Show 63: More than iPhone

Published on: January 16, 2007 by Paul Boag

This week on Boagworld, Paul looks at whether it is possible to build HTML emails with CSS, Marcus discusses how to write a good brief and Christian Heilmannwades into the current Javascript library debate.

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News and events

Seems like there is loads going on in the world of web design this week and we struggled to narrow it down to four items. However, this is our pick of the best:

Getting a job as a developer

Christian Heilmann has written a post on his experiences of hiring developers at Yahoo! He gives some really sound advice to any developers in search of employment. Definitely worth a read if you are considering a change of job.

Talking of changing jobs, if you are a developer considering a career move then you might want to take a look at the developer position currently available within Headscape.

Global free stock imagery

Luke Sanderson (an old friend of mine) has taken the Google Coop and configured it to search all of the free image stock libraries from one place. Saves a bit of trawling around looking for that perfect (free) image.

The future of flash

Now, I don’t know much about flash but I know a man who does and he has just posted his impressions of the Flashforward keynote at MacWorld. He talks about Flash CS3, flash on alternative devices and reveals some fascinating stats on the take-up of Flash 9.

iPhone

Apples announcement of the iPhone seems to have caused a lot of excitement in all quarters not least the web design community. Brian Fling believes it could “revolutionaries the web”. Personally I find myself agreeing more with Cameron Moll who takes a more cautious view.

Agony Uncle: HTML emails built using CSS

This week has seen the discovery that Outlook 2007 uses Word to render its HTML emails rather than IE7. This severely limits what is possible when it comes to HTML emails and standards. It was therefore very topical that this week’s Agony Uncle Question is about using standards with HTML email. We look at what is possible and what is not referencing articles both on the A List Apart website and Campaign Monitor.

Ask the Expert: Javascript Libraries

The debate about the value of Javascript libraries has been raging for a while now but seems to be back with vengeance at the moment. That is why on this week’s show we have Christian Heilmann sharing his thoughts on the question, “Javascript libraries: Friend or Foe?”

Review: Pro CSS Techniques

Pro CSS Techniques is a new book by Ian Lloyd, Jeff Croft and Dan Rubin aimed at experienced CSS developers looking to take their skills on to the next level. Jonathan Snook provides an excellent review on this book that we reference in this week’s show.

Clients corner: Writing a web design brief

Writing an effective brief for web design agencies will not only make the selection process easier but helps to avoid potential miscommunications over requirements further down the line. In this week’s show Marcus looks at the issue of invitations to tender and how to go about writing an effective brief that will help your project run smoothly

Oh yes... don't forget the boagworld meetup

Comments

Comments are for the discussion of this post. If you have other questions / comments then post them to the forum or send me an email

Post by kas on January 16, 2007 2:52 PM

Another great episode, nice work and very helpful, thoroughly enjoyed the clients corner!
Post by John Lascurettes on January 16, 2007 5:54 PM

Unfortunately, Email design just went back five years as Outlook 2007 is using Word's HTML renderer instead of Trident (the rendering engine in IE). More here: http://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/archives/2007/01/microsoft_takes_email_design_b.html
Post by Paul Boag on January 16, 2007 6:47 PM

You obviously haven't listened to the show John, that is how the conversation came up.
Post by Mathew Patterson on January 16, 2007 9:06 PM

Another good show - who doesn't enjoy a good electron joke?
On the topic of css support in email clients, check out the Campaign Monitor post that shows css testing results.

http://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/archives/2006/03/a_guide_to_css_support_in_emai.html
Post by john Lascurettes on January 17, 2007 12:02 AM

Ah, so sorry about that. I just found that out myself this week. Naturally, I assume I know everything before everyone else. ;) I'll try to give the show a listen.
Post by Martijn v/d Ven on January 17, 2007 8:51 PM

I vote for Paul as world ruler!

Good PodCast once again Paul & Marcus, keep them comming.

Fr. Greetings,
Martijn
Post by Ryan Behrman on January 17, 2007 11:54 PM

Great podcast. I found the "writing a web design brief" most useful. I hope Marcus will one day also speak on how (as a web agency or freelancer) to break down a quotation into sections e.g. should one charge for consulting, concept, the actual time spent writing the brief, etc.. I think that would be really useful too.

