Web surfers just want to get the job done – now. So if you're not helping, you're hurting. - good set of user statistics for the web. Glad to see the median for resolution is now 800*600, rather than the meagre 640*480 of days yore. This is all stuff I knew already, but it's good to know there's some survey data backing it. ;)
posted by Darren Harkness 1:10 PM

webkiddy - (w

b ·k

· d

)

n.slang - variant of ScriptKiddy, relevant to HTML. A WebKiddy is a web designer who is dependant on WYSIWYG tools such as DreamWeaver, FrontPage, or PageMill. A WebKiddy wouldn't know HTML source if it hit him square in the ass.
posted by Darren Harkness 9:15 AM

A List Apart: Back to Basics - an excellent article on what those of us who have been around awhile have always done -- viewing the HTML source. It's a good commentary on WYSIWYG tools, their benefits and their weaknesses, and calls to designers to return to creating source by hand. A lot of Webkiddies are dependant on tools such as Dreamweaver, PageMill and FrontPage -- they'd be screwed if you took those tools away.

Those of us that have been cranking out HTML by hand for the last few years understand the intricacies of HTML source, why using styles is nicer than using <font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size=2 color="#cc0000">, or building complex sets of tables just so we can get a black outline around our content. We're the soldiers trudging it out in the trenches, while they've been the people back home profiting off our victories.

But let's face it, WYSIWYG is here to stay. Perhaps there should be some sort of certification put in place for web designers. Perhaps more education should be occurring for clients/managers.

Maybe we should just all get up and go home.
posted by Darren Harkness 9:09 AM

Partners in crime!

your fearless blog maintainer...

HeroMachine -- The Online Character Generator!
posted by Darren Harkness 3:39 PM

We had an earthquake. (4 words, 4 links, I'm impressed.)
posted by Darren Harkness 1:18 PM

The first Solar Sail spacecraft is due to launch soon. The theory behind solar sails is a very sound one -- concerns about fuel payload, etc are almost completely nullified, because it uses the radiation of the sun to propel it.

I'm very curious to see how successful this mission will be.
posted by Darren Harkness 9:49 AM

Study: Crystal proves life existed on Mars
posted by Darren Harkness 11:01 PM

you did not read this

call your mother, do your taxes, feed your fish, be nice to the guy down the hall (after all, he is 87 years old and lives alone), brush your teeth, burn the record companies, take your friend out for lunch, pay the bills, walk the dog, have fun, get outside, think about direction wonder why, put on a sweater, get married, have a fling, travel to Ireland, recycle, contribute, give birth, wear sunscreen, eat sensibly, exercise, rinse, repeat, jump off a cliff, take your time, smell the roses, visit your parents, read a book, write a story, tell a tale, clear out your inbox, take a day off work, go fishing, drive safe, follow the leader, don't be a sheep, innovate, now face south, listen to a good song, burn napster, breathe, write a play, visit a park, help someone smile, live
posted by Darren Harkness 11:38 AM

I just removed Stone images from the right-hand nav, and for a pretty good reason. The company I work for is undergoing a site redux, and we're going to be quite image-heavy (more so than currently). I'd found some really kickass images I wanted to use on Stone, and (thinking that they'd be a reasonable price) started placing them in the pages to build themes. Then I priced 'em out. A single image was priced at $690USD for a one year license. I nearly fell out of my chair, as i'd used two of the images on a single page. Checking out the other images' costs, I found each one was priced at $690USD.

I'm sure it's fine if you're charging $10-15,000 for a website -- $690 seems like a small sum for a licensing fee in that context. But when you're working on a tight budget, it's an astronomical sum. I had figured the cost to be around $150 or so. No wonder imaging companies are doing so well for themselves.
posted by Darren Harkness 10:10 AM