Tech Blog

Very interesting question for the iPad is almost a mix between a laptop and a smart phone.  So, do you need to develop a specific site for the iPad?  Well, usually no, and here’s why.

The iPad has a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 which is the standard that most web designers build their sites for.  Does this mean that iPad can do whatever my laptop can do?  No, it basically means no radical changes are needed unless you have a full Flash site or inner Java scrolling (which I found out from my own site).

So, yeah there are limitations, but not much.  Flash for sure is a no-no which focusing on iPad or iPhone compatible sites.  For more information on the Flash/Apple issue, read my post here.

Netcompose.com for example looks pretty good on the iPad.  However, the home page 3D images (3 in the middle) don’t come out because, yes, it’s Flash.  Everything else however looks great!

If your a web developer an want to look more into the specs of an iPad, you can do so here: http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/.

Other than Flash and some Java inner scrolling items, just about everything else works well.  I personally have an iPad and love it!  Granted I have found some of the limitations of not being to use Flash and other things, but the pros for sure out weigh the cons!

Should you build a site specific to the iPad?  Well, not really.  If your site is in Flash I would recommend building a “copy” site that is in HTML/CSS.  To be honest, technology is changing.  HTML5, CSS3, Javascripting, and more technologies really start pushing the need for Flash out the window.  I personally love the way Flash looks but don’t recommend developing a site in it.

Very interesting topic i discoverd on Apples website today.  A fairly large size box entitled “Thoughts On Flash” appeared on the bottom left corner.  I find this interesting because I have an iPad and iPhone so Flash is desirable for such devices.  We are many years (tech years) into the famous iPhone and still no Flash!  Well, here are some excerps from Steve’s article:

“Adobe’s Flash products are 100% proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc. While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system.

Apple even creates open standards for the web. For example, Apple began with a small open source project and created WebKit, a complete open-source HTML5 rendering engine that is the heart of the Safari web browser used in all our products. WebKit has been widely adopted. Google uses it for Android’s browser, Palm uses it, Nokia uses it, and RIM (Blackberry) has announced they will use it too. Almost every smartphone web browser other than Microsoft’s uses WebKit. By making its WebKit technology open, Apple has set the standard for mobile web browsers.

Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn’t use a mouse, and there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?

Conclusions.

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.

New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.

Steve Jobs
April, 2010″

read more here >

Interesting eh? Well I would assume all hope for Flash coming out on the iPhone or iPad is pretty SOL.  However, although I am a Flash developer, I haven’t had a Flash project for quite sometime now.  I have had many projects utilizing Jquery and advanced Javascripting which works great!  This not only allows SEO integration (Flash and Google don’t work together too well) but it also allows nice transitions and animations!  This site, NetCompose.com, many think acts like a Flash site but actually all the animation is handled by Javascripting and Jquery (Jquery is also Javascript).  So, yes, I can view this site on an iPhone or iPad.

These devices are getting more and more popular and if you own one you know why.  Therefore I think it hurts Adobe more than Apple at this point.  If Adobe was to come out with a Flash standard that didn’t need plugins, proprietary software, etc.  They may still get in the compatibility window in time.

Okay, well if you haven’t heard an employee of Apple inadvertently left a new iPhone 4G prototype in a restroom in California.

Well, before I go into this you may wonder what does this have to do with Net Compose?  In short, Net Compose is an advocate for bleeding edge technology for we even use iPhones to deliver maximum service for our clients.  So, does a new iPhone grab our attention.  Yes, but a brand new version different than the others makes it even more interesting.  Not to mention the fact on how it got into the hands of Gizmodo (a popular tech blog).

So, where were we…  Ah yes, the iPhone left in a bar ended up in the hands of Brain Lam, director of Gizmodo, and he decided to let us in on the new gadget.  The new iPhone was disguised in a traditional looking 3G case so that onlookers didn’t know it was the new iPhone 4G (not sure if that’s going to be the final name).  Brian posted images and a video of this new device.  Impressive to say the least but is this the real thing or a phony iPhone (iPhoney they’re calling it)?

Well, it looks legit.  Especially since Apple actually sent a letter to Gizmodo asking for the phone back.  Why would they want a phony iPhone back?  So, yes, I’m sure it’s the real thing.  So, coming this summer stay tuned to see if the new iPhone with its camera both in front and back (video conferencing), a flash, and sleek new design actually ends up what Gizmodo says it to be.

HTML5 is the next version of the main programming markup language, HTML or HyperText Markup Language is still used for main browser based website rendering.  Although Net Compose mainly programs sites in PHP, HTML combined with CSS is still the main method for what you see on your browser.

One of the big pluses about HTML5 is the no longer needed plugins for some of the main technologies like Flash,  MS Silverlight, and more.  Using more common tags today like <nav> or <footer> are ways to make development better for HTML5 sites.  Whats also interesting is some of the older HTML tags like <font> and <center> are being dropped since they are handled more by CSS.

In addition to specifying markup, HTML5 specifies scripting application programming interfaces (APIs). Existing document object model (DOM) interfaces are extended and de facto features documented. There are also new APIs, such as:

• The canvas element for immediate mode 2D drawing
• Timed media playback
• Offline storage database
• Document editing
• Drag-and-drop
• Cross-document messaging
• Browser history management
• MIME type and protocol handler registration.

Some of the new features are part of HTML5 mainly because there are no volunteers to split HTML5 and maintain separate specifications of these features.^[8]

According to the W3C timetable, it is estimated that HTML5 will reach W3C Recommendation by late 2010. However, the First Public Working Draft estimate was missed by 8 months, and Last Call and Candidate Recommendation were expected to be reached in 2008, but as of April 2010 HTML5 is still at Working Draft stage in the W3C. HTML5 has been at Last Call in the WHATWG since October 2009.

Well, I started another new site for Net Compose, again.  I know, I can’t make up my mind.  Whats interesting in my projects, both internal and client based, most of the development are customized CMS solutions.  This site too is a customized WordPress solution.  It’s no wonder why more and more clients are going this route.  Since a CMS site is ideal for clients to edit their own content, I can see the appeal.

However, the other side of the coin is development.  Yeah, it’s true that customizing a WordPress or Concrete5 solution may be quicker than building from scratch, but I’ve done some pretty heavy customizing.  From user profiles that are unqiue and editable by that user, to video blogging, and much more.  Granted, WP can handle these, but sometimes I ask myself “should I just build this from raw PHP”?  Well, either way if I embark on the fully customized solution, that is, building the site from scratch and not using a CMS solution, the client is in a way tied to Net Compose maintaining the site.  So, I want my clients to have that freedom.

So, I guess the future of development gets more and more customizing turn key solutions, which is okay.  The bottom line is (I use that term a lot) I offer cutting edge solutions, not proprietary, unnecessary, bloated, solutions.