In This Issue...
![]()
Editor's ViewPoint
A Final Farewell To Sparkie
![Saz249]()
A little while ago Sherice (Sparkie) announced that she would be
stepping down from her position as Design Team Leader, as other commitments
meant that she could no longer devote the time needed to continue in that role.
Last week, her successor was announced and Sherice handed over her badge.
It's going to be a strange place without Sherice (she's been here for much
longer than I!), but I can understand her reasons for leaving. We wish you all
the very best in everything, Sherice. We will miss you.
On the flip-side of the coin, we have a new Team Leader to celebrate. URAlly,
many congratulations! The blue badge suits you so much more than the green
one!
Happy reading...
Saara Ord (Saz249)
SitePoint Community Crier Editor
![Top]()
![]()
What's New?
The Marketplace Gets A Re-Vamp
For those who haven't noticed, the Marketplace received a face-lift last
week.
We're hoping that the changes will ensure that this popular
section of the forums is used and enjoyed by as many members as possible.
Review the Marketplace synopsis here, and let us know what
your thoughts are.
Member Of The Month!
Once again, we're proud to announce a new Member of the Month. From all of
the SitePoint Forums staff, congratulations to Colin (fatnewt), our Member of the Month for October 2004!
As usual, we took the opportunity to get to know Colin a little better.
Read Colin's interview and post your congratulations here.
![Top]()
![]()
Team Tips
sIFR
What is sIFR?
sIFR (scalable Inman Flash
Replacement) is a technique that replaces text on a Web page with a Flash
equivalent using _javascript_. It was first thought up late in 2003 by Shaun Inman and was improved
upon by Inman, Thomas
Jogin, and Mike
Davidson. Many Websites across the Internet have now implemented it, such
as ABC News.
Why sIFR?
sIFR was created to address the lack of
good typography on the Web. When working with HTML, a Web author is limited to
a handful of fonts that are installed on the majority of the world's computers,
such as Georgia or Arial. One of Flash's features is the ability to embed
nonstandard fonts in a Web page. If you're working on a site where the client's
requirements call for a specific typeface, sIFR might be a technique you would
want to use. Unlike using images, recent advances in Flash technology allow
text to be selected within Flash movies for operations like copy/paste. sIFR
can also scale with the user's font size settings in their browser, thanks to
Flash's vector-based nature. Thus, the Flash text will get larger if the user's
font size is set to larger than normal, unlike images, which would stay the
same size.
Why not sIFR?
sIFR has plenty
of benefits, but there are also drawbacks to its use. Its main drawback is the
requirement of both _javascript_ and Flash to work properly. However, if neither
_javascript_ nor Flash is enabled in a user's browser, the script will abort
itself and, instead, users will be presented with regular HTML text in the font
you specified in your stylesheet.
Another drawback is that text
selection doesn't work like regular text selection in a browser. If you select
all text on a Webpage (for example, by hitting ctrl+A in Internet Explorer on
Windows), the Flash text will not appear to be selected, though it will appear
if you copy the text and paste it somewhere else. This does lead to a bit of a
usability problem: you never really know what you selected.
Overuse
of sIFR on a Web page can also cause performance issues. If it's only called on
one or two headings, there won't be a noticeable difference over HTML text, but
if sIFR is used on every heading on a page it could lead to a considerably
longer loading time. Use sIFR where it matters, but don't overdo it by laying
Flash over large sections of your pages.
The final problem is
inherent to Flash and not necessarily sIFR. If your Flash text is a link, it
will not show the link location in the browser's status bar as a regular link
would. This causes a big usability problem for which there is currently no
workaround other than to avoid using sIFR on linked text, or to use a
combination of ActionScript and _javascript_ in your Flash file to report the
target URL to the browser status bar, which causes even more overhead.
Conclusion
sIFR can come in handy when the
client's site calls for a certain look and feel that cannot be attained with
HTML alone. However, as it's still a work in progress and has some drawbacks
over the reliable HTML and CSS combination, use it sparingly and only where
necessary. For more information on what is needed to implement sIFR and a more
general overview, head to Mike Davidson's
blog entry on the subject.
Vinnie Garcia - Design Team Advisor
![Top]()
![]()
Staff Profile
Simon Jobling - Design Team Mentor
Username: Bigsi
~ How did you get started on the Internet?
Way back in
the early days (well, '96 anyway) I was invited to stay with my uncle in Tokyo
for a school summer break. He got me a job in his IT department at Rover Japan
where I was basically helping to sort a few projects out. Out of office hours,
I discovered his home Internet connection and went mad on it. I decided I
wanted a piece of the action, so when I got home I bought a Dummies Guide to
the Web and started learning.
