Browsers Tutorials
Thoughts on “Silent” Browser Upgrades
With the release of version 12, Mozilla Firefox joins the Google Chrome ranks of silent browser updates. This topic has gotten a lot of attention over the past few days due to Firefox's release and the fact that Mozilla the second vendor to implement said feature. Microsoft has said they plan to implement silent updates as well. I contend that automatic browser upgrading is a good practice. Let me share my reasons for such, and propose a few ideas for improvement.Full disclosure: I'm a Mozilla employee. That has no bearing on my opinion, however.
View Browser Repaints in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox
One goal of super-optimized websites is to prevent browser repaints due to changes in a block's style or content. There are numerous ways we intentionally (or unintentionally) trigger block repaints, but the browser does it so quickly we have trouble seeing when and where it happens. Recognizing the importance of allowing developers to micro-optimize their pages, the Chrome and Firefox teams have added features to their browsers to allow us to see those repaints. Here's how to do it!
HTML5 Element Printing in Internet Explorer
I was recently working on a website created with HTML5 elements like header, footer, section, and more, and got a rude awakening by Internet Explorer 8. I knew about the hack to ensure the elements render and style as they should on screen...
Use Elements as Background Images with -moz-element
We all know that each browser vendor takes the liberty of implementing their own CSS and JavaScript features, and I'm thankful for that. Mozilla and WebKit have come out with some interesting proprietary CSS properties, and since we all know that cementing standards takes ages more than it should, we should all be thankful. One interesting CSS property you probably haven't heard of is -moz-element, a Mozilla-implemented CSS property that allows developers to use HTML elements as an element background!
Interesting -webkit CSS Properties
A few weeks back I touched on a handful of Mozilla-specific CSS properties that I found to be interesting. This week I'd like to share a few WebKit-specific CSS properties that make me all tingly inside.
JavaScript Battery API
Mozilla Aurora 11 was recently released with a bevy of new features. One of those great new features is their initial implementation of the Battery Status API. This simple API provides you information about the battery's current charge level, its charging status, and allows you to be notified of changes via a few events. Let's check it out!
Interesting -moz CSS Properties
I'm always on the lookout for interesting vendor-specific features and prefixes. The beauty in them is that they allow developers to enhance where possible; they aren't taken into account as core design, but provide nice little touches. I was poking around Mozilla's MDN and found a great list of proprietary -moz properties. Here are a few of that I found interesting and useful.
CSS Filters
CSS filter support recently landed within WebKit nightlies. CSS filters provide a method for modifying the rendering of a basic DOM element, image, or video. CSS filters allow for blurring, warping, and modifying the color intensity of elements. Let's have a look at how CSS filters work and how you can quickly create elements that are beautifully filtered!
Application Pinning with META Tags
If there's one thing I want you to learn from the wide range of blog posts I've written, it's that it's the small things matter when you're creating your websites. Whether it's a one-page showcase, a business website, or an enterprise web application, there are always small details you can add that will really help someone out...even if that someone is on a Windows PC. One of those small details is setting your website up for "pinning", a functionality that debuted in Windows 7. Let me show you what it is and how you can implement it on your websites!
Control Your Web Application’s Fluid.app Icon
Fluid.app is an nice Mac application for creating desktop applications that wrap a web application. All you need to do is give Fluid.app a URL and a name, and the application generates a .app file within the Applications directory. One other piece of information you can give Fluid.app is the application icon; the default icon being the website's favicon. If you have a web application which could act as it's own desktop application, it's good to be aware that some users may be creating .app's of your site. Did you know that there's a way that you can tell Fluid to use an alternate icon (other than the favicon) for the generated app? It's as easy as adding an additional LINK tag: