L'aderenza agli Standard di Screen Reader e Browser Vocali

Uno studio comparativo di 5 prodotti evidenzia come Jaws di Freedom Scientific e Home Page Reader di IBM siano gli strumenti che meglio interpretano le linee guida per l'accessibilità web.

D'Amour, Jean-Marie and Catherine Ro. FucinaWeb (2002). (Italian) Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Web Browsers

Agent vs. Agent

The phrase User agent or user-agent or UA or browser or client or client application or client software program...all pretty much refer to the same thing. Or maybe not.

evolt (2002). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Web Browsers

Assemble a Cross-Platform Firefox Extension

XUL is a surprisingly easy way to build cross-platform browser extensions or even stand-alone applications. Discover how to build powerful, flexible Mozilla browser extensions that go beyond the capabilities of other tools like embedded scripting languages or CGI--because they're built right into the user's browser.

Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2007). Articles>Information Design>XML>Web Browsers

Beyond the Browser: Technologies to Watch

The Internet is not the World Wide Web. So what exactly lies beyond the browser? Eisenberg fearlessly predicts technologies to watch.

Eisenberg, J. David. List Apart, A (2000). Design>Web Design>Technology>Web Browsers

Browser Chart

One of the biggest pains about making Web pages is having to keep track of which browsers support what features. Wouldn't it be nice if there were some way to keep track of it all? Well, we've whipped up a few articles and charts to make things easier for you.

Webmonkey. Design>Web Design>Standards>Web Browsers

Browser Usage Statistics

Statistics on browser popularity, as of December 1996.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1996). Design>Web Design>Statistics>Web Browsers

The Browser War: An Ethical Analysis of the Struggle between Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justice    

The ongoing antitrust battle between the U.S. Department of Justice and Microsoft Corporation presents technical communicators with two ethical questions: 1) Is it right, good, or fair for Microsoft to give away its Internet Explorer browser? 2) If Microsoft gains monopoly control over the PC browser market, will this be good for us? This article examines these questions using traditional rights-based ethical theory (Kant), utilitarianism, and John Rawls principles of justice, concluding that it is neither good nor fair for a company having a near-monopoly over a market to sell products below fair market value, nor is it good that one company stands to gain monopoly control over the PC browser market. When the discussion turned to Netscape, one Intel executive, who asked not to be identified, recalled Martiz [Paul Martiz, Microsoft Group Vice President, Platforms & Application] saying: "We are going to cut off their air supply. Everything they re selling, we re going to give away for free" [1]. "We re giving away a pretty good browser as part of the operating system. How long can they survive selling it?"--Statement by Steve Ballmer, Microsoft President and CEO [2]. "Our business model works even if all Internet software is free," says Mr. Gates. "We are still selling operating systems." <em>Netscape</em>, in contrast, is dependent upon its Internet software for profits, he points out.--Statements by Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman [3]. Only a monopolist could study a competitor and destroy its business by giving away products--Statement by Scott McNealy, Sun Microsystems Chairman [4].

Meier, Dennis. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (1999). Articles>TC>Ethics>Web Browsers

Cross-Browser Scripting with importNode()

While building a browser slideshow object for a demonstration on dynamically pulling image information from a web server, I ran into difficulty with the DOM-compliant approach I had envisioned. A two-day journey into the world of XML DOM support for web browsers lay between me and a satisfactory solution.

Holdener, Anthony. List Apart, A (2007). Design>Web Design>DHTML>Web Browsers

Review: Farewell, Netscape, but I Suppose It's Time

Since it's been a decade since Netscape was relevant, I guess it was overdue. But that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye to an old friend, no matter how long it's been since you had any fun together.

Connoly, P.J. Software Development Times (2008). Articles>Reviews>History>Web Browsers

Features for the Next Generation of Web Browsers

The future is not what it used to be, especially regarding WWW browsers. They used to come in two flavors: text and Mosaic, but now there is a profusion of choices. Netscape has shown that it is possible to dominate the Internet almost overnight, going from less than one percent to about 70% market share during the last two months of 1994. Such rapid changes may be a unique characteristic of the Internet since most other markets award more permanence and slower erosion of market share to their leaders. On the Internet, news and customer testimonials spread immediately world-wide and 'shelf space' is limited only by the vendor's server capacity and connection bandwidth (indeed, Netscape would probably have spread faster if only people could get through to their FTP site!).

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1995). Articles>Software>Hypertext>Web Browsers

Finally: Progress in Internet Client Design

There has been no progress in client software for the last seven years: Mosaic defined the Web feature set in 1993, and since then there has only been more fancy page layouts, no better user interfaces. This sorry picture is finally changing. Several recent software products have introduced specialized applications with better user interfaces for special-purpose use. And there is even a new browser out with improved user control.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2000). Articles>Usability>Software>Web Browsers

Firefox 2.0 and XML

Firefox 2.0 brought several important changes in its XML support. It's currently reaching its peak in user deployment. Learn about updated XML features in Firefox 2.0, including a controversial change to the handling of RSS Web feeds.

Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2007). Articles>Information Design>XML>Web Browsers

How Accessible is Safari?

