Updates.
h3rald h3rald@h3rald.com
Sun, 03 Mar 2024 11:30:26 +0100
6 files changed,
260 insertions(+),
159 deletions(-)
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pre, table, blockquote { - margin-top: calc(var(--leading) * 0); - margin-bottom: calc(var(--leading) * 1); + margin-top: calc(var(--leading) * 0.5); + margin-bottom: calc(var(--leading) * 0.5); } ul ul,@@ -306,6 +306,7 @@ }
i, em, +blockquote, .primary-subtitle, .secondary-subtitle, .panel-header {@@ -504,13 +505,13 @@ .panel-wrapper {
margin: calc(var(--leading) * 1) 0; } -.panel { +.panel, +blockquote { margin: 4px; background: var(--secondary-background); padding: 8px; border: 1px solid var(--secondary-background); border-radius: 4px; - height: 100%; } .panel-header {
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@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ don't complain to me if you don't want to use it anymore – that's exactly what happened to me, but luckily, it
didn't matter. Ruby is a very beautiful and elegant language, but like all things of this sort, it may well poison your mind and corrupt your soul…</p> <p>You have been warned.<br /> - h3. Why learn Ruby?</p> +<h3>Why learn Ruby?</h3> <h4>#1 – You get all the treats without the tricks</h4> <p>Ruby borrows from all the best programming languages out there, from smalltalk to Java, Perl to Python<sup class="footnote" id="fnr5"><a href="#fn5">5</a></sup>. Basically, here's the features and functionalities Ruby
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@@ -64,12 +64,12 @@ York Times archives about Romano Prodi</a></li>
</ul> <p>Known as “The Professor” for his education…</p> <blockquote> - <p><em>“He graduated in economics at Milan's Catholic University in 1961 and did postgraduate studies at the - London School of Economics. He also spent a year as visiting professor at Harvard in 1974”</em><br /> - <em>(<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/299254.stm">Prodi's <span class="caps">BBC</span> - profile</a>)</em> - </p> + “He graduated in economics at Milan's Catholic University in 1961 and did postgraduate studies at the + London School of Economics. He also spent a year as visiting professor at Harvard in 1974” + </blockquote> +<cite>(<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/299254.stm">Prodi's <span class="caps">BBC</span> + profile</a>)</cite> <p>…Romano Prodi is the candidate proposed by the current Italian opposition, grouping roughly all the center-left parties. He's the one who pushed Italy – as President of the European Commission – to accept the Euro as new currency, back in the day, and also the one who was blamed for than after a few months when the <em>Euro
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@@ -13,122 +13,168 @@ get our own independence, move to our new house (which we're still doing up) etc. etc. Fair enough. I spent
the last five months wasting my time looking for a job, a <em>proper</em> job having something to do with <acronym title="Information Technology"><span class="caps">IT</span></acronym> and finally something seems to be possible.</p> -<p><em>Either nothing or everything</em> – I may even say that: now I have to face a difficult choice between two +<h3>Either nothing or everything</h3> +<p>– I may even say that: now I have to face a difficult choice between two job proposals that seem both fairly interesting. <br /> <em>“Go wherever you can get more bucks, you nutter!”</em> – Well, there's more to it.<br /> Let's examine now the two similar but yet different realities I have to choose from. Maybe you'll never be in my situation, but I hope this can help at least those who experienced or could experience something similar someday. </p> -<p><em><strong>Working under Uncle Bill's wing</strong></em><br /> +<h3>Working under Uncle Bill's wing</h3> + +<p> <img src="/images/pictures/genova.jpg" alt="" /> Not Microsoft. No, not directly at any rate. I've recently been contacted by a well known multi-national company which does almost anything ranging from computers, phones, electrical stuff to huge self-aware robots designed to conquer new worlds… Not quite, but let's just say that this image contributes to give an idea of a Corporate-type reality. </p> -<p><em>Preliminaries</em><br /> +<h3>Preliminaries</h3> +<p> I happen to be an Italian whose English skills go a bit beyond the <em>“Hello, me Italian and like to do - friendship with you”</em>, I applied in the above (un)mentioned company as <em>Software Tester</em> and - got contacted twenty days afterwards about a possible position as <em>Technical Writer</em>. It makes perfect sense. + friendship with you”</em>, I applied in the above (un)mentioned company as <em>Software Tester</em> + and + got contacted twenty days afterwards about a possible position as <em>Technical Writer</em>. It makes perfect + sense.