The philosophy of the book is move forward. Not through bleeding edge technologies but adherence and pioneering site development through standards. The way I see it, if web standards have been around long enough for Microsoft to finally adopt – than you have run out of excuses for adopting standards in your work. Validated standards compliant, non-table based layout, semantically driven web development is here, embrace it.

This book goes beyond that though. Handcrafted CSS is the add-on work that builds on the Bulletproof Web Design philosophy: Progressive enhancement. It works like this I’ve given up on pixel perfect cross-browser web development. I can no longer justify doubling my development time by crafting everything twice: once for standards based browsers, and again for IE. It’s expensive and for what benefit? Think about it, besides the direct client and the developer, web site visitors use their browser, a single browser. They are not loading the site and switching back and forth between the two browsers scrutinizing every margin, border and font size.

Yes, the site has to look good everywhere. Yes, it has to work in every browser. No, it does not have to look identical in every browser. Repeat this to yourself over and over until your breathing and heart rate returns to a normal level. I have come to realize that it will never look exactly the same, and the cost of getting it even as close as it is possible is not worth the time.

This is where Handcrafted CSS comes in. As soon as you let go of this old way of thinking an entire new world opens up. Modern, agile, browsers adopt standards early to allow for testing and contributing to the standards ratification process. The more developers exercise this code in their work, the stronger the final standards will be. We can prove out the efficacy of the standard everyday through our work. Additionally we are seeding the internet with millions of reasons to stop using IE all together.

I think that if web surfers knew that their world would be a richer, more beautiful place using standards based browsers, they would stop using IE. Additionally, the more the world swings in the direction of standards, the harder it will be for Microsoft to continue to do business as usual. They will be forced to join the party.

So if you are interested in furthering the standards movement, experience the wonder and awe of CSS3 and the freedoms it provides (not to mention the severe reduction of coding effort), there are three things you should do;

Buy Handcrafted CSS, adopt progressive enhancement as a philosophy, and create beautiful sites that illustrate the joys of letting go of the old ways of building web sites.

Good news for all. But it’s still too early to tell if this will be enough. There is still the issue of IE not embracing early adoption of CSS 3, and HTML 5. Most other standards based browsers have started supporting these future thinking standards and primed the web with example implementations and preparations for the inevitable switch.

What ever happened to “keeping up with the Joneses”? Let alone trying to pass up your competition. Heck Microsoft doesn’t even market a browser for Macintosh,the second largest growing operating system on the market. It’s even lost the browser wars on mobile devices with Safari (webkit) recently taking that crown.

It’s with these thoughts that I ask, is IE even worth the trouble? Maybe it should just go away and leave the innovation to the more relevant competitors on the web.

Maybe it’s my system. Could be. But why wouldn’t Doom 3, Quake 4, Half-life 2, Tomb Raider, Bioshock, or Need for Speed underground, underground 2, or Most Wanted crash then too? In fact no other game I’ve played has crashed. My system is pretty much top of the line. Core 2 6400, 2Gb RAM, ATI 1900XTX 512Mb VRAM.

Why wouldn’t a company write a patch to resolve such a widespread, common problem. This is a well documented issue:

• reaper-x
• Gameguru
• Neowin
• Megagames
• Overclock.net
• Guru3d
• Here is the full Google results link

I understand not knowing how to trace an un-reproducible bug, that doesn’t seem to be a problem here. I understand having hardware that doesn’t meet the system requirements, not an issue as far as I’ve read. I understand abandoning a project, not the case here as there have been three patches released since it launch. So what’s the problem?

More importantly I want to know why EA would think that I would actually buy the next installment of this game that comes out this week, Need for Speed Pro Street, when they haven’t even gotten the last one to work! I for one am waiting to buy this game until the user reviews come out, becasue even the game magazines didn’t report this problem with carbon. Buyer beware.

Update

Right after I wrote this article, I found that the demo was online for Need For Speed Pro Street. I downloaded the 750 Mb file, installed it, and ran it. It trudged through the intro movies, flashy animations etc… Then I set my video setting to match my screen, this game at least supports my wide screen monitor, unlike Carbon. Setup my game pad. Then started the demo for the speed challenge. CRASH!!!!! I tried again, having to repeat all my setup procedures again. This time I quit after changing my settings, anticipating the crash and not want to set up my screen and controls again. Re-launched and tried again to start the race. CRASH!!!!!!!!! Wow, now I really want to buy this game.

