Display the World Wide Web with HTML5

If you follow tech news, you’ve heard a bucketful about the virtual war between Apple and Adobe (makers of FLASH) over web design. Apple supports adopting HTML5 and Adobe still says FLASH is the thang. What’s it all about? Money and sales, of course, but here are some facts about how HTML5 may relate to your Internet experience in the near future.

Definitions HTML5 and FLASH

HTML is hyper text markup language, a fancy way of describing the coding tags web designers have used since the dark ages of webpages to make plain old text look fancy. HTML causes a browser to display specific or general colors, fonts, text styles, images, links, and everything else that goes into making webpages cool. HTML is part of the web page, a container for design elements.

FLASH is Adobe’s add-in program that causes web browsers to interpret video, animation, special effects, and interactivity. It was invented by Macromedia, a property of Adobe who makes Photoshop and other imaging software.

Like all things digital, HTML (and FLASH) goes through various iterations of itself as the powers-that-be adopt changes and improvements. The coming generation, being fiddled with now but not in wide use, is HTML5. Because the two platforms overlap in functionality, there’s an ongoing debate about which is better, HTML5 or FLASH, for cell phones, computers, etc. Apple’s Steve Jobs (CEO) is a master of calling attention to his company and so, has made it his hobby to bash FLASH and Adobe. This has no impact on us, as people.

The 10 facts about HTML5

I’ve been writing HTML code since, I don’t know, like 1998? and I like it. It’s easy to write, easy to use, and it’s an open-source platform. That means no one owns or controls HTML. So here’s how HTML5 will impact your coming experience.

1. Any designer, including you or me for our home pages, can do stuff like liquid particles without much learning curve.
2. Web users won’t have to download new versions of HTML5 like we do FLASH. Designers have to keep up on new tags. You just browse.
3. It won’t cost you anything to use it, write it, read it.
4. FLASH may have serious security issues. It’s doubtful that would ever be the case with HTML as a platform
5. HTML should be transparent to users (you and me) and has the potential to be read in any browser or adopted by any cell phone manufacturer.
6. Because it’s open source, it’s development as a platform will gain from contributions of some of the world’s brightest developers. No one has to hire them. The developers just contribute. We win.
7. Browsers will be backwards compatible – meaning old browsers will ignore new HTML5 tags they don’t understand and still provide you a usable website experience.
8. Embedding video in web pages will be easier and standardized so you can add video to your blog or page, play it on any browser, and enjoy more of it.
9. It may become possible for us to have web applications that run offline even if you do not have an active Internet connection running.
10. There will probably be lots more gadgets or mini-apps on the Web, just like those found for cell phones now, that you’ll be able to download and play with. Many will be free.

HTML5 vs Flash

At the end of this story is a simple fact. Right now, HTML5 isn’t doing much for you, but behind the scenes it’s maturing like a toddler in a growth spurt. Right now, browsers mostly don’t know what to do with it. Developers for Microsoft’s IE, the most ubiquitous web browser, need a swift kick in the template to get them moving on adopting HTML5 as current reality.

Safari is onboard, others are partially onboard.

FLASH is FLASH and it’s insecure, and can cause display problems.  Adobe seriously needs to tighten up FLASH and make it safer and more stable.

The future isn’t here yet, but HTML5 will be in it, and really, I can’t wait. In all likelihood, you and I will never make a webpage with FLASH, it’s too complicated. I can write HTML all day long and enjoy the process, and so could you if you picked up one reference book. I think HTML will be fun for designers and for users.

More cool digital stuff:

High tech design for U.S. currency

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Home theater on the cheap

Magic U.S. money - high tech changes

In 2011 you might be lucky enough to carry one of the most sophisticated currencies in circulation. The U.S. will, according to CBS News, change the one hundred dollar bill to do some virtual legerdemain. The casual observer may think her eyes are playing tricks on her as a liberty bell disappears from the face of the bill.

A CBS News report says:

Benjamin Franklin is still on the $100 bill, also known as C-note, but he has been joined by a disappearing Liberty Bell in an inkwell and a bright blue security ribbon composed of thousands of tiny lenses that magnify objects in mysterious ways. Move the bill and the objects move in a different direction.

Little liberty bells will change shape and appear to move. Various icons will color shift. Symbols will appear and disappear. Was this all about designers having a great time showing off their latest magic tricks?

It sounds pretty slick to us. The idea is to make sure counterfeiters are strongly challenged if they try to replicate that bill. Is it foolproof? Maybe not, after all, anything someone can think up, someone else can hack. But it’s an interesting use of technology. The question is, we suppose, is it an effective use of money, even hundred dollar bills, when our economy is still struggling and the U.S. budget groans with the staggering weight of Federal debt?

Guess it doesn’t matter. It’s a done deal. Do you think it’s a prudent move? After all, the hundred is nearly the only bill that hasn’t been duded up in the last ten years. the other is the single and it won’t be changing. Talk to us – what do you think about all this?

More digital news:

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Below is a review I did of a very expensive ($12K) hearing aid I tried out.

In the two years since then, I have stopped using that aid, for several reasons. It was too small and too delicate for everyday living. I was in the shop getting it fixed every week — only the doctor who sold it to me wanted to mess with it and I moved across country. It got pricey to keep having it worked on.

