If you think HTML5 is going to kill Flash, go fuck yourself. If you’re defending Flash as the final solution to the web and think HTML5 has no chance, go fuck yourself with a jagged stick.

The only real concern here, is that developers don’t know how to code in multiple languages and have pin-holed themselves to being an expert in one area; overlooking the beauty of a web flourishing with multiple languages and interesting code. If you only know ActionScript, tough shit, pick up a book or read a couple of articles and familiarize yourself with HTML and JavaScript. If you only know HTML and are thanking God that you don’t have to learn how to use Flash to embed video, you’re sort of right. Good luck trying to make games in HTML5 to replace those in Flash. I hear pong is some real next generation shit.

The point is, as a developer in the web industry, it is your job to keep up to date with emerging technologies and be ready to implement them as clients request. At the very least you should be able to pick the appropriate technology for a client on a job by job basis. Get over the petty, childish arguments and keep doing what employed web developers have been doing all along… evolve.

aside: consumers of content don’t give a shit what underlying technologies their media is being served up on, as long as it’s compatible with their device and the quality is superior.

WTF? http://www.speedtest.net/result/736463270.png

My internet is shit again, and again, and again. Check my support calls. I’ve had a service technician come out twice, he told me everyone in my area is suffering. It’s been over 6 months. You can keep cutting my bill down, but it doesn’t prevent my internet from sucking. I can’t even watch a goddamned movie trailer for Christ’s sake. I pay for 10mbps, and I’m getting 1. That’s 1/10th of what I’m paying for. Get your servers straightened out, and your shit together. If you piss the wrong people off you’re going to end up like Coca Cola did when they changed their formula. Nobody’s going to buy your service and everyone is going to run to Comcast. EVERYONE I know with Comcast has great service. It costs a little bit more, but they GET SERVICE THAT THEY PAY FOR. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m insanely irritated. I’m a professional web developer, how in the hell am I supposed to get work done when I’m getting speeds like this? If you can’t fix the problem, I’ll drop my cable and internet from you, and switch to wimax service/Comcast and go back to hulu + Netflix. then I’ll make sure everyone I know, and all of the people in my condo know what the best resolution for their problems is and maybe make a fun viral video about how HORRIBLE your service is and publish all of my recorded results and see how that works out. That seems to get people’s attention. Because for over 6 months of NOBODY DOING ANYTHING I don’t know what to do either.

Fag (fãg) n. 1. An extremely annoying, inconsiderate person most commonly associated with Harley riders.
2 A person who owns or frequently rides a Harley.

Watch the episode at: southparkstudios.com

My Studio 16.
I’ll just list the reasons for purchasing my laptop, rather than worry about an in-depth look at what other manufacturers couldn’t provide. It should be noted too that it was a features-cost analysis that initially took place, which is why i did not end up purchasing a Macbook Pro. Operating systems to be left for another time, the hardware is what i was primarily concerned with.

• Slot loading Blu-ray drive
• RGBLED screen
• Slim design/form factor
• Solid state hard drive option
• 64-Bit architecture
• Cost
• HDMI
• Battery life / extended battery options

Sub $1000
My new favorite comes from Best Buy. I’m not a huge fan of Best Buy, but managed to find this beauty by Asus using their comparison tool. So far I’ve recommended it to two people with one confirmed purchase. The laptop is sleek, lightweight, powerful and fully capable of doing everything 90% of the people buying a sub $1000 notebook are looking for.

Netbooks
Dell Mini 10v. Not much more to say. You can install OSX on here with a little bit of guidance. These are great for on-the-go web browsing, video chat and emails. Not a workhorse, but for around $300 you can get a lot of those quick tasks taken care of pretty easily with a netbook. Dell just makes these right, and I believe the latest models support HDMI.

In my eyes there’s a way to do both, in your own time and without expensive overhead. In this part of my “Targeting” series, I want to share some advice on targeting a mobile audience.

I’ll start off by saying I’m not an a paid professional in this field, but I have worked around it long enough to know what I’m talking about. And as a consumer, I know what works when I’m being targeted via mobile. So let’s get started.

