iOS 6's new web browser
As every web developer will tell you, the iPhone's browser is a common target. It is popular and it is the most advanced version of WebKit - at least with this level of popularity. With iOS6, Apple introduced a number of things in there, and here is an article listing all the new things every mobile web developer should know about.
Typically, new versions of iOS are adopted pretty quickly. iOS6 is no exception, being already installed on 60% of iPhones and 45% of iPads, just two weeks after its release.
These new features will be available very soon to a sizeable percentage of your mobile traffic, making them a reality you can build upon.
Update on the Oct 25th, 2012According to the latest Apple keynote announcing the iPad mini among other things, already 200 million devices are loaded with iOS6. Time to have a look !
Setting the tone
The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this. These subtilised interpretations are highly manifold according to their nature and have almost nothing to do with the original text.
HTML and CSS resources
CSS3
- Sept 3 2010 http://css3.bradshawenterprises.com/ This page has been the reference for me when it comes to CSS3 transitions, transforms and animations. Lots of examples, you can see it live in your browser and it has been up to date for the last 3 years at least.
- Oct 25 2012 https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/CSS/Media_queries The reference for media queries, but only for Firefox (and other Gecko based browsers) of course.
- Oct 27 2012 http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-mediaqueries/ The reference for media queries, by the W3C, ultimate authority on the subject. A bit academic but otherwise insightful.
JavaScript
- Oct 7 2012 http://paulirish.com/2011/requestanimationframe-for-smart-animating/ Very drafty at the moment of this writing, requestAnimationFrame is a new API designed to build animations in Javascript.
- Nov 7 2012 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/manningpubs/archive/2012/10/29/natural-user-interaction-drag-and-drop All about drag and drop with html 5.
- May 14 2013 http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/offline/storage/ All about the various ways to store data in a browser. Don't forget to check http://caniuse.com to make sure your targeted browsers support your storage means. Hint: localStorage works everywhere.
- Jul 28 2014 https://pieroxy.net/blog/pages/lz-string/index.html Once you've figured out the preferred way to store stuff in the browser, you can now go to the step 2: Compressing your data before storing it in. LZString allows a String to be compressed into another String, ideal for JSON-based storage in localStorage.
- Nov 05 2014 http://dev.sencha.com/ext/5.0.1/examples/index.html ExtJS, a nice lib to incorporate UI components of all types in your web pages.
- Feb 05 2015 https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_Audio_API Web Audio API, the new way to play sound in a browser.
General design tips
- Jul 21 2012 http://bradfrost.github.com/this-is-responsive/ The most common patterns used in responsive design, full of live examples on this page.
- Nov 8 2012 http://bradfrostweb.com/blog/web/responsive-nav-patterns A bit of the same but different. Also links to plenty of live websites where those patterns are in use.
- Nov 13 2013 http://www.jordanm.co.uk/post/66812678668/articles-that-changed-the-way-i-work Various tips and advices about web design. Great resource.
- Jul 28 2014 http://bradfrostweb.com/blog/post/the-principles-of-adaptive-design/ The Principles of Adaptive Design.
Various browser support
- Nov 05 2012 http://caniuse.com Everything HTML, CSS and Javascript, drilled down by browser version and complete/incomplete support. Invaluable. Of course, nothing will ever replace testing first hand.
Tutorials, tips & tricks
- Nov 06 2012 http://studentwebhosting.com/tutorials/amazing-css3-box-shadow-examples/ A cool tutorial for CSS box shadow with an example of how to simulate a curled sheet of paper.
Working offline
- Apr 04 2012 http://www.html5rocks.com/en/mobile/workingoffthegrid/ Learn how to make your website work even offline - a good introduction.
- May 21 2013 http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/offline/storage/ Want to store data in the browser? There are to this day 4 different APIs to do this. Learn which one works for you and how.
- May 21 2013 http://dev-test.nemikor.com/web-storage/support-test/ How much can you store in localStorage? Well, hop on to find out.
Humour
- Nov 26 2013 http://motherfuckingwebsite.com/ Very simple: A responsive page under 2.2kb, simple, elegant, gets the point across, no JavaScript, well... the dream page.
Java tools
In this section, I mean to share a few classes I've been writing and I think may be somewhat useful.
Already one tool available: the RedirectFilter. This class will help you to set up static redirections on any web app.
The IE awareness initiative
Indeed, IE is becoming more and more of a pain for web developers. Why should others know about it? If you don't know, don't bother with it. If you do, you'll be pleased to join !
News from Missouri: "My iPhone flew away!"
These last few weeks, the press reported a number of incidents with the iPhone. More than isolated incidents, this phenomenon looks more and more like a global issue, and we dare think that the government should step in and declare it a public health concern.
Of course, many like to make fun of the various incidents and protagonists, even though there are more and more every day...
We had the chance to meet one of them. Here is his story.
How and why Apple got it right
Presentation of the iPhone
I have already talked about my now ex phone: The SPV-C500. This was a phone running Windows Mobile.
I now own an iPhone. I probably never would have bought an iPhone, but it was a gift.
Until I got one, I was very interested by the iPhone. No doubt I already loved it (virtually that is). And I laughed everytime I read an article saying "Nah, it ain't 3G, it's gonna flop". Or the like. And trust me, there was plenty of such nonsense all over the press. How could anyone resume the success of a device to the raw list of its functionnality is beyond me. iPods always have been behing their competitors on the feature list. Yet...
A small update to the last post, "I, Pirate".
amazon.com (along with others) have started to offer MP3 downloads. No DRM, no hassle. You pay, you download, you own a copy. As simple as pirating the file.
As for free music downloads (such as the Radiohead initiative and the latest Harvey Danger album for example) I will always be drawn to these type of initiatives. It cost less for me (even if I end up paying) and it rewards the artist more. I payed $5 for the Harvey Danger album, which is less that any album I could buy from the "commercial" circuit. And I'm sure it's more than whatever they were making out of an album sale through the regular music channels.
I, Pirate
How I went to the dark side
Disclaimer: The following is a fiction, all liability discarded - or so I hope.
I used to buy CDs when it comes to acquiring music. I do not do it much anymore, even though I haven't completely stopped. The new distribution I use is called P2P. Why?
Is eBay losing it?
A while ago, I discovered eBay. It had all the required attributes (for me) to make itself an indispensable companion: Simple, free and efficient. And I created my first Paypal account, which had all the attributes required (for me) to make the perfect payment system over the internet: Simple, free and efficient.
Some time ago, eBay wasn't free anymore. They would take away 1% or 2% off of the auctions that would sell. And I thought that was well and good. After all, they provide the service that allowed me to sell in the first place.
SPV C500 - Follow-Up
Well, I thought that after 6 month you can get a more in depth review. First of all, I am not a reviewer, so forgive me, but I have tested only stuff that I use.