</p> +<p> Well, at any rate I was pleased and I went to the pre-selection which was something like a pre-<span - class="caps">GCSE</span> English test with a bunch of “technical” questions (“What does <span - class="caps">HTTP</span> mean?”…).<br /> + class="caps">GCSE</span> English test with a bunch of “technical” questions (“What does + <span class="caps">HTTP</span> mean?”…).<br /> Thanks to our Merciful God I passed it (and thus avoided endless teasing by my British fianceé), and they wanted to have a proper interview with me today.<br /> I went there and came back a few hours ago, and I think it wasn't too bad, let's say I may stand good - chances but as normally happens in such companies in the end it was just something like <em>Thank you for coming, + chances but as normally happens in such companies in the end it was just something like <em>Thank you for + coming, we'll call you by the end of April</em>. Although I mentioned that I recently had some other job offer obviously they couldn't give a damn: as any other big company, they need to interview all the possible - candidates to be sure they pick the right one, and that's fair enough.</p> -<p><em>The job</em><br /> + candidates to be sure they pick the right one, and that's fair enough. +</p> +<h3>The job</h3> +<p> In the remote eventuality they decide to take me on board, I'd be part of a Documentation Team in charge of writing technical documents, manuals and silly jokes – perhaps – about some semi-classified huge internal semi-intelligent corporate framework. <br /> - Now, although some people may already start to feel bored even at thinking about a job like that, I think this role - would fit me perfectly. I love writing. I love researching. I love crating documentations, howtos, reports and any - other boring (for other people) stuff! And they want me to write in English, not in Italian, which is – it may + Now, although some people may already start to feel bored even at thinking about a job like that, I think + this role + would fit me perfectly. I love writing. I love researching. I love crating documentations, howtos, reports + and any + other boring (for other people) stuff! And they want me to write in English, not in Italian, which is + – it may sound weird – a true relief for me. <br /> - At the interview I had a chance to talk about my <a href="/articles/">articles</a> and they seemed interested in - this activity of mine… I even mentioned my <a href="/articles/cakephp/">CakePHP article</a> and they say + At the interview I had a chance to talk about my <a href="/articles/">articles</a> and they seemed + interested in + this activity of mine… I even mentioned my <a href="/articles/cakephp/">CakePHP article</a> and they + say they're gonna check it out. Oh well, this site's stats are always one Firefox tab away from my current main browsing tab, so you can bet I'll be tracking that.</p> -<p><em>The contract and the salary</em><br /> +<h3>The contract and the salary</h3> +<p>s <em>Classified</em>. They didn't say anything, as usual, but presumably it should be a permanent (or - semi-permanent) contract with all the contributions, health insurance, taxes etc. paid. And free cookies. Yum!<br /> + semi-permanent) contract with all the contributions, health insurance, taxes etc. paid. And free + cookies. Yum!<br /> Salary… well, it shouldn't be too bad, anyway. </p> -<p><em>PROs</em></p> +<h3>PROs</h3> <ul> <li>I'll be doing something I really enjoy: writing in English</li> <li>Steady job, steady contract, more security</li> <li>Corporare Environment</li> - <li>I can show off with my friends who are still studying pointless stuff and tell them I'm working for + <li>I can show off with my friends who are still studying pointless stuff and tell them I'm working + for <company name removed> </li> </ul> -<p><em>CONs</em></p> +<h3>CONs</h3> <ul> <li>There's a risk I'll lose my individuality</li> <li>The salary could be lower than expected – at least initially</li> - <li>They'll get back to me at the end of this month, and I have to give an answer to someone else before that + <li>They'll get back to me at the end of this month, and I have to give an answer to someone else + before that </li> - <li>My friends and fianceé will probably hassle me to give them free goodies they think I'll get from + <li>My friends and fianceé will probably hassle me to give them free goodies they think I'll + get from the company</li> </ul> -<p><em><strong>Working in a ‘cool place', and fly high</strong></em> <br /> +<h3><strong>Working in a ‘cool place', and fly high</h3> +<p> <img src="/images/pictures/lambruschini.jpg" alt="" /> Nope, sorry, the <a href="http://www.cakefoundation.org/">Cake - Software Foundation</a> unfortunately is not