UK to shut down over 500 government sites

From the BBC.co.uk:

“According to Ofcom, when Labour came to power in 1997, only 5% of households had internet access, but that has now risen to 57%.

And the Cabinet Office believes that people prefer to find what they need quickly and easily rather than choosing to surf across huge numbers of sites.”

Read the article here.

Key points that I read here:

1) The government is trying to save money. 2) They did some research about how many people are online. 3) They actually thought about how people wanted to use the site. 4) The government is trying to save money.

If anything, websites are making the news. That’s one project, at least in my opinion, that will be very hard and political to pull off. I’m very eager to see the resulting architecture.

$100 laptops almost ready

From the BBC.co.uk:

“One idea would be for customers to have to buy two laptops at once - with the second going to the developing world.

Five million of the laptops will be delivered to developing nations this summer, in one of the most ambitious educational exercises ever undertaken.”

Read the article here.

Read the wiki here.

This is an interesting project. I don’t have a whole lot to say about this, but with an effort to get more people connected in the world - it will be interesting to see the online trends. Also, will 1st and 2nd world countries buy these laptops too? Would they be available to American school children? Could this drive more research into lower power consumption devices (more so)? Will this effect how operating systems are coded? Will discoveries from this make their way to other products that could benefit from being “wired”? There is some interesting possibilities here.

Outlook 2007 uses Word Engine

From sitepoint.com:

“While the IE team was soothing the tortured souls of web developers everywhere with the new, more compliant Internet Explorer 7, the Office team pulled a fast one, ripping out the IE-based rendering engine that Outlook has always used for email, and replacing it with … drum roll please … Microsoft Word.”

Read the article here.

Well - this will be a pain for many branded email providers that use backgrounds. What can I say? IE7 takes a step forward, Outlook takes a step back. The only thing I can glean off of this is that they don’t trust the security of the IE7 engine. Otherwise, why degrade it?

Outlook 2007 will be released January 30, 2007.

Web standards view

From alistapart.com:

“Many web designers, myself included, come to the web with a background in the graphic arts. We think in pictures, not in code. When we first begin designing for the web, we’ll use HTML and CSS crudely, as a means to an end—a method of arranging pretty boxes in space—without grasping the true nature of the box itself or what it contains. Altering that strictly visual mentality is the highest hurdle to overcome when a graphic designer first dives into semantics and web standards. For the visual designer, really understanding web standards means you’ll have to change the way you think about design.”

Read the article here.

It’s true - when designing for the web, you have to wear multiple hats. Sometimes it’s unfair to ask so much from one person - but that’s the nature of the business. World awareness of what is involved in web design is still not that extensive. Most think of it as graphic design for the web, or dumbed-down programing (quite the opposite sometimes let me tell you).

But the truth is, the world of web design, literally changes daily. New innovations, widgets, standards, best-practices, guidelines, and technology keeps pushing the trade/profession forward. I’ve once thought, why aren’t there any university degrees in web design. Graphic design degrees exist - surely web design should. One problem is that, it’s a full time job to just keep up with the latest developments sometimes. Another is, the trade/profession is still so new.

Web designers even fight amongst themselves about what to do, how to do, and why to do things. So I guess you can’t blame people for not understanding what we do. I just know I take every opportunity to speak about this interesting world because it will be part of our lives in a huge way very soon if it isn’t already. Mainly, I guess, because it’s so fun to guess the next big thing, and to look back and shake your head about how you didn’t see it coming.

Apple reveals the iPhone

Visit the iPhone site here.

OK - this is a no-brainer. In my opinion, this could possibly change the world. Well at least for a few people. Unless you were in a dark hole for the last 12 hours, you know that Apple’s latest device is a digital camera, phone, PDA, and iPod all-in-one - not to mention it’s a mini-desktop capable of running applications, and a WiFi capable box so you can browse the web using Safari (is Opera in trouble yet again?).

