Yes, I’m an ’80s child. And I like a lot of ’80s music. One of the most unique, fun, profound, and geeky bands is, of course, DEVO. Their hit “Whip It” is their most well know song, but they have many others such as “That’s Good” and “Freedom of Choice”. They’re also known for their funny hats. Here’s a rocking YouTube video of DEVO playing “Gates of Steel” live.
[youtube ZdFY8IIvd4g]
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Google WAVE logo
What can I say besides I’m just plain disappointed in Google WAVE. There was so much hype, so much excitement about it, and now it’s evaporated.
I understood that WAVE was to be done in HTML5, but it has a doc type of HTML 4.01. And actually, I found that it has a very serious case of “Divitis” (too many DIV tags). Can’t find any type of HTML5 tag at all, not even a section tag, header tag, nuthin’. Just a ton of DIVs and SPANs.
If you’re curious, here’s a look at the top of the source:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html><head><meta name="gwt:property" content="locale=en">
And the generated source:
<html><head><meta name="gwt:property" content="locale=en">
Google WAVE is not web accessible. Period. Simplistically, this means that people with disabilities cannot use it, or it’s very difficult. For more on this, check out my Web Axe entry Podcast #75: Jeremy Keith Interview, Google Wave and Google Wave Preview Accessibility Review by WebAIM’s Jared Smith.
To further frustrate us web accessibility professionals, Google has stolen the name of WebAIM’s free tool WAVE (web accessibility evaluation tool).
No one’s using Google WAVE. Most people I know now who want a WAVE invite (and that’s a lot of folks), has received one by now. And I haven’t seen much activity at all. As a matter of fact, I haven’t seen any new messages for a month now.
If you’re on WAVE, please send me a message; that may help me feel better! (smiley) My address is dlembree [AT] googlewave [DOT] NOSPAM com
How ironic. I just noticed that I received some WAVE invites, so if you don’t have an account and still want one after reading this (smiley), please feel free to leave a comment.
I overheard something that made me think of this funny line:
Today’s Google WAVE invites are becoming yesterday’s AOL invite CD ROM disks.
I just returned from the Accessing Higher Ground (AHG) 2009 conference in Westminster, Colorado (just outside Denver). Subtitled “Accessible Media, Web and Technology Conference.” The event has a slant in higher education; making college and university information accessible.
I missed the workshops, but attended the 2 1/2 days of the main conference and also presented one session. The slides are posted on SlideShare.net and briefly made the “” list on the home page. You may view and DIGG the “Twitter and Web Accessibility” presentation here. It’s also embedded below.
Highlights of the conference include:
This video about a “social media expert” by zetainteractive on YouTube is pretty funny. I’ve provided a transcription below. The service used to create the video, xtranormal, is even more impressive. It’s a web site that allows the user to create video from text. Very ingenious. I’ve attempted to create a similar video about web accessibility which I’ll post later.
[youtube JL3--jlut9g]
Man1: Acme corporation is finally getting into the social media game.
Man2: Have you thought about how you’re going to engage with individuals and provide value to the community?
Man 1: Hell not. We’re just going to build a bunch of fancy social media web assets and then spend a bunch of money on a big media push. We’re going to be rich.
Man2: What’s social about that?
Man 1: Nothing. But it’s going to look super cool, and we’ll have the mainstream media tell everybody that Acme is now engaged in social media. It’s going to be sweet.
Man2: You’re an idiot. No wonder your Twitter account got suspended.
I grew up in the conservative 1980s; the Reagan years. It seems like such as repressive time. From the AIDS scare, to the War on Drugs, to cops watching a teenager’s every move, it was hard to have fun. But we sure did anyway.
Part of that fun was the classic ’80s “hairbands”. Or the guys with make-up, some call it glam rock. Yes, looking back, they do look pretty silly. But a lot of the music was great, and that’s what counts!
Leather all the way, man. Hits such as “Breaking the Law” (Beavis and Butthead’s signature jingle), “Living After Midnight”, and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’”. More about Judas Priest on Wikipedia.
Judas Priest. Lookin' bad ass, or not.
I’d have to say the ugliest ’80s rock band. But with kick ass songs and even famously demonic album covers, these guys were pioneers for several years. Never was huge on the charts in the U.S. (I think “Run to the Hills” may be their most popular tune), but Iron Maiden’s Number of the Beast made it to #1 in the UK! More about Iron Maiden on Wikipedia.
Iron Maiden. Very ugly mugs.
Hilarious rockers who made it big (briefly, that is) with entertaining videos for hit singles “We’re Not Gonna Take It” (a #21 hit in the U.S.) and “I Wanna Rock”. More about Twisted Sister on Wikipedia.
Twisted Sister. What is that?!
Famous band known for hard drinking, tattoos, and womanizing. Hits included “Shout at the Devil”, “Girls, Girls, Girls”, and “Dr. Feelgood”. I always liked the “Looks That Kill” song and video! (I was about 13 when it came out.) More about Motley Crue on Wikipedia.
Motley Crue. Glam rock studs.
Second for ugliest behind Iron Maiden, but totally awesome tunes like “Rock You Like a Hurricane”, “No One Like You”, and “Still Loving You”. More about the Scorpions on Wikipedia.
Scorpions. Don't look; just listen.
I saw these guys in concert around 1985 during the Pyromania tour, by far their best album. Included hits “Photograph”, “Rock of Ages” and “Foolin’”. In the late ’80s, hits continued with “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and “Love Bites”. Def Leppard was huge in the U.S., but not nearly as admired in their native UK. More about Def Leppard on Wikipedia.
Def Leppard. Talk about curly hair.
Arguably the most successful rock/metal bands of all time, and the best lead guitarist of all time, Eddie Van Halen. Hits include “Runnin’ with the Devil”, “Aint Talkin bout love”, “Unchained”, “Panama”, “Hot for Teacher“, “Jump”, and many more. Unfortunately, the band started to suck bad when David Lee Roth left and the Sammy Hagar joined (thus becoming “Van Hagar”, ha ha). More about Van Halen on Wikipedia.
Van Halen. Yikes, this must be an early photo.
Lesser-known, but solid ’80s rock. Most popular tunes include “Back for More” and “Round and Round” (great video, and with Milton Berle!). More about Ratt on Wikipedia.
Ratt. You may fill in this caption, ha ha.
Last Saturday (Sept 26), I attended the OpenWebCamp at Stanford University. Much thanks goes to John Foliot for organizing the event and to Opera which was the main sponsor. It was a really nice time (except the hot weather). Learned a few things and met some great people, and the food and drink was great, too! Guy Kawasaki and Molly Holzschlag were the featured speakers. I spoke on Accessible Twitter which went pretty well. There was some excellent discussion on HTML5, open source software, usability, and the browser wars.
For more information, you may:
After-party gathering outside on Stanford campus during OpenWebCamp.
Photo from OpenWebCamp album on Flickr from Barbara Haven.
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