the creative and technical vents of scott schiller

the creative and technical vents of scott schiller schillmania! the collective technical and creative vents of scott schiller. the state of ajax: san francisco, july 2007 an expert panel on the main stage of the ajax experience in san francisco, july 2007 one of the most interesting things about the technology industry is its volatility; it seems to shift directions faster than anything else out there. this trait also makes it increasingly difficult to predict future trends, what the next hot new app or service will be. web development has seen unprecedented surges in demand (and compensation to an extent) over the last two years, mostly due to the drive to build cool-looking web sites that employ javascript and web standards, making the best-of-breed web sites out there. it's a hot "space", and everyone wants a piece. with this in mind, i got to join in and view a slice of the action from an attendee's point of view when i went to the ajax experience, an event hosted by ben and dion of ajaxian.com, at the grand hyatt in san francisco. (my day job, at time of writing, is with yahoo! as a front-end engineer doing web development at flickr - so i am also an active participant in the industry.) believe the (web 2.0) hype? nearly two years ago, i wrote an opinion piece titled don't believe the (web 2.0) hype!, a rant observing how i felt we may be headed for another dot-com bubble/boom/burst, and noted a wishlist of ideals for "lessons learned", things to avoid for the next time around. it would appear that while i think there are still a few bubble-ish things going on (excessive valuations, vc funding and so on,) things generally seem to be more rational and controlled than in 1999. it would appear that there is perhaps after all, some reality to all the hype. in adding a grain of salt to my previous thoughts, the words of comedian dennis miller come to mind: "'course that's just my opinion, i could be wrong." i didn't live in the silicon valley for the first bubble, so i can't speak from direct experience of the highs and lows endured by many at the time; i'm happy to be here now, and feel quite fortunate to be both living and working in san francisco. given my rants and requests from 2005 may not have been fully realised, what has happened in the last two years? javascript: you've come a long way, baby boulder, co-based me.dium present a case study of their ui and technology in short, javascript and web development overall have become professional, or at least have taken steps to becoming more mature, established practices. what was (and still is) perceived as a "toy" language has grown to much larger acceptance among a more traditional java and c-oriented developer community, and is still gaining respect. javascript is, to quote douglas crockford, "a beautiful language." additionally, the level of expectations, quality and standards have all risen, generating increased demand for developers. as a result, an impressive number of quality javascript and other client-side-based libraries have been released in recent times, encouraging and assisting the larger web development crowd at large in building some of the funkier stuff seen out there on the web today. browser manufacturers have also continued to work toward supporting common standards - making it easier for developers to build more-consistent web experiences, with less work - and for the most part have been making good progress. the current state of professionalism and stability in web development, while not perfect, has grown to be better than it has ever been previously. on leveraging strategic frameworks and user insight (with platforms) as with any industry, there will always be an amount of buzzword bingo and "marketing-ese" involved in communicating and selling the message; in my humble opinion, it's part of the game: a means of getting people excited, perhaps, about the products made from the technical and otherwise-obscure things the nerds are busily hacking away at in their basements (or cubes.) engineers have historically not been great at selling themselves, by themselves - consider steve jobs and steve wozniak, apple co-founders - but together, have a sort of special symbiotic relationship which works. true geeks need "people people" to get others excited about their work, and marketers need a cause to support and run with. ajax experience presentations: notes at the second day of the three-day event, i saw a number of presentations by significant leaders within the web industry, and companies contributing to it. the talks varied in depth and focus, but all seemed to acknowledge that there is a lot of change and development going on across the web. the following are brief notes from some of the presentations i attended. morning keynote - chris wilson, ie platform architect, microsoft chris wilson has been at microsoft for a number of years, worked on earlier versions of ie and the ncsa mosaic browser before then. he discussed the importance of web standards in his keynote, some of microsoft's more recent improvements in this area, and made a few points for the continued advancement of web development, standards and best practices. notables: "standards need to reflect reality, and reality needs to reflect the standards." "we need to work together" (understand