JitNik's Tech World

Why should web designers start looking at HTML 5 and what are the advantages it can bring to our work? In this short blog post we run through a few of the many advantages we can gain from latest incarnation of HTML.

Improved Code

HTML 5 will enable web designers to use cleaner, neater code, we can remove most div tags and replace them with semantic HTML 5 elements.

Greater Consistency

As websites adopt the new HTML 5 elements we will see far greater consistency in terms of the HTML used to code a web page on one site compared to another. This will make it far easier for web designers and web developers to immediately grasp how a web page is structured even if they are brand new to it.

Improved Semantics

As the elements used to code a web page are standardised, using the new HTML 5 elements, the semantic value of every web page will increase. As it will be easy to see which parts of the page are headers, nav, footers, aside, etc. and most importantly know what their meaning and purpose is in a machine readable format.

Improved Accessibility

With HTML 5 it should be possible for assistive technologies to expand on the features they can offer their users as they can immediately build up a more detailed understanding of the structure of a page by looking at the HTML 5 elements it contains. Could this spell the end for skip links?

Audio And Video

The new video and audio elements make this really easy. Most of the APIs are shared between the two elements, with the only differences being related to the inherent differences between visual and non-visual media.

Both Opera and WebKit have released builds with partial support for the video element. You may download the experimental build of Opera or a recent nightly build of WebKit to try out these examples. Opera includes support for Ogg Theora and WebKit supports all the formats that are supported by QuickTime, including third party codecs.

The simplest way to embed a video is to use a video element and allow the browser to provide a default user interface. The controls attribute is a boolean attribute that indicates whether or not the author wants this UI on or off by default.

[video src="video.ogv" controls poster="poster.jpg"
width="320" height="240"]
[a href="video.ogv"]Download movie[/a]
[/video]

The optional poster attribute can be used to specify an image which will be displayed in place of the video before the video has begun playing. Although there are some video formats that support their own poster frame feature, such as MPEG-4, this provides an alternative solution that can work independently of the video format.

It is just as simple to embed audio into a page using the audio element. Most of the attributes are common between the video and audio elements, although for obvious reasons, the audio element lacks the width, height, and poster attributes.


Download song

HTML 5 provides the source element for specifying alternative video and audio files which the browser may choose from based on its media type or codec support. The media attribute can be used to specify a media query for selection based on the device limitations and the type attribute for specifying the media type and codecs. Note that when using the source elements, the src attribute needs to be omitted from their parent video or audio element or the alternatives given by the source elements will be ignored.

[video poster="poster.jpg"]
[source src="video.3gp" type="video/3gpp"
media="handheld"]
[source src="video.ogv" type="video/ogg;
codecs=theora, vorbis"]
[source src="video.mp4" type="video/mp4"]
[/video]
[audio]
[source src="music.oga" type="audio/ogg"]
[source src="music.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"]
[/audio]

For authors who want a little more control over the user interface so that they can make it fit the overall design of the web page, the extensive API provides several methods and events to let scripts control the playback of the media. The simplest methods to use are the play(), pause(), and setting currentTime to rewind to the beginning. The following example illustrates the use of these.

There are many other attributes and APIs available for the video and audio elements that have not been discussed here. For more information, you should consult the current draft specification.

SAN FRANCISCO, US, and LONDON, UK, 4 February, 2010 - The Symbian Foundation today completed the open source release of the source code for the world’s most widely-used smartphone platform. The Symbian platform, which has been developed over more than 10 years and has shipped in more than 330 million devices around the world, is now completely open and the source code is available for free. The transition of this market-leading platform from proprietary code to open source is the largest in software history. The move has been completed four months ahead of schedule and provides the basis for unlimited mobile development based on innovation and openness.


Any individual or organization can now take, use and modify the code for any purpose, whether that be for a mobile device or for something else entirely. This strategic move provides the Symbian ecosystem with greater potential for innovation, faster time-to-market and the opportunity to develop on the platform for free. Symbian’s commitment to openness also includes complete transparency in future plans, including the publication of the platform roadmap and planned features up to and including 2011. Anyone can now influence the roadmap and contribute new features.

All 108 packages containing the source code of the Symbian platform can now be downloaded from Symbian’s developer web site (tiny.symbian.org/open), under the terms of the Eclipse Public License and other open source licenses. Also available for download are the complete development kits for creating applications (the Symbian Developer Kit) and mobile devices (the Product Development Kit). These kits are compatible with Symbian^3, the very latest version of the platform, which is now fully open source and will be “feature complete” during Q1 of this year.

http://tiny.symbian.org/open

If you took the first steps in a radical new technology only to be superseded by someone on the lines of mere reach and power, you’d want to win back that power. Way back when we were playing Pacman in our school labs Marc Andreesen saw a similar story written for him. He made his first browser ever – Mosaic, before heading to build the then famous Netscape Navigator only to see it get piped by Microsoft’s IE.

