Link to firefox os

Information for developers

Simulator where you can build and test your apps for firefox OS

An article discussing some of the advantages and disadvantages of firefox mobile (although more towards the negative side)

First firefox phones sell out

One of the cool things about this site was that it was the first time I set up an ecommerce business so that people could ‘add to cart’ and pay right on the site. It was fun to figure out and I will be discussing ecommerce on this blog to describe my experiences. Anyway, check out the site: http://carefreeorganics.com

Gradients: http://www.colorzilla.com/gradient-editor/

Many features (this one seems to do it all): http://css3generator.com/

Javascript:

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
<!--

var dimages=new Array();
var numImages=2;

for (i=0; i<numImages; i++)
{
  dimages[i]=new Image();
  dimages[i].src="images/image"+(i+1)+".jpg";
}
var curImage=-1;

function swapPicture()
{
  if (document.images)
  {
    var nextImage=curImage+1;
    if (nextImage>=numImages)
      nextImage=0;
    if (dimages[nextImage] && dimages[nextImage].complete)
    {
      var target=0;
      if (document.images.myImage)
        target=document.images.myImage;
      if (document.all && document.getElementById("myImage"))
        target=document.getElementById("myImage");

      // make sure target is valid.  It might not be valid
      //   if the page has not finished loading
      if (target)
      {
        target.src=dimages[nextImage].src;
        curImage=nextImage;
      }

      setTimeout("swapPicture()", 5000);

    }
    else
    {
      setTimeout("swapPicture()", 500);
    }
  }
}

setTimeout("swapPicture()", 5000);

//-->
</SCRIPT>

Then here is the code to place it:

<IMG WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=250 ID="myImage" NAME="myImage"
  SRC="images/image0.gif"></IMG>

The code to create this type of link is: <a href=”mailto:someone@example.com”>

General width. Keep in mind the ‘780’ changes depending on the size of your actual page:

<meta name="viewport" content="width=780">

This code just matches their device regardless of what you set:

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width">

The following disables zooming altogether:

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, user-scalable=no" /> 

This sets the zoom level when the page is first opened:

<meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1">

This creates no zooming and the user has to move the screen around:

<meta name="viewport" content="maximum-scale=1">

I encourage you to try them all out to see what works for your site and so that you get a better idea of what they all look like.

http://raypastore.com/html5/html5.html

Also, check out this site which goes into specifics about how well your browser in handling HTML5 code: http://html5test.com/

All of your code is essentially open source. While thats great for me, its not great for businesses and really anyone who is trying to make money off of their software. There are some ways around it but keep in mind that both HTML5 and Javascript are open source. Here is a good article that goes into it:

HTML5 – Not Designed for Business Applications

The next issue is security. Apparently the standards have not really been developed with security in mind as it will really be up the developers, users, and browsers. So there are going to be some issues when this is used more often…and of course this is the case with any new technology. Here is an article that goes into the topic:

Old hacking tricks work too easily in attacks on HTML5, security expert says

1. HTML5 Rumors. HTML5 has been touted as a potential replacement to Flash. It does have some of the same capabilities. The issue is that HTML5 is really geared towards simple animations and interactions, not powerful animations that Flash is designed for. Thus HTML5 cannot replace Flash at this point. Will it ever? Quite possibly it will (I personally think it will be HTML6 that does it) but at this point you really need to know both Flash and Javascript so that you can offer multiple solutions to clients. I personally would not develop a game in HTML5 unless it was very simple because it just doesnt have the power to create something more in-depth.

2. Flash player is dying. Yes that is true in the mobile platform, but not the desktop/laptop. However, Adobe has instead focused on Adobe Air for the mobile platform and stopped focusing on flash player. What is Adobe Air: It allows you to publish Apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android. This leads to point 3.

