Aja Lapus

Tag: CSS

  • The Second Browser War Round 2

    Upgrade to Firefox 2 Now! Though Windows Internet Explorer 7 came out earlier than Mozilla Firefox 2 for about a couple of weeks, I could not help but to announce that my favorite Web browser just released its second major update. But do not forget Opera 9 as it offers a faster and lighter browser for someone who would just want to surf the Web.

    The browser wars have just stepped up to the next level. For now, here are some comparisons with my own opinions and rankings:

    Web Standards Compliance

    1. Firefox 2 and Opera 9

      Though Opera 9 has been the only browser on the Windows platform to pass the WaSP Acid2 test, Firefox 2 is the only browser to ever support JavaScript 1.7. Both have considerable support for Web standards on XHTML and CSS under most circumstances (as Acid2 tests for uncommonly used standards support).

    2. Internet Explorer 7

      They say that they have improved support for standards on Internet Explorer 7 but when I test sites that break on Internet Explorer 6, they still break on version 7. Besides, support for the proper XHTML media type, application/xhtml+xml, would cause Internet Explorer 7 (as well as earlier versions) to look for an external application that supports it.

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    Customizability

    1. Firefox 2

      With so many user-contributed addons, from Web development tools, custom toolbars and multimedia entertainment addons to usability, accessibility and Web services integration tools, the possibilities are endless.

    2. Internet Explorer 7

      The only thing that I think would work on Internet Explorer 7 is the ability to add custom toolbars which are usually from search engine and portal companies such as Google and Yahoo!

    3. Opera 9

      I really do not know how we could customize Opera though its suite of applications such as a good download manager, mail/newsgroups and BitTorrent clients all in a lightweight package contribute to its popularity.

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    Security

    1. Firefox 2 and Opera 9

      I haven’t researched much about the security differences of both these browsers, but I know since the majority of users are using Internet Explorer (with the automatic update to 7 on the start of November) they are more likely to be targetted that way. Both have good popup blockers and Firefox 2 has a phishing checker.

    2. Internet Explorer 7

      Still is the most widely used (or will be with automatic updates) browser and the most vulnerable to attacks. Though the integration with Windows has been cut off, support for ActiveX controls remains as an opt-in feature. It’s much better than Internet Explorer 6 though. It has a popup blocker and it has (currently) a better phishing checker than Firefox 2 has, according to some site. (I can’t seem to find the link right now, to be posted as an edit later.)

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    Page Load

    1. Firefox 2 and Opera 9

      Based on my experience, both of these browsers load pages faster than Internet Explorer 7 though I still haven’t compared them to one another.

    2. Internet Explorer 7

      Even with Internet Explorer 6, whenever I switch from Firefox to Internet Explorer (for Web page layout rendering), the latter would load a page slower. I think the phishing checker of Internet Explorer 7 made it worse as it always waits for it to finish (and it’s not that fast) before starting to load a page.

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    System Performance

    1. Opera 9

      Loads up on your system much faster than Firefox 2 though I still haven’t compared it to Internet Explorer 7 for they are both perceivably fast to load on my system.

    2. Internet Explorer 7

      Loads up faster than Firefox 2 though the Scobleizer says that it consumes more memory than Firefox 2 without even finishing to load the same pages Firefox 2 has. The Lifehacker also published another comparison.

    3. Firefox 2

      Loads for the longest time compared to the other two but the said reason for this is the different language used to render its chrome to provide support for its themes/skins. It also receives criticisms for high memory usage.

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    Interface

    1. Firefox 2

      Cleanest and simplest interface [but with elegant looking buttons] to get you started surfing right away. Just lacks the default new tab button to familiarize new users with tabbed browsing though it can be added with toolbar customization. It’s skinnable as well.

    2. Opera 9

      Feels very much like a standard Web browser interface [as with Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 6] though some search boxes are more suitable for Web shoppers rather than the average Web surfer or Web developer. It also offers color schemes to suit every user’s taste.

