Merry Christmas to all. From Jeri and Mark DuBois
Trying out a browser I recently found (and it is based on Mozilla, not Chrome). Cliqz (what are your experiences with this browser)? Insights welcomed.
Grumble. 218 million “Words with Friends” players data reportedly stolen in Zynga hack. Bottom line - this might be a good time to change your password.
Fun fact on this cold December morning - there is only one endemic species of insect in Antarctica. Belgica antarctica Jacobs, 1900 (the Antarctic midge). It also has one of the smallest known insect genomes (at roughly 13,500 genes). It is flightless as an adult. Appaently, it also requires a freezing climate to survive.
Another useful resource - Easy WP Guide (also has been recently updated for WordPress 5.3).
Looks useful - front end developers handbook. Anyone have experience with this?
Good overview article on getting started with web performance. Article includes an overview of the most important performance metrics. Spoiler alert - JavaScript is responsible for the majority of performance issues.
I know this will shock many, but the FBI has determined Russian apps may be a counterintelligence threat. This letter (dated Nov. 25, 2019) specifies FaceApp as an example.
This has got to be one of the “best” sites I have encountered in quite some time. Hilarious (to say the least). https://fibery.io/ Don’t forget to try the page on mobile as well.
This seems to be an interesting approach - turn JSON into URL friendly strings. JSONCrush (project at GitHub). Curious what others think of this approach?
Since I am on a roll with humorous articles today, here is another. This time a comic (instead of a tongue in cheek article). How DNS works. Hope you enjoy. Seems like a good way to introduce the concept to the next generation. What do you think?
This is a great article to read (and it has a number of humorous photos to make various points) #a11y. Personally, I like the drinking fountain photo the best. 8 Weird Tips Accessibility Specialists Don’t Want You to Know! What are your thoughts?
This was definitely news to me. The elaborate structures on treehoppers (Membracidae) use wing genes to grow. More details in this article at smithsonianmag.com. I have always been fascinated by these tiny creatures and their elaborate skeletal structures.
Who knew? Apparently some plants make ultrasonic sounds when they are stressed.
Jim Thatcher passed away yesterday (December 7, 2019). Although I never met him in person, he was a big influence on my views about web accessibility. Here are a couple of good writeups. Lainey Feingold’s post. He received a lifetime achievement award at CSUN in 2011. He will be missed.
Just learned that Adobe acquired Oculus Medium. Curious to see what 3D magic happens now. theblog.adobe.com/adobe-acc…
Great article by @AaronGustafson on A List Apart on “Caching Strategies in the Age of PWAs.” He offers great practical suggestions to address a number of potential issues.
Just finished reading “That Wild Country” by Mark Kenyon. Excellent book which clearly reminds all why it is important to keep our public lands public for all to enjoy. #KeepItPublic.
HTTP Archive’s 2019 “State of the Web” report makes for some interesting reading.
December, 2019 SANS OUCH! newsletter is now available. Focus is on messaging/ smishing attacks.
“When it comes to messaging attacks, you are your own best defense.”
Common Weakness Enumeration top 25 most dangerous software errors. As 2019 closes, I am amazed that these remain. (We can count, but not fix?) Why do we continue to tolerate these errors in our code?
Wonder about color contrast? Just learned about WhoCanUse.com (try out different color combinations).
Nice overview article about Gutenberg (block editor in WordPress) accessibility (#a11y). marcozehe.de/2019/11/2… Quote:
WordPress and Gutenberg project leaders: You want WordPress to be a platform for everyone? Well, I’d say it is about time to put your money where your mouth is, and start getting serious about that commitment.
“One always has time enough, if one will apply it well.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Do you think this quote still applies today?
Nice overview article (with video and audio examples) - What is a screen reader?