Rapid Prototyping with Sinatra
03 Mar 04:08
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If youre a web designer or developer, youre well acquainted with prototyping. From raw wireframing to creating interfaces in Photoshop, designers map out how sites will work before they create them. Over the past few years, the protoyping process has changed significantly. With browser makers generally agreeing on web standards and the rise of tools such as Firebug and WebKits web inspector, we can sometimes skip Photoshop and go straight to the browser. Plus, JavaScript frameworks like jQuery let us play with browser events with only a few lines of code. But what if we need to do even more? As websites increasingly become web apps, we now need to prototype backend functionality, too. Learn how Sinatra, a so-called micro web framework, helps you create real (albeit simple) web apps extremely fast, letting you prototype flows and behavior you may want to integrate into a final product.
Web Cryptography: Salted Hash and Other Tasty Dishes
03 Mar 04:08
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One of the most powerful security tools available to web developers is cryptographyessentially a process by which meaningful information is turned into random noise, unreadable except where specifically intended. A web developer working on an underpowered netbook in his basement now has access to cryptosystems that major governments could only have dreamed of a few decades ago. And ignorance of cryptography is not bliss. You may think your web apps profile is too low to worry about hackers, but attacks are frequently automated, not targeted, and a compromise of the weakest system can often give access to better-protected systems when people re-use passwords across multiple sites. Learn the three broad categories of cryptosystems that commonly relate to web applications and begin strategizing how to make your site secure.
Designing Web Registration Processes for Kids
03 Mar 04:08
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Designing websites for kids is a fascinating, challenging, rewarding, and exasperating experience: Youre trying to create a digital experience for people who lack the cognitive capacity to understand abstraction; to establish brand loyalty with people who are influenced almost exclusively by their peers; and to communicate subjective value propositions to people who can only see things in black-and-white. Fortunately, its possible to create a successful registration process for these folks with an understanding of how their brains work. Debra Levin Gelman explores how to design effective registration forms for kids based on their context, technical skills, and cognitive capabilities.
Cross Platform Scalable Vector Graphics with svgweb
03 Mar 04:08
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Pity Scalable Vector Graphics. Its been an official standard since before IE6 was released yet has never found much of an audience on the web, certainly not the one it deserves. Just as SVG was starting to establish some browser support, along came the canvas tag, stealing the thunder of dynamically generated client-side images. Yet despite all the attention being paid to canvas, theres still a place for SVG, particularly for developers looking to replace plug-ins like Flash for data visualization. Unlike canvas or other script-only approaches, SVG can be easily divided into design and code elements, with just a little code to add interactivity. It even works on devices like the iPad and iPhone. And now, thanks to svgweb and a clever use of Flash, it works on older platforms no one could have ever imagined supporting SVG. Jim Ray shows how.
Sketching: the Visual Thinking Power Tool
03 Mar 04:08
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You dont have to be a great singer to write a great songjust ask Bob Dylan. Likewise, you neednt be a Leonardo to draw your way to more and better ideas. Sketching helps you generate concepts quickly, exploring alternatives rapidly and at no cost of resources. The looseness of a sketch removes inhibitions, granting clients and colleagues permission to consider and challenge the ideas it represents. Mike Rohde outlines the practice, surveys the tools, and shares ways to become confident with this method of brainstorming, regardless of your level of artistic ability.
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Sirhan Sirhan denied parole in 1968 RFK killing (AP)
03 Mar 03:52
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AP - A California board on Wednesday denied parole for Robert F. Kennedy's convicted assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, saying after a four hour hearing that he hadn't shown adequate remorse or understanding of the severity of the crime that was mourned by a nation more than 40 years ago.
Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii won't seek re-election (AP)
03 Mar 03:37
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AP - Democratic U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii announced Wednesday he won't run for re-election next year after 22 years in the Senate.
2 US airmen killed in Frankfurt airport shooting (AP)
03 Mar 03:13
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AP - Two U.S. airmen were killed and two others were wounded at Frankfurt airport when a man opened fire on them at close range with a handgun, the first such attack on American forces in Germany in a quarter century.
Gaddafi strikes town, rebels call for foreign help (Reuters)
03 Mar 03:12
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Reuters - Libyan rebels repulsed a land and air offensive by Muammar Gaddafi's forces as the defiant leader warned foreign powers of "another Vietnam" if they intervened in his country's popular uprising.
Germany probes killings of US airmen (AFP)
03 Mar 03:02
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AFP - German police were investigating whether a gunman who shot dead two US airmen in an attack on their bus at Frankfurt airport had links to "terrorist" organisations or was acting alone.
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