each others' viewpoints, shared solutions) "ip matters" / "open standards need to be free" performance, ie user interface quote: "if it's not snappy, it's crappy" web 2.0 is about "caring about the quality of web ui" "about a shift from technology to experience" "omg" moment: flickr maps uses the mouse wheel (discovered by accident) - spent 1.5 hours geotagging because it was so easy to do think global, act local - our goal is to leave the web better - "do no harm now - be careful with workarounds" - "help develop standards" i think chris will be an important contributor to microsoft's standards adherence over the next few years; my hopes are that ie will catch up to firefox, opera and safari as it seems to have fallen behind in recent times. (the counter to this is that the others have moved forward with web standards at a relatively-accelerated rate, which is a good thing.) advanced web application security - joe walker & jeremiah grossman joe and jeremiah discussed a good number of downright disturbing security vulnerabilities, and offered some ways to help protect both sites and users. five steps of application security: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance browsers can interpret garbage markup as valid html, incredibly forgiving, making filtering harder cross-site request forgeries, scriptable plugins, anti-dns pinning(!), intranet hacking, history stealing etc. are all current concerns reinforces belief to never trust clients, require double-authentication etc. and protect yourself against forgeries sifr: from designer's dream to javascript nightmare - mark wubben sifr is a flash/js library that replaces standard html text with prettier, flash-rendered fonts. the goal is consistent font family rendering across browsers/platforms. it is not without cost in terms of quirks and bugs as mark explains, but is an option. "typography for the web kinda sucks." flash helps bridge the gap. huge amount of hacks, ie quirks - cache, document title/url hash issues, dom parse/load timing, repaint/innerhtml issues, ie parameters and so on despite annoyances, can still be advantageous over using static/server-side-rendered images. ajax development on the iphone - joe hewitt joe hewitt has made a number of large contributions to the firefox project (he is a co-founder of the mozilla spin-off), in addition to being the developer of the excellent firebug html/css/js debugger, and finally the iui, iphone user interface library. joe is also working on a variant of firebug for the iphone, loading js from a server and using a control computer to allow the user to send js console-type calls to the phone remotely. iui: iphone user interface - based on web standards firebug for iphone would like to add live css editing to debug console for "iphone firebug" case study: me.dium client architecture - jonathan phillips me.dium is a novel social browsing plugin, currently a firefox extension, which allows you to find other users who are looking at related web sites and interact with them. some of the folks from me.dium gave a talk at the ajax experience, discussing their ui and some of their philosophy behind the project. ui: don't overload user with features; slowly introduce and educate. challenging goal: fit a map of the web into a 206-pixel-wide space, in-browser. sharing of common-interest sites, chat possible through web service (firefox extension) client-side ui rendered based on server instructions, use of dojo svg/animation, scalability considerations. javascript: the good parts - douglas crockford douglas crockford is a javascript architect at yahoo!, and has made numerous important contributions to the development and "public perception" of javascript - particularly in recent years - with his json specification, nearly the most common ajax transport mechanism, and other projects such as jslint and jsmin. when douglas speaks, developers should take note; his matter-of-fact speaking style along with hints of humour make for insightful yet entertaining presentations, which are not to be missed. js is the world's most misunderstood programming language also a beautiful language prototypal, many classic oo concepts, lambda etc. few bugs, no new design errors since 1999 - impressive it's only going to get better from here what's next? the ajax experience was a pretty interesting event to attend. there are many people interested in improving the web experience from many aspects: ui, performance, standards and architecture, to name a few. in conclusion, it's safe to say that while things have grown in the past two years, there is a lot more cool stuff to look forward to in the future beyond the buzzwords, crazy valuations and hype. i say, "bring it." :) general/conflict of interest disclaimers: the words, thoughts and opinions expressed here and elsewhere on this site are solely my own, and do not necessarily represent nor agree with those of my employer, whether past, present or future. additionally, i was not paid to write about the ajax experience, but was given an invitation after initially inquiring about attending. my consideration for attending, thusly, was to write about my experience at the event. related links ajaxian.com, tech/dev community site the ajax experience web site jeremiah grossman: i know where you've been (browser history sniffing example) news