In an age where Cloud Storage and Content Sharing is norm of any day (I don’t have a day when I don’t use my Dropbox), it is totally insane to bring down a File Storage Site and trouble a lot of legitimate users who have been using the site for File storage purposes.  Here are some reactions from these users, as reported by CNN:

• “Megaupload was closed by the FBI … was I the only ones who had it for work files?” Twitter user Nina Andrade wrote
• Seng Ung of Boston said he recently paid roughly $260 for a lifetime membership so he could store old files from childhood and college. He didn’t lose them, but now he’s gotten nothing in return for his payment, he said.
• Developers of open-source Linux and Homebrew software said they used it to upload projects they were working on together.

Shutting down a Service is not a solution to Stop Online Piracy.  I can just go online and get hold of any Pirated Content from thousands of Websites around the Internet.   Also blocking Channels of Piracy takes a toll on millions, who use the same Channels for Legitimate usage.

The Best Way to Reduce Piracy is to:

• Put check on the Content and not on the Channels
• Clean up the Content, with Support from the Infested Internet Companies
• Stop over-reacting and accept that a certain degree of Piracy is “expected” and cannot be eradicated

If such acts of Shutting down Cloud Storage Sites continue, anyone would start thinking twice about using Amazon Cloud Storage or Dropbox (at least I would).  Punish the Conspirators, Not the Internet Users who pay Money for their Service!

Photo Credit: Flickr and Sam Howzit

However, Mobile UX is extremely underestimated and overlooked when Desktop Web Applications are transformed into Mobile Web Applications.  Essentially, Mobile UX can be categorized in the 3 major groups:

• Navigation
• Content Architecture
• Data Input

In my subsequent posts during the week, let’s discuss in detail on each of these categories to provide a much better Mobile UX!

CSS float

‘float’ CSS Property on an element on a Web Page, is used to position that element in relation to the other elements that are preceding or following the specified element.  It works only on relatively positioned elements (which mean the ‘float’ Property is ignored on elements with ‘position:absolute’)

float Property can take 4 values:

• left – Element floats to the left and the elements following this will be positioned next to this element on the right side
• right – Element floats to the right and the elements preceding this will be positioned next to this element on the left side
• none – No float.  Element stays where it is, depending on the sequence in which it appears
• inherit – Element inherits the floating behavior from its Parent Element

Examples

CSS float:left

CSS float:right

CSS float:none

When to Use?

When you have relatively positioned elements on your Web Page and you want to Position them to the Left or Right of the Browser Canvas. Note, this positioning works well irrespective of the Browser Canvas Dimensions, as the elements are relatively positioned.

• Is the Program using the Most Appropriate Data Structure?
• Is the Program written in the Minimum Number of Lines of Code possible?
• Will the Program run or exit gracefully when there is literally “No” Memory available?
• Is the Program understandable to another Programmer without you explaining a Line of Code?
• Does the Program clean up all Memory Space it has occupied during its Execution?
• Does the Program handle All Invalid Inputs and also No Inputs?
• Can the Program be Extended later without modifying the Program itself?
• Does the Program have sufficient Documentation for a Programmer to use it in their Program?

This checklist is Not Platform Specific.

These are a bare minimum points, which every programmer must check.

Let’s make Coding an Art!

• HTML5 for Web Designers
• CSS3 for Web Designers
• The Elements of Content Strategy
• Responsive Web Design
• Designing for Emotion
• Mobile First

One distinct feature that separate these books from others – is the Brevity of the Content. Brevity doesn’t mean just short but it also means “to the point”.  You will certainly know the difference, when you start reading one of them.

Furthermore, eBook includes the PDF, ePub and MOBI formats – so you can read them on your Computer, Tablet, Kindle or any Portable device.

Click here to visit ABookApart and grab the 30% Discount!

Disclaimer: This is neither a Paid Promotional Post nor an Affiliate Post.  I grabbed a couple of books, really liked them and hence returning the favor.

1.  Understand Mobile is not Desktop

Though there are Mobile Devices available in the market with processing powers and capacities equivalent to Computers, they are siginificantly different.  Here are some key factors on which the mobile devices differ:

• Size of Display
• Runtime Memory
• Battery Consumption
• Usage Patterns

So keep these basic differences in mind, while developing Web Applications for the Mobile devices.

2.  Mobile costs Money

Mobile Data Networks are vastly improving but still they are not cheap.  Most Networks still charge users proportional to their Data Usage.  So as a developer, make sure to:

• Use a Server Call only when necessary
• Transfer minimum necessary data required from Server to Client, thus minimizing the Data Traffic
• Wherever possible, let the user know that you are about to use his/her Mobile Network Connection

3.  Mobile is used when the User is in a Hurry!

Most people use Mobile Devices for Internet Applications when they are in a Hurry or Traveling!  This makes it imperative to design applications clutter-free and organizing the content from “most important to least”.  Also it is wise to discard certain features from your Desktop Site on Mobile, if they don’t make sense for Mobile Usage.