IF the adoption rate of this device is anywhere close to that of the iPod series (watch out RIM) - web designers have to start thinking more about testing in Safari (could it out-pace IE7? maybe not, but it should be interesting to watch), and testing to see if things are discernible on the tiny screen (usability studies just got more elaborate). But apart from that, the device is a digital camera and a web browser - blog/podcast from wherever you want now (OK OK, but it’s even easier to do so now). Watch movies on it. Find your way around town with it. Etc, etc. I’ve never seen on box take on so many markets at once.

Another brilliant move is that it runs off OS X. With Vista coming out - what a great way to keep interest in your operating system. What an great indirect way to get people excited to grab an OS X device. Will it get people thinking, “I wish my PC ran as well as my phone?” That would be funny to hear.

Also, I haven’t mentioned the interface - and I don’t think I have to. An interface will heighten the sexy-factor of anything, but it’s not the main thing that will make this the next milestone in Apple’s long list of hits. What makes it great is what it does, and how it advances the way we interact with the web and with each other. How it just makes sense. It’s the logical next step. It’s portable devices 2.0. Bill Gates just finished talking about how he sees the world existing seamlessly with technology - yet, I feel the iPhone beats the Ford project hands down. This affects more people right away - how many people buy a Ford every year? Talk about high cost of technology buy-in.

The iPhone, I believe is the beginning of a new wave of omni-devices. Devices that can do virtually everything a portable device can. They’ll keep you wired virtually anywhere (in theory). I don’t have to sing it’s praises. Apple’s stock went up 7 points today - while RIMs went down 5. A lot of other people see big things for this device as well.

When it launches in the summer in the US, I’ll be watching my web statistics and closely watch the Safari numbers.

Wow, and it’s only January.

MySpace and Facebook very popular with US Teens

From the BBC:

“The study for the Pew Internet Project involved 935 teenagers and found 55% of American youths aged 12-17 had accounts at sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

It found that the sites were more popular with older teenage girls who tend to use them to keep in touch with their existing friends.

By contrast, boys were much more likely to use the sites to find new friends.”

Read the BBC article here.

Funny how, I remember the same things were said about phones (land-line based ones that is).

Now you can watch online media..on your TV?

Over the last few years, we’ve seen everything slowly move the to web, music, tv, movies, phones, etc. You name it - it’s on the internet. In a move contrary to this trend, but more importantly, showing how the web is not only expanding past older media, it is now REPLACING older media. Sling Media is working on a box that shows web media on your TV. Sure, podcasts kind of replaced radio - but, for some reason, I think this will have a bigger impact. Putting web media on a TV, makes it, family entertainment, rather than personal.

Read the businessweek.com article here.

Also, here’s an article that mentions that the next XBOX will let you watch television using high-speed internet connection. Heck, who needs a cable box now?

I wouldn’t be surprised to see shows made for the web sent to users world wide via high-speed internet connections via game consoles displayed on HDTVs (or just a really big monitor…)

It’s almost like saying, “Hey TV, your content now is so irrelevant, we’re replacing it with online media.” Now I know that’s a bit of an exaggeration of course - but this just addes another competitor into the mix for our time. It is now broadcast VS. cable VS. satellite VS. rental movies VS video on demand VS Nintendo VS. cell phone VS. PDA VS. the web.

If the 30-second spot is already dead, does this mark the death of the 22-minute hour? More importantly (at least in the context of this blog) how in the world do you design a web page for a TV? (Yes, I know, webTV has been around a while…) How do you code accessibility for a remote control?

I have to see the browsers coming up in our future. Or the cross-browser/console/phone/PDA/usability/accessibility testing! I smell web 3.0 coming around the corner.

PDF security flaw - worse than originally thought ...or is it?

Some are naming it the biggest flaw of 2007. Reportedly, not only is information on hosts vulnerable but apparently so is information on your own computer.

Read the CBC.ca article here.

However, IDefense has stated that it only effects “old versions of Internet Explorer using Adobe Acrobat 6 and old versions of Firefox running Adobe Acrobat 7 are vulnerable.”

Read the ITWeek.co.uk article here.

