Date: 12/19/06 (Web Development)    Keywords: technology, web

Hey guys,

I thought this post could be about exchanging up-to-date resources for cutting edge, well-written information about web technology. I don't know if you are aware of this, but most of the information on the web is utter crap! I hope to think most important part of our job is not only creating new technology but also locating the most informative resources out there about new uses of technology and sharing them with other. Well, most of the stuff I discover through Digg and Slashdot are fantastic, but most of them are overhyped and then they never stick around with the users (like us) after the initial excitement wears off. Do you realize how time consuming those sites can be? They hook you up to the latest fad and leave you high and dry and wanting for more! Maybe we can reduce the digging and start the sharing with a sober mind.

To get the ball rolling, I will put forward 24 Ways, whose motto--impress your friends--is aptly chosen. Before discovering it a couple of days ago, I never realized the stuff I read was crappy and out of date. I subscribed to it to its feed at once! And I have read every single article they published.

So, it's your turn. Where do you get your amazing info?

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdev/376962.html

Date: 12/19/06 (Web Technology)    Keywords: technology, web

Swedish start-up Polar Rose's technology is designed to more efficiently search for pictures on the Web.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6144494.html

Date: 01/03/07 (Security)    Keywords: technology

Technology used at prisons, farms and more analyzes canines' barks to see if animals are responding to a threat or just routinely woofing.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6146682.html

Date: 01/10/07 (Security)    Keywords: technology

When the OS asks for a green light to lift barriers to a PC's inner workings, Symantec technology would make decisions for you.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6148872.html

Date: 01/16/07 (Java Web)    Keywords: technology

Most modern hard disks have S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) technology built in which, if enabled, allows you to query the hard drive about it’s health and performance. Let’s look at some of the critical attributes and how you can determine the health of your hard disk. Mechanical failures, which are usually predictable failures, account [...]

Source: http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/how-to-protect-yourself-from-harddisk-crash-failures/

Date: 01/19/07 (WebDesign)    Keywords: browser, css, html, technology

I am trying to make an HTML template out of a Word document (which will then be used to dynamically generate more HTML documents). The client expects the HTML document to look reasonably like the Word document. So far, it has been an... "adventure." Let's just say that my .css file has gone through several changes, involving changing the units of measure from inches and points to ems to pixels... all of which resulted in various problems.

The client wants the HTML document to also be the hard copy, so we are also trying to get the template to fit onto 1 page, as the Word document does. This is an interesting problem, because depending on how the margins display, and the text size, the text may take up more lines in HTML than in Word, and then go onto another page. We are also trying to get all of the images to have the same proportions as they do in the Word document.


Inches: Measuring the structure in inches worked fine, until I realized that image sizes cannot be set in inches in CSS or HTML, so I couldn't make them proportional with the rest of the structure.
Ems: Measuring the images and text in ems, I could make them proportional to each other, but structure can't be set in ems, so I couldn't make the structure match.
Pixels: I had to set the width of the body to less than 800 pixels, so that it would fit in 800x600 resolution. I don't know how the browser decides to translate pixels onto the printed page, but I believe this caused the margins to be less wide than in the Word document, because the text ended up taking more lines, and going onto the next page in the print preview.



I personally feel that what we are trying to accomplish is not realistic or advisable, given how differently things will display (and print) in different browsers. But I thought maybe somebody might have some advice on either how to accomplish the goal, or what to explain to the client the limitations of the technology are. I just don't feel that I have enough experience to know how to approach the problem, or to confidently tell the client what is possible to deliver and what is not.

Thanks for any help or advice. I can provide more information (e.g. the Word document or the HTML I'm working on) if necessary; if you want to take a look, please comment with your e-mail address, as I'd rather not publicly link to those documents.

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1210863.html

Date: 01/24/07 (Security)    Keywords: technology

Current standards are under continued attack, prompting the National Institute of Standards and Technology to look for alternatives.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6152936.html

Date: 01/29/07 (Security)    Keywords: technology, microsoft

The Higgins and Bandit projects claim a milestone with technology that links their open-source identity technology with Microsoft's new Windows CardSpace system.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6154094.html

Date: 02/05/07 (WebDesign)    Keywords: technology, web, google

cross-posted

[note: I am not involved with this conference, I'm just passing along the info]

Call for Papers

Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web: Hindrance or Opportunity?