Great podcast it was this week!
Post by Ronalfy on January 18, 2007 5:40 AM

The iPhone cautious view link is broken also. It should be: Why iPhone won't revolutionize the mobile web landscape.
Post by Eric Anderson on January 18, 2007 8:28 PM

Love the new format guys - great show. Totally dig clients corner - nicely done Marcus. Everyone at once now... bow down to "The Paul".
Post by Mike Roberts on January 18, 2007 9:31 PM

Haven't had a chance to listen to this episode, but did get a look at the show notes. How I wish I could move to England and apply to work for Headscape. All my dev experience is in ASP.Net...

Paul & Marcus, the show is fabulous. I could only imagine how great it would be to work for a company that has its head straight about how good work should be done.
Post by Paul Boag on January 18, 2007 10:49 PM

I don't think we can be that switched on Mike if the creative director can't add a load of links without screwing them up! Should be fixed now.
Post by Simon Morris on January 19, 2007 9:24 AM

First podcast I have listened to. I came here from the Practical Web Design one but couldn't work out how to spell boag. It now seems so obvious, nice podcast
Post by Iain on January 19, 2007 1:40 PM

Yup, great show with some really useful bits. The new format is working well - I was a bit worried at first as I liked the original format with all the banter but so far, so good.

I like the rash of Tommy Cooper jokes too - I have competition in the joke provider stakes at long last and those were better than mine so I'll have to up the ante a bit!

To Simon Morris, download all the previous podcasts - they're all excellent! Well, except one and I'm not getting in to that fight again ;-)
Post by Tuna on January 22, 2007 2:40 PM

Evil Emperor Boag Da Borish

I would be really good if you could include in the show notes more than just brief sentence on the real star - Marcus' segment. Especially the client brief one, a list a key points would have been good as this was a very interesting segment.

Maybe you should rename this podcast the "Marcus and his side kick Paul Show"... :)
Post by M Train on January 23, 2007 4:39 PM

Thanks for answering the HTML email question Paul & Markus! It was helpful, minus the smart@$$ comment by Markus, "email clients just don't support CSS." That was Rubbish!

It truly baffles me that MS didnt use the same IE7 engine. I'm no programmer, but I would imagine a good ol' cut-n-paste of code would have made outlook read like IE7. Isn't an email window the same as a browser window in theory? Hmm...But, I'm sure it's more complex, as Microsoft likes to make it.
Post by dvd to apple tv guide / appletvconverter on March 19, 2007 7:03 AM

Good information.
It’s iPhone time, I will buy the iPhone.
Post by Useful iPod converter on March 26, 2007 6:53 AM

Thanks for this information.
Thanks for all the kind words of support!
Post by Miller on March 26, 2007 7:48 AM

I have found that, even with this great Apple TV we still need a video converter (things like Apple TV

Converter) in case to put our favourite movies onto Apple TV before playing them on TV Screen.

Best apple tv converter
http://www.apple-tv-converter.net
Post by shark12er on June 19, 2007 12:44 PM

You must either setup or have an existing iTunes account in order to use the iPhone, even if you do not intend to make purchases. This is an additional requirement on top of the 2-year service agreement with AT&T

http://www.iphone-video-converter.org
Post by oscarana189 on August 13, 2007 4:52 AM

"First of all, the E70 has a full keyboard, not some shitty stripped down, tap-and-pray smudgy piece of shit. Nokia uses a technology that's even more advanced than the iPhone's tap screen, allowing you to actually feel the keys you press as you're pressing them! The technology is called "tactile response," and it allows you to do things like dial a phone number without staring at your screen like a shit-chucking ape. In fact, every other cellphone ever made has this technology, sometimes called "buttons."

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Show 63: More than iPhone

News and events

Getting a job as a developer

Global free stock imagery

The future of flash

iPhone

Agony Uncle: HTML emails built using CSS

Ask the Expert: Javascript Libraries

Review: Pro CSS Techniques

Clients corner: Writing a web design brief

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