[webdev] Web Design Update: April 11, 2013

Thu Apr 11 06:00:31 CDT 2013

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 10, Issue 42, April 11, 2013.

An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web
design and development.

++ISSUE 42 CONTENTS.

SECTION ONE: New references.
What's new at the Web Design Reference site?
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/
New links in these categories:

01: ACCESSIBILITY.
02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.
03: DRUPAL.
04: EVENTS.
05: JAVASCRIPT.
06: MISCELLANEOUS.
07: TOOLS.
08: TYPOGRAPHY.
09: USABILITY.

SECTION TWO:
10: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?

[Contents ends.]

++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

User Testing for Web Accessibility
By Toby Biddle.
"...Before we look at usability testing for web accessibility, let's
first discuss how user testing is normally done so that you can have a
better view of how user testing for accessibility is unique..."
http://sixrevisions.com/usabilityaccessibility/user-testing-web-accessibility/

The Ultimate Accessible HTML and CSS Checklist for Developers: Part I
By accessiq.
"While accessibility should be factored into any project in the
planning stages, it's at the development stage when HTML and CSS
techniques are implemented. This is a checklist of all checklists for
developers working in accessibility."
http://www.accessiq.org/create/content/the-ultimate-accessible-html-and-css-checklist-for-developers-part-i

National Federation of the Blind and Two Blind Taxpayers File Suit
Against H&R Block
By National Federation of the Blind.
"...The complaint alleges violations of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) and Article 114 of the Massachusetts
Constitution as enforced through the Massachusetts Equal Rights Act
(MERA) because the company's online tax services and Web sites are not
accessible to blind taxpayers..."
https://nfb.org/national-federation-blind-and-two-blind-taxpayers-file-suit-against-hr-block

Website Accessibility and the ADA - An Update
By Staff Reporter.
"We recently wrote about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and
its application to online businesses. In the March 22, 2013 issue of
the Wall Street Journal, Joe Palazzolo reported that the government
might be taking a proactive role in addressing online-accessibility
issues..."
http://annotations.jonesmcclure.com/2013/04/01/website-accessibility-and-the-ada-an-update/

+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

Target Any Element Containing a CSS Class
By Tom Kenny.
"In CSS you can target an element with a specific attribute,
regardless of what that attribute contains..."
http://inspectelement.com/snippets/target-any-element-containing-a-css-class/

+03: DRUPAL.

Recent Videos From DrupalCon About Accessibility
By Mike Gifford.
"Here's a summary of accessibility presentations from DrupalCon San
Francisco & Chicago. I've put them in an order that I hope will allow
people who know nothing about web accessibility to progress through a
rather complex subject..."
http://openconcept.ca/blog/mgifford/accessibility-drupalcon-chicago

AdaptiveTheme
By Jeff Burnz.
"Adaptivetheme is a powerful theme framework designed from the ground
up to power modern, cross browser/cross device websites using
responsive design techniques."
http://drupal.org/project/adaptivetheme

Zen
By John Albin.
"Zen is a powerful, yet simple, HTML5 starting theme with a
responsive, mobile-first grid design..."
http://drupal.org/project/zen

Drupal 7 WET/WxT Variant - The Government of Canada's Distribution
By Mike Gifford.
"We've been strategizing, evaluating & deploying the Government of
Canada's (GoC) Drupal 7 Web eXperience Toolkit (WxT)
External Links icon
since it was first released over a year ago.  We've implemented this
for government agencies inside & outside the GoC because it is clear
that so many agencies need to meet the dual challenge of a site which
is both bilingual & accessible..."
http://openconcept.ca/topic/accessibility

Drupal Variant of the Web Experience Toolkit (WET)
https://github.com/wet-boew/wet-boew-drupal

+04: EVENTS.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day
May 9, 2013.
Everywhere.
https://www.facebook.com/globalaccessibilityawarenessday

+05: JAVASCRIPT.

aria-controls - Lack of Support
By Gez Lemon.
"The aria-controls attribute is important for composite widgets where
one element controls another, such as navigation widgets (links,
buttons, or tabs controlling another section), tree views, and similar
relationships where one element controls another. The attribute
defines the relationship so that assistive technology users can
navigate to the content effected by the controlling element; for
example, from a tab to the associated tab panel..."
http://juicystudio.com/article/aria-controls-lack-support.php

Tools and Code Examples for ARIA Development
By Dennis E. Lembree.
"Here are some good tools, code examples, and other resources for
developing with WAI-ARIA..."
http://www.webaxe.org/tools-code-examples-for-aria-development/

JavaScript Quirk 1: Implicit Conversion of Values
By Axel Rauschmayer.
"JavaScript is very tolerant when it comes to accepting values. For
example, everywhere it expects a number, it does not reject values
from other types, but tries to convert them..."
http://www.2ality.com/2013/04/quirk-implicit-conversion.html

+06: MISCELLANEOUS.

Interview with Responsive Design Expert Aaron Gustafson
By Lou Rosenfeld.
"This week we sat down with Aaron to get his take on the world of
Responsive Design. Here's what he had to say:..."
http://rosenfeldmedia.com/announcements/2013/04/interview_with_responsive_desi_2.php

+07: TOOLS.

Microsoft Gives Parallels, Windows 8 and IE10 to Mac Developers
By Craig Buckler.
"...If you're a Mac developer, it can be difficult to justify the
license costs for Parallels and Windows. Microsoft has made that
decision a little easier for you by shipping free USB sticks with full
copies Parallels 8 and Windows 8..."
http://www.sitepoint.com/microsoft-windows8-ie10-mac-giveaway/

+08: TYPOGRAPHY.

Responsive Typography is a Physical Discipline, But Your Computer
Doesn't Know It (Yet)
By Nick Sherman.
"For ideal typography, web designers need to know as much as possible
about each user's reading environment. That may seem obvious, but the
act of specifying web typography is currently like ordering slices of
pizza without knowing how large the slices are or what toppings they
are covered with..."
http://alistapart.com/column/responsive-typography-is-a-physical-discipline

+09: USABILITY.

The Usability Error You Don't Know You're Making
By David Travis.
Failing to speak the user's language is an easy trap to fall into
because you may not know the user's vocabulary and because technical
terms often become second nature to the design team. As with much of
user centred design, the secret lies in getting closer to your users
so you can empathise with them."
http://www.userfocus.co.uk/articles/speak-your-users-language.html

[Section one ends.]

++ SECTION TWO:

+10: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?

Accessibility Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/accessibility.html

Association Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/associations.html

Book Listings.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/books.html

Cascading Style Sheets Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/css.html

Color Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/color.html

Dreamweaver Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/dreamweaver.html

Drupal Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/drupal.html

Evaluation & Testing Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/testing.html

Event Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/events.html

Flash Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/flash.html

HTML5 Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/html.html

Information Architecture Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/architecture.html

JavaScript Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/javascript.html

Miscellaneous Web Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/misc.html

Navigation Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/navigation.html

PHP Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/php.html

Sites & Blogs Listing.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/sites.html

Standards, Guidelines & Pattern Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/standards.html

Tool Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/tools.html

Typography Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/type.html

Usability Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/usability.html

XML Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/xml.html

[Section two ends.]

++END NOTES.

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+ SIGN OFF.

Until next time,

Laura L. Carlson
Information Technology Systems and Services
University of Minnesota Duluth
Duluth, MN U.S.A. 55812-3009
mailto:lcarlson at d.umn.edu

[Issue ends.]