Aren’t demos supposed to be the compelling, “oh my this is so amazing I have to play the full game” experience? The “this blew my mind, now I want to give them my credit card number” kind of experience? Oh well, guess I’ll save my money for the Orange Box, Crysis, or anything that doesn’t have the EA name on it. Pathetic!!!

Even if we move to corn/sugar ethanol, or even cellulosic ethanol we could be diverting our dependence on gasoline to another valuable resource that could be critical in alternative means to produce polymers. The truth is that we need to consider that burning things for propulsion is not a very efficient means to produce energy.

Combustion is a highly inefficient means to convert matter to energy. There are a lot of byproducts not only in the combustion process but the refining process as well. Additionally the friction and heat exchange of the engine, storage and transportation of the fuels, and the destructive means of extracting the fuels from the ground. It seems to be a pretty expensive way to move cars down the road. Most people don’t realize, but the price you pay at the pump is artificially lowered because the government subsidizes the gasoline industry. And for some time they have been subsidizing the ethanol industry as well. No one knows how expensive these fuels would be without the help of the government’s money.

So because we have committed to this path of consuming non-renewable resources to burn in our engines we may be rapidly eliminating our options for producing the products we have become highly dependent on. We all need to consider how our decisions shape the future, not only for our generation, but our children’s generation. The decisions we make today could have serious unintended consequences down the road.

For example:

Thefts in article: California (9,110)
“Of the more than 28 million cars, light trucks and motorcycles registered in California, fewer than 600,000 (or about 2 percent) are motorcycles.” Monday, October 4, 2004 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/10/04/BAG9S93DBM1.DTL

Thats a 1.51% theft rate.

Thefts in article: Florida (6,324)
Registered motorcycles in Florida “in 2004 was approx. 410,439.” http://www.gaijinbikers.com/wp/

Thats a 1.54% theft rate.

So even though there were “more bikes stolen” there was a lower percentage of bikes stolen. But unless a reader tears through all the facts, and reads the article with a critical eye they could be duped into believing anything.

Here’s another example. The JAMA Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) recently reported that being “overweight”, having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25-30, actually reduces your risk of death when compared to “underweight” people, BMI less than 18.5. Well the New york times ran with this, including an easy to read graphic, at left.

Now the rub. The article is clearly setting out that being overweight will reduce your chances of dying from respiratory disease, injuries, lung cancer, coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases. The article doesn’t represent what other effects contribute to the numbers. Here is a great example.

BMI is a number derived from height and weight. I weigh 163 pounds, am 5′ 9″ and have a BMI of 24.1. Just under the Overweight category in this article. Where in this equation is body fat percentage? Not there. Body Mass Index is not a measure of body density, only height and weight. Fat is less dense than muscle, so an athletic person of 5′ 9″ would score a higher BMI, than an overweight person of 5′ 9″. So using BMI alone for this data is a gross simplification of human anatomy and could lead people to the wrong conclusion. Being fat will not help you fight off these diseases and injuries. In all likelihood it will increase your risks, lower your quality of life, and introduce other health problems. More than likely being active, and more muscle toned (more dense, higher BMI) are the true cause of the decrease in deaths.

Think about it. When in your lifetime have you ever heard a report saying that being inactive was healthy? How many reports have you heard that indicate that obesity results in diabetes, heart failure, joint problems, loss of sex drive etc… Look at the longevity numbers for countries with lower obesity like Japan, and Europe. Clearly this article lacks clarity, and misinforms it’s readers.

These two examples, are just the tip of the iceberg. Statistics don’t lie, but they may lead you to false conclusions. The unfortunate side affect of neatly packaged generalizations is they don’t tell the whole story. When you lose all the little details you may be missing key facts that explain the real underlying system. As readers we all need to tear apart the “facts” and really analyze if there might be something else going on behind the numbers. Additionally the media, politicians, lobbyists, and most especially scientists need to do a better job of disclosing the full set of facts in these studies, clearly outlining where their data may be incomplete, and any factors that could be skewing the numbers. Until that happens its up to us, the readers, to read between the lines and become critical readers that don’t believe everything we see in print.

