HTML5 - for non technical folk

TAKEHOME: HTML5 is coming - prepare for it.

With Adobe abandoning mobile Flash development, it looks like the age of HTML5 is upon us.

This is the non-technical version. For a bit more detail, click here

* What it is
  HTML5 is the next step in the evolution of the web. A host of technical changes that should clear the way for really great work.

* What it isn't
  Mostly, HTML5 isn't ready yet!

  It's still being argued over and agreed upon. It'll be ready anywhere between 2013 and 2022, depending on who you ask. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5

  It also isn't:
  - Animations
  - Faster Javascript
  - Gorgeous CSS (styling)

  Confused? So is everybody else. And when confusion is out there, snake-oil salesmen are always in the wings, ready to take some poor suckers for a ride. So be careful out there.

* The FUD
  HTML5 is set to become the new Flash, AJAX and Web 2.0 combined. Understandably, people are worried that they'll get left behind. That no one will use their sites. That if they don't get "the HTML5", their businesses will crash and burn. Not likely.

* Why it's good
  If it plays out how folks are intending, it's going to simplify the development of really fantastic web apps. Things like video and audio come baked in. Styling is taken care of by enhanced CSS. Machines will be able to understand the structure of pages more easily.

* When to use it
  At every opportunity :) Seriously though: you'd be wise to start getting things ready as soon as possible.

* When not to use it
  Don't try and do serious Flash-style animations. Also: remember that Flash and HTML are fundamentally different technologies, so trying to make one into the other is not a good strategy.

* How to prepare for it
  Start off small. Build content so it'd just as easily work on iPads, iPhones and regular browsers. Slowly, everything will converge, and you'll be ahead of the curve.

* Links
http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2011/11/flash-focus.html
http://www.w3.org/TR/html5-diff/
http://mashable.com/2011/11/11/flash-mobile-dead-adobe/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/HTML/HTML5#Technologies_often_called_part_of_HTML5_that_aren%27t

HTML5 - for technical folk

TAKEHOME: HTML5 is coming - know what your options are.

This post is targeted at a more technical audience. Click here for the ideas without all the detail.

Sometimes a technology goes mainstream, and everyone suddenly wants to show that they're at that cutting edge, so they MUST have the new thing. With Adobe basically jumping ship on Flash - HTML5 is that new thing.

Nothing new or groundbreaking here - just my thoughts on it, all in one place, as quickly as possible.

* What it is
  HTML5 is the next step in the evolution of the web. That's all. It's the specification for HTML - how it will look, and how browsers will deal with it. It separates concerns - making styling information the domain of CSS for instance. It defines things that are relevent and likely to be important in future - how to have audio and video, how to deal with email addresses and such in forms, things to make your site behave a bit more like applications (with their own little databases and things like that) and how to "semantically" construct your pages. A host of tweaks and imrovements that, on their own, wouldn't amount to much, but together are going to open the web up for vast improvements over time.

* What it isn't
  Mostly, HTML5 isn't ready yet!

  It's still being argued over and agreed upon. It'll be ready anywhere between 2013 and 2022, depending on who you ask. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5

  It also isn't:
  - Animations
  - Faster Javascript
  - Advanced CSS

  Confused? So is everybody else. Be prepared for lots of requests for "HTML 5" - without clear direction on what people are expecting.

* The FUD
  HTML5 is set to become the new Flash, AJAX and Web 2.0 combined. Understandably, people are worried that they'll get left behind. That no one will use their sites. That if they don't get "the HTML5", their businesses will crash and burn. It is your job to offset their fears.

* Why it's good
  Hopefully, websites will be easier for machines to read - making SEO easier to do and more honest. It'll hopefully do away with the need for third party plugins like Flash. It'll hopefully specify not only what browsers should do, but exactly how they should behave, even when failing - so web design should become more consistent, with less custom styling to get a site working in different browsers. Also - it should create an environment in which browser and website are able to behave in a more app-like manner.

* When to use it
  You can start using it right away. The secret here is to remember that most browsers only support parts of it. Building for complete cross-browser compatability with all the bells and whistles is difficult, if not impossible right now. http://www.webresourcesdepot.com/html5-and-css3-browser-compatibility-chart/ http://www.findmebyip.com/litmus/

* When not to use it
  Freaky animations - the high end stuff you'd do in Flash - rather keep those in flash. That said, you'll want to start avoiding doing that sort of thing - people with tablets and smartphones (iOS) won't be able to see your site anyway.

* How to prepare for it
 
Start getting used to having to take the animations down a notch.

Right now, having the best features of HTML5 available to you on all platforms is pretty much impossible, or possible, but with large amounts of dev work and duplication of functionality over multiple platforms.

  Use good Javascript and CSS to get most things done. Tweening libraries and CSS resetting frameworks will give you a lot of room to play. That said, you should still be aiming for a "progressive enhancement" approach - just to cover all your bases. Fundamentally, you want clean html, with nice, consistent and logical CSS and Javascript. Preparing your content for mobile and tablet devices is part of the battle anyway, so there's a good place to start. Either build an alternate version of your site for such devices or create them from the start to work on them as well as browsers.

