Scarf*oo

Google is jumping into the web fonts business with Google Font API and it appears to be really easy to use too, so I am excited to see how this develops.

Google Font API – Google Code.

Also, Typekit and Google Announce Open Source Collaboration. This is another thing to keep an eye on.

This is the right time to jump into the HTML5 bandwagon if you haven’t done so already.

Flash, iPad, Standards – Jeffrey Zeldman Presents The Daily Report.

If you haven’t decided to drop IE6 support, this might be the right time to do it. The article CSS Differences in Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8 over at Smashing Magazine is a great reference to CSS differences between various IE versions when handling advanced CSS rules. Looks like versions 7 and up already support the vast majority of rules you throw at them, so if you want to take advantage of advanced CSS selectors to ease styles development, go on, I don’t believe many will be hurt in the process.

…That’s one reason why HTML 5 a mess. It’s built on a mess…

via Bruce Lawson’s personal site : HTML 5 is a mess.

David Berlow of The Font Bureau has proposed a Permissions Table for OpenType that can be implemented immediately to turn raw fonts into web fonts without any wrappers or other nonsense. If adopted, it will enable type designers to license their work for web use, and web designers to create pages that use real fonts via the CSS @font-face standard.

via Web Fonts Now, for real – Jeffrey Zeldman Presents The Daily Report.

Looks like the guys over at Typekit have found a way to legally provide us with a large library of fonts and a simple way of integrating them in our web pages. If this proves to be the truth and not a scam, I’m really wanting to know the details. As the authors put it:

As a Typekit user, you’ll have access to our library of high-quality fonts. Just add a line of JavaScript to your markup, tell us what fonts you want to use, and then craft your pages the way you always have. Except now you’ll be able to use real fonts. This really is going to change web design.

via Introducing Typekit « The Typekit Blog.

Too bad that there are still many clients running and demanding your product to run on IE6. At least in my case, 80% of the clients are of the aforementioned sort and I am in no position to change that. It’s a sad sad thing really.

Someone should really write a conditionally included universal CSS file to handle IE6 bugs and just be off with it. On the other hand, there are other approaches such as providing a universal readable and pleasant style just for IE6 users and hoping the clients will be happy with it.

Check the proposed style in question at Universal Internet Explorer 6 CSS | For A Beautiful Web.

Interview with Ian Hickson, editor of the HTML 5 specification. – The Web Standards Project. A lengthy interview on HTML5 and accessibility – well worth reading.

An interesting short article on the pitfalls of using CSS to hide page elements: Hiding with CSS: Problems and solutions | 456 Berea Street.

Personally, for elements where accessibility matters, like navigation menus, etc. I prefer hiding those elements with a short javascript statement I put right after the element I want to hide. This way the user does not notice the element getting closed and best of all, it remains accessible to all.

A great tool to clean up text on any web page. Just configure a layout that best suites your reading preference and create a bookmark to the tool. A single click will hopefully transform any messy web page into pure reading bliss. Readability – An Arc90 Lab Experiment.