Whatever the case, it would be advisable to let users know that they should upgrade to Acrobat Reader 8 whenever possible.

Sync coming to Ford cars

Read the article here.

As much as I am for the integration of online devices and the like in more of our products - in general, I’m strongly against them in cars. Driving while using a cell-phone is just plain dangerous. Studies have shown it is just as dangerous as drinking and driving. Living in Montreal, this is one product I never want to see on our roads.

I see people doing their make-up, reading the paper, eating soup (?!), on their drive in to work. Why give them yet another thing to do. In the old days, there weren’t even cup-holders cars because there was the idea that drivers would have their hands too full driving.

We’re trying to do too much. There’s multi-tasking, and there is just plain dangerous behavior.

How would you feel if the next time you’re on a plane, the pilot is text-ing a buddy on his iPhone (coming soon so I hear) while watching a DVD on a screen in his sun-shade while flying at almost the speed of sound? Now just imagine, that plane travel is several times more safe than driving. Why is it unacceptable for planes, but a-okay for cars?

This is not to say I’m against all devices in cars. I personally am for GPS systems for those who often get lost. But I think manufacturers need to focus on things that people really need (usability vs. bells and whistles again). How about standard features like indicators for if your car will indeed fit in that parking space, or an indicator if you’re about to back over your kid’s bike (or better yet - your kids), or an engine shut-down system for if you’re too drunk to drive (being developed in Japan actually).

I can hear it now, “A young man is killed while downloading iTunes onto his car. Microsoft and Ford sued for millions. News at eleven. “

XXX domain in the works

Read the full article here.

Now, in theory I think it’s a good idea to have a xxx domain. It is similar to having Canadian sites having the .CA domain, and American schools having the .EDU domain. It firstly tells users of the nature of the site, and these domains generally have policies that have to be followed in order to keep the domain (though, they aren’t enforced all too often from what I can tell…). I’m assuming that companies would want to follow these policies, to not only keep their domains, but to gain users’ trust.

In the case of porn sites, though there are ones that play by the books and are forthcoming with what they do, BUT there are some sites that do whatever it takes to make a buck. It would be doubtful that every porn site would follow every policy. And since the .XXX is a voluntary thing - who will monitor and enforce anything? The porn industry is $12 billion dollars strong and growing. If anything, that just gives you an idea of the number of porn sites out there.

The other issue, is where would the line be drawn? What would be XXX, and what would be simply, “daring”. One country’s XXX is another countries rated-R (to coin some film rating terms).

In the end, I’m for the domain. I’m just skeptical about how it will be applied. Will it really help reduce child porn? Of course, we’re hoping it will - but what mechanisms will be needed to accomplish this have yet to be decided. Definitely something to keep track of.

Adobe to release Production Studio for the Mac

From pcworld.com:

“The new software includes After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Encore DVD, and Soundbooth, and will be available for Apple’s Intel-based computers in mid-2007; an updated version of the Windows suite will ship at the same time. The company did not announce pricing.”

Read the article here.

Could we be seeing an interesting shift? For years designers have praised Mac (for many reasons, which I won’t go into), and programmers have panned them (again, I won’t go into it). Now that Intel produces their processors, and interesting thing has happened. It is now possible to run Windows applications on the Mac. Furthermore, it, theoretically, is possible to publish applications for both PC and Mac easier due to their similar (identical?) hardware.

Now, I’m not a business analyst - I’m more of an enthusiast. But could this mean increased sales for Mac? The biggest gripe that PC users have about Macs are that they don’t have many software titles to choose from. Or will this be a blunder by Adobe to invest in creating a Mac specific release? Or will it be seen as genius to open up to a niche market (let’s face it, not a whole lot of people are on Macs at home - but they are loyal). And does the similar hardware of the PC and Mac (yes, it’s true) mean lower Mac prices? Does that MacPro look a little bit more appealing now to web designers who have to design for both platforms? Conversely, will we see Mac OS X for the PC (in some form or another)? Or will it all blow up because people will use online applications like Google spreadsheets?

