End of Unit 1 Term 10 / CSS3 and IE

Hello everybody,

End of Unit 1 Term 10

I have come to the end of the first unit of the new term.  As always, there was a great deal of reading and learning how each individual course is run.  For this reason, I am glad to see Unit 2 here.  I will be beginning my Flash narrative this week, and will be getting an overview of Technology Infrastructure.  I finished the storyboard, and believe I have come up with an interesting and meaningful concept.  Essentially, I am going to create a digital narrative describing the process involved in returning to some semblance of a normal life after becoming disabled.  As I have recently begun working on my physical health at the gym (2 weeks and feeling better all the time), I felt it was important to revisit the feelings and obstacles I have overcome to reach my present state.  I know my limitations now, and am not being held back any longer by surgeries and self-doubt.  With this said, after the term ends, the Flash narrative will be incorporated into my personal Website in order to inspire others, while at the same time showing myself how far I have come and why I must keep going.  I find it much easier to put all I have into my work when it is meaningful to myself, or may benefit others.

CSS3 and IE

While going along with my daily routine of waking up and reading interesting Web Design/Development articles posted by Smashing Magazine on Twitter (nice plug if I do say so myself), I came across two specific articles related to new developments in CSS3.  Upon reading these articles, and getting excited about all of the new possibilities, especially in creating columns and how backgrounds will display, I noticed a very disturbing trend.  None of the new properties discussed within the articles are supported by IE.  Now, I had heard this before, but had never really seen any concrete evidence to support the claims.  However, after seeing it written in different articles with different authors, I have received all the convincing I need that the allegations are true.  This is a significant problem, as IE still has 60% of the market share.  Therefore, IE is holding Web Designers, and Web Design as a whole, back by not conforming to standards, and at the same time, depriving its users of improved Websites with necessary components.  We can learn about all of the new advancements in CSS, but cannot actually use them except in the case of creating browser-specific Websites, which is itself a rarity.  The funny thing is, Microsoft keeps asking itself why they are losing more of the browser market share with each passing year.  By remaining stubborn about conforming to standards, and supporting new technological advancements, they are hurting themselves, and anybody that comes into contact with IE.  I hope for the sake of Web Design that this trend changes soon.  Otherwise, Web Designers will be stuck using the same old techniques and properties to create their sites, and users will remain viewing the same sites for a long period of time with nothing new and exciting to discuss and enjoy.

Have a great day,

David L. Greer, Jr.