3. Flash doesnt work on Apple iPad or iPhone. Well that is not true. It doesnt work in their browsers but it works very well on the devices. If you look at both Apple and Android, they are pushing apps, not the browers (at least that is what they want developers to focus on so that they can control (or make money off of) their stores). So Adobe is pushing Flash to mobile apps not the browsers (and they didnt have much of a choice as apple would not allow flash player on its browser). To publish a Flash app to iPhone or iPad, you simply click the publish button in Flash to publish as an app. And yes, there are tons of apps (some in the top 50 games) that are purely Flash based and you probably never knew. So yes, Flash does work very well on iPhone and iPad.

4. Instructional designers are not programmers. Our field is not computer science and I do not expect an ISDer to be able to program. Flash requires a lot of programming so most instructional designers cannot use it beyond basic tweens and maybe some simple interactions. As a result, they have turned to other software, such as Articulate, Lectora, PPT, Captivate, etc. that are very easy to use. That way the instructional designer can now also develop training without the need for a programmer and tout themselves as a one stop shop. The problem is that this software is not always the solution. It is simple software and produces simple training. What do I mean by simple training? I just mean training with some animation, limited interaction, and is perfect for flashcard type training (that can includes stories, cases, simple games etc.). I am not saying its bad, this simple software can create great training, just that its not a be-all end-all for training. It is not a total solution. It cannot do everything. If someone were to tell me they were going to use one of the simple software mentioned above (or any software for that matter) to develop my training without seeing my needs analysis and design requirements, I would be very very scared that they did not know what they were doing. You simply need to have Flash and other programming software in your arsenal. If you do not you are really limiting what you can do.

Just an fyi here. I am not against the ISDer being a developer or anything like that. I am an ISDer that is a developer as well. I can program and use all of the software I have mentioned above. I also like all of the software I have mentioned. I love HTML5. But I still just cannot figure out how ISDers are trying to dismiss Flash when none of the software I mentioned above matches its power. Am I biased? Well I do really like Flash but I also really like a lot of other software too. I probably like javascript the best which is what HTML5 is based on so if anything I probably like HTML5 more. I just know that most ISDers are not programmers and they are touting solutions that may not be appropriate because they want to be the one stop shop. Additionally I know that since most ISDers are not developers they are listening to a rumor and dismissing Flash just because they do not know any better because they do not know what any of this software does as they are not developing with it and thus believe this light software is actually a replacement for Flash. Maybe I am wrong? Actually I hope I am but I just do not see many other reasons.

HTML5
CSS3
DOM
Canvas
WebGL
SVG
Native Client
WebSockets
Node.js
Javascript

Here is a link to the article

Essentially this is nothing new. HTML5 can do a lot of what Flash does but that 20% is big, because they are the high end interactions and gaming features which is what Flash is intended to do anyway. As I tell my students, at this point in time, you need to know Flash and its going to be long time before its gone so get used to developing in it and clients requesting it/needing it. I also tell them to start learning javascript because eventually it will be the future but at this point HTML5 is too new and its going to a long transition between Flash and HTML5. Additionally, Adobe appears to be the lead developer for HTML5 so you will more than likely continue to buy your authoring tools from them. Also remember that Adobe Air allows one to publish Flash Apps on iPhone and iPad.

Check out the demonstration:

Flash is not dead right now and from the looks of it, it has the opportunity to become the best authoring tool for HTML5.

HTML5 is currently not ready for widespread use due to compatibility issues. For those that do not know, HTML5 has been around for several years now – it is NOT new and still NOT ready. How many years do you think its going to take to be ready? You might want to look at recent history when DHTML (HTML4, CSS2, and Javascript) were touted as the next big thing in the early 2000s. Compatibility killed that idea. HTML5 does have more promise though. But remember HTML5 is just a simple upgrade to HTML4, it does not do that much more. The real power of HTML5 comes from javascript. Javascript libraries that have been around for years. Why are they not used more often? No authoring tool for them. Its all hand written code. Additionally, while both Google and Apple are making their web browsers HTML5 friendly, they are not making their app markets HTML5 friendly anytime soon. In order to publish an HTML5 app you need to get a third party software package that will do the conversion.

