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Monday, April 19, 2004
Glorious Blue
Once again, Brightwind is blessed with a suitable design. I am pleased. I can rest…
But first let me share: one of the things I have learned from designing my own websites is that you have to be very patient with your computer. Sometimes you come up against strange problems, where the code you’ve written works fine in a reasonable web browser, but when you load it up in the browser most people use, then things look inexplicably unlike what you intended.
You could, of course, just write code with only that most popular browser in mind, but then it would look strange in all the other browsers. You have to remember that many people use an alternative operating system, and the most common browser, that is the version with most of the problems, is only available on windows. To compensate for this, most of the alternative systems and browsers try to adhere to a set of web page coding standards, so that people like me just have to write one set of code and can feel relatively confident that most of it will look the same no matter what system someone is using.
Of course, web pages can be extremely complicated, and various systems’ web browsers have bugs, so things don’t always work out like you would have hoped. But the fact that they make a strong effort to adhere to these standards goes a long way to make the web designer’s life easier. Unfortunately, Microsoft has neglected to update their Internet Explorer at the same speed as other systems’ browsers, so the poor program you are most likely to be using has many problems that have been lingering around for years. If you try to design according to these standards I mentioned, Internet Explorer quickly begins to feel like the old, broken-down car you have to take to work everyday. You spend more time fixing problems with it than actually using it. (If you’re using a windows computer, by the way, fear not—other, much better browsers are available to you, and offer you many more interesting features too.)
So anyway, there I am, studying the code for hours, trying to figure out why Internet Explorer doesn’t like it. Finally, at three in the morning, I have to give up for the night and try to sleep even though I have unfinished problems to solve. I hate that feeling—trying to sleep with unfinished creative work to do.
But then in the morning, I look at it again, and new ideas come to me. I see new possibilities that were not there the night before. It seems like just a few little tweaks and the whole thing starts to look okay no matter which browser I use.
So one moral of this story is that more and more people can use better browsers and allow a better experience both for themselves and for web designers.
And the other moral is that being patient and giving yourself all the time you need to work something out is really the fastest way to do it. Banging your head against problems late into the night leaves you with a sore head and the same amount of problems to solve in the morning. Letting it be for a while saves you both the headache and the lack of sleep.
Brightwind News • David's Life • Weblogs • (44) Trackbacks • Permalink
Saturday, April 03, 2004
Mostly Updated
Okay, I think that the site is basically about ready. I have fixed a number of the major problems, such as broken links and so on. In the coming week, I’ll still have to upload all the old pictures and adjust the coding behind a number of old entries, but overall, this new site is pretty much ready to go.
I’ve got something of new design, and I would very much like to hear your ideas about it. It should be a little faster than the old design, because it’s lighter on images, but it’s also got more simple white space. Did you like the look of the site as it was a couple weeks ago better? Those of you outside China should be able to access the old site at this address, in case you’d like to compare. If you do prefer the old one, I think I should be able to change it back again. I’d very much like to see what you think. Please leave comments if you have an opinion.
As far as plans for the future are concerned, I plan to open a section for image galleries once the plugin for that is released by pmachine (again, for visitors outside China, the old galleries are still available). I may also open another section for stories, like storysphere on the old site.
Brightwind News • David's Life • Weblogs • (1) Trackbacks • Permalink
Thursday, December 04, 2003
3 Interesting Resources
These days I’m battling a head cold… my whole world feels a little bit dizzy and slower than everyone else’s. Even though it has all but arrested my brain, I still entertain high dreams for this website.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with everything from the style of the content I write for Brightwind to the style of the page itself. On the days that I haven’t been posting to this site, I’ve been rearranging everything for it on my computer. I’m also planning to expand it in a number of ways. I hope to be able to have everything ready soon.
But until my brain is back to a real functioning condition, I thought I would share the following interesting websites with you:
“WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it’s here. We only need to put the pieces together.”
“Metafilter is a weblog that anyone can contribute a link or a comment to. A typical weblog is one person posting their thoughts on the unique things they find on the web. This website exists to break down the barriers between people, to extend a weblog beyond just one person, and to foster discussion among its members.”
“Jugglezine: An unassuming e-zine about balancing work and life.”
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