The Good

Adobe Captivate is a relatively easy tool to use. It is a cross between PowerPoint and Flash. It is slide based, like PowerPoint, but the animations appear on the screen based on timing set on a timeline, like Flash. This allows people who are familiar with PowerPoint to get started quickly.

The true power of Captivate lies in the ability to capture software interactions with mouse movement, and clicks. Very elaborate software simulations can be built quickly, and edited later for timing adjustments, and content additions. And the results are all in an interactive flash-based animation, not video.

My typical workflow with this tool starts with a script or storyboard detailing the path through the software, as well as the content for the annotations that I will add later. Next I open the application, website, or web based application, and Captivate. I set my capture size, and begin using the application following the script. Captivate follows along grabbing screens and mouse positions in the background. Once you are done capturing all the screens Captivate opens all the screens in a storyboard layout. Now I start editing the content, deleting redundant captures, editing the automated captions that Captivate generates, and inserting additional annotations. After everything is pared down and all the annotations are complete I record the audio (if any) and adjusting the timing of all the objects on the slide to match up with the audio. The final step is publishing the whole thing to a flash animation.

I’ve worked with version one, and version two for a few years now. It’s easy to get quality results, and there are some great tricks to produce full blown web based trainings using this tool. On the market today there is no other tool that compares to the capabilities that Captivate offers, especially considering the editability, and flexibility. Unless you are going to produce full software simulations (everything works, just like the real software, all menus links etc.) Captivate is the tool to use.

The Bad

While this is an easy tool to use there are some limitations that can be worked around. There is no text tool, but there are captions. To create blocks of text you need to get a little creative and use a caption with a transparent background. This allows you to animate the text, fading in paragraphs, etc. Captivate offer a decent selection of caption styles and they do scale very well to contain the text without distorting, referred to as Scale 9 boxes. The corners remain unscaled as the sides scale. If you want to create your own caption styles you can. You create a .BMP file, and an accompanying .FCM file that specifies the boundaries of the Scale 9 box. Unfortunately these are BMP files so they don’t support transparency, and therefore there is no support for drop shadow on caption graphics. Imported graphics can be .PNG files and use transparency, but not captions. There are no drawing tools, diagramming tools, or photo retouching tools to crop images. Having a program like Fireworks is important if you want to do anything beyond what is in the box.

The Ugly

Version one had bugs that were resolved in version two…like rampant crashes. Version three is coming soon, but it doesn’t resolve all the bugs that are in two. To help you out here are a list of the bugs, and some workarounds that I have discovered in version two.

1. The awe inspiring file bloat bug: As you start adding content and saving your file the file size will grow. Expected. But what is unexpected is the the files growing to huge sizes 250Mb plus. We know this is aberrant behavior because of this workaround. Open a second instance of Captivate, and Copy the slides from the bloated file into the blank file and save. Poof all better, back to 50Mb. This bug does not affect the published flash files, just the project file.
2. The incredible disappearing menus: At some point you will try to open a menu, usually after adding an animation, and the menus will open only to immediately close. The workaround click on an item in the library panel on the right side of the interface. Oh…you closed that, and now can’t open the menu to open it again… Use L to open the library again, then click on an item.
3. The amazing crash-save bug: On more than one occasion I have completed capturing my screens in the application and Captivate has displayed an error-crash dialog threatening to wipe out all the work I just captured. Don’t panic! The software is still working behind the dialog box. Go to the File menu, and choose save, and name the file. Once it is all done saving click OK in the crash dialog to kill Captivate. All your work was saved and you can reopen Captivate and continue to work.
4. The stupendous sound scrambler: On a couple occasions we have published projects and the audio has either repeated, or disappeared. Reviewing the project file the audio is there…republish gone, review there. After a few times doing this I realized that the application was broken. So I figured out that I needed to export the audio file to an MP3, delete it from the slide, and the library, then re-import it (or re-record it). Now it should publish properly.
5. The dreadful dragging slide bug: I have tried to copy slides into a presentation and drag them in the storyboard view into their appropriate place in the slide order. They don’t always stay in order. Sometimes they stay in a row, other times they forma column and intersperse all throughout the slides. Don’t try to drag multiple slides around…it’s ugly. The best solution is to go to the slide you want to place the slides after and import them from a seperate project file. Then they will populate in order.