However, tech streams are now abuzz with reports of Andreesen, now an investor and startup adviser among many other things getting his hands behind a new browser. Andreessen is backing a startup called RockMelt, staffed with some of his close associates, that is building a new Internet browser. There are plenty of options availabe really if you want to go beyond the big four among browsers actually, but when the father of web browsing renews his interest in the field that he essentially created, you’d be interested very much.

The premise of this new adventure is the fact that browsers these days are essentially better versions of an existing skin, means they have not kept up with the changing web. And therefore, if one is creating a browser from scratch,t here would be a lot many things that would be done differently from what is conventional. In many ways Andreesen thinks Rockmelt is doing these different things.

According to Andreesen browsers don’t quite match up to the need of changing web habits influenced by sites like Twitter, Facebook, et al. He should know, he is after all ont he board of Facebook. Which brings us to the other aspect of the Rockmelt.

Readwriteweb claims it is the Facebook browser and offers a number of tidbits on that front. Though there has been no official word on it, it can very well be true and put the limelight squarely on Facebook. And that’s a huge move for a web publisher.




The implications on both counts are really high, on one hand there is a brilliant team developing what can perhaps change the way browsing happens and on the other Facebook can perhaps have towering presence among those fighting for extending their ubiquity on the web and beyond. A lot of questions then begin to find ground, and hopefully they will get answered when Rockmelt comes out of its stealth state.

Before getting into the actual process, let’s look at a couple of real-world situations that explain why you may want to turn your home computer into a web server.

Situation #1. Say you have music MP3s, documents and other important files on the hard drive of your home computer. If you turn this home computer into a web server, you will be able to access all these files from office or any other Internet connected machine including your mobile phone.

Situation #2. You have some personal photographs that you want to share with other family members. You can either upload these pictures online to a site like Flickr or better still, just convert the computer into a web server. Now you can connect the camera to the computer, transfer the digital pictures to some designated folder and they’ll instantly become available to your friends and family anywhere in the world.

Situation #3. You want to host a website on the internet but the web hosting jargon like FTP, DNS, etc. is way too complex for you. The workaround therefore is that you setup a web server on your home computer (it’s easy) and then host a website in seconds without spending a single penny on external web hosting services.

Now if any of the above reasons look convincing enough, here’s how you can convert your Windows, Mac or Linux PC into a web server in less than two minutes - no technical knowledge required.

Go to labs.opera.com, download the Opera Unite software and install it. Congratulations, you are now running a web server on your machine and just need another minute to configure local file folders that you want to share with others over the internet.

Here’s an illustrated screenshot of the configuration panel - nothing technical here again.

Start the Opera Web browser (yes, that’s also you web server now) and enable the Opera Unite service from the lower left corner. Now double click the File Sharing link and select the folder whose content you want to share on the web. Any file or folder inside this folder can now be accessed over the internet - you can either use a public URL or specify a password for private sharing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-omonwFkkrY

The following screencast video has more detailed instructions on how to get started with Opera Unite or you may refer to the User Guide if you get stuck somewhere.
Opera Unite looks pretty useful but there are other services around that can also do pretty similar stuff. For instance, both PurpleNova and Dekoh Dekstop enable users share content on the Internet directly from the hard drive without having to upload it anywhere.

Update: It’s important to note that your computer must be in running state and also connected to the Internet for others to download files and web pages since Opera Unite streams content directly from your machine - it doesn’t upload or caches anything to its own servers.

Android is a mobile phone operating system developed by Google. Android is unique because Google is actively developing the platform but giving it away for free to hardware manufacturers and phone carriers who want to use Android on their devices.

Open Handset Alliance:

Google formed a group of hardware, software, and telecommunication companies called the Open Handset Alliance with the goal of contributing to Android development. Most members also have the goal of making money from Android, either by selling phones, phone service, or mobile applications.

Android Market Place:

Anyone can download the SDK (software development kit) and write applications for Android phones. Google doesn't screen developers or applications. Google doesn't even take part of the profits.
These apps can be downloaded from the Android Market Place.

Service Providers:

The iPhone has been very popular for AT&T, but unless you void your warranty to unlock it, you can only use an iPhone with AT&T. Android is an open platform, so many carriers can potentially offer Android-powered phones. That doesn't mean individual carriers won't lock the specific phone they sell you to their service, but even that may change as more companies offer Android phones.

Data Plan:

To use Android, you need a data plan on top of your voice plan. You can't even activate an Android phone without a data plan enabled.

Google Services:

Because Google developed Android, it comes with a lot of Google services installed right out of the box. Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Web search are all pre-installed, and Google is also the default Web page for the Web browser.

Touchscreen:

Android supports a touch screen. However, it does not include "multi-touch," which is an Apple patented technology for iPhones. This means you can use a single finger to move items around or select them, but you cannot re-size by pinching or spreading gestures with two fingers.