  Right now, things are just beginning, so, for a while, it's going to feel like a ridiculous amount of work to get the most basic stuff done. You can expect things to get better shortly - even Adobe is spending a lot of time and effort in making HTML5 easier for everyone.

* Links
http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2011/11/flash-focus.html
http://www.w3.org/TR/html5-diff/
http://mashable.com/2011/11/11/flash-mobile-dead-adobe/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/HTML/HTML5#Technologies_often_called_part_of_HTML5_that_aren%27t

QR Codes - for non technical folk

By the end of this post, I hope to pass on a little bit of information about QR codes - just some things I've picked up over time in dealing with them.
This post is aimed at non-technical folk, keeping all the gory details to a minimum. For a tech-centric post, go here

What are they?
QR codes are hyperlinks that bridge the real and digital worlds. They allow a piece of print media to take the user to a website, usually on their mobile. The codes themselves are 2D barcodes, and can actually contain text or v-cards to name a few, but mostly they contain hyperlinks.

Where are they from, aren't they just a fad?
They originated in Japan - a subsidiary of Toyota invented them to keep track of car parts. From there, they spread into marketing. Because of their plain, utilitarian nature, I think they will fade as a cutesy novelty, to become ubiquitous, in the same way that hyperlinks are on the web.

Where can one get them?
http://www.qrstuff.com/ is a good place to start, but if you google "QR Code generator", you'll find plenty of tools.

Creative executions?
http://designerqrcodes.wordpress.com/designer-qr-code-art-gallery/ shows many good examples.

What are the legal requirements?
The term "QR Code" is owned by Denso Wave (a subsidiary of Toyota), and their only requirements are listed here:
http://www.denso-wave.com/qrcode/faqpatent-e.html
Basically, you can get away with using the actual code in any way you want, but if you use the term "QR Code", you should note that QR Code is a registered trademark of Denso Wave.

More info?
For more info and links, go to the techie version


QR Codes, explained by commoncraft
http://www.commoncraft.com/video/qr-codes

QR Codes - for technical folk

By the end of this post, I hope to pass on a little bit of information about QR codes - just some things I've picked up over time in dealing with them.

This post is targeted at technical folk. For the non-technical version, go here

Where are they from?
Denso Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota, first created them to track motor vehicle parts, and it wasn't too long before someone thought they'd be useful in the wild.

What do they do?
QR codes themselves just encode text, with varying degrees of capacity and redundancy. Often, the text is a link off to a web site, but it can also be plain text or a v-card or something like that. So QR codes are basically just hyperlinks in the physical world, enabling users to go to content quickly and easily.

Where does one get them?
The easiest way to get started is to google "QR Code generator" and go from there.

Do they have to be black and white?
Not at all - there are many ways to play with them - just as long as the contrast is maintained. Many deployments use a small logo or picture in the middle of the code or as part of the design. This is possible because the codes have a certain amount of error correction.
http://designerqrcodes.wordpress.com/designer-qr-code-art-gallery/ has good examples of interestingly crafted codes.

What are the legal requirements?
The term "QR Code" is owned by Denso Wave (a subsidiary of Toyota), and their only requirements are listed here:
http://www.denso-wave.com/qrcode/faqpatent-e.html
The requirements are extremely lenient - basically the codes themselves can just be used, and using the phrase "QR Code" needs a mention of Denso Wave as the owners of the term. Somewhere :)

Any tips?

• Create different codes for each execution of your campaign, so you'll know which codes led users to the target URL.
• Ideal size is 20x20mm, or the "pixels" to be 0.7x0.7mm, whichever is *bigger* (encoding more text will lead to more intricate patterns). Of course, this is for printed media within arm's reach of the user. Billboards and such will need special treatment.
• Make sure the content the user is going to is mobile friendly. Users will almost exclusively use mobile phones to scan the codes, and will probably use the same to actually visit the destination.
• QR codes are not a silver bullet. They're not a call to action in themselves, so don't expect addition of QR codes to printed media to suddenly and drastically increase visits.
• Accept no substitutes. QR codes are the most widely used mobile codes - there are competitors out there, but they don't have the ubiquity of QR Codes - and  the companies peddling proprietary formats often charge to create them.
• Stats and analytics are important - but beware of companies offering "free" analytics. Such operators still make money, potentially by selling details about visitors to your site. Rather go with a company that will charge you for analytics - your data will be safer this way. If you don't want to spend all that money, using Google Analytics on the destination page, combined ith some GET data will give you a fair amount of information. http://www.gloo.co.za?qr=001 and http://www.gloo.co.za?qr=002 are examples of what I'm talking about - they go to the same place, but indicate different entry points.
• When generating codes, it's best to save them as a vector based format (like SVG) - your print people will thank you, because they can be scaled to suit whatever media they're designing for.

For more info, Wikipedia has an article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code
QR Codes, explained by commoncraft
http://www.commoncraft.com/video/qr-codes
QR code generator:
http://beqrious.com/generator

Transmitting light, via liquid, down a plastic tube

I've always been curious about fiber optics. And recently found out about liquid lightguides.