    3. Internet Explorer 7

      Very compact, works without a menu bar, but just plain confusing with a very far stop and refresh button especially when you are used to Internet Explorer 6—users could be more familiar with Firefox 2 and/or Opera 9 this way.

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    Other Features

    1. Firefox 2 and Opera 9

      I could not seem to summarize them all, just take a look at the Mozilla Firefox 2 features page and the Opera 9 features page.

    2. Internet Explorer 7

      It features many things that makes it better compared to Internet Explorer 6 than to Firefox 2 and Opera 9 since both the latter browsers offer these features new to Internet Explorer 7. The complete list can be found on the Internet Explorer 7 features page.

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  • Fast Pace in Slow Motion

    I have a new layout, everybody. Obviously. I hope this one wouldn’t turn out dull like the second version. I have a reason for that static title, maybe I’ll tell you a little later. I’ve done this for four weeks. Yes, four weeks! I got so busy with many things but fortunately, one [this] is finished. Now, I have more time for the others.

    This is somehow broken in Internet Explorer. And, I am in no mood for hacking CSS yet again for that pesky browser. Get Firefox! I’ve been telling you for years! The upcoming Windows IE7, which is already downloadable in Beta, is still no match for it—at least for me.

    There are a few somethings still lacking from this Web site. Just as a checklist, it includes:

    Maybe I’d just post the story behind the title in the Site Information page. I really can’t think right and write right right now. See? 😆

  • The long wait is finally over

    I anxiously went to UST early this morning for our clearance report. It wasn’t easy especially that I was expecting a failing grade in Phys 205 as I have told in my earlier entries. Fortunately, though my head is aching [with fear, anxiety and because of the heat of the sun], I arrived there early because of vacation-induced lightness of traffic. 😛

    The fifth year students and the ESC were the ones who distributed the clearance reports. But classrooms were still closed even when hundreds of students are waiting outside in the corridors. Fortunately, we were first in line when they actually came to start the distribution.

    My clearance report Then the moment finally came. Like both of the paragraphs before this, this paragraph’s last sentence would start with “fortunately”. Fortunately, I passed all of my subjects!

    Well … Let’s go to a side-story after being blissful for ten minutes when I’ve received my clearance report. The fifth year distributor of the reports owned a Pilot ball-point pen but she lost it due to some students feeling it was theirs—or at least because someone forgot they were still holding it. 😛 Being the happiest person in the room, I gave her my Panda pen, which is much cheaper than a Pilot, telling her that she should be using those [Panda and the likes] kinds because those events really happen especially when students could be extremely happy or extremely sad that they forgot what they’re holding. 😆

    Now, leaving the room, I bumped into and talked to Kuya Bert—the ESC President. He asked me why I didn’t go to the last meeting of the committee applicants. Well, I just told him the truth that I haven’t received a memo from one of the officers. After he asked that, I expected that I was not the one they picked, but I, being the inquisitive being that I am, asked him if I was chosen. Well this is really a post of “fortunately’s”. Fortunately, he said I was.

    I went to the Main Building with my classmates to get to see my grades. There were so many people lined up, and again, fortunately, the line wasn’t to long when we lined up—it was doubled when we finally got our turn for the computer.

    It wasn’t good but I still am happy. I got home and computed for my weighted average. It is, fortunately :lol:, higher than the one I’ve had last semester though I haven’t got a 3.0 then and I have 2 of it now.

    Happy? Not really … I’ve got no money for summer! LOLx

    CSS Naked Day

    Btw, you may ask what is this CSS Naked Day. It is a celebration of semantic and purely structural markup that signifies the separation of style from content—the separation of presentational markup [e.g., <b>, <i>, <u>] from XHTML to make way for CSS as the presentational element in a web page. It showcases a bunch of web sites [including my web site] that participates in showing a page that is clear and not confusing even without stylesheets included. Please go to Dustin Diaz’s original entry for comments about the CSS Naked Day.