~ Can you explain your username
and why you chose that one?
Not much to it really -- I have
fads with nicknames and pseudonyms (there have been a fair few) and seeing as
I'm "big-boned", it just cropped up when I was registering. I kind of
like the way "bigsi" looks, too, for some odd reason.
~ What are your favorite topics with Web Design?
I'm
really into the Web
Standards Project at the moment and all my work is Standards-based now. I
finished an Interactive Multimedia degree last year (got 2:1!) and that allowed
me to experiment with virtually all aspects of multimedia, rather than just
Web. I like to think I've got my finger in all the multimedia pies, but my main
area of expertise is XHTML, CSS, ASP and Flash.
~ How did you
come across SitePoint?
It seems ages ago now but my profile
says it was only June 2002. During my degree, I took an industrial year with a
Web design company in Birmingham. In that job, I learned a lot about problem
solving and one of the best resources I found for this was forums. I used to
hang around the UK magazine [EMAIL PROTECTED]'s forum (now deceased!) and then I
discovered SP and its hoards of Web pro's. I was hooked and never looked
back.
~ What made you stay at the SitePoint Forums?
I think most people who answer this question say the same but
it’s just a genuinely friendly community. Aside from the vast amount of
knowledge that lingers around, I find I get along with the majority of members
I speak to. It's amazing to think this Website brings so many people together
from around the globe, all with a similar interest.
~ What do
you do in real life?
I'm thankful to have a job in what I enjoy
-- Web design. I work for the local Fire Service on their intranet and Website.
Out of work, I like to spin some tunes on my decks (mostly funky house) and I
have a keen interest in Derby County Football Club (you may have noticed the
Super Rams link in my sig). I don't actually "do" much in real life
as I'm normally knackered by the time I get home from work, but most my social
hours are spent in a pub or club somewhere. I'm also getting married to my
fiancé Elizabeth next summer who I have been seeing for 4 years now.
~ Anything else you'd like to tell us?
Just to say
thanks for the recent upgrade to Mentor status. It was a great honour to be
offered the position and I hope I'm living up to expectations. Thank you...
thank you! (Queue huge round of applause.)
URL: www.simonjobling.com
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
![Top]()
![]()
Computer Corner
New iTunes!
Unfortunately, we must interrupt the worldwide iPod love-fest to complain a
bit.
Hey, Apple! What's going on?! The very useful app “iPod Download”
made our iPod 10 times better -- we were finally able to easily get music off
it. Since we’ve updated iTunes to version 4.7, however, it doesn’t
work at all.
C’mon guys, this is our music, on our iPod!
FrozenToast - Community Team Mentor
![Top]()
![]()
Support Our Sponsors:
Don't forget to check out our current sponsors:
HostingZOOM
Get 1000 MB of Web space and 40 GB of transfer with cPanel w/fantastico,
Urchin 5, and a free Website building tool. Don't get stuck on an old, slow
server. For maximum performance, all of our servers run Dell Dual Xeon 2.8GHz
processors, 4 GB of ram with SCSI hard drives to give your site a boost. Try
us risk free for 30 days!
GearHost.com
eReliable
Web hosting with GearHost starts at $8.95 per month. Sign up today and get 1
month free! All accounts include features such as .NET, ASP, ColdFusion, MSSQL,
Perl, and PHP support, multi-domain hosting, instant activation, 24/7 support,
and a control panel.
BudsInc
Looking
for a new network? Serving too many defaults? Maybe you just need a
dependable network paying on a Net 30? Whatever your needs try BUDS Media
for your entire inventory. Competitive payouts, 100% fill rate, opt in/out of
campaigns and overall categories.
Editize
At last! A
TextArea replacement for Content Management Systems.
![Top]()
![]()
Dan's "Bit-At-The-End"
Voted yet?
Time flies but it's been 2 whole weeks since the candidates for the awards were
announced and the polls opened. This means that, by the time you read this, you
will only have a week -- yes, just a single week -- left until the polls close
and your chance to make a difference will have passed.
So, if you were putting it off and intended to come back and vote at a later
date, that time is now -- go vote!
Dan Morgan
Assistant Editor
![Top]()
![]()
This edition of the SitePoint Community Crier was brought to you by the SitePoint
Community Team: Saz249, Sarah, Dan Morgan, Ingoal, PalmerB, zoo,
FrozenToast, Toly and Aes.
![Top]()
![]()
Help Your
Friends Out
People
you care about can benefit from the wealth of information on new
and maturing technologies available on the Internet. Help them
learn
how to do it by forwarding them this issue of the SitePoint
Community Crier!
![Top]()
|