At one point, it got wedged in my ear canal and scared me to pieces. An audiologist fished it out, but said she sees this problem with the real tiny ones all the time. I switched to a normal, digital aid – not terribly expensive. Point is, though, if you can’t hear normally, go get some help.

Baby boomers are turning 50 at a rate of one every seven seconds and about a third of us have hearing loss, according to hearing statistics. For some reason, we’ve elected to practically ignore hearing loss. Only a fifth of people needing hearing assistance actually seek help. Last month, I got on board.

I’m deaf. Have been since my twenties.

My doctor said, “You’re profoundly deaf in your left ear. Can’t hear doo-doo in your right.”

For years, as my hearing declined, I’d noticed my husband developed a terrible mumble. My kids didn’t articulate. My friends were too loud. They all talked at once. I couldn’t tell who said what.

I waltzed myself into an audiologist’s office and said, “You guys, I need help.” I wondered if people would now think of me as an old fart.

Bionic hearing…aids

After negotiating with the Siemens Company to test their newest, highest-tech hearing instrument, I had selected audiologist Dr. Robin Pape of Spring Hill, FL.

They installed me in a soundproof room and showed me, digitally, the insides of my ears. Dr. Pape did beaucoup testing to develop a detailed printout. The Papes explained every test and graph, showing me how I compared to normal ranges.

We talked about my lifestyle and workstyle. They determined the hearing aid I had in mind was appropriate and fitted me with the Siemens Centra Active, rolled out in March 2007. They explained its capabilities. I felt like Jamie What’s-her-name, the bionic woman.

My grandma had a hearing aid – clunky and noisy. The thing weighed half a pound and could be turned up or down, sort of. It shrieked and whistled. Grandma turned it off more than she used it.

Mine – well, the instruments talk to each other, balancing the signal so my experience is always appropriate. They have 1.3 million adjustments for sound quality. They automatically squelch high wind noise. They monitor my environment, recording data to help the audiologist. They learn my environment, filtering sound that interferes with conversation. I can choose from three custom hearing modes selected with my small remote control.

These gems are rechargeable, as are many of today’s instruments, or can use regular batteries. The transmitters fit inside my ear canals – I don’t feel them. The unit over each ear is unnoticeable.

Modern hearing aids increase sounds of interest without discomfort from high intensity stuff like crinkling paper or breaking glass. It feels nice and easy, like smooth jazz.

They monitor and reduce feedback so if I move my jaw, there’s no ear-splitting scream (from the aids…). When I talk on the phone, the little buggers are real quiet.  Low frequencies or specific bands of sound can be controlled or enhanced so I hear clearer consonants – speech is more recognizable.

I can actually tell where sound originates. My microphones are directional. Ever try to figure out where a siren is when you’re driving and can’t hear well enough to discern that?

With new choices in hearing aids, something for every budget and every lifestyle, we baby boomers might rethink how we deal with hearing loss. Want to know more? Try HearingResearch.org.

Computers get slower as they get older. You can tune up your own computers, and regain some youthful speed, without spending any money. Here’s a do it yourself computer solution checklist to save your budget in tough economical times.

Computer tune up time. Tune ups can seem like a headache but do-it-yourself computer tune ups are not intimidating if you follow simple steps simple steps. There isn’t a magic button to make slow laptops and computers run as slickly as they once did, but these quick tips, used weekly,  will speed up and tune up computers, either laptop or desktop. It works for most op systems on PCs, not MACs. I’ve tested the steps on Windows 7.

Computer Tune Up Instructions for Windows XP Home or Pro

Most of these can easily be adapted for Win 2000 or Windows Vista.

1. Pare down the often bloated Start Up items list so it needn’t run unnecessary programs when it tries to boot up. MSconfig, a program which is already installed, allows user selections of which programs run when Windows opens. A excelelnt web site called, Netsquirrel.com offers a concise walk through of locating and using the MSCongif program in any windows system
2. Safely cleanup the hard drive. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup. Uncheck the last item on the checklist that pops up, Compress Files.and click ok.
3. Configure Window Update to bring you patches and fixes automatically from Microsoft. this means the security updates will always be installed to protect from outside invasion. Go to Start, Run. Type the phrase sysdm.cpl and then hit Enter. Choose Automatic under the Automatic Updates tab.
4. Download the instructions and maintenance programs from SaveMyButt . Follow their instructions like a religion – they check out the safety of every program. All the programs they recommend are free and each is worth its weight in stress free computing.
5. Defragment the hard driveso files are optimized and Windows can find them faster. Follow the same path laid out above in Step 1. Choose to run Disk Defragmenter this time. Choose Defragment when the program opens. (The process may take up to an hour).

These simple and effective steps should go a long way to cutting out the computer bloat, sort of the way a tune-up makes an older car engine purr. Those who feel ambitious and really want to get into trimming down the system fat, can Google more ways to make XP run faster. there are many.

Users must be certain they know what they’re doing before attempting any advance tricks. It’s never a good idea to delete a file unless the user is 100% sure of. its reason for being.

Maryan Pelland is an experienced computer professional who teaches corporate and senior users how to keep up with technology. She writes for a number of technical publications and ghost writes tech books. These tips are part of her regular course material.

The copyright of the article Fast, Free Computer Tune Up, first appeared in PC Software/OS and is owned by Maryan Pelland. Permission to republish Fast, Free Computer Tune Up in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.