Posted by Onideus Mad Hatter on 11/24/05 08:40

On 23 Nov 2005 09:04:46 -0800, "volfro" <vmaglione@gmail.com> wrote:

>Yeah, IE handles PNG alphas differently--it handles them WRONG. To say
>it handles them "not wrong, but differently" is like saying a serial
>killer's mind isn't "wrong, it's just different." It's the only major
>browser in wide use that botches transparencies in PNGs so badly. The
>fix is relatively quick and painless, but doesn't work on PNGs used in
>the background. That's crap. It should work without javascript (or,
>for that matter, senseless legacy tags that have been around since IE
>4).

Oh no, child, you're confused. When I said "differently", I actually
meant BETTER. IE relies on DirectX transform filters to handle the
full aspects of the PNG format, which is VASTLY SUPERIOR to the
botched compatibility that's put into Mozilla based browsers. Really,
it's not Microsoft that needs to change, it's the other browser
makers.

>Thanks for your suggestion for the PNG gamma though. I'm not entirely
>sure what you mean

I'm sure you don't, but that's not really so much my problem, I'm not
an instructor, I simply pointed out how the "problem" could be
avoided.

>--nor am I sure of the browsersniffing script of
>which you speak. Care to post code?

I found this one on the net, made a couple minor mods to it and put it
in an external js file for easy portability:
http://www.backwater-productions.net/detect.js

The script is real simple and straightforward, I suppose you could
rewrite it from scratch if you really had the inclination.

>I don't want to use JPG in that
>header because all the artifacting is extremely annoying to my eyes,
>but I'm sure the change will be transparent to the client. If it's too
>much, though, I may just switch to JPG/GIF (which is aggravating. PNG
>is better than both. grmblgrmbl).

....not really. No format is particularly "better" than another, it
really depends on the specific situation. Often in my sites I employ
a whole array of different image formats and use split form
techniques, using the "best" formats for the right parts.

>That green color is actually their choice, down to the RGB values.
>Seriously. She knew exactly what she wanted. I dont' think it looks
>pukey though; it looks more velvety to me, like a dark evergreen kinda
>color. It renders differently on your screen, undoubtedly.
>
>The M is theirs too. I just offered to redo that logo (it's rather
>ugly, besides being hard to work with), and she said she wants me to at
>a later date, as it's not in their budget atm.

Should be pretty easy to work with, just create a transparent layer
over the top of it and use a graphics tablet to trace it.

>She's asked me to change some text in the header, I'll mess with the
>colors a bit. I don't like the embossed gold with the dropshadow that
>you suggested--it looks cheesy and overused. Or, as you so eloquently
>put it, it looks like an ass-raped cliche. The color itself isn't a
>half-bad idea, though, I'll mess with it a bit.
>
>Thanks for the suggestions.

Again, you seem to be confused. The style in and of itself is not
new, it's most often associated with old timey banks, business, etc.
But the style isn't really the problem, it's the IMPLEMENTATION of the
style. Despite what you think I said, you misunderstood. For example
I've seen some sites that use grids and image overlays and it look
VERY nice...the point is that when they used the style they didn't go
at it like spastic tweenage muppet fuck strung out on pixie stixs.

Here's a good example of what the style being used in a general sense:
http://www.prosolutions.tv/templates/marble/

Again though, like mine, that's just a mockup, you could REALLY
develop the design though and take it to a truly artistic level. Try
this site for some inspiration:
http://www.wincustomize.com/Skins.aspx?LibID=22

Often times I like to take design ideas from OS skins/themes and
remake them for my web stuff. Like what I did here:
http://www.backwater-productions.net/hatter-blog/stories/1-10.png

The original calendar was actually green and came from one of those
skins...I looked at it, studied it various parts and then recreated
each part and made my own from scratch. It's very cool looking and
really nice design. You can do the same, the gold and green is really
just a color scheme, Kiddo, it wasn't a design suggestion so much.

--

Onideus Mad Hatter
mhm ¹ x ¹
http://www.backwater-productions.net

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