hiring. The alternative is a small company in my city, Genoa, which - recently merged with a slightly bigger company based in Milan, which <em>might</em> merge with a big national - company involved in producing some successful (here in Italy and even abroad, a little bit) TV programs. Network + Software Foundation</a> unfortunately is not hiring. The alternative is a small company in my + city, Genoa, which + recently merged with a slightly bigger company based in Milan, which <em>might</em> merge with a big + national + company involved in producing some successful (here in Italy and even abroad, a little bit) TV + programs. Network involved are Italy's national channels, good ol' pal Berlusconi's channels, Sky Italy and (drums) <span class="caps">MTV</span>.<br /> - Cool, innit? What do they do? Well, interaction between mobile phones and TV through software and networks. Polls, - <span class="caps">SMS</span> chat services, <span class="caps">WAP</span> application downloads, “take matey - out of Big Brother's house”, <span class="caps">SMS</span>/<span class="caps">MMS</span> blind dates + Cool, innit? What do they do? Well, interaction between mobile phones and TV through software and + networks. Polls, + <span class="caps">SMS</span> chat services, <span class="caps">WAP</span> application downloads, + “take matey + out of Big Brother's house”, <span class="caps">SMS</span>/<span class="caps">MMS</span> blind + dates related to some well known TV programs, tele-voting at Sanremo Festival etc. etc. </p> -<p><em>Preliminaries</em> <br /> - Their first interview was the most unusual I've ever had, and I <a href="/articles/9/">already wrote</a> - about it: they even asked me to solve a riddle. Then they wanted to meet me again and showed me how they work in two - different areas (see next section). They are really chilled out, friendly, they seem alright, even the main boss who +<h3>Preliminaries</h3> +<p> + Their first interview was the most unusual I've ever had, and I <a href="/articles/9/">already + wrote</a> + about it: they even asked me to solve a riddle. Then they wanted to meet me again and showed me + how they work in two + different areas (see next section). They are really chilled out, friendly, they seem alright, + even the main boss who deals with the company's financial side, which is always a plus. <br /> - By the way, they already offered me the job, and I'll have to give an answer next Tuesday – that's + By the way, they already offered me the job, and I'll have to give an answer next Tuesday + – that's the bad part.</p> -<p><em>The Job</em><br /> - The Lead Developer of the company apparently seemed satisfied enough with my knowledge and Java skills. A first - possibility for mewould be working for them as full-time Java Developer. Coding. Wake up, go to work, Code for eight +<h3>The Job</h3> +<p> + The Lead Developer of the company apparently seemed satisfied enough with my knowledge and + Java skills. A first + possibility for mewould be working for them as full-time Java Developer. Coding. Wake up, go + to work, Code for eight hours, go home, sleep/other things, wake up, go to work…<br /> - It would be a good experience, and other people would choose this immediately over anything else. Coding what? - Parsing algorythms for the <span class="caps">SMS</span> we receive, data manipulation, storage, re-formatting etc. + It would be a good experience, and other people would choose this immediately over anything + else. Coding what? + Parsing algorythms for the <span class="caps">SMS</span> we receive, data manipulation, + storage, re-formatting etc. etc.<br /> - The other possibility which they suggested after noticing my ability to write and research would be 2nd Level Help - Desk. Get dozens of technical emails every day, file reports, notify developers when something goes wrong, propose - solutions, implement solutions, monitor the systems and even execute queries on the production server on the fly, in + The other possibility which they suggested after noticing my ability to write and research + would be 2nd Level Help + Desk. Get dozens of technical emails every day, file reports, notify developers when + something goes wrong, propose + solutions, implement solutions, monitor the systems and even execute queries on the + production server on the fly, in real time (eeek!). <br /> - This could sound boring/annoying/scary but since I'm a freak I think it's an interesting prospective. + This could sound boring/annoying/scary but since I'm a freak I think it's an interesting + prospective. Perhaps not as qualifying as being a Java Developer, perhaps not.