Tag Archives: microsoft

Google Chrome Frame for Internet Explorer

Posted on by
1

Long story short, Google released a plugin for IE 6, 7 and 8 that will run Google Chrome (which uses webkit) inside a frame in the IE browser. Now IE6 can be standards-compliant, and all versions of IE get blazing fast javascript and HTML 5 support. Sounds great, but there are some problems, as lifehacker points out:

“The (most) obvious question: Why would I install this plug-in rather than switch browsers to Chrome? The folks at Google point to IT lockdown that won’t allow users to install a new browser; Ars wonders whether such restrictive IT departments would be any more likely to approve this plug-in. If nothing else, it’s a pretty bold move on the part of Google.”

If you’re interested, Jim Ray dug into the details of how it works. Personally, I don’t think this will solve anyone’s IE6 problems, but it’s a fascinating development, and worth keeping an eye on.

“The irony here, as I see it, is that an old, insecure feature Microsoft built to try to beat Netscape is now being used by Microsoft’s biggest current rival to patch IE.”

Note: This was originally posted on my work blog, and I’m re-posting it here for archival purposes.

IE8 Compatibility Mode and IE7 are Not the Same Thing

Posted on by
1

Just so we’re clear, testing your website in an actual copy of IE7, and testing in IE8′s Compatibility Mode are not the same thing. Compatibility Mode does an acceptable job of imitating IE7, and for the average user who’s just trying to fix a site that looks broken under IE8, it’s good enough. However, there are lots of small differences, and if you’re only testing your client sites with Compatibility Mode, it could come back to bite you.

On the IE Blog, Tony Ross published a list of mostly technical differences between the two. Perhaps more useful for web developers is this article by Estelle Weyl outlining some of the presentation differences between the two, such as border handling and box model differences.

Why does this matter? Because I’ve heard some otherwise intelligent web developers (including Microsoft’s Expression Web team, which uses IE8′s Compatibility Mode for IE7 testing) claim that testing will be much easier now, since you can test everything in one place.

To be sure, tools like Expression Web or the old Stand-Alone IE installers are helpful, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that they are an accurate representation of a “clean” IE6 or IE7 installation. To test against those, you’ll still need to resort to more thorough measures like keeping separate machines around, or using the free Virtual PC images for IE6, IE7, and IE8.

Note: This was originally posted on my work blog, and I’m re-posting it here for archival purposes.

Intelligent Defaults Save Time

Posted on by
Reply

Have you ever been a regular at a coffee shop? The barista knows you by name, and every morning when you come by, she’s already got your Triple Non-Fat Sugar-Free Vanilla Latte waiting for you. That’s an intelligent default. She doesn’t know for sure that’s what you want, or even that you’ll come in today, but you’ve ordered it enough times before that she’s confident making it.

Well-written software can have intelligent defaults, too, and you can give your users that same feeling of anticipating their needs. Here are a few examples of programs that found a clever way to save their users’ time with common, repetitive tasks. Continue reading →

Who’s Afraid of HTML Email?

Posted on by
2

Anyone who tells you creating HTML email is easy has either never done it, or is lying. Inexperienced designers tend to think, “Oh, no problem, it’s all tables and font tags!” Grizzled veterans, however, know all too well the difficulties of getting anything but the most simple design to render well in a variety of clients.

Email design today is like web design in the early 90′s, complete with nested tables, spacer gifs, and FONT tags galore. Standards support is virtually non-existent, and even simple things like background images and table spacing are handled poorly by some clients.

Continue reading →

New Xbox Experience: One Paragraph Review

Posted on by
Reply

My Xbox Avatar

The new dashboard is really slick. The entire thing has been overhauled, to the point where it feels like a brand new console, rather than just a software upgrade. At first, it’s a little confusing if you’re used to the “blades” interface, because everything has been moved around and reorganized, but I think the new system actually makes more sense, and certainly leaves more room to grow. The interface is dramatically improved from a design perspective, and while it no longer feels like I’m “at the helm of the future,” the new design is certainly a better fit as part of a larger media center, which recognizes that games are just one part of what the xbox can do. The netflix integration works as expected, and there’s a higher emphasis placed on streaming content from your PC to your xbox. The biggest change, though, is the avatar system. Much like the miis on the Wii, these are good for making a caricature of yourself, but it’s hard to get something that looks just right. (In my case, I think it looks pretty good except for the skinny little cartoon neck, which makes it look too thin.) Of course, if you’re not trying to make a photorealistic one, there is quite a bit more potential for insanity. I haven’t had a chance yet to try the feature I’m most excited about — ripping games to the hard drive to improve stability — because I fell asleep during the 20-minute copy process.