XML & HTML - Peeping into this relationship...

Having decided to concentrate in the web, ive been in a search for a technology which enables me to put some dynamic data into my webpages without having to go too far into complex database packages like Oracle, SQL and all. Having met XML, i think the search is almost over for me now ! XML - Xtensible Markup Language, can be efficiently used with html, to create some brilliant user experience. This language is actually for managing the data and we can display it through HTML, XSL. It as all other languages is an ocean and the key is to master those parts of the technology that you need and which are of most use for yourself in effectively increasing the speed of workflow, and im just trying to do that with this language. Right now im referring XML bible, and once i get the technical parts right, i shall be in a position to enter the league of XML pros....hopefully and expect more useful posts from me related to this new technology also from me.

Adieu Tables.....Enter the CSS

It seems that the era of tables will be meeting its end sooner or later. With the advent of CSS, the tabular way of layouting is no longer considered professional. The DIV tag is starting to dominate the web all over. But there is room for the tables, due to the robust and precise output that they give and that is the reason that they are surviving the war with CSS. But speaking technically, CSS layouts using div tags are preferred over tables, coz of their flexibility. You include all the formatting and layouting parameters in the css file and just place the data in tags in the html, and whenever you need a change in theme or even the whole layout, voila......it all can be done in seconds...thats the power of using CSS in designing layouts. Also, tables stand valid for laying out tabular data and that is wat table is meant for. So, no more spacer images......or table hacks...lets be a part of the transition from tables to CSS. HAIL CSS !! HAIL DIV !! But we remember you, sweet TABLES ;-) !

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) | beware of this injury !

Just went through an article that says about this health problem that most designers face with. Its Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), which results of repetitive actions that are inevitable for designers like the usage of mouse and hands to do repetitive tasks. Have a luk at this article and you will find how to take precautionary measures to avoid this.

Best ever css tutorial ive come across !

This is simply awesome. The tutorial flow and the content here in this css tutorial is really superb. A gr8 thing to start with for css aspirants http://css.maxdesign.com.au/selectutorial/index.htm http://friendlybit.com/css/beginners-guide-to-css-and-standards/

Unlocking the treasures of vector illustration

Its been sometime, ive given some quality time to unlock my skills in vector illustration. It was an unopened door and ive never tried to venture to those areas of design. This weekend gave me some inspirational thoughts and some quality time to start experimenting my skills in illustration. Just got amazed how easy it was to make an appealing illustration with a lil bit of eye for details and a load of patience. I successfully did 2 illustrations and uploaded it in my portfolio section in my portfolio site. Have a luk at them in www.mysticpixels.net/portfolio.htm Now on ill be working to improve my vector illustrating skills. :-)

2advanced crosses the flash barrier with DDL

Was going deep into the v.5 of 2advanced official site. They just amazes me with the amount of hardwork and innovation being included in each of their work. This one is a real stunner for the entire flash community. This time, we have to gaze into the usage of technology in the site rather than the jazzy animations that used to be their primary weapon. They have literally crossed the barrier of flash usability hurdles when compared to a html site. 'Use' the site, and you will find that it behaves like an html site, with all functionalities of a browser available, despite being a complete flash site. They have made the site to communicate with the browser using some groundbreaking technologies. After going through the case studies given in the site which is basically a behind the scene article, i came to knwo that they have developed a modular sub-system called DDL(Dynamic Deep Linking), that enables the flash movies to commnicate with the user's browser, which are believed to be impossible in a flash site. Now we can use the history, back, forward buttons, create bookmarks, etc, without returning to the start of the movie. Another breathtaking innovation done by these guys are XML data caching, where the browser requests for data are processed from an XML file that is already cached in the user's system, which reduces the overall time taken and increases the user experience. Really amazing are these guys and lets get inspired from the leaders and let some revolutionary design be born. Cheers...

Web2.0 continues to amaze me...