From a Computer

Just because you’re targeting a mobile audience, does not mean you should forget about the home computer. Often times when a user has an option to try out a feature for their phone when the exact same feature exists on their computer, they will try both. Take Mint.com for example; In addition to having an excellent web service to keep track of spending, they have expanded their market by reaching out to iPhone users. I’d recommend a cross platform web app, but I’ll get to that later. In order to push their mobile app, they use their homepage to showcase the available features and benefits of using their mobile app. Truth of the matter is, Mint.com makes money through through their application (by way of referrals to banks etc.) all the while saving the end user money. The more platforms they can target, the more money they are going to make. Brilliant.

QR 2D barcodes are sweet! The whole idea is a fun concept, and even better in practice. Create a barcode that a user can scan with their phone, then store the information for future use. This works for business cards, URL’s, or “secret codes” to enter into a website to use as a coupon or to participate in a contest. I want you to share this article with a friend and send the link immediately. Simply scan the following barcode with your QR enabled phone (Symbian, Android, iPhone, WinMo) and text/email it off to a friend. All the big phone manufacturers have free QR reading applications, and now that you know what that crazy barcode means, start using it!

On the Device

Don’t go platform specific. It’s a waste of time, and the professionals are going to beat you up for it. In a day where our mobile browsers have HTML5  and CSS3 support, there is no reason to build a platform specific application. You can connect all of your web services and databases the same way in a mobile app as you do in a web app. You can engage users with a sleek mobile site as long as you have relevant content. Any device specific features can be accessed via PhoneGap, which for even the most remedial developers provides an easy to use javascript framework.

One way where I would encourage going platform specific is advertising. An example is the ESPN mobile website. As I was browsing scores, I came across a small advertisement for ‘Visa Mobile for Andorid ‘. This was the first time I had seen an advertisement direct itself towards my phone, and it linked me to the app store. I actively use this application now, and they’re not selling anything. The application is just a spending tracking application, sound familiar? As well as advertising, you can track trends of users based on their device. Do iPhone users click more gaming advertisements over Android users?

Bridging the Gap

There’s an in-between step that facebook seems to do pretty well. Facebook integrates mobile uploading of photos and status updates, which enables a user to interact with the website more often and also enourages other users to visit the website more frequently for updates. This results is higher traffic to their site and more views of their advertisements. Yes, 90% of the ads I see are for dating websites and none of them get clicked (or so I say), but the point is that I do notice them when I’m checking what my friends are up to. I have yet to see any ads on thier mobile site, but it’s only a matter of time.

Facebook Connect is also worth a mention here. This goes beyond just facebook, but via web and mobile applications, it enables a user to use their facebook account to log in to an application and provides user authentication. This is benificial in the sense that you obtain real user information, due to the fact that users list their real names on facebook and (usually) age. One login, for all of your web and mobile apps, sounds like a fantasy.

Twitter is another site, albeit with a questionable business model for profit, that integrates mobile interactivity with web presence. It seems to be slowly threading its audience into an addiction that at anytime could be injected with advertisements, leaving its users with no choice but to take the hit.

Final Thoughts

As far as advertising goes, don’t over think it. The most simplistic solutions are always the ones that pay off in the end. Target you audience in a meaningful and useful fashion and the user will respond positively. If your user feels like they’re being rattled and shaken down for their money, they’re more likely to turn a negative opinion towards you than ignore you.

If you’re a casual blogger, interested in networking or looking for a job, use some of these tools to put yourself out there. A good example is having a QR code on your website. As well as having a prominent LinkedIn tag,  WhatAnExperience author Dave Meeker uses a giant QR code to grab the readers attention and in my case enticed me to capture the link. Find out where it goes, it’s not a link to his site…

Step 1: Buy a basic Mac Mini $599

Step 2: Buy new gear. $155 – $185

Step 3: Install new gear

Step 4: Hope that you followed those online tutorials on replacing your hardware well enough and didn’t ruin your investment.

Okay, so maybe there’s some risk. Undoubtedly not everyone has the know-how to make this upgrade. But you could probably find some neighbor or friend who does and offer them $20 to do the job for you.

Looking into what upgrades are possible I’ve created a very complex diagram for you to enjoy.

WOW! That’s less than $1 Billion in savings.

You’re smart enough to figure out there’s a benefit of doing it yourself here, so if you know how or feel comfortable with taking apart your Mini, there is no decision to make. The only problem now is waiting for Amazon.com to start selling the Mini so I don’t have to pay that exorbitant Illinois state tax ($43.43).

The Crisis of Credit Visualized – Part 1

The Crisis of Credit Visualized – Part 2