4.  Mobile can be used Offline

It is natural for Mobile Devices to be used Offline, that is without an Internet Connectivity.  This happens when the user is traveling or when the Data Connectivity has been turned off to avoid Data Usage.  Though traditionally Mobile Web Applications cannot be used without Internet, using techniques like “Offline Access” in HTML5 you can decide if Offline usage will be supported.  Define Offline Use Cases for your Mobile Applications and if they make real sense, go for Offline Access.

5.  Mobile is Microscopic

On the Small Screen of a Mobile Device, any flaws in your application can be easily exposed – be it the UI Misalignment or Wrong Data.  So it takes a lot of testing to make sure your Mobile Web Applications are perfect to be used.  Hence, plan for a longer testing phase than you will for a Desktop Web Application.

These are some minimum considerations for a Web Developer to start Building Mobile Web Applications.  There are a lot more Pros and Cons to Building Mobile Web Apps, which we will discuss later.  So what do you think are minimum considerations that are missing in this post.  I would love to hear!

Web Workers

Multi Threading in Programming languages bring in the flexibility of Shared Namespace, Asynchronous processing etc. to the hands of Programmers.  Web Workers extend the Multi Threading concepts to the Web Browser.  This API defines the mechanism to spawn multiple background threads.  This allows you as a developer to do long-running, computationally intensive or blocking tasks in background scripts, thus offering a Non-Blocking UI to the end users.

As per the specification the Web Workers are heavy-weight components and must not be used in large numbers.  Also frequent creation and termination of Workers is not recommended.  Though they are useful for Background tasks like IO, Storage Access etc. they cannot access the DOM of the main page they are invoked from.  This makes sure that Workers cannot directly change the UI without the intervention of the Master.

• You can find the Web Workers W3C Specification here
• HTML5Rocks, as always has this nice introduction tutorial on Web Workers

WebSocket

WebSocket API brings in the concept of “open socket connection” between the Client (the Browser) and the Server.  This is in opposition to HTTP for Client-Server connection which is inherently “stateless” – WebSocket provide a way to maintain a persistent connection between the Client/Server for communication.

Like HTTP (and HTTPS), WebSocket uses a specific protocol WS (and WSS) for communication.  However, WebSocket are immature today and there is no inherent support yet on any Web Server.  But, using some libraries the WS protocol support can be achieved (refer to the links below for details).

• WebSocket is backed by W3C and you can read the draft specification here
• This nice tutorial on WebSocket by HTML5 Rocks will get you on speed with the API

This promising yet immature API is handy for applications like Multi Player Online Games, Chat Applications etc.  But we will have to wait and see the improvements and the support on various browsers.

Web Intents

Web Intents bring in the concept of Intents from Application Programming World.  It is a simple Javascript library (yet) created by a couple of German Web Developers, for Client-Side Service Discovery and Inter-Application Communication.

Consider Intent as an activity like “sharing a link on social media”.  List of Services like Twitter, Facebook etc. register and express their desire to handle this “Intent of Sharing”.  When this activity (or intent) is performed by the user, the library brings up the list of Services that have “expressed their interest” to the user.

This is very similar to “Intents” in the Android Programming language, just that it happens in the Web.

• You can read more about Web Intents and watch some examples here
• This short presentation also helps you appreciate why Web Intents are there

But note Web Intents are not a W3C Specification and also not supported inherently by any Browser yet.  It is a nice little concept and a library created by these developers.

So as Web Developers what do you think about these API?  Are you already using some in your Web Applications?  I am always curious to know about innovative use cases for new techniques.  I am listening!

Level of Audience

This book starts with a dedicated chapter to explain what Themes are and their importance to Web Design and Development.  Such is the level of content covered in this book – aimed at Beginners and Experts alike.  All you need is some basic understanding of HTML, CSS, Javascript and preferably jQuery, to use and benefit from this book.

Content Scope and Clarity

One can get a complete understanding of jQuery UI Themes and ThemeRoller (application to design custom themes) from the next few chapters, following the explanation on Themes.  This sets the context very strongly for a deeper understanding of UI Themes development for jQuery.

Subsequent chapters get on to the details of UI Theme development.  Each chapter has an elaborate coverage of the concepts involved, succinctly explained with suitable illustrations and examples. The author had made sure that all the necessary topics are covered, to make sure that you get everything you need to know about developing UI Themes for jQuery.

Also the concepts are very clearly explained for Web Developers and Designers alike.  I would give a very high rating for the clarity of content in this book, that will make learning a breeze.

Takeaways

As promised by the author, the key takeaway is the complete understanding of UI Theme development for jQuery.  Not just for Web Designers, this book can be very useful for Web Developers who likes to get their hands dirty with UI Themes development.