fresh thoughts and considerations latest entries the state of ajax: san francisco, july 2007 some notes from my visit to a web technology event hosted by and for developers and designers, focusing around ajax and modern web techniques. even more rounded corners with css another take at creating single-image, alpha-transparent, fluid, rounded corner dialogs with css. soundmanager 2: javascript sound for the web a new, fancier version of a javascript sound project allowing people to add sound, or make sound apps using javascript. a holiday update the usual holiday festivities: snow, good tunes, smashing christmas lights and other debauchery. beck hacks yahoo! beck hansen and his band play an unannounced gig at yahoo! hack day. soundmanager 2 a new version of the seemingly-popular javascript sound api for the web. how web 2.0-aware are you? a humorous look at web 2.0-related sites, using a trick that tests your browser's visited url history. yahoo! photos beta announcement i'm finally able to talk about what i've been working on at yahoo! more rounded corners with css dialogs with rounded corners, borders and drop shadows are all the rage these days. here's one approach. tj schiller stomps us open, x-games my brother takes first place in two massive comps, throwing a never-done-before trick at one. on seo and search engine spamming from a post on theroot42.org originally entitled, 'seo/how to do well on the search engines' don't believe the (web 2.0) hype! an attempt at popping the latest internet 2.0 bubble and related technologies, along with a wishlist of ideals. javascript animation: tutorial, part 2 discussing efficiency regarding interval-based animation beck live in santa cruz meeting beck hansen, my favourite musician of all-time, after a concert in santa cruz javascript animation: tutorial, part 1 part one of a planned series: theory behind javascript/dhtml-based animation via settimeout and setinterval. a five-year retrospective a look back on the origins of schillmania.com and its previous incarnations. world of trip-hop mix a 160-minute mix of downtempo and trip-hop. tj schiller wins 2005 wsi slopestyle my brother wins at a popular freestyle skiing event. what turntables to buy? my response to a forum post on choosing dj equipment. a piece of okanagan golf paradise a site built for a tourist vacation company at predator ridge. the most expensive cab ride. ever. regarding the purchase of a 2005 toyota celica. sugar ray rocks yahoo! 10th anniversary yahoo celebrates 10 years with the musical talents of sugar ray. writing html like it's 1993 a new job update, california, eric and molly teach css. latest public posts webpad an interactive messaging system. post comments, feedback and relevant links. play creative works: funky dhtml-driven projects media 35mm photo viewer v5.0b a free, downloadable web-based photo viewer with optional xml templates. panoramic image viewer view 360° panoramic images in a combination of dhtml and photography. 35mm image viewer a collection of miscellaneous 800x600 photos presented through a simple interface. entertainment dhtml arkanoid an attempt at recreating the classic arkanoid arcade game entirely in dhtml. includes a level editor and a highscores list. christmas light smashfest 2001 relieve holiday stress and enjoy the sound of breaking glass. show your spirit! components even more rounded corners with css another take at creating single-image, alpha-transparent, fluid, rounded corner dialogs with css. soundmanager 2: javascript sound for the web a new, fancier version of a javascript sound project allowing people to add sound, or make sound apps using javascript. javascript animation: tutorial, part 1 part one of a planned series: theory behind javascript/dhtml-based animation via settimeout and setinterval. snowstorm v1.2.20031218a a downloadable dhtml component that creates an animated snowfall effect. uses png-based images where supported. site archive spring.03: strictly xhtml a 'newspaper-style' multi-column layout, designed with multiple browsers/platforms in mind. highlights include swappable themes and multiple sections with interactive content. winter.02 winter 2002 edition of schillmania.com. features include a 'charlie brown'-style christmas tree with smashable lights, snow, and some comments on the development of dhtml arkanoid. summer.02: environmental simulation an 'environmental simulation' design looking over a pond which changes according to the time of day. rubber chicken deviation featuring ed the rubber chicken, the 160-pixel hardware project and a few other oddities. march.02 a light design featuring the interactive 'dhtml spraypaint', a throwable logo, some flash sound effects and a few grad photos. summer 2001 an older tabbed/windowed design with a draggable content, coffee and turntable-based theme. of note: the 'idea cubed' application. random weirdness iii bouncing squares and floating, draggable windows. linked from surfstation.lu once; the description said, 'very different, and very confusing.' opinion observations, thoughts and rants writing don't believe the (web 2.0) hype! an attempt at popping the latest internet 2.0 bubble and related technologies, along with a wishlist of ideals. what turntables to buy? my response to a forum post on choosing dj equipment. way to d'oh! some tech/geek