2007 March Archive

SVG waiting in the wings

One technology that’s ready to take the step up onto the big stage is SVG. If you’re not sure what that is, its Wikipedia entry provides a good summary:

SVG is an XML markup language for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both static and animated.

That’s a pretty big deal; static or animated images which are marked up with XML, meaning you can use the DOM to manipulate them. Interactive images; imagine the possibilities!

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Moved to my own domain

I’ve moved to my new domain: www.Broken-Links.com (no, I don’t like the hyphen either). RSS Feeds should be updated automatically, and all old links should redirect here… fingers crossed…


New features in Gecko 1.9

Gecko is the rendering engine used in browsers such as Firefox, SeaMonkey, Camino, Epiphany, Netscape, and more.

The next version (1.9, currently available as a preview release) introduces a whole load of new features and fixes to the engine. In my last post I mentioned the speed increase thanks to the move to a new graphics layer and changes to rendering order, as well as support for the APNG format and fixes to the CSS to allow it to pass the Acid2 test. But there’s more. Here are some new features of interest to developers:

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Firefox to get a speed boost

Mozilla have announced the release of Gran Paradiso Alpha 3, the latest step on the road to Firefox 3.

Notable in this release is support for the APNG format, which aims to provide the simple animation style of GIFs, but with the advantage of PNG’s transparency support. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any of the examples to work.

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More type control with CSS3 Fonts

After the issue of the overhauled CSS3 Text module recently, I wonder if the Fonts module is due for similar treatment? The current working draft states:

The working group believes this draft is stable and it therefore issues a last call for comments, before requesting the status of Candidate Recommendation for the draft. The deadline for comments is 30 August 2002.

Four and a half years ago! That’s a long feedback process!

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Dynamic Text Replacement

An introductory tutorial to Dynamic Text Replacement. The formatting of the page could be better, but it’s a well-written guide.

I’ve started using the sIFR method on a few sites, and it’s pretty useful; it does introduce a whole new set of challenges to your development, however – notably with the use of z-index and transparency, especially in IE (of course) – so use with caution.


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Aside

I’ve updated my Speaking page to include more conferences, more videos, and a little on my speaking requirements and preferences. I’m planning to cut down on the number of talks I give in 2014 (twelve is too many), but am always open to interesting offers and opportunities, so please get in touch if you’re organising an event.

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