</p> -<p><em>The contract and the salary</em><br /> - 1200-1250 (or more) €/month, after tax. Which in my country is considered a more-than-reasonable pay, +<h3>The contract and the salary</h3> +<p> + 1200-1250 (or more) €/month, after tax. Which in my country is considered a + more-than-reasonable pay, especially for a first job. Differnt form of contract, from consultant-with-<span class="caps">VAT</span> to - renewable yearly projects, which is probably what I'd go for. Contributions/taxes paid, kind of, holidays and + renewable yearly projects, which is probably what I'd go for. Contributions/taxes paid, + kind of, holidays and other vacancies included, kind of.</p> -<p><em>PROs</em></p> +<h3>PROs</h3> <ul> <li>Perhaps better salary</li> <li>I know exactly what they offer, they told me their offer in detail</li> <li>Chilled out environment</li> - <li>Perhaps I can sneak and read my desperate friends' <span class="caps">SMS</span> when they try to pull + <li>Perhaps I can sneak and read my desperate friends' <span class="caps">SMS</span> + when they try to pull birds</li> </ul> -<p><em>CONs</em></p> +<h3>CONs</h3> <ul> <li>Less steady contract, less security</li> <li>I'll hardly ever use my English skills, perhaps</li> <li>They <span class="caps">NEED</span> a yes or no by next tuesday</li> - <li>My friends will probably hassle me to spy on other people's <span class="caps">SMS</span> traffic and/or + <li>My friends will probably hassle me to spy on other people's <span class="caps">SMS</span> + traffic and/or make them win TV contests</li> </ul> -<p>Here's where I stand. I can't complain, alright, but I must choose and act carefully. I'll sleep on - it.</p> +<p>Here's where I stand. I can't complain, alright, but I must choose and act carefully. + I'll sleep on it.</p>
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@@ -4,46 +4,70 @@ content-type: article
timestamp: 1132939006 tags: "browsers|microsoft|ie" ----- -Internet Explorer 6.0 was officially released on August 27th 2001, and it still runs on millions of computers across the -world: it's probably the browser release which has lasted the longest in the entire history of the Internet! While I'm -not sure if this is an "achievement" so much as it is an "imposition", Uncle Bill admitted that his latest baby, -Internet Explorer 7, is due soon...<strong>In the Beginning</strong><br />Recently (5 months ago, that is) the -aforementioned <em>"Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates announced Internet Explorer 7.0, designed - to add new levels of security to Windows XP Service Pack 2"</em>. This happened at the RSA Conference in San -Francisco, and although I wasn't there, I can imagine that amongst the oohs and ahhs of the crowd, someone must have -whispered "It's about time". <br /><br />Firefox, on the other hand, keeps its fans alive with pseudo-releases every so -often, 1.0.4, 1.0.5 and so forth, which at least makes you <em>feel</em> like some progress is going on, be it a -security fix or a new feature. Firefox will hopefully release version 1.1 <em>at any time</em> now, with various new <a - href="http://www.zzine.org/read.php?op=view&item=1321">features</a> that Microsoft can only dream about. I think -that when Bill created Internet Explorer 6, he probably commanded that it should be called "version 6.0" for ever and -ever: fixes, service packs, and new features (popup blocking, etc.) have been added, but after 4 years I'm -<em>still</em> running "Internet Explorer version 6.0".<br /><br />Version 7.0 is supposedly due soon, and - guess what -- not only for Longhorn users (but where's Longhorn anyway?), but also for Windows XP SP2 users, there's great news: -beta testing! If you run Windows 2000 it looks like you'll have to keep using IE6 until you get a "more advanced" -version of your OS, but<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/ie7/default.mspx">Internet Explorer 7</a> is -supposed to be "<em>freely downloadable, as always</em>" this summer. <br /><br />So what's new in -IE7?<br /><br /><br /><strong>Discovering (and guessing) further details</strong><br />Although nothing was supposed to -be known until the first beta release, according to what seems to be Microsoft's official procedure in these cases, -after Bill's announcement, speculations on IE7's new features and improvements (and quirks?) began to spread across the -Internet in various forms. <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/default.aspx">IEBlog</a> seems to be the most authoritative -(and biased?) source to get information, simply because the folks there are those who ( supposedly) are planning and -developing IE7. <br /><br />When the announcement was made, those guys wrote something like:<br /> -<fieldset> - <blockquote><br /><em><br />First, some basics: we're committing to deliver a new version of Internet Explorer for - Windows XP customers. Betas of IE7 will be available this summer. This new release will build on the work we - did in Windows XP SP2 and (among other things) go further to defend users from phishing as well as deceptive - or malicious software.