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I was wondering how I would explain to a designer when to use CSS versus XSL?
It’s not enough to say that CSS is for styling HTML while XSL is for styling XML. XML can be styled by both CSS and XSL. One major difference of course is that XML can be used to transform XML documents into other XML or HTML documents while CSS is purely for style control. The W3C has promised that both languages will complement each other. My fingers are crossed.
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Prior to IE6, browsers built in non-standard rendering, without conforming to W3C recommendations With wider acceptance of standards, browsers began to operate in two modes – a ‘quirky’ mode called Quirks mode and a ‘standards’ mode. The former was used to support legacy pages. Quirks mode gets triggered if no DOCTYPE declaration is made at the start of a page. IE6 under Quirks mode does not make any behavioral changes. i.e. existing pages render unmodified. Under the STRICT DOCTYPE, IE7 will change behavior to be compliant with web standards (as far as possible). This is because IE7 has introduced new CSS functionality causing several CSS hacks to fail. In the IE blog on MSDN, the IE7 team recommends you review the following CSS hacks: html > body , * html - , head:first-child + body, head + body and body > element. (Note: An early preview of IE7 was given to PDC attendees and MSDN subscribers).
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Program Manager - Microsoft Expression "Quartz Web Designer"
Do you want to create the next generation of tools for professional web designers? Do you want to empower professional designers to create compelling user experiences? We are looking for a Program Manager passionate about multimedia and authoring technologies. Your job is to write specs and ship world class products that will take web site design to the next level. You will work closely with the FrontPage, Visual Studio and ASP.net teams and join an entrepreneurial team out to make a difference to the world of web design. The ideal candidate has at least four years of program management experience. Candidates must be comfortable working with web technologies such as XHTML, CSS, JavaScript and XSLT. The ability to work collaboratively across divisions is a must. A computer science degree or equivalent experience is preferred. Professional experience as a web designer or developer is a plus.
Apply for the Program Manager position
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Test Manager - Microsoft Expression "Quartz Web Designer"
Do you want to lead the test team for the next generation of web authoring tools? Do you want to empower professional designers to create compelling web experiences? We are looking for a “hands-on” Test Manager to drive the testing and quality assurance of a professional web authoring tool. Experience managing a team of 5 or more testers is required. We are looking for candidates with a minimum of three years of leadership experience testing complex projects using C++ and MFC. Managed code experience is a plus. The candidate must have a demonstrated track record of shipping projects and driving automation and innovations. Expertise with Internet technologies (such as XHTML, CSS, Jscript, XML and XSLT) is highly desirable. BS in Computer Science preferred. The key to our success in this cross product effort is cross-divisional teamwork, so we’re looking for strong team players.
Apply for the Test Manager position
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Software Design Engineer - Microsoft Expression "Quartz Web Designer"
Do you want to create the next generation of tools for professional web designers? Do you want to empower professional designers to create compelling user experiences? We are looking for a Software Development Engineer passionate about multimedia and authoring technologies. Your job is to own the programming and technical design for a tool aimed at professional web designers. You will not only provide technical leadership for your team but will also make individual contributions. The successful candidate will have a solid background in software development. We are looking for candidates with a minimum of four years of industry experience developing complex projects using C++ and MFC. C# sharp and managed development experience is a plus. Expertise with Internet technologies (such as XHTML, CSS, Jscript, XML and XSLT) is highly desirable. Strong knowledge of componentization and object-oriented design are desirable. BS in Computer Science preferred. The key to our success in this cross product effort is cross-divisional teamwork, so we’re looking for strong team players.
Apply for the Software Development Engineer job
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I was wondering why PNG has not managed to knock-out GIF images. The PNG home page offered an excellent summary of the reasons. For those still wondering why we should be bothered about PNG, here is an executive summary: The W3C has had a recommendation to use PNG for web images since 1996. PNG has a few advantages over GIF: alpha channels, gamma correction, two-dimensional interlacing and slightly better compression. PNG is also patent free.
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Why do I blog?
- To get customer input on features
How will readers benefit from my blog?
- Readers will get a channel for providing direct feedback to the Microsoft Expression Quartz program management team
I also use my blog as
- an outlet for my own creative expression.
- a means to learn new technologies (I learn a lot when I write about something)
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I downloaded the IE Developer Toolbar beta a few minutes ago. It is very cool. Lots of goodies...