Wrap up

While I understand that Adobe acquired this product, and inherited some problems, they released version 2 without fixing them. Sad. Is it because they have no competition in this market so they feel safe that they have a captive audience? Maybe. Or have they been caught up in a feature race instead of fixing the bugs? I’m not the only one that has noticed these problems. The general position of Adobe is that users need to file these issues with the bug and feature request form. The serious question is whether you are willing to invest $700 dollars in a tool, only to work around the well documented bugs? I still like the tool despite these issues because of the results it produces, and the ease with which it produces those results.

Go to a bike shop!

This isn’t an elitist bike snob statement, it’s a statement made for your safety. Here’s why. When bicycles arrive from the manufacturer, they come in a box with some parts removed. The shop needs to assemble these parts and adjust them. Most department stores do not employ professional mechanics. That means that the stellar customer service you get at Walmart is assembling your bicycle. This is not a good thing.

Parts aren’t parts

Each part on the bicycle has a specific purpose. To illustrate this lets talk about brakes. Brakes slow you down and stop you from moving forward. If the brakes are of poor quality, or poorly adjusted, the results could be fatal. Stopping suddenly when a car cuts in front of you, or when the trail ends suddenly are not tasks that you want to entrust to cheap parts. Here is a test to see if you have good brakes, or if the bike you are shopping for has good brakes. Go into a department store, or out to your garage if you bought a department store bike, and try to bend the metal parts on the brakes with your bare hands. If they bend, or are loose, or the levers are loose or bend you have bad brakes. When you are rolling down the road and apply the brakes there are significant forces being exerted on the brakes. If your brakes are of poor quality, or badly adjusted they may not be up to the task.

So far I have just talked about the brakes but you can connect the dots for the rest of the parts: Poor quality = reduced reliability = increased safety risk = your life and health in the hands of a crappy collection of parts. Think about a few other consequences. Handlebars fail, you crash, maybe loosing your teeth or being run over by a car. Wheels fail, you could have a very long walk ahead of you. The frame breaks…you get the idea.

What style of bike?

Assuming that you have walked into your local bike shop, you are now confronted with having to choose between all the styles of bikes. While there are multiple choices they really break down to one thing, where do you want to ride? If you want to ride on park trails, paved and unpaved, or in the city at a slower pace, a hybrid may be the best bet. Hybrids have smooth tires that are fat like a mountain bike. They have upright handlebars for good visibility. These are great bikes for everyone. Now here are the guidelines for straying from the hybrid. If you want to go fast, or far on the road, get a road bike. If your idea of a trail is more dirt, rock, and ruts get a mountain bike. This is a great set of general guidelines to start with. To hone in on the exact bike from the three styles talk to a bike shop or email me and I’ll try to answer your more specific questions.

How much to spend?

As the old adage goes, “you get what you pay for”. But what are you paying for? With bicycles you are getting reliability, durability, weight, and longevity. The more you pay the better these qualities become to a point. Unless you are racing in the Tour De France, or training as hard as the pros do, you probably don’t need the top of the line parts (components). Unless you are planning to never ride don’t get the bottom of the line either. The middle ground is a nice safe place to start looking. Think of it this way, if you fall in love with the sport do you want to go out and buy a new bike right away because you cut some corners? Do you want to spend out for the de-luxe bling only to be depressed every time you look at the bike and realize that you never ride it? Do some shopping and ask questions. Down the road when you are totally committed and it becomes a lifestyle then you can re-invest in a top of the line bike, and keep the old one for trips around town and locking up to the bike rack.

If you are an established rider I recommend either Ultegra, or 105, unless you can settle for nothing but top of the line. I can personally testify that Ultegra will last nearly forever and it is very reliable. 105 won’t last quite as long, and is a little heavier, but if you’re on a budget, can’t wait to save up another few hundred dollars, and don’t want a used bike, 105 is a good option. The same is true in mountain bikes. Aim for XT, or LX. Both are great component sets, and follow the same logic as the road groups I’ve mentioned. Ten years ago I could have stopped there but there are new players in town, SRAM and Sampson and they are looking to be fantastic products with the same level of quality as their Japanese competitors. Last, but not least Campagnolo. This venerable manufacturer was and is the Ferrari of bicycle parts. They have always had great quality and reliability but were tended to be on the expensive side. I personally haven’t ridden anything newer than Nuevo Record…that from the 60′s so it’s hardly relevant. Because they tend to run on the expensive side most mid-level bicycles are not equipped with Campy parts. They tend to reside on the high end bikes exclusively. With any of these choices, ride them. The only way to tell which one you like is to ride the ones you don’t like.