<br /><br />Why? Because we listened to customers, analysts, and business partners. We - heard a clear message: ?Yes, XP SP2 makes the situation better. We want more, sooner. We want security on - top of the compatibility and extensibility IE gives us, and we want it on XP. Microsoft, show us your - commitment.?<br /></em><br /></blockquote> -</fieldset><br /><br />That's so sweet! They are doing this for us, and they are listening to us...<br /> <br />Sarcasm -aside, it was clear from the beginning that Microsoft wanted to focus more on security: maybe because of the stereotype -of IE which has emerged through the years (IE = An easy way for bad people to do bad things to you), maybe because it -was time to do it, or maybe because they got bored. The most likely reason, though, is commercial: Firefox's popularity -has surged recently, and Microsoft felt an urge to open (Fire)fox-hunting season as soon as possible.<br /><br />Back in -March, more details about this new amazing product began to <a - href="http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1776290,00.asp">leak</a>, inevitably, and here are the new -features that IE7 is supposed to have:<br /> +<p>Internet Explorer 6.0 was officially released on August 27th 2001, and it still runs on millions of computers across + the + world: it's probably the browser release which has lasted the longest in the entire history of the Internet! While + I'm + not sure if this is an "achievement" so much as it is an "imposition", Uncle Bill admitted that his latest baby, + Internet Explorer 7, is due soon...</p> + +<h3>In the Beginning</h3> +<p> + Recently (5 months ago, that is) the + aforementioned <em>"Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates announced Internet Explorer 7.0, + designed + to add new levels of security to Windows XP Service Pack 2"</em>. This happened at the RSA Conference in San + Francisco, and although I wasn't there, I can imagine that amongst the oohs and ahhs of the crowd, someone must have + whispered "It's about time". </p> +<p>Firefox, on the other hand, keeps its fans alive with pseudo-releases every so + often, 1.0.4, 1.0.5 and so forth, which at least makes you <em>feel</em> like some progress is going on, be it a + security fix or a new feature. Firefox will hopefully release version 1.1 <em>at any time</em> now, with various new + <a href="http://www.zzine.org/read.php?op=view&item=1321">features</a> that Microsoft can only dream about. I think + that when Bill created Internet Explorer 6, he probably commanded that it should be called "version 6.0" for ever + and + ever: fixes, service packs, and new features (popup blocking, etc.) have been added, but after 4 years I'm + <em>still</em> running "Internet Explorer version 6.0". +</p> +<p>Version 7.0 is supposedly due soon, and - guess what + - not only for Longhorn users (but where's Longhorn anyway?), but also for Windows XP SP2 users, there's great news: + beta testing! If you run Windows 2000 it looks like you'll have to keep using IE6 until you get a "more advanced" + version of your OS, but<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/ie7/default.mspx">Internet Explorer 7</a> is + supposed to be "<em>freely downloadable, as always</em>" this summer. </p> +<p>So what's new in + IE7?</p> +<h3>Discovering (and guessing) further details</h3> +<p>Although nothing was supposed to + be known until the first beta release, according to what seems to be Microsoft's official procedure in these cases, + after Bill's announcement, speculations on IE7's new features and improvements (and quirks?) began to spread across + the + Internet in various forms. <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/default.aspx">IEBlog</a> seems to be the most + authoritative + (and biased?) source to get information, simply because the folks there are those who ( supposedly) are planning and + developing IE7. </p> +<p>When the announcement was made, those guys wrote something like:</p> +<blockquote> + <p>First, some basics: we're committing to deliver a new version of Internet Explorer for + Windows XP customers. Betas of IE7 will be available this summer. This new release will build on the work we + did in Windows XP SP2 and (among other things) go further to defend users from phishing as well as deceptive + or malicious software.</p> + <p>Why? Because we listened to customers, analysts, and business partners. We + heard a clear message: ?Yes, XP SP2 makes the situation better. We want more, sooner. We want security on + top of the compatibility and extensibility IE gives us, and we want it on XP. Microsoft, show us your + commitment.