My favorite tools so far are: the ability to outline table cells and the quick validators
Download the toolbar
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I typed click orange button in my search bar to see how many sites point to a button by its color. I was disappointed to see several results. Sec 508 of the United States Access Board recommends that all web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color. When colors are the sole method of identifying elements, people with color blindness or low vision are excluded. This does not mean that all pages have to be displayed in black and white. Text labels are a great complement to color oriented element pointers. A simple way to test compliance with this guideline is to print your page on a black and white printer.
Resources
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http://www.lighthouse.org/ --
the leader worldwide in helping people of all ages who are blind or partially sighted overcome the challenges of vision loss
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I am in the midst of reading ‘More Eric Meyer on CSS’ . The first chapter talks about the move to CSS based visual design. For example --
“…for years upon years – about eight of them as this is being written – we’ve been using tables and spacer images to lay out web pages. For the first part of all those years, it was the only way to create compelling visual design…when CSS came along, there began to be some hope that this trend might reverse…when CSS2 introduced positioning, the door was opened.”
I poked around some big name sites to see whether they use table or CSS based layout. Here’s what I found:
Examples of big name sites that use
I wonder what’s holding Microsoft, Yahoo and Google from converting to a full CSS based visual layout. Please correct me if I am wrong in my assumptions about Google and Yahoo using mainly Table based layout.
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A few days ago Business Week featured a story about Gap’s new chain, Forth & Towne. The company is betting that design – store design, will attract customers and make them happy. Gap’s goal is to create an environment where customers want to spend time. Gap is betting that shopping at its stores will become a ‘pleasurable communal experience’. Can Gap recreate a similar experience with their online sites? What does it take for an online retailer to (re)design their site and transform it into a pleasurable experience?
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The drum beat is getting louder for moving into the world of strict HTML or XHTML. Sites that get complacent with poor HTML will risk a poor user experience in modern day browsers, especially those on mobile hand-held devices. Mobile devices do not have the capability to interpret poor HTML. Sites without XHTML also risk poor interfaces to databases, other applications and accessibility standards. This morning I performed a quick and dirty validation analysis of some high traffic sites. I used the free online Validation Service offered by the W3C. Here are my results.
As expected, the Web Standards project emerged with an A+, not only passing validation but with a Strict DOCTYPE. IBM.com and microsoft.com also passed with flying colors albeit with Transitional DOCTYPES. I don’t think there are many sites out there that use Strict DOCTYPES. Sites that validate against Strict DOCTYPEs site means they are free of presentational clutter, with really clean markup. Cascading Styles Sheets provide separation between presentation and markup. This should be the goal for all websites especially the leading websites listed below. If you want to start making the move to XHTML, here are a couple of good case studies:
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Hello World! I work as the Group Program Manager for Microsoft Expression Web Designer (code named “Quartz”).
A few days ago a five year old asked me 'What does a Web Designer do'?
The definition of a Web Designer swirling in my head was far too complex for the five year to understand. I think of a Web Designer as someone who creates engaging experiences on the web. I think of Web Designers as professionals who help clients extend brands into the online world and empower clients to better serve employees or customers via the web. I didn't dare offer these definitions to the five year old.
Since I intend to serve Web Designers via “Quartz” for the next phase of my life, I realized at that moment that I need to get a more succinct definition of a Web Designer into my head -- not for the sake of the five year old but for my own sake. The best that I have been able to come up with so far is that Web Designers make the web fun and engaging to use. Web Designers are to a web site what a chef is to food.
But I blurted out to the kid – “A Web Designer makes computers fun and easy to use”.
I didn’t say ‘A Web Designer makes *websites* fun and easy to use because I didn't think the five year old would have understood the meaning of the word ‘website’ either. I replaced the word ‘website’ with the word computer because I think the web will soon become such an integral part of the computing experience that few will distinguish a computer from the web. This implies that Web Designers will be responsible for a consumer’s entire computing experience – not just the experience of launching a website in a separate browser.
The first version of “Quartz” will be a comprehensive toolkit to build standards based web sites that run in any web browser. But as the boundary between a web browser and the computer’s interface starts to blur, future versions of “Quartz” and other members of the Microsoft Expression family will provide a comprehensive toolkit to build end to end computing experiences.
When that happens, Web Designers will become ‘Experience Designers’.
P.S.
A brief bio about me -- I started as the Group Program Manager for Microsoft “Quartz” four weeks ago. Prior to this role, I worked as a lead Program Manager/Group Manager for products in Microsoft Office and MSN. Most recently I was the Business Manager for S. Somasegar (Soma) – VP for Microsoft’s Developer Division.
