Web Standards, Accessibility & More » Computers

Other “Thoughts on Flash” from Apple’s Steve Jobs

Dennis — Sat, 01 May 2010 23:39:14 +0000

Steve Jobs recently published an open letter about Apple’s position on Flash which addressed the reasons behind not implementing Flash on the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. It’s very well written and has some great points, but contains many flaws as well. Apple is a great design company, and I understand they are indeed a company and must look out for their own interest; but that doesn’t excuse the act of misinforming and misleading people.

One of the first responses to the letter was byÂ Remy Sharp (@rem) who pointed out that:

HTML5 apps won’tÂ just work with touch devices, the code to handle touch events must still be written.
The H.264 video format is currently supported only by Safari and Chrome, but H.264 is notÂ supported by the two biggest browsers, IE and Firefox.

Remy’s tweet also points us to this video of a presentation from Jonathan Stark, App Store is For Suckers. Stark points out some not-so-good points about the Apple Store including the fact that they subjectively turn down many apps which applied to be in the store. For example, there are many games which including war and killing of animals, but a seal-clubbing app from PETA was rejected. (In response,Â PETA Sends Steve Jobs Vegan Chocolate Seals!)

Web accessibility veteran and friendÂ John Foliot of Stanford University tweeted these six “fallacies” from the letter:

The H.264 video format is closed & patent encumbered â€”Â not open.
WebKit is not the most widely deployed mobile browser; that belongs to Opera.
HTML5 is not finished & W3C anticipates a few more years before Ready For Prime Time.
WHAT WG (the incomplete HTML5) is not open either, it’s by invitation only: whatwg.org/charter
Two of the four major browsers do not support H.264. [see above]
If Apple is so open, why do they control IApp distribution with an iron fist? They don’t like your app? You’re toast. [see above]

What do you think?

5 Great Ways to Download YouTube Videos

Dennis — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:25:49 +0000

Here are five excellent ways to download YouTube videos to your computer. The services work with other streaming video web sites, too, and offer multiple formats to downloadÂ such as FLV, AVI, MOV, MPG, MP4, WMV, etc.

Zamzar - free online file conversion. Also provides conversion of images, music, and documents! Offers 3 levels of upgraded service for a fee.
SaveVid – provides daily and all-time top 10 lists.
KeepVid – download streaming videos. Simple and easy web site service. Also offers a bookmarklet.
KickYouTube – Download videos from youtube.
Flash Video Resources Downloader – a great Firefox add-on.

PS: Here’s a video to MP3 (audio only) service: VidToMP3

two lizards (from Zamzar)

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Open Full-Time Tech Jobs in California

Dennis — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:28:53 +0000

Current job openings in California in the tech industry.

MySQL DBA in San Diego, CA. In the online gaming field.
Network Programmer in Foster City. Works closely with many game development studios on items like integrating middleware, services, and APIs. The team is largely C/XML based.
Mobile application programmer for top mobile company, Redwood City. Java, mobile, API experience.

Leave a comment or email me for more info.

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Open Web Tech Jobs

Dennis — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:10:37 +0000

Here are some great job openings in the web development and computer software industries in the San Francisco Bay area.

Please be sure to use my name as a referral!

Featured Positions

Job Title

JavaScript Engineer

Summary

Seeking top-notch JavaScript Engineers with strong CS fundamentals who feel at home developing high-quality web products that reach millions of users.

Company

Not Provided

Location

Mountain View, California, U.S.A.

Skills

Work toward weekly milestones on high-visibility, high-quality web products.
Meet with team to assess feasibility and priority of new features.
Participate in testing regularly scheduled releases.
Collaborate with server-side engineers to optimize scalability and network efficiency.
Object-oriented JavaScript experience.
Previous experience with the following web technologies: DHTML, CGI and CSS.
Previous experience with at least one scripting language (eg. Bash, Perl, or Python).
Experience working with large web frameworks such as Dojo, prototype.js and Rico.
Phenomenal debugging principles.
Computer Science Degree or equivalent.

Contact

Nicole Blincoe, Mainz Brady Group

resumes[AT]mainzbradygroup[NOSPAM][dot]com

1-650-524-8845

Reference JO#NB4422

Job Title

PHP Web Developer

Summary

If you are a mid to senior level Web Developer with extensive PHP experience, please read on!

Location

Mountain View, California, U.S.A.

Company

Not Provided

Skills

Extensive PHP development experience
Experience designing and building highly scalable software used by millions of users
Extensive experience programming in PHP, JavaScript, HTML, AJAX, CSS
Experience with HTTP, SQL, TCP/IP â€“ Solid Object-Oriented Programming experience
Experience with REST, JSON, and API/Web-Services is a plus

Compensation

Excellent compensation package (salary $120-$130,000).

Excellent benefits package.

Work with cutting edge technology.

Great opportunity!