Additionally, at this point, the ONLY potential authoring tool for HTML5 that has promise in the future is Flash! Flash CS6 can export swf to javascript. So, those saying Flash is dead might be very wrong. Flash might just be the next big thing because it will export to HTML5. We currently do NOT have a good authoring tool for HTML5 and if Flash takes that spot, it will not be dead but might be more popular than it currently is now. The only way Flash will die is if another authoring tool that becomes very popular replaces it.

Here is the HTML5 Doctype:

<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<body>

You can see how much this differs from the common HTML 4.01 doctype:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd”>
<html>
<body>

For more info on Doctypes see W3schools

I think this is awesome and I believe having an understanding of basic computer logic is a great skill to have. This is why I push software like Gamemaker, Squeak, Scratch, etc. which require one to understand basic programming logic.I also teach HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, and Actionscript in my classes.

However, I do think people are jumping the gun a bit with Javascript. The reason why? Javascript by itself is rather useless. I would not tell someone to learn javascript unless they had a solid foundation in HTML and CSS first. You really cant do anything with javascript without HTML. Learning javascript without HTML/CSS is like learning to hold your breath, then being put into a deep swimming pool without knowing how to swim.

So while I believe learning Javascript is great and I think everyone should learn basic programming…at least the logic, I believe that you should understand HTML and CSS before jumping the gun and learning Javascript.

So for those who want to learn js, just take a few weeks and learn HTML and CSS first. They are both very easy to learn – the easiest languages. Then when you have that foundation learn javascript. Then when you understand js, start learning a database language like PHP or Ruby.

– HTML5 is simply an update of HTML4. It does a few extra things, like include a video tag. It is not this be all end all code that will replace Flash and by itself is not very powerful.

– HTML5 is not compatible on most browsers right now. There are many standards issues. Please see this report for more details: http://www.longtailvideo.com/html5/.

– The power of HTML comes from Javascript. Javascript has been able to do much of this for many years, it is NOT new. Most of the features people seem to think HTML5 can accomplish are really javascript features.

– Flash is used for a lot of things that it was not designed for, like web banners, just because there is not other tool out there. Flash was designed for rich interaction and games not web banners. HTML5 is not going to be used for these rich interactions and games, flash will be. Maybe someday this will happen, but not in HTML5. Maybe HTML6, 7, or 8. But remember Flash will continue to evolve as well in that time.

– The power of HTML5 really comes with mobile devices, not PCs. However, with more advancements in mobile processors such as quad cores, etc. This really isnt going to matter much. The only thing really stopping Flash right now on mobile devices is Apple. However, you can put flash onto apple mobile devices –  its a workaround though and not a process the average user can accomplish. Having said that, the same can be said of HTML5, the only thing stopping it from PCs right now is compatibility so as that gets better its use will grow.

So what exactly will HTML5 be used for that Flash once did?

Mobile applications. HTML5 will be used in the mobile world. Its more compatible and it’s free, which is the pure beauty of HTML5. However the main thing to point out here: HTML5 runs different on each browser right now. So its great if running on one device, like the iphone. But if running on android, iphone, and pc its really a pain to code. Flash is much better when using multiple devices. To get HTML5 to work on multiple devices I need to ‘trick’ the code for each browser which takes a lot of extra development time and adds a lot of extra code to my product.

Here are two good sources discussing this issue:

http://remysharp.com/2010/02/08/html5-vs-flash/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/fredcavazza/2011/07/17/why-opposing-html5-and-flash-is-a-non-sense/

*I am sure there will be many more HTML5 posts on here as it evolves:)

Have yet to try this tool out but since its from Google, I assume it does what it says – convert Flash .swf files to HTML5 files for use on iPhone/iPad. Let me know how it works:

http://www.google.com/doubleclick/studio/swiffy/

However, the great thing is that the 3rd party software is pretty good, and opensource. One such software and probably the most popular is called Phonegap (http://phonegap.com/).

Now the main question is when will Apple and Android support HTML5 and allow everyone to publish these kind of apps without using 3rd party software? As of right now both google and apple are hard at work pushing their own agendas and leaving HTML5 is the dust – and yes I am aware that both companies say they support html5 but until they stop pushing C/C++ and Java as the only way to build their apps then I will argue they are not pushing HTML5.