This new buzzword in the internet world has been amazing me for months. Sorry, i cudnt post any interesting titles about it. Now, i feel its time i say some of my views too about it. Its all about smart handling of information and there is nothing new in this as far as technologies are concerned. But we can see a large difference in the usability, user interaction and other factors in these new web apps tat comes branded as an application of web2.0. Let me put forward some examples. 'Delicious' - is an amazing application of web2.0, in which we can organise, maintain the bookmarks based on tagging system. This types of applications are user centric. ie, users play an important part in the contents of these apps. For instance, in delicious, we can post a link and organise it under a tag, that we think is suitable for that particular link. Now, the application is having a centralised database where it compares our entry with the millions of other entries by other users and allocate a priority to it, or give a sort of rank to that link tat denotes its popularity among the users. Basically we will be classifying the links under tags. These tags are the main factors for identifying a link here. We can Classify a link in more than one tag, thus increasing the meaningfulness and easiness to organise a link. There are a lot of applications like this which serve different purposes. Flickr - online photo sharing app, digg - online news system, listible - links posted by users, suprglu - bringing all web2.0 information in one page based on ur username. These are some of my favs. But there are heck a lot of web2.0 apps working now. Will try to post some useful information about them. Cheers

Usability...What it is?

Came to know about a new field of design(wonder if its new....but yes it is for me ;-)) called 'USABILITY'. Just trying to know something about this. Went through some links from a senior's blog. This basically deals with the user experience with the application/website whatever it is and would need a gud understandign about the users of the respective scenarios. Its basically making the web more usable. Am exploring more about this. Any comments would be appreciated...

A link a day keeps the doctor away...

Pals, this is the new found proverb that tell about the importance of links in this world of information. Just how important this four letter word have become in our daily life! I would say that the primary skill that a netizen shud have in order to effectively use the information highway to his use, will have to be the ability to identify and manage useful links that may lead to a goldmine of information....virtually! Was just trying to find out about a topic out of curiosity, and just ended up with a blog that had almost all the needed links for me to understand the topic. Amazed by the power of the web, in the way it excels to provide us with the vital information, im wondering whats the ultimate capability of this highway..? I think its infinite...yes web comes with infinite possibilities. So, the next time you are short of an information, remember....the link is waiting for you to explore.use the web to its fullest and you may experience some really unexpected changes in your life....yes believe me, its true !!! Cheers......

The leaders show the way once again - 2advanced in its new luk!

From time immemorial, the designer community have been fascinated by the skills and the out of the box concepts exhibited by 2advanced designs. They continue to fascinate the designers worldwide. Now its in the form of their latest version of site.....'attractor'. This version boasts of the best ever usage of latest web technologies and design in flash, and is company's best version of their website launched ever. The notable thing is that they made the community wait in the pinpoint for their launch, by introducing a cracked design of their previous version. All the hoax beginned on 26th of may when the studio uploaded a design of their then current version, which was cracked all over and seemed like 2advanced was being hacked by somebody ;-)....they made all teh designers extremely keen for the new version and atlast after 2 or 3 days, they lauched the version 'attractor', which is not only a feast to the eyes but also, have exhibited a great blending of technologies and have once again showed the community how the limits can be challenged... Now about the new design..as far as the traditional 2a style is concerned, they have made a different approach here. Now we cant see the jazzy..dynamic animations that adored the 2a sites for long. They have given more importance to the content here and have made effective usage of dynamic content technologies like XML etc... The bg of the site is a classic, done by eric jordan himself. They are really cool. But i fear the latest 2a site id meant only for the high speed users and it that heavy.... Another great thing done by them was the launch of theri new official blog site - 'www.plat4m.com'. Lets draw inspiration frm the emperors and lets move on.....

Flash video - how easy it is with the Flash8

Ive been working with some flash videos, and was making some R&D on the topic. Found out how easily video can be deployed to web using the all new flash8 and Dreamweaver8. Basically there are mainly 2 types in which u can present a video on the web, as Progressive download video, or a Streaming video. The progressive Dload videowill be dloaded to the user's Hard disk and wil be played even before it completes its dload, unless the user stops the dload process. The streaming video will be played directly from the server and no dloading to the client machine. There are a lot more issues to be uncovered. Will be updating on all those.... Cheers!