The World Wide Web (Web) is in transition; a fundamental evolution of the model which underpins the traditional Web. This new Web, Web (2.0), is a mesh of enhanced semantics, push application widgets, and embedded scripting languages and was developed to pursue the promise of enhanced interactivity. The possible benefits of the Web 2.0 is great but it seems that without timely and prompt action disabled users will be barred from these benefits. Indeed, using sites which such as: Flicker, YouTube, MySpace, Google Maps, and Google Portal will rapidly become `off-limits' to disabled users. Semantic Web technologies have already shown themselves to be useful in addressing some issues of Web Accessibility. However, this new technology has not yet started to make its way into mainstream applications. Without change, will the benefits of the Semantic Web be lost? Will the promising enhanced interactivity of Web 2.0 technologies become increasingly inaccessible to disabled users? We pose the question: Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web: Hindrance or Opportunity?

In this case topics of interests include (but are not limited to):

• Advances in Web 2.0 and Semantic Web technologies;
• Tools and technologies based on Web 2.0 and Semantic Web to support Web accessibility;
• Tools and technologies to make Web 2.0 and Semantic Web applications and systems accessible;
• Design and best practice to support Web accessibility;
• Technological advances to support Web accessibility;
• End user tools;
• Accessibility guidelines, best practice, evaluation techniques, and tools;
• Psychology of end user experiences and scenarios;
• Innovative techniques to support accessibility;
• Universally accessible graphical design approaches;
• Design Perspectives;
• Adapting existing web content;
• Accessible graphic formats and tools for their creation.

Further Information

• Important Dates;
• Instructions for Authors.

More info on W4A.

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1217496.html

Date: 02/06/07 (Web Technology)    Keywords: technology

Record companies are the ones who demand digital rights management technology, not Apple, CEO says in rare open letter.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6156763.html

Date: 02/06/07 (Open Source)    Keywords: technology

Political support for the technology demands of content providers has been based on the idea that we are protecting American interests. In one paragraph Jobs has ripped that argument to shreds.

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/zdnet/open-source/~3/87376316/

Date: 02/08/07 (Web Technology)    Keywords: technology

Panel discussion focuses on college students' perspective of technology in the classroom and on campus.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6157405.html

Date: 02/14/07 (Open Source)    Keywords: technology, asp, linux

The Open Solutions Alliance is being debuted this week at LinuxWorld. With dues of $10,000 for ISVs, and $5,000 for VARs, the OSA hopes to "organize solutions," in the words of Barry Klawans, chief technology officer at JasperSoft, who is helping shepherd the group into being.

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/zdnet/open-source/~3/90632040/

Date: 02/18/07 (Web Technology)    Keywords: technology

Technology designed to help identify pirated videos being offered only to companies with YouTube distribution deals.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6160405.html

Date: 02/17/07 (Web Technology)    Keywords: technology

Page describes several of his areas of interest in science and technology during the hour-long talk, which was a rare engagement for the nerdy billionaire.
Photo: Page on stage
Video: Page talks science

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6160372.html

Date: 02/22/07 (Web Technology)    Keywords: technology

MSN executives review troubled video-sharing site's technology, but sources say a sale is unlikely.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6161245.html

Date: 03/07/07 (Security)    Keywords: technology

Weakness in open-source GnuPG cryptography technology could let miscreants tamper with digitally signed, "secure" messages.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6165277.html

Date: 03/09/07 (Security)    Keywords: technology

ICANN report says new load-balancing technology helped the Internet withstand a February attack on the domain name system.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6166107.html

Date: 03/12/07 (Security)    Keywords: technology

ASI will be the first to sell a laptop with Seagate's hard drive with built-in encryption technology.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6166180.html

Date: 03/19/07 (Web Technology)    Keywords: technology

Many Latino immigrants use technology originally developed for corporations to stay in touch with family members.

Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6168323.html