  • To lead, you must follow

    I brag a lot about my web site … not about heavy-loading images — I cannot create them; not about flashy scripts — I don’t even want to look at them; and not about colorful design — I KISS. But, I brag about my source code, more than fifty percent of which you cannot see.

    Ok now, here’s more of the bragging part: I use valid markup on all my source code — even the stylesheets. I just can’t figure out why other web designers brag it along with their flashy web sites but after you’ve clicked on their “Valid XHTML” link or button, hundreds of errors come shooting out of the validator saying, “Stop! Please stop!”

    Ok, that was a bit exaggerated. I was the one saying those. 😆

    Practice what you preach.

    I cannot blame those people using pre-made or borrowed templates for having those validation links. But for those who make their own templates full of errors, proprietary tags and tag attributes, please do not tell me or anyone that you know HTML, because you don’t.

    Hey, I’m concerned. The Web wasn’t supposed to be filled with junk as you can see almost everywhere. HTML was supposed to be clean. But, yes, it is not. Now, if you want to participate along with thousands of other web standards advocates, please don’t just tell us you’ve got valid markup, show us.

    A law has been implemented and numerous standards recommendations[1][2][3] have been made but, sadly, it seems that only a few people acknowledge them.

    Ignorance is evident almost everywhere you look or surf. Most of them are personal sites ang blog sites, but even IT or tech sites, which should be promoting these standards are not following them.

    Standards-compliant code must be the standard. It must be a trend. It must be a habit. It doesn’t mean it is good if it just look good.

    True beauty comes from the inside.

    I almost came to linking those web sites I’ve been ranting about all day long (actually, “all entry long”) but I think I’d just have to make them realize it on their own. I really wouldn’t want to hurt anybody — I just want to heal the Web. 🙂

    Please take note that I’ve been ranting about web designers with validation links on their site that is full of errors, and not people who just make web sites they don’t intend to validate.

    Footnotes:

    1. ^ [XHTML1]XHTMLâ„¢ 1.0 The Extensible HyperText Markup Language (Second Edition)
      W3C Recommendation 26 January 2000, revised 1 August 2002
    2. ^ [CSS2]Cascading Style Sheets, level 2
      W3C Recommendation 12 May 1998
    3. ^ [WAI-WCAG]Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
      W3C Recommendation 5 May 1999

  • Neophyte

    After learning so much HTML and CSS, I felt like I was ready for something more, something dynamic. I became interested in server-side scripting (one is PHP) but was unable to learn it myself because of its natural complexity compared to markup languages. I know its tag starts with <?php and ends with ?> but nothing more except for the obvious if-else statements. I think that is one reason I joined TomWeb for they told me beforehand that I need to learn ASP (another server-side scripting language) from their 35-hour (plus) training.

    I’ve been blogging and making websites for so long. I already knew WordPress long before the time came that I was able to use it. I have been using Blogger for those months without WordPress that its very people-friendly interface made everything a snap for me. But like what I have said earlier, I need something more than just HTML. I happened to be a self-proclaimed technophile, now I know I still have much to learn. When I was trying to utilize every feature of WordPress after I had it installed, I bumped in to something familiar and unfamiliar at the same time — PHP.

    This new domain I’ve bought is a very good experience for me. It helps me develop my interests and, of course, my knowledge about things going around the Web. It also rekindles my interest in self-studying PHP. Well, I don’t know any more reason why it is a very good experience; I just don’t want to terminate this paragraph so soon. 😆

    So, yeah, I am a technophile and a neophyte at the same time. I hope you have no problems figuring that out. I, for one, have none. 🙂

    I think this would be a good quotation: Everyone has to begin somewhere, so… begin.

    And, by the way, I have finished the primary template for this web log. I just haven’t finished its comments part. And since I so love comments, I will postpone template change until I figured out how its PHP code works so I could put it in the new template. 🙂