</p> +</blockquote> +<p>That's so sweet! They are doing this for us, and they are listening to us...</p> +<p>Sarcasm + aside, it was clear from the beginning that Microsoft wanted to focus more on security: maybe because of the + stereotype + of IE which has emerged through the years (IE = An easy way for bad people to do bad things to you), maybe because + it + was time to do it, or maybe because they got bored. The most likely reason, though, is commercial: Firefox's + popularity + has surged recently, and Microsoft felt an urge to open (Fire)fox-hunting season as soon as possible.</p> +<p>Back in + March, more details about this new amazing product began to <a + href="http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1776290,00.asp">leak</a>, inevitably, and here are the new + features that IE7 is supposed to have:</p> <ul> <li>Tabs</li> <li>International domain name (IDN) support</li>@@ -51,59 +75,88 @@ <li>Transparent Portable Network Graphics (PNG) support (finally!)</li>
<li>Simplified printing from inside IE 7.0</li> <li>A built-in news aggregator. </li> <li>Somewhat extended support to CSS2 (but not the whole standard)</li> -</ul> <br /><br />Wonderful and incredible at the same time: is IE7 trying to emulate Firefox?<br /><br /><em>So, what - will this wonder look like?</em> - Someone might wonder... And here are some leaked <a - href="http://neowin.net/comments.php?id=29131&category=main">screenshots</a> that could be real enough. -Impressive.<br /><br /><br /><strong>New support for old stuff</strong><br />Any Firefox user reading the features list -above probably wasn't terribly impressed: everything mentioned there has been supported in Firefox for ages, but -personally, I'm truly pleased to see that Microsoft finally decided to try to catch up with more advanced browsers (not -just Firefox, but Opera as well) and web developers can relax a bit (maybe).<br /><br />There's a nice post on IEBlog -regarding <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/04/26/412263.aspx">PNG Support</a>, where the guy who made the -thing possible, Sam Fortiner, explains what he had to do and why.<br />It's widely known that PNG images currently -aren't handled correctly in Internet Explorer: if they are transparent, in particular, they will show a grey-ish -background instead of being transparent. I guess that's not a good thing to see, after trying to overlay PNG images, for -example. As a result, web developers currently don't use the PNG format, nor its transparency support. With IE7's -transparent PNG support, sites which seemed to only display properly in Firefox will appear equally beautiful in the new -Internet Explorer. <br /><br />Tony Schreiner, on the same blog, provides a detailed explanation on his work concerning -<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/05/26/422103.aspx">Tab Support</a>: tabs are a new thing for Microsoft, -and for long it was feared that they could cause "confusion" among end users accustomed to the tabless policy of IE6 and -of the whole Windows interface. Regarding this, I think that people at Redmond should thank firefox a million times for -"pioneering" into the unexplored land of Tabbed Browsing: firefox has been using tabs since the very first release, and -it was highly acclaimed for this. Eventually then, Microsoft folks released that people are not as stupid as they hoped -they'd be, and <em>aren't</em> confused by tabs at all, so they decided to implement them in IE7.<br /><br />Tony gives -away some technical details regarding IE7's implementation of tabs, which essentially consists of <em>"pushing a large - part of what you see in IE6 into a tab"</em>, and let's hope it works. IE was born and evolved as a single-window -browser, so this addition represents quite a challenge to Microsoft's way of thinking about User Interfaces... what's -next then? Maybe Tabs in Windows Explorer as well? Maybe...<br /><br />Little is known about the other "new features", -apart from CSS2 support, which will be described in the next paragraph. A built-in RSS aggregator? It's now acknowledged -that Longhorn will have an extensive <a - href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/longhorn/understanding/rss/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/dnlong/html/rsssupportinlonghorn.asp">RSS - support</a> itself, so this seemed a logical addition to IE7.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><strong>The fear of - uncertainty</strong><br />IE support for web standards, in particular CSS, has always been a hot topic for -developers. <br /><br /> -<fieldset> - <blockquote><em>When we shipped IE 6.0, we finally fully supported CSS 1, and had some pieces of CSS2 implemented as - well.