Which Brand?

The second most common question is “Is this a good brand?” Sure. If you’re looking at a bike shop it’s probably a good brand. Many of the manufacturers have their bikes made in the same factory in Taiwan, or China. So even if the sticker says Brand X, or Y the same company probably put it all together. This is even more true of the mid to low range of bikes. As the bikes get more expensive there is more variety in the manufacturers and your shopping gets trickier. If you’re riding at that level you can read the magazines, talk to friends, and go on test rides to help you decide.

Buy your accessories

When you purchase your bike buy all the accessories you will need. Here’s a list:

• helmet
• gloves
• tubes
• tire levers
• patch kit
• seat bag
• tire pump
• bottles
• bottle cages
• padded bike shorts

Not only should you be able to get a deal on these items when you purchase them with a bike, you need them. These accessories will all make you ride more comfortable, safer, and allow you to avoid being broken down on the trail or road. Even if you don’t know how to change a tire, having the tools will allow a good samaritan to help you out.

Make some friends

The best way to start riding and stay riding is have friends that ride. Everyone needs motivation. If your friend is going on a ride it will help you to get out the door. It’ll be more fun and you’ll want to do it more. Riding by yourself can be very boring, especially really long rides. Additionally the slightest obstacle, cold, rain, wind, can be just enough for you to put off riding that day. If you have friends that say “who cares, let’s go anyway” you’ll forget about it because you don’t want to be the wimp, or let your friends down. Lastly the more the merrier. Riding in a group of two is fun. Riding in a group of 10 is fantastic!

Conclusion

These are just a few of the basics to get you started, hope they help. If you have any stories that you can relate let me know by commenting.

Publish a post on their blog which relates to an issue of their own choice pertaining to the environment.

For example: A blog about money might write about how to save around the home by using environmentally friendly ideas. Similarly a blog about politics might examine what weight environmental policy holds in the political arena.

So here’s my take on what designers everywhere can do to help.

Every little bit counts

Save your money. This a simple step that everyone can get behind. I’m not saying to stop spending, but think twice before you buy. If the product you’re looking at is only going to be useful for a short time, or it’s an impulse purchase…maybe you don’t need it. As a designer I walk through the aisles of products and can’t help but think how many products out there are crap. Novelty items, poorly constructed, or just plain wasteful. Stop buying things that are so cheap that they will end up in the trash when they break in a month. Do you really need another gadget? Do your kids need a cheap, useless toy with their happy meal just because a new movie came out?

Buy smarter

Stop buying products that have better alternatives. No more incandescent bulbs, SUVs to commute to work in (or drop your kids off at school), and mass produced food. Compact fluorescent bulbs are getting cheaper everyday, and they save you money on your utility bills. SUVs are only necessary when you are taking more than five people, with cargo. How many times do you see single drivers in a 17mpg gas guzzler? What a waste, especially for the owner. If you don’t need the room why are you wasting your money? If more consumers stopped buying these beasts, maybe auto manufacturers would stop designing them. Most people don’t realize that mass produced food is actually costing them more than the fresher alternatives in the grocery store. If you are fighting weight problems diet soda is not helping you. Frozen dinners are not healthy even if they are from weight watchers. Fast food is the enemy.

Green is good for business

The economy couldn’t possibly be hurt by going green. Making smarter products that use less resources and are re-usable or recyclable costs more? Why? If something takes less resources to produce it should cost less. If you can reuse portions of the products at end-of-life for new products doesn’t that bring costs down? If oil and coal companies invested money into solar, wind, and hydro couldn’t they make just as much money in the long run? Why are we subsidizing ethanol, and corn for fuel when we could be offering these benefits to technologies that will improve mileage not degrade it? If a company made a product that would save you thousands of dollars on transportation costs annually by eliminating gas, filters, and oil changes wouldn’t you line up to buy it? Why couldn’t GM, Ford, and Chrysler make these products?

Going green can only hurt companies that can’t adapt to the changing market. Let’s help them on their way, whether that’s success or failure. We owe it to ourselves to design, buy, and lobby for products that help everyone, not just the people and companies that are already rich.