Just Use a (Native HTML) Button
By Steve Faulkner.
"...Where ever possible it is recommended that native HTML controls be
used over custom controls as their accessibility support is likely to
be more robust and it's much less work. However, if you do have a need
to develop a custom control there are a number of steps you will have
to take to ensure it is accessible. In HTML5 it is conforming to use
ARIA to help in the creation of an accessible custom control..."
http://www.paciellogroup.com/blog/2011/04/html5-accessibility-chops-just-use-a-button/

Your (HTML5) Questions #17
By Richard Clark.
Doctor treating a patient illustration The clinic is packed this week
with your HTML5 ailments! Today, we'll discuss an HTML5 syntax
dilemma, using sections within sections, <link> semantics, describing
the contents of a figure, and marking up web app toolbars.
http://html5doctor.com/your-questions-17/


+10: TOOLS.

ObjectDescription
By Vlad Alexander.
"ObjectDescription is a service that lets anyone write a description
for any non-textual object (such as an image) on the Web."
http://objectdescription.org/


+11: USABILITY.

Are Your Users S.T.U.P.I.D?
By Stephen Turbek.
"It is an honest question: how smart are your users? The answer may
surprise you: it doesn't matter. They can be geniuses or morons, but
if you don't engage their intelligence, you can't depend on their
brain power..."
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/are-your-users-s-t-u

Novices Orienteer, Experts Teleport
By Tyler Tate.
"...Expertise significantly impacts how we seek information online.
Just as novice and expert photographers prefer different tools, so
novices and experts behave differently when searching for information.
Understanding these differences will help us design better search
interfaces for both groups of users..."
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/novices-orienteer

The Usability of Passwords - FAQ
By Thomas Baekdal.
"Back in 2007, I wrote an article about how to make usable and secure
passwords. It is one of the most popular articles I have ever written,
with more than 340,000 unique readers (and counting). The article has
been linked to by a large number of sites, including several of the
big security companies, and last week it was picked up by
ReadWriteEnterprise. Over the years, people have been asking the same
questions time and again. So in this article, I am going to answer
those questions once for all..."
http://www.baekdal.com/tips/the-usability-of-passwords-faq

Orbital Content
By Cameron Koczon.
"...These initial apps hint at some possible paths, but we should
remember orbital content is still a wide open frontier and we are free
to shape it as we please. If we get a good jump on it, we can create a
web in which content creators are rewarded fairly, content consumers
are given unprecedented power, and web applications are pushed to
constantly innovate and improve themselves. Not too shabby."
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/orbital-content/

Challenges of Using PDF Online
By 4Syllables.
"We had around 70 people at the launch of the Web Content Managers'
Forum in Melbourne on April 14, 2011.  The topic was obviously
popular-we had a long waiting list..."
http://www.4syllables.com.au/web-content-managers-forum/pdf-challenges-melbourne/


[Section one ends.]


++ SECTION TWO:

+12: 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.

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+ 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 at d.umn.edu


[Issue ends.]