Author: vdebolt

Facebook News is Making Me Weary

Every time Facebook does the tiniest thing it affects a gazillion people. That’s reality. So every time Facebook does the tiniest thing, it is a news event. The latest news is they released an iPad app.

I’ve had a Facebook app on my iPhone for some time, so I didn’t realize there wasn’t one available for iPad. (I know, how can I not have an iPad. . .) Why is it even needed on an iPad, where you can use a browser to view Facebook just like you would on a full-sized computer?

But that’s not the point. The point is, I’m tired of hearing about Facebook every day or two. I’m weary of constantly figuring out what to do about Facebook changes. I’m sick of talking about Facebook all the time. Facebook is like election year politics – too much with us.

Useful Links: HTML5 magnets, HTML5 headings, ed tech, women in tech, Ginger, Stripe

Cameron Moll made a set of whiteboard magnets of HTML5 tags for his own family. He’s released the Illustrator file for you to do the same. Great idea for people teaching HTML5. HTML5 Whiteboard Magnets.

JAWS, IE and Headings in HTML5. Must reading for accessibility information about how JAWS interprets heading structure, particularly in IE.

Applying the 7 Golden Rules: One Teachers Take on Technology. At Mind/Shift.

If you’re a Google+ user, you might be interested in the public circle of the women who made Google + that Marshall Kirkpatrick created on Ada Lovelace Day.

If you have any interest in HTML5 video, you should be reading Ginger’s Thoughts.

If you are selling something on your web site, you might take a look at Stripe, which promises ease of use in collecting payments.

Quora: Are you using it?

Quora announced a new iPhone app for Quora. I guess they are hoping to revive the project.

I don’t know about you, but I am completely over Quora. I never check it.

It was unbearably slow to load, navigation was not all that clear, and the system of promoting the questions and answers never really hooked me.

Did it hook you? Do you use it or are you over it like me?

SW Conference on Disability: Can the Dynamic Web be Accessible Panel Presentation Slides

The slide deck, which is mostly a list of resources, can be found on Slideshare.

I prepared some info for my part of the panel, which I put at vdebolt.com/swconf. This was just a small part of what we discussed, but since I was going to talk about alt text, I thought I needed some visuals. Other panel members did not need to do this.

My Ada Lovelace Day Pick: Emily Lewis

Emily Lewis

It’s Ada Lovelace Day! This day is for all of us to honor, mention, and share the names of the women in STEM that we admire. Who’s my choice for 2011? Emily Lewis!

Emily is a web designer running her own business at Emily Lewis Design. She has a blog at A Blog Not Limited. She’s written a book about microformats and part of a book about HTML5. She writes guest columns for Script Junkie and other techie places.

Emily does podcasts about Expression Engine and about the tech scene in Albuquerque, where she lives. She performs a great community service to the Albuquerque web tech community by co-managing a group called Webuquerque that hosts educational/social events for webheads. She speaks on panels for tech events such as SXSW, MIX, and others where she shares her knowledge and expertise with competent professionalism.

To summarize Emily, she’s an outstanding creative professional who makes important contributions to her chosen field of web design. Three cheers for Emily!

Past Ada Lovelace honorees:

 

The Smartphone Password Protection Quandry

I was reading Most Don’t Password Protect Their Smartphones – Here’s Why You Should at ReadWriteWeb. Sure, protect your privacy, ensure you security. I, however, have a point of view on the password entry to smartphones that is more nuanced.

When you’re trotting around the globe in your 20s and 30s with you mobile phone in hand, you can ignore the fact that you are a mortal being. At my age, not so much. So I selectively protect my phone, depending on where I am.

It only takes a moment to turn on password protection, or to turn it off.

I turn it on when I’m in situations where there are lots of people and I might lose it or mislay it or even have it stolen.

I turn it off when I’m driving somewhere alone, or when I’m out walking alone. If something happens to me while I’m away from home alone, I want my emergency numbers and my contact list to be accessible on my phone. I’m trading one kind of security for another kind of security.