When Apple released Safari on to the unsuspecting world in 2003, it caught a lot of people off guard. The ripples are still being felt - Mozilla's source code was rejected in favour of the smaller code base of KHTML, and more recently Opera has suggested that it may no longer make a version of its browser for the Macintosh platform. And then, of course, there's the whole issue of how web developers can keep up with yet another browser foisted upon them - does it support agreed web standards? Or does it break standards-compliant sites in horrible new inventive ways?

Lloyd, Ian and Garrett Smith. Accessify (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Web Browsers

How to Build a Better Web Browser

Web browsers are funny things. On the one hand, they’re supposed to be lightweight little programs that just let you view websites, and on the other, they carry the same burdens as operating systems and application suites, trying to provide everything to everyone. Here in this little essay I explain what I know about designing browsers. I’m in the lucky minority of people that have actually designed successful browsers, or parts of them, for any length of time, and with Firefox and Opera in the headlines, and the art of browser design becomes important again, I thought I’d write down some of what I know. Its been years since I was a program manager on the Internet Explorer project, but I’ve maintained interests in the design of navigation and searching systems of all kinds: what follows is a rough summary of what I’ve learned.

Berkun, Scott. ScottBerkun.com (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Web Browsers

Hypertext for Handling Conceptual Material

Turning 'help' systems and 'browsers' into robust structured-document viewers: the DocBrowser.

Hoffman, Michael. Hypertext Navigation. Articles>Documentation>Web Design>Web Browsers

Ideas for Improved Within-Page Navigation

WebTV is the first Web user interface for which I have discovered a serious need for navigational aids within the page.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1996). Design>Web Design>Usability>Web Browsers

In Search of Salience: A Response-Time and Eye-Movement Analysis of Bookmark Recognition

Describes the effect of bookmark naming on bookmark recognition. The purpose is to provide empirically-determined guidelines for web producers on how to title pages in order to optimise the recognition of bookmarks by users, and increase the rate of revisitation to their websites.

Poole, Alex. Alex Poole (2005). Articles>Information Design>Usability>Web Browsers

Is The Web On TV An Oxymoron?

The convergence of the web and television throws up numerous challenges for usability engineers. As more and more of the population choose to access the Internet through their television (usually via set-top boxes and with the assistance of television remote controls), optimizing web pages for use on these devices becomes a priority. These issues tend to be exacerbated by inherent differences between the two technologies. For instance, television is usually thought of as 'lean-back' technology, whereas the computer is seen as 'lean-forward' technology. Television viewers on average sit more than 9 feet away from their sets, whereas computer users are usually within 13 inches of their monitors. Television viewers are accustomed to being passive and having information presented to them. Computer use requires more active interaction and maximizes user initiative. It is possible that the fundamental conflict between these modes of operation will mean that web-on-television is doomed to failure. But, in the meantime, what can be done to ensure high quality user-experience when viewing the web on TV?

Gaine, Frank. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>Multimedia>Web Browsers

Issues of Saliency and Recognition in the Search for Web Page Bookmarks

Describes the effect of bookmark naming on bookmark recognition. The purpose was to provide empirically-determined guidelines for web producers on how to title pages in order to optimise the recognition of bookmarks by users, and to increase the rate of revisitation as a result.

Poole, Alex. Alex Poole (2005). Books>Information Design>Usability>Web Browsers

Omniweb and Standards

How does Omniweb fare when it comes to web standards? Earlier versions, while highly praised for an elegant user interface and strong support of international character sets, fell drastically short in CSS and W3C DOM support.

Waferbaby. List Apart, A (2002). Articles>Web Design>Standards>Web Browsers

Put Your Content in my Pocket, Part II

Mobile Safari--unlike other browsers--does not maintain a constant size for content viewing. Because of the small screen, the content area is constantly adjusted to maximize the space available for the task at hand.

Hockenberry, Craig. List Apart, A (2007). Design>Web Design>Wireless Web>Web Browsers

Quick and Dirty Web Applications with Bookmarklets

Web 2.0 is well known for the fact that it's not built on breathtaking new inventions, but rather on renewed emphasis on age-old Web technologies. One of those age-old technologies that is enjoying a revival in Web 2.0 is bookmarklets. A bookmarklet is essentially a Web application shoehorned into a regular browser bookmark. This article includes a fully functioning bookmarklet and installation instructions you can use to highlight text on any Web page and search IBM developerWorks for that text.

Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2007). Articles>Web Design>DHTML>Web Browsers

Safari FAQ for Web Developers

Most developers are happy to follow the W3C guidelines and have their pages 'just work,' with no need for browser-specific HTML. Safari has the features you'd expect of a modern browser plus a few unique ones; understanding these, as well as a few Safari development tricks, will ensure your pages work exactly the way you and your users expect.

Apple Inc. (2006). Design>Web Design>Standards>Web Browsers

Screen Size and Web Browsing

The purpose of this experiment is to determine the effect of screen size on the speed of navigating common web pages. We performed the experiment on 12 students and concluded that the larger the screen size, the faster a typical web page is browsed.

DiPierro, Chris, George N. SHORE (1997). Design>Web Design>Usability>Web Browsers