To purchase a copy of this book, you can visit the link here.  I would love to know your feedback and comments on this post/book, so feel free to talk.

iOS 5 News

• iOS 5 to open up to public on October 12
• iCloud also opens up on the same day
• New Cards App let you send “traditional” snail mail greetings to US and around the world, from iOS for a fee
• “Find My Friends” – Find your friends in the real world who has opted to share the location information with you
• iMessage Service for messaging between iOS users (think BBM!)
• New built-in Reminder App
• Twitter Integration with iOS for Single Sign On and more
• Take Photos  (not perfect yet…) and control iPod Music from your Lock Screen
• Safari Updates – Reading list that syncs across iOS Devices, Full Tabbed Browsing for iPad
• Wireless iOS Updates (a.k.a. PC Free)
• iTunes Match – Sync your playlists and music to the cloud, Start Streaming – for $24.99/Year (only US, available End of October)
• “Siri”, the iPhone Assistant that helps to get things done by asking
• You can use Siri for things like (as of now) – Setting up Reminders and Meetings, Sending Text, Asking for Information, Sending Emails, Finding Directions, Setting Alarms, Asking about Stocks…
• By far Siri is the most impressive feature on iOS 5 (but still in Beta!)

New iPhone – The iPhone 4S

• iPhone 4S succeeds iPhone 4 (No iPhone 5 yet…)
• Apple will continue to sell iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS
• Powered by Dual-Core A5 Chip – perceived to be 2X times faster than iPhone 4 (and 7X faster graphics)
• Improved Battery Times
• Advanced Wireless System to intelligently switch between “Transmit” and “Receive” antennas
• Increased Data Speeds – HSDPA Speeds upto 14.4 Mbps
• GSM/CDMA Dual Mode on the single device (favorite feature for Frequent Travelers)
• Better Camera – 8 MP Sensor, Backside Illumination, Improved Face detection
• AirPlay Mirroring – Get your iPhone Gaming on the Big Screen, all wireless

Other Updates

• Price drops for iPod Nano Models – 8 GB at $149, 16 GB at $179
• iPod Touch to get a makeover with iOS 5
• iMessage also to be available for iPod Touch for Inter-iOS Communication
• Price drops again for iPod Touch – 8 GB at $199, 32 GB at $299, 64 GB at $399

That’s the summary of Let’s Talk iPhone event by Apple at Cupertino, on 4 October 2011. What do you think? Did you miss iPhone 5? Are you getting an iPhone 4S? We would like to hear it from you!

Reader Levels

jQuery Mobile Framework’s greatest advantage is that it doesn’t require a developer to be a “Javascript Expert”.  With an entry level Javascript expertise and a good understanding of HTML and CSS, anyone can start developing applications on jQuery Mobile.

This book makes it even simpler and requires the reader to have a Basic understanding of just HTML and CSS.  Everything else related to jQuery Mobile can be learnt just by reading this book.  So if you are holding on with Mobile Web Development, just because you are wary of Javascript – grab a copy of this book and you can start developing applications like a breeze.

Coverage of Topics

This book covers every other topic that you need to know and learn about jQuery Mobile.  After reading, this book can also serve as a handy guide for your jQuery Mobile Development – together with some excellent documentation provided by the jQuery Mobile.

In a nutshell, this book covers the following:

• jQuery Mobile and other Mobile Web Frameworks – a comparison study
• Configuring and extending jQuery Mobile
• Building nice Content and Toolbars
• Mobile Forms and Buttons
• List Views and Beyond
• Nice set of References

Quality of Examples

With a lot of informative Screenshots and illustrations, the quality of examples provided in this book are excellent.  Through these examples, you not just get an understanding of the concepts but also visualize how they work on Mobile Web Applications.

Also each illustration is backed by a clear explanation, thus making it very obvious and even more informative.  Such quality of examples makes this book a must-have companion for “newbie” jQuery Mobile Developers.

Code Snippets

Don’t want to write code by yourself to check how something works?  Don’t worry.  This book has sufficient amount of Code Snippets about different components of the jQuery Mobile Framework.

If you have a soft copy of this Book, you can just copy the code into your Application and immediately see how it works.  For complex code snippets, the author has provided sufficient supplementary information so that the reader is not overwhelmed looking at a gargantuan piece of code.

Conclusions

Overall, jQuery Mobile First Look is a value for your money and it helps you to get on fast track with your Mobile Web Application Development.  Language used in the book is very clean and simple to read.  Also the quality of examples and illustrations are top-class and you are sure to excel with jQuery Mobile after reading this book, unless you don’t wish to.

You can order your copy by visiting the jQuery Mobile First Look Website.

Want your Product or Book reviewed by us?  Drop an Email to ashwin at thoughtsunlimited dot net with details and we will get back to you.