Fun times ahead indeed!

And let’s forget about the fact that Adobe bought Macromedia last year, at least for now.

PDF vulnerability

From zdnet.com:

“An error in the Web browser plug-in of Adobe Systems’ tool lets cybercrooks co-opt the address of any Web site that hosts an Adobe PDF file for use in attacks, Symantec and VeriSign iDefense said. An attacker could construct seemingly trusted links and add malicious JavaScript code that will run once the link is clicked, they said.”

Read the article here.

Please note the slight touch of irony where they warn you about PDFs yet link to a PDF in the article. Regardless of this over-site, it would be a good idea to monitor this issue, as many sites (like my own portfolio site) use PDFs, namely, banks and other large institutions.

As we cannot force our users to upgrade to version 8 of the reader, we may find ourselves scrambling for either a different document format, or transferring PDFs to HTML. (ouch)

YouTube featured on CFCF news

From CFCF.ca

“Recently, the Internet search engine Google published it’s list of most popular searches of 2006. On the list were names such as Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. But a Montreal grandmother is now the latest celebrity taking the Internet by storm.”

View the YouTube.com clip here.

For those dinosaurs who still think print and TV spots are still the only way to go, this is a tiny wake-up call that even internet video posts are making the news. The costs are so tiny compared to magazine ads, or a 30 second commercial - the web is the no-brainer, low-cost, most-bang-for-your-buck medium to reach today’s audiences. Web advertising, for the most part, is track-able, and ROIs can be quantifiable through web analytics and conversion stats. Let’s see you track how many people read your newspaper ad - thought so.

Wi-Fi for your car

From the SF gate:

“The company is offering to turn your car into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing the driver, or better yet, the passengers, to receive high-speed Internet access while on the move.”

I’m waiting for my Wi-Fi toothbrush that reports my quality of brushing to my dentist, and to the pharmacy (obviously so they can ship me a better toothbrush that would better suit my brushing technique).

Read the article here.

Quicktime Security Hole

From Silicon.com

“A newly disclosed security vulnerability in Apple’s QuickTime software could put both Macs and Windows PCs at risk of cyber attacks, experts have warned.”

With the web exponentially increasing it’s processing power, and application-like resemblance, it seems more and more holes are being found. I feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Too bad, at least in Montreal, there aren’t any real credible programs that teach programing for the web - at least at an advance level.

Read the article here.

77% of China predicted to use 3G

From People’s Daily Online:

“more than 77 percent of Chinese mobile users are keen to buy 3G handsets when they become available.”

Read the article here.

This little bit of news is very (or at least should be) important to all web designers/developers/programmers out there. As China is a target market for many companies, it should be understood that a lot of Chinese users will start visiting websites with very small screens, no mouse and a limited keyboard. Furthermore, cell phone browsers may not have flash installed, and more importantly, most flash movies aren’t very scalable - so the site may be very annoying to use. Granted - mobile users will probably use the .mobile version of the site, however if it doesn’t even exist…

GMail’s Security Hole

Since GMail uses a javascript function to store e-mail information, any other site can access it by simply calling the same function. Though I’m certain there is an easy fix for this (probably just generating a random number and attaching it to the function name), I fear that this will encourage users to begin surfing with javascript disabled again - which will disable many AJAX sites (which Google itself help popularize ironically).

This leads me to my old mantra - never build a site that relies on any run-time technology such as flash or javascript. These should be added on to an already functioning site as extras to enhance already existing functionality.

From engadget.com

“Like your Gmail account? Consider it a sacred place which must be protected from spammers at all cost? Yeah, us too. Well, we hate to break the bad news at the dawn of the new year but there’s a weakness in Gmail which exposes your email address to any web site capable of exploiting the bug. As reported on Digg, the exploit takes advantage of the fact that Google puts your details into a JS file. As a result, if you’re logged into Gmail and browsing the web, any rogue website can declare the function “google” and then parse all your contacts.”

Read the article here.