Contact

Craig Radke, CyberCoders

Craig.Radke[AT]CyberCoders[NOSPAM][dot]com

The Listings

Title	Company/Location	Skills
Front End Web Developer	TVGuide.com; New York, NY	Prior experience in professional web development Bachelors or equivalent degree Knowledge of XHTML/HTML, CSS and Javascript Ability to work under daily deadline pressure Willingness to work late hours and on weekends when required Knowledgeable in Microsoft Office Products (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Project). Excellent oral, written, and presentation communication skills
Application Engineer (and more positions!)	AdMob, San Mateo, CA	Primary Responsibilities: Architect, design, and build scalable and usable consumer facing web applications from the ground up. This means the entire stack: MySQL, PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript Self-starting side projects are massively encouraged. Background and Qualifications: Super smart, great coder, motivated, fearless, self-starter, and quick learner. Proficiency in JavaScript, AJAX, CSS, JSON, REST, and/or any other related languages/technologies. Strong understanding of user experience and UI design, cross browser environments, client side performance issues, and experience with at least one JavaScript debugging tool. Proven track record designing, implementing, deploying, and shipping high-volume and scalable software. Proficiency in Java, C++, or PHP programming in Unix/Linux environment preferred. Experience with one or all of the following a plus: Ruby, MySQL, Apache, Python, Flash/Flex, etc. Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related discipline (Math, EE, etc.); MS or PhD always a plus.
Software Engineer – Flex	Unknown; Sunnyvale, CA	Flex, HTML, CSS, XHTML, JavaScript, Object Oriented Design and Analysis, User Interface
Sr. Software Engineer	Unknown; Santa Clara, CA	Java, J2EE, Servlet, JSP, XSLT, XML, JMS, SQL, RDBMS, Oracle, MSSQL, JavaScript, XHTML, CSS, Ajax, XPDL, BPMN, BPEL
Web Application Developer	SurveyMonkey.com; Portland, OR and Menlo Park, CA	[corp firewall blocking content from LinkedIn, stoooopid!]
Senior CIFS Engineer	Unknown; San Jose ,Â CA	7+ years of Java based object oriented development 5+ years of system level design and development experience for Java based networking solutions in a Linux environment 3+ years CIFS (Common Internet File System) protocol experience TCP/IP and SMB Advanced data structure and usage of algorithms B.S. Degree, Masters highly preferred.
MySQL Database Administrator	Unknown; Belmont,Â CA	5+ years of database administration experience 3+ years of MySQL database administration database performance strategies and tuning MySQL DB Working knowledge of hardware devices, operating systems, databases and how they interrelate system structures – TCP/IP, RAID, Volume management, backups Linux Operating systems, shell scripting and other languages (PERL, SQL etc.) Experience with MySQL replication setup and administration Oracle DB is a PLUS
Senior Solaris Systems Administrator	Unknown; Fort Lauderdale,Â FL	Solid knowledge of Solaris is a must Sun Certification highly desired Strong hands-on experience with Sun Cluster 5+ years of UNIX/Linux experience is required Experience with systems connectivity and networking Experience installing, configuring and maintaining Sun hardware Hands-on experience with Enterprise backup systems and Enterprise Storage solutions (SAN) required Experience with LDAP and directory services Familiarity with Apache, Tomcat and MySQL Ability to write scripts, create tools and document solutions
Senior User Experience Designer	Unknown; San Jose,Â CA	Excellent understanding of user experience design for the Web, technology trends, demonstrable design skills, and ability to show relevant work. Solid depth of new front-end technologies such as AJAX, Adobe Flex/AIR Excellent understanding of web technologies and how to work with developers to leverage them. Excellent interpersonal skills and presentation skills, including the ability to communicate effectively in small and large groups and to senior executives. Proven ability delivering high quality designs to customers. Experience mentoring Interaction Designers with the ability to challenge and inspire design colleagues. Experience with e-commerce sites highly desirable, especially on Selling side. Bachelors or higher degree in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science or related field. Masters degree preferred.

Please be sure to use my name as a referral!

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Bug Tracking Applications

Dennis — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:24:39 +0000

Here are some good web applications and desktop software for “software defect management”, otherwise know as bug tracking.

Mantis – looks good and open-source, but somewhat difficult to install.
Bugzilla – from Mozilla. Pretty great, but more than what I need. Also difficult to install. I was able to easily install Free Virtual Bugzilla Server, but it’s just local.
Sifter – not open-source; costs money.
Lighthouse – not open-source; costs money.
BugNET – built using the ASP.NET, boo!
eTraxis – PHP-based; looks promising.

What’s your feedback on these, have you used any? Know any other good ones?

Buggie, the Bugzilla logo

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Selling Computer Stuff

Dennis — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:11:52 +0000

I’m selling the following computer hardware and software on eBay if anyone’s interested. (PS: my old Dell Axim PDA sold in 1 minute!)

Two 1-Gig DDR2 RAM chips – SOLD!
Dreamweaver 8 Upgrade CD (Win/Mac) – SOLD!
Canon CanoScan N650U : super thin scanner – SOLD!
3com Home Wireless Router (802.11b) (used) (Wi-Fi) – NOT SOLD

And on Craig’s List:

Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Standard (upgrade) (Windows) – NOT SOLD re-listed below)

Addendum Aug 3, 2009

Now listed! redhat Linux 7 OS Standard with CDs, original box, and even the stickers!

Addendum Aug 8, 2009

Now listed! Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Standard (Windows; upgrade)

Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Standard (upgrade)

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Best Free Code/Text Editors

Dennis — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:31:21 +0000

Looking for a good, free code/text editor? I’ve gone through this quandary several times (due to new job, second home computer, suggestion for a friend, etc.), so I figured I’d list my favorites here. Hope you find this, and it serves you well!

Windows

Notepad++ (highly recommended for the PC)
TextPad
Edit+

Mac

TextMate
Text Wranger
Xcode (Apple)
BBEdit (awesome, but just a free trial)

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