So it goes.

Roy Orbison is the shit! Lets not forget that. ♫ http://blip.fm/~u61bc

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:00:19 -0700

Roy Orbison is the shit! Lets not forget that. ♫ http://blip.fm/~u61bc

This whole album is SOOO GOOOD!! ♫ http://blip.fm/~u4ugp

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:00:19 -0700

This whole album is SOOO GOOOD!! ♫ http://blip.fm/~u4ugp

listening to "Surfer Blood - Floating Vibes"

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:19:32 -0700

listening to "Surfer Blood - Floating Vibes":

Feel good summer music! #newMusic

Adios Target, Walgreens, CVS, Costco… I just bought extra razors between games of Call of Duty. The...

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:35:49 -0700

Adios Target, Walgreens, CVS, Costco… I just bought extra razors between games of Call of Duty. The Future is NOW! http://soap.com

RT @rarariot: RT @stereogum: Grab a new MP3 from Ra Ra Riot - “Boy” http://bit.ly/9eoljw...

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:19:27 -0700

RT @rarariot: RT @stereogum: Grab a new MP3 from Ra Ra Riot - “Boy” http://bit.ly/9eoljw (via @shalinguyen)

listening to "Local Natives - Wide Eyes (Teen Daze Remix)"

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:13:20 -0700

listening to "Local Natives - Wide Eyes (Teen Daze Remix)":

time for new music

I knew it! “The Aussie female guide voice on your Garmin is as attractive as you’ve...

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:33:43 -0700

I knew it! “The Aussie female guide voice on your Garmin is as attractive as you’ve always hoped” http://ping.fm/fDlwj

Genius! Android app lets you text while walking http://ping.fm/WVRaE

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:12:27 -0700

Genius! Android app lets you text while walking http://ping.fm/WVRaE

Thoughts on mobile-first webdev and Flash

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:34:53 -0700

The other day I was walking near my house and thinking about mobile web development when I came upon some new condos that were just finished. The condo developer was advertising his newly available real estate with a sign featuring the development’s web address. My interest piqued, I whipped out my phone and navigated to the site, excited to see inside these modern beauties. Instead I saw this:

The condo developer commissioned a web developer to create a shiny new website to compliment the shiny new buildings. For this the web developer chose a site consisting of one big Flash object. Unfortunately neither developer thought about how Joe San Franciscan (me in this case) would be likely to interact with said website.

Let’s transition for a second to a post that I’ve been rolling around in my mind, a tutorial I read the other day, Flexible, Mobile-First Layouts with CSS3 by Brant Steen. To start off the tutorial Steen references an Engadget article, which in turn cites a Gartner study forecasting the prevalence of internet-enabled mobile devices in the near future. The study predicts that by 2013 there will be 1.83+ billion mobile devices capable of accessing the internet, which will outnumber personal computers. Even more significant, by 2015 these mobile browsers will be the primary way that the majority of people on the planet access the internet.

Steen uses these figures to support his argument that web developers should get wise to this trend and start designing their web projects mobile-first. That is, test against the most popular mobile browsers and screen resolutions and make sure the experience is optimized for this environment. As Steen points out, if your design works on a mobile screen it will almost certainly work in a full-size, desktop environment. However, the inverse is rarely true.

So back to the condo website, what really miffs me is this: being a physical structure in the non-virtual world, the new condo building is encountered most often by people walking, riding, or driving by, who might see the large posted sign and be generally interested in taking a closer virtual look. Like me, they will open the site on their phones and, unless they happen to be among the tiniest margin of people with flash-enabled mobile devices, will be greeted by a big nothing.

Now, in response to my rant another web developer pointed out to me, “But Brad, your phone will be getting Flash support pretty soon.” This is missing the point. Flash was very aptly named as it provided a way to add some sparkle, some pizzaz, a little shiny shiny to the drab turn-of-the-century web. Flash will forever be appreciated for bringing rich media to the web in a big way. And, to be sure, Adobe is doing all they can to bring the status quo that they enjoy from the desktop to the mobile environment. But Flash is not the web and Flash is not what the web should be. Flash is not open. Flash is not standard. Flash is not accessible. Flash is not the answer.

Let’s get ethereal and close this out. A bright HTML5/CSS3 future of standards-compliant, rich web applications looms on the horizon, and the future will be mobile.

theduty: brilliant song.

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:36:00 -0700

theduty:

brilliant song.

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-7-11)

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:02:24 -0700

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2010-7-11):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Seriously! http://ping.fm/cmZKN

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:20:29 -0700

Seriously! http://ping.fm/cmZKN

1 page = both standard & mobile interfaces, courtesy of CSS3 (rad) http://ping.fm/d1msl

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:10:10 -0700

1 page = both standard & mobile interfaces, courtesy of CSS3 (rad) http://ping.fm/d1msl

crappytaxidermy: photographer unknown Terrifying!

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:01:13 -0700

crappytaxidermy:

photographer unknown

Terrifying!

“Life is too short for sorrow” ♫ http://blip.fm/~t3q6m

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:30:47 -0700

“Life is too short for sorrow” ♫ http://blip.fm/~t3q6m

Application submitted! Let the free money roll in!

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:17:06 -0700

Application submitted! Let the free money roll in!

Played Chrome FastBall and finished with a time of 03:58. Try and beat me at http://bit.ly/cquxXK

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:41:09 -0700

Played Chrome FastBall and finished with a time of 03:58. Try and beat me at http://bit.ly/cquxXK

So, if the next webOS phone has a front-facing camera for video conferencing, will the technology be...

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:08:45 -0700

So, if the next webOS phone has a front-facing camera for video conferencing, will the technology be called FacePalm? (via @zhephree)

bullshit doublespeak word of the day: simplexity sim·plex·i·ty [sim-pleks-i-tee] –noun, plural...

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:08:45 -0700

bullshit doublespeak word of the day: simplexity
sim·plex·i·ty [sim-pleks-i-tee]
–noun, plural -ties.
1. see www.simplexity.com

I finally cracked my back!

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:30:11 -0700

I finally cracked my back!