Keyboard:

The initial release of Android requires a separate keyboard. However, the next major release, code named "Cupcake," will feature an on-screen keyboard. Dialing numbers and using non-text portions of applications can all be done without the keyboard.

The Bottom Line:

Android is an exciting platform for consumers and developers. It is the philosophical opposite of the iPhone in many ways. Where the iPhone tries to create the best user experience by restricting hardware and software standards, Android tries to insure it by opening up as much of the operating system as possible

Apple has unveiled the Mac OS X Snow Leopard, a refined version of the Mac OS X Leopard, and will ship as an upgrade in September 2009 for $29.



"We've built on the success of Leopard and created an even better experience for our users from installation to shutdown," said Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "Apple engineers have made hundreds of improvements so with Snow Leopard your system is going to feel faster, more responsive and even more reliable than before."

To create Snow Leopard, Apple engineers refined 90 percent of the projects in Mac OS X - so users will now notice a more responsive Finder; Mail that loads messages 85 percent faster and conducts searches up to 90 percent faster; Time Machine with up to 50 percent faster initial backup; a Dock with Exposé integration; a 64-bit version of Safari 4 that boosts the performance of the Nitro JavaScript engine by up to 50 percent and is resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins.

Snow Leopard also includes an all new QuickTime X, with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video to YouTube, MobileMe or iTunes. It is half the size of the previous version and frees up to 6GB of drive space once installed.

System applications including Finder, Mail, iCal, iChat and Safari are 64-bit and Snow Leopard's support for 64-bit processors makes use of large amounts of RAM, increases performance, and improves security while remaining compatible with 32-bit applications.

Snow Leopard builds support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 right into Mac OS X Mail, Address Book and iCal. Exchange information works seamlessly within Snow Leopard so users can take advantage of OS X only features such as fast Spotlight searches and Quick Look previews.

It features Apple's Multi-Touch trackpad integrated with the VoiceOver screen reader so users can hear and navigate different parts of a window or the desktop by moving a single finger around the trackpad as if it were the screen. Snow Leopard also introduces built-in support for wireless bluetooth braille displays and the connection of multiple braille displays simultaneously to one Mac.

Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard will be available as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard in September 2009 through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

The Snow Leopard single user license will be available for a suggested retail price of $29 (US) and the Snow Leopard Family Pack, a single household, five-user license, will be available for a suggested price of $49 (US).

For Tiger users with an Intel-based Mac, the Mac Box Set includes Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iLife '09 and iWork '09 and will be available for a suggested price of $169 (US) and a Family Pack is available for a suggested price of $229 (US).

The Mac OS X Snow Leopard Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller between June 8, 2009 and the end of the program on December 26, 2009, for a product plus shipping and handling fee of $9.95 (US).

Suppose you are sitting in a public place like a cafeteria or in the airport and working on your laptop. You feel like having a cup of coffee. What do you do? You will be away only for a few seconds so you don’t want to carry it along. But then, could you leave your laptop lying around and hope that it would still be there when you return back with your coffee? This is a very common but difficult situation.

However, there is one tool that could help you in situations like these. Laptop Alarm.



Laptop Alarm is a free software tool that monitors unusual behavior when you’re away, setting off an alarm whenever it detects a possible theft. Laptop Alarm sounds an alarm whenever your laptop’s power cable is unplugged, the mouse is moved, or the laptop is shut down. This can be enough to deter a thief from running off with your laptop

Download Here:-

http://www.syfer.nl

/

K-Meleon is an extremely fast, customizable, lightweight web browser for the Win32 (Windows) platform based on the Gecko layout engine (the rendering engine of Mozilla). K-Meleon is free, open source software released under the GNU General Public License.

You may read through the list of Features available in K-Meleon before you Download the latest release version to try it out. You can also see some Screenshots first if you want to know what K-Meleon looks like.

It Can Be Downloaded Here:-

http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/download.php

Firefox 3.0 is surely faster than its previous version. And with a little tweaking and optimization Firefox 3.0 can be made to perform even faster than it does out of the box.

One way is to do the tweaking manually by accessing about:config and editing the parameters. Editing the configuration manually may not be everybody’s cup of tea. But there is a much easier and quicker way of doing the same: Firetune. Firetune is a free tool that will optimize several internal settings of Firefox for better performance according to your specific computer speed and Internet connection speed. Firetune works with all versions of Firefox, even the latest Firefox 3.0.



In three easy steps Firetune will make your favorite browser faster than ever:
Create backup of configuration
Choose the combination of your computer speed and your Internet connection speed.
Click on ‘Tune It’

Your Firefox should be now visibly faster.

There are a few other options under the tabs ‘Other Optimizations’ and ‘Other useful settings’. See if these can benefit you

Download Firetune Here:

http://www.totalidea.com/content/downloads.php