Speakers discuss early experiences with web design and development, including the Netscape fish cam and evolution of web development tools. They also talk about their favorite projects, such as making history accessible online and converting government publications to HTML.
Being an early adopter of the web allowed for exciting discoveries and exploring its potential through web pages with embedded images.
It is essential for browser makers and working groups to seriously consider new proposals to enhance web standards and overcome compatibility challenges.
Deep dives
The History of the Web and Early Adoption
The podcast discusses the early days of the web and the experiences of people who helped shape it. It emphasizes the significance of being an early adopter of the web when it was not yet widely recognized. The speaker shares personal experiences of learning about the web in its early stages, including the introduction of Mosaic and the excitement of discovering the potential of the internet through web pages with embedded images.
Standards and Challenges in Web Development
The podcast explores the challenges faced in web development, particularly in terms of standards and compatibility. It highlights the evolution of browser development and the importance of browser makers and working groups seriously considering new proposals. The speaker mentions specific examples such as the Simple Vector Format (SVF) and the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P), both of which were ideas that were discussed but did not gain widespread adoption. The podcast also discusses the significance of JavaScript polyfills and pre-processors in testing and implementing new features before they are officially supported by browsers.
Projects: Online Encyclopedia and Nuclear Weapons Publication
The podcast shares two projects that the speaker was particularly proud of. The first project involved converting the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History into an online format, making it one of the first encyclopedias of urban history available online for free. The second project focused on publishing the unclassified version of the US government publication 'The Effects of Nuclear Weapons' in a fully accessible HTML format. The speaker highlights the importance of making information accessible and discusses the challenges faced during these projects, such as designing semantic markup and ensuring accessibility.
Easter Eggs and Fun Projects
In this segment, the podcast reveals some fun and lesser-known projects the speaker worked on. These include implementing semantic markup and CSS for the Apple website in 2005, creating an Easter egg by using the class name 'so-sumi' for legal notices, and co-creating the XFN (XHTML Friends Network) which laid the foundation for microformats. These projects were not widely known but held great personal satisfaction due to the challenges they presented and the opportunity to work with influential individuals in the industry.