</em></blockquote> -</fieldset><br /><br />That's honest, at least. Microsoft - so far - does not support CSS2, but at least offers full -CSS1 support. As a personal note, I'd reword the previous as <em>"Microsoft does not want to fully support web standards - because 90% of Internet users use IE, hence, they can make the laws"</em>. Cruel, but basically true: Microsoft does -not care about web standards, and IE's lack of support can be used as a way to force developers to create websites which -are IE-compatible rather than standards compatible. There's more information <a - href="http://www.alttags.org/archives/2004/04/29/33/">here</a>.<br /><br />Words in an official <a - href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/03/09/391362.aspx">post</a> don't bode well for the future either:<br /> -<fieldset> - <blockquote><em><br />Given the strong usage of IE in the corporate space as well as embedded in applications, we - have a strong requirement for backwards compatibility with our previous behavior, compliant or not; that - requirement does not mean ?don?t touch anything?, it is just a recognition that keeping our engine in sync - across strict and quirks modes is challenging when quirks mode has to work nearly exactly the same as it - always has. We will continue to improve our compliance under strict mode even when it breaks compatibility, - and under quirks mode when it?s not damaging to our backwards compatibility.<br /></em></blockquote> -</fieldset><br /><br />Basically, this provides an excuse to not fully adopt web standards, which can be seen as -legitimate or not, according to your browser preferences, so I'm not going to comment on that...<br /><br />In another -article, <a href="http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,2180,1776935,00.asp">MicrosoftWatch</a>, reports that -<em>"One partner said that Microsoft considers CSS2 to be a "flawed" standard and that the company is waiting for a - later point release, such as CSS2.1 or CSS3, before throwing its complete support behind it".</em><br />Although -this cannot be regarded as a 100% authoritative source, people started <a - href="http://dean.edwards.name/weblog/2005/03/the-reason/">speculating</a> that IE7 could potentially become a -dictator for other browsers (like its predecessor), because so many people still use the MS browser. It could help -Microsoft, as it did in the past, so why shouldn't Bill take advantage of it?<br /> +</ul> +<p>Wonderful and incredible at the same time: is IE7 trying to emulate Firefox?</p> +<p><em>So, what + will this wonder look like?</em> - Someone might wonder... And here are some leaked <a + href="http://neowin.net/comments.php?id=29131&category=main">screenshots</a> that could be real enough. + Impressive.</p> +<h3>New support for old stuff</h3> +<p>Any Firefox user reading the features list + above probably wasn't terribly impressed: everything mentioned there has been supported in Firefox for ages, but + personally, I'm truly pleased to see that Microsoft finally decided to try to catch up with more advanced browsers + (not + just Firefox, but Opera as well) and web developers can relax a bit (maybe).</p> +<p>There's a nice post on IEBlog + regarding <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/04/26/412263.aspx">PNG Support</a>, where the guy who made + the + thing possible, Sam Fortiner, explains what he had to do and why.<br />It's widely known that PNG images currently + aren't handled correctly in Internet Explorer: if they are transparent, in particular, they will show a grey-ish + background instead of being transparent. I guess that's not a good thing to see, after trying to overlay PNG images, + for + example. As a result, web developers currently don't use the PNG format, nor its transparency support. With IE7's + transparent PNG support, sites which seemed to only display properly in Firefox will appear equally beautiful in the + new + Internet Explorer. </p> +<p>Tony Schreiner, on the same blog, provides a detailed explanation on his work concerning + <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/05/26/422103.aspx">Tab Support</a>: tabs are a new thing for + Microsoft, + and for long it was feared that they could cause "confusion" among end users accustomed to the tabless policy of IE6 + and + of the whole Windows interface. Regarding this, I think that people at Redmond should thank firefox a million times + for + "pioneering" into the unexplored land of Tabbed Browsing: firefox has been using tabs since the very first release, + and + it was highly acclaimed for this. Eventually then, Microsoft folks released that people are not as stupid as they + hoped + they'd be, and <em>aren't</em> confused by tabs at all, so they decided to implement them in IE7. +</p> +<p>Tony gives + away some technical details regarding IE7's implementation of tabs, which essentially consists of <em>"pushing a + large + part of what you see in IE6 into a tab"</em>, and let's hope it works. IE was born and evolved as a + single-window + browser, so this addition represents quite a challenge to Microsoft's way of thinking about User Interfaces... + what's + next then? Maybe Tabs in Windows Explorer as well? Maybe...