The line between mobile and non-mobile has been blurry for a while. We have tablets and netbooks that fall somewhere between phones and desktops, and even other devices such as game consoles browsing the web, all with varying screen sizes, resolutions, and densities....
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How You Present a Website Matters
As web professionals, we always try to find creative ways to present web content in order to provide a more comfortable viewing experience. One of the more popular web features nowadays is to use custom web fonts on web site vs the good ole Arial, Verdana... However,...
What is OOCSS? (Object Oriented CSS)
Object Oriented CSS is a method of development as it pertains to the HTML and CSS relationships designed to reduce redundancy in CSS, primarily to make more manageable code. The idea is (basically) to take reused styles and assign them to individual classes, then the...
QR Code Demystified – Part 6
We've covered almost everything we need to create QR Codes. The next thing we need is version information blocks. The version information blocks simply tell the reader what version the symbol is, and therefore how many modules wide and tall it is. Table 11 shows the...
QR Code Demystified – Part 5
Now that we've got the data and error correction sorted out, we're almost ready to place it in the symbol. As seen in Part 2, the data and error correction modules basically go everywhere that isn't taken up by something else. The reason we're not quite ready to place...
QR Code Demystified – Part 4
I had planned on holding off the error correction until later, but it really fits better right here. Before error correction is done, the data that we've generated must be broken down into "code words", which are just 8-bit bytes. All we have to do is take our "bit...
QR Code Demystified – Part 3
Now we'll cover how the data is encoded. There are several steps involved. First, the encoding method is chosen, then the raw data is converted to binary based on the encoding method, then the error correction algorithm is applied, and then the data is placed in the...
QR Code Demystified – Part 2
The next important thing we'll look at is the structure of a QR code. The below diagram shows names of the different sections of a QR symbol. Then I'll go over each one in more detail. Keep in mind that below if I mention one copy of something being the original and...
QR Code Demystified – Part 1
Recently I undertook a task to develop a QR Code generator. I was surprised to find how difficult it was to find complete information on the QR Code specification. Most of what I found only explained part of the puzzle. So my new endeavor is to completely explain the...
Simple jQuery Snippets to Spruce Up Your Website
Matcha Design - Tuesday, May 17, 2011 The purpose of these tricks is to take existing, perfectly valid code, and add little touches to it. They all use jQuery, though could potentially be adapted. They're meant to be called after the DOM has loaded, such as...
A New Way to Share – Facebook Send Button
Matcha Design - Tuesday, April 26, 2011 Yesterday, Facebook announced that they've added a new social gadget to their growing arsenal - the Send button. Clicking the Send button on a web page will open a dialog allowing the user to choose from their Facebook friends,...
5 Traps to Avoid in Creating a Great Website (Part 2)
A couple weeks ago I detailed some things that can keep your website from living up to its potential. In part 2, I focus heavily on user interaction, highlighting some common problems that are usually a result of focusing priority on the wrong goals (i.e. anything...