HTML5 First Working Draft

The W3C released the first working draft of HTML5. They really, really, really want your help and input. Here are a few of the phrases from the spec that prove how in need they are of careful critical appraisal for this spec.

This specification should be read like all other specifications. First, it should be read cover-to-cover, multiple times. Then, it should be read backwards at least once. Then it should be read by picking random sections from the contents list and following all the cross-references.

Almost everything is marked “non-normative” but just in case you don’t get the point, they say,

All diagrams, examples, and notes in this specification are non-normative, as are all sections explicitly marked non-normative. Everything else in this specification is normative.

The working draft is sprinkled with sentences similar to this one:

The current situation with IDL blocks is pitiful.

There is a section on the DOM, the semantics, browsing contexts, APIs and the language context. In the HTML section, they explain new HTML elements which are under consideration, such as the section element.

The section element represents a generic document or application section. A section, in this context, is a thematic grouping of content, typically with a header, possibly with a footer.

Examples of sections would be chapters, the various tabbed pages in a tabbed dialog box, or the numbered sections of a thesis. A Web site’s home page could be split into sections for an introduction, news items, contact information.

The document is huge. To comment helpfully, you’ll need to devote several hours to studying it prior to having your say. The more people to apply some sharp intelligence to this effort, the better off we’ll all be in the end.

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I hate Blogger’s new comment interface

A Blogger comment form Have you tried to leave a comment on a Blogger blog lately without using a Blogger ID?

It’s horrible! You can choose to sign in (supposedly you can) using a WordPress blog name. But you have to be signed in to WordPress first. Yes, signed in to WordPress, check.

Next you have to put the Blogname. There’s no clue as to whether this is a URL, a name like “Web Teacher” or something else entirely. OK. So I try http://www.webteacher.ws. No go. I try www.webteacher.ws. No go. I try Web Teacher. No go. What’s left to try? How about vdebolt? No go. Tells me I need to sign in to WordPress, which I am already.

I have tried to comment on several Blogger blogs in recent weeks and can never get past this. What’s up with this, Blogger?

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A new CSS layout paradigm?

A CSS layout that does not rely on DIV, FLOAT, CLEAR nor structural HACK! from TJK Design is a new concept put to the test on numerous browsers. I don’t want to spoil the surprise and tell you how it’s done, but it’s an original idea you should take a look at. It may not be the best solution, but I feel sure it will shake up the CSS layout paradigm as people get into the idea and test/refine it.

Useful links

Breakthrough could mean 40-hour laptop batteries at Yahoo! Tech got people all excited. My question is, will this breakthrough apply to electric car batteries?

Pocket Sized Portable Power (from Popgadget) can add about 90 minutes of boost to your battery life in case you’re currently dealing with a normal battery.

The indexed book is ready to go! means Jessica Hagy has turned her talent for expressing ideas in graphs into a book. Congratulations to Jessica.

WOMEN’S WORLD 2008 CONFERENCE “Perspectives on Technology and the Construction of Gender” in Madrid (Spain) 3-9 July 2008. The 10th International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women “Women’s Worlds 2008” includes one day session on Women and Technology (July the 7th). CALL FOR PAPERS details included.

Was it a bore for you, too?

Macworld was a bit of a letdown this year. Or maybe there’s just no topping the world-changing iPhone announcement from last year. This year the big announcement was the Air, an ultra thin computer.

the apple air

If a really thin computer would improve your life, this is great. It is pretty—and really, really thin. Keira Knightley is thin, too, but you can’t look at her without wanting to give her a hunk of double chocolate cake with ice cream. Now, I’m not saying that Air is too thin. I’m just saying I don’t get what the actual benefit of this thinness is. Can you ‘splain that one to me?

FCC will investigate Comcast on Net Neutrality

Thank you if you were one of the more than 23,000 people who demanded the Federal Communications Commission stop Comcast from blocking Web traffic. The FCC announced that it would investigate the cable company’s Net Neutrality violation.

The FCC is seeking public comment before it decides to punish Comcast. By speaking out now, you can force the FCC to stop all the would-be gatekeepers from tampering with the free-flowing Internet: Here’s a link that will let you comment to the FCC: Protect the Open Internet.

For some background on this issue, see Comcast: The Hammerer and the Hammeree.

Perhaps you’re not a Comcast user and think that this doesn’t matter to you. A leaked memo from Time Warner shows they are considering the same dirty trick. See ars tecnica for more.

You Can Do Astronomy

Noreen Grice’s efforts to make astronomy accessible may not be the usual topic for this blog, but she’s inspiring. She’s written several astronomy books in braille. They are also accessible to the sighted, using colorful tactile images of astronomical features. The books are listed at You Can Do Astronomy, her web site. There’s more information on Grice there.

Touch the Invisible Sky coverHer latest books is called Touch the Invisible Sky. She’s also written Touch the Universe: A Nasa Braille Book of Astronomy, Touch the Sun and several other books. A description of Touch the Universe gives you an idea of how these books are created for both blind and sighted readers:

“Touch the Universe is the most innovative and unique astronomy book ever published. It is a combination of Braille and large-print captions that face 14 pages of brilliant Hubble Space Telescope photos with embossed shapes that represent various astronomical objects such as stars, quasars, gas clouds, and jets of matter streaming into space. Universally designed for both the sighted and visually impaired reader.”

Grice also designs visiual, tactile, and vibrating kiosks for museum displays. And she’s worked to make planetariums accessible.

The kind of innovation and creativity Noreen Grice has applied to astronomy all her life can spill over into other areas, as well. Those of us who care about accessibility in other areas can learn a lot from her.

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