</p> +<p>Little is known about the other "new features", + apart from CSS2 support, which will be described in the next paragraph. A built-in RSS aggregator? It's now + acknowledged + that Longhorn will have an extensive <a + href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/longhorn/understanding/rss/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/dnlong/html/rsssupportinlonghorn.asp">RSS + support</a> itself, so this seemed a logical addition to IE7.</p> +<h3> Fear of + uncertainty</h3> +<p>IE support for web standards, in particular CSS, has always been a hot topic for + developers. </p> +<blockquote>When we shipped IE 6.0, we finally fully supported CSS 1, and had some pieces of CSS2 implemented as + well.</blockquote> +<p>That's honest, at least. Microsoft - so far - does not support CSS2, but at least offers full + CSS1 support. As a personal note, I'd reword the previous as <em>"Microsoft does not want to fully support web + standards + because 90% of Internet users use IE, hence, they can make the laws"</em>. Cruel, but basically true: Microsoft + does + not care about web standards, and IE's lack of support can be used as a way to force developers to create websites + which + are IE-compatible rather than standards compatible. There's more information <a + href="http://www.alttags.org/archives/2004/04/29/33/">here</a>.</p> +<p>Words in an official <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/03/09/391362.aspx">post</a> don't bode well for + the future either: +</p> +<blockquote>Given the strong usage of IE in the corporate space as well as embedded in applications, we + have a strong requirement for backwards compatibility with our previous behavior, compliant or not; that + requirement does not mean ?don?t touch anything?, it is just a recognition that keeping our engine in sync + across strict and quirks modes is challenging when quirks mode has to work nearly exactly the same as it + always has. We will continue to improve our compliance under strict mode even when it breaks compatibility, + and under quirks mode when it?s not damaging to our backwards compatibility</blockquote> +<p>Basically, this provides an excuse to not fully adopt web standards, which can be seen as + legitimate or not, according to your browser preferences, so I'm not going to comment on that...</p> +<p>In another + article, <a href="http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,2180,1776935,00.asp">MicrosoftWatch</a>, reports that + <em>"One partner said that Microsoft considers CSS2 to be a "flawed" standard and that the company is waiting for a + later point release, such as CSS2.1 or CSS3, before throwing its complete support behind it".</em><br />Although + this cannot be regarded as a 100% authoritative source, people started <a + href="http://dean.edwards.name/weblog/2005/03/the-reason/">speculating</a> that IE7 could potentially become a + dictator for other browsers (like its predecessor), because so many people still use the MS browser. It could help + Microsoft, as it did in the past, so why shouldn't Bill take advantage of it? +</p>
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@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@ <h2>WELCOME!</h2>
<div class="body-text"> <p>Welcome to H3RALD.com. This site used to be a fairly active blog back in the early 2000s, but sadly I progressively lost interest in writing articles, perhaps because I didn't have anything new to write about that you couldn't find elsewhere. However, all the content is still here, so feel free to browse through the <a href="/articles">articles</a> section.</p> <p>As I progressively neglected writing, I started creating more and more small programs and tools to perform common tasks, mostly using the <a href="https://nim-lang.org" target="_blank">Nim</a> programming language. They are all open source, they all have a dedicated project page here, and there's some pretty decent documentation for most of them. You can find them all in the <a href="/projects">projects</a> section.</p> - <p>At any rate, thank you for stopping by!</p> + <p>Last but not least, I also added a <a href="/grimoire">grimoire</a> section, where you'll find useful <em>spells</em> to cast on with your command line to solve common problems (and save some time instead of searching the web or asking AI bots or something).</p> + <p>Enjoy your stay, and thank you for stopping by!</p> <p>— Fabio</p> </div> </article>