thoughts on 'way to dough', a neat web-based promotion for the subway chain of stores. the (almost) five-dollar coffee starbucks ups the cost of already-overpriced coffee; i've had enough. the obligatory standards rant a rant advocating standards on a respected design-oriented forum. on djing and turntablism why you should buy a pair of 1200s, a mixer and some records. spam, spam, spam spam: the scourge of the internet. a quick overview-cum-rant, and some recommended tools to fight the spam war. media sound, images and video audio/video hand/eye coordination an attempt at 'beat juggling' a seamless loop from a sample using turntables and two copies of the same record. drumming with vinyl correctly scratch a record with a drum sample on it, and you can make your own variation on a theme. scratching .. with a mouse? combine a turntable with a computer mouse and a copy of the soundcraft vinyl scratching emulation engine, and you have at least 30 seconds of entertainment. chill with schill a two-hour downtempo/trip-hop mix, recorded on a lazy afternoon while drinking a $4 mocha from starbucks. how's that for detail? react post comments and feedback interact webpad an interactive messaging system. post comments, feedback and relevant links. contact how to get in touch with scott schiller. technorati profile scott's profile on technorati. archives old, but still relevant news archive: 2005/2004 way to d'oh! some tech/geek thoughts on 'way to dough', a neat web-based promotion for the subway chain of stores. hand/eye coordination an attempt at 'beat juggling' a seamless loop from a sample using turntables and two copies of the same record. 15 minutes of fame the uk-based magazine 'web designer,' writes some kind words about my work. 35mm photo viewer v5.0b a free, downloadable web-based photo viewer with optional xml templates. drumming with vinyl correctly scratch a record with a drum sample on it, and you can make your own variation on a theme. the (almost) five-dollar coffee starbucks ups the cost of already-overpriced coffee; i've had enough. application/xhtml+xml what i learned about xhtml when switching schillmania.com to application/xhtml+xml (forcing true xml validation.) tj schiller at freshtival 04 my younger brother tj does the skiing thing at calgary's freshtival, a freestyle skiing movie release event and rail session, with tanner hall and others. javascript sound api an api and flexible flash template for adding sound to websites, controlled entirely by javascript. a real-world website counter a parallel-port-driven mileage-style counter is connected to schillmania.com. meanwhile, rumors of geek-like antics abound. photo viewer update: v4.0a a dhtml-driven photo viewer application is revamped with a basic search engine and other nifty features. when lightning strikes - next door a nasty storm in calgary hits the neighbours', damaging all sorts of electronic equipment. montreal, quebec, toronto, windsor photos and commentary on my vacation to ontario and quebec, which have some great summer weather - both sunny and stormy. the obligatory standards rant a rant advocating standards on a respected design-oriented forum. critical mass: town hall 2004 the annual town hall event at critical mass happens on-time, but with a presentational twist. scottschiller.com v4: portfolio site update scott schiller finally gets around to updating his technical/work experience portfolio site - now at version 4. flames win game 3, city loses its mind the calgary flames win game 3 of the stanley cup finals, prompting a massive and energetic crowd along the ever-popular 17th avenue area downtown. djing, beer, fire and .. rollerskating? urban nightlife activities keep one scott schiller away from the computer. josh bibby, tj schiller stomp the wsi two crazy freestyle skiiers from vernon, bc turn heads at the 2004 whistler ski invitational. okanagan road trip photos some new panoramic photos and other images from a trip to the okanagan region of bc, canada. scratching .. with a mouse? combine a turntable with a computer mouse and a copy of the soundcraft vinyl scratching emulation engine, and you have at least 30 seconds of entertainment. special blend vietnamese iced coffee, 'ca phe sua da' - an enjoyable caffeinated beverage. site colophon a description of how the content for this site is generated and served. aquarium time lapse video a time-lapse video (~12 days) of a fish tank. back in black an overview of the site redesign. tj schiller at the us freeskiing open tj schiller (my younger brother) wins the slopestyle comp at the us freeskiing open. news archive: 2003 snowstorm update changes and bug fixes relating to the dhtml snowstorm component (version 1.2a.) snowstorm component continued description of snowstorm, now a downloadable component-based javascript snow library. bring the snowstorm (dhtml, that is..) an introduction to snowstorm, a dhtml component that provides a neat animated snow effect; uses png-based images where supported. more fish stuff some small additions (and consequent losses) involving a 90-gallon fish tank. ugly hallowe'en theme the one time of the year where the spring.03 'bold' theme actually suits the season. i love spam an experiment in spambots: 'how long until a new address is spammed?' 2005 edition

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