Thursday 19 March 2009

Which Browser do You Use?

Today is the official IE8 release date. I’m here at MIX09, where conversations about IE8 CSS 2.1 implementation and IE8 modes are in full swing. Since I’m on a fact-finding mission while here, I shall reserve my comments until I’ve had a few more meetings.

Last night at the Tao party I was interviewed by a fellow from Prague who asked some great questions, one of which was “Which browser do you use, Molly?” This strikes me as a particularly funny question, because there can only be one answer for a person in my job, which is “all of them.”

Of course, there’s a difference between use and prefer, but we’ll shy away from that for a moment while we answer the question: Which browser do you use?

Extra love from me (and maybe even an Opera beer cozie) for a few points as to why (for example, interface, CSS features, extensibility, tools, etc.)

Filed under:   browsers, ie8, microsoft, molly asks you, opera, software, standards, web design and development
Posted by:   Molly | 16:17 | Comments (103)

Wednesday 18 March 2009

CSS3 Panel Slides from SXSWi

These are the CSS3 panel slides from SXSW Interactive. As the moderator, I apologize to the 40+ people who could not get into the room. It was a really informative and fun panel, so we’ve made these slides available to the public at large to extend that information.

• David Baron, Mozilla (XHTML format)
• Sylvain Galineau, Microsoft (PDF format for download)
• Håkon Wium Lie, Opera (HTML format)

Please enjoy and be sure to try things out in a variety of browsers. Feel free to share your comments and thoughts here.

Filed under:   CSS3, conferences, ie8, innovation, microsoft, mozilla, opera, software, sxsw, web design and development
Posted by:   Molly | 14:25 | Comments (15)

Friday 13 February 2009

I Am an Opera Singer

“I am an opera singer / I sing in foreign lands / Most people seem to know my name / Or at least know who I am” – Cake

Today marks a major passage in my life, and I’d like to share it with you. At 13:00 hours on Friday the 13th of 2009, I formally became an employee of Opera Software, ASA. My position is Web Evangelist, working on the Developer Relations team. I will be based out of the Mountain View, California office, although I will continue traveling as well as doing workshops and conferences. My job description is exactly what my job has always been: evangelism and outreach for standards and an open, accessible, multi-modal Web.

What is astonishing to me is that for the first time in my career, I am with a company that specifically empowers its employees in regards to open standards. This is quite the change of pace, for as many readers are aware, through my former roles as a group lead for the Web Standards Project (WaSP) and then as a standards consultant to Microsoft, standards evangelism has been an uphill battle with no rest for the weary, no aid for the wounded.

Not so at Opera. I’m working with some of the most talented folks in the business. Henny Swan, Chris Mills, Bruce Lawson, Jon Hicks, and of course Hakon Lie and so many others. The contributions these people have made to the industry and to the world are a light of inspiration, and I am very honored to be part of a company whose core creed is an open Web, and whose developer motto “Follow the Standards / Break the Rules” fits a personality like mine perfectly.

My role at Opera will largely be meeting with people, providing resources on Web standards, organizing events that promote open Web and best practices, and essentially evangelizing the essential truths of the Web that I’ve always held dear: Platform agnostic, user agent agnostic, ability/disability agnostic. Anyone. Anywhere. That’s the vision, and now I have the resources, support and security of a company whose time has truly come.

Of course, this is also the same day that it’s been outed that Microsoft IE8 will blacklist sites where the IE7 compatibility button is used by many people. This means that if you want IE8 readiness, you have to get ready now, or you run the risk of having your sites be on this blacklist, forcing IE7 rendering even if you authored the sites using open standards. So while this post is a personal announcement, anyone working on the Web please read up on this issue and pre-empt a potential blacklist on your site.

People who know me and know the history of how the IE8 opt-in opt-out switch got all, well, switched around will see immediately the irony of today’s events. I really, really want to maintain the belief that when Microsoft made that impressive and unprecedented leap into shipping standards mode as default, that that meant something. That was the result of a lot of hard work, a lot of pain, a lot of fury, and at least one person (me) who is now sitting here wondering if anything I spent the last year and a half of my life doing was helpful. That I am a mix of emotions right now is logical, because I know so many good folks within the IE team who believe. Their struggle is a difficult one and I don’t envy them, but I think this is a significant wrongdoing. A dramatic analogy in my mind is hey, so if I keep stepping on the brakes in my car, eventually I’ll opt out of them working?

All the more reason I’m counting my blessings that I’m with a company that wants standards. I don’t want to battle anymore. I want no more browser wars. I want peace in all the land. Is this an impossible dream? I don’t know, but for the first time in my adult life I am actually an employee to a company other than my own, a decision that was not made lightly. In fact, this is the third time I’ve been offered a job at Opera, so I’m going to remain an optimist, do my vocal exercises, and continue singing for a useful, beautiful, meaningful and interoperable Web.

Filed under:   announcement, browsers, community, ie8, microsoft, professional, society, software, standards, web design and development
Posted by:   Molly | 21:04 | Comments (84)

Tuesday 9 December 2008

Registration for January HTML Course Open

The HTML 4.01 Foundations course is available in a new format for January!

Read all about it and get signed up at WebWithMolly. If you have any questions or concerns you can ask them here or at the email provided on the sign-up page.

New year, new fun

Filed under:   accessibility, announcement, browsers, microsoft, professional, software, standards, web design and development
Posted by:   Molly | 14:03 | Comments (30)

Monday 8 December 2008

Ooh, Look, Standards ROI at Microsoft!

Here’s a little ditty I whipped up for the fab folks at MIX for your non-standard awareness enjoyment. A nice quick read and something to take to the boss, too!

Check out “Where the ROI is” and leave a nice note to Microsoft and MIX for not just wanting this sort of material, but actually asking for it.

Maybe, just maybe I left a little mark on the Microsoft wall as I tumbled out the door in June?

Filed under:   MIX09, community, microsoft, professional, standards, w3c, web design and development
Posted by:   Molly | 14:51 | Comments (17)

Tuesday 23 September 2008

Web Standards 2008: Three Circles of Hell

Over on A List Apart there’s a recent article of my musings of the current state of Web affairs. Check out the Three Circles of Hell and take some time to share your thoughts and opinions!

Filed under:   WaSP, accessibility, ajax, announcement, browsers, how we will be, javascript, microsoft, molly asks you, professional, standards, w3c, web design and development, whatwg
Posted by:   Molly | 08:29 | Comments Off

Thursday 10 July 2008

Of Rich Web Experiences

If you want best practices, best information, best people and you care about code the place for you is the Rich Web Experience this September.

Early bird discounts apply right now – go check it out! If that sounds like marketing speak, say so! I’m working on my diversity skills. Last year I was honored with the same spot but health issues prevailed so I could not participate. This year, I’m raring to go and excited to be talking to as many Web developers and professionals as I can. Particularly application developers.

Interestingly, today is the day my relationship with Microsoft really, really ends (last check deposited to my account). Today, I stumble toward a “rich web experience” despite concerns about standards, agendas and linear thinking.

You can read about my Keynote and other sessions at the RWE web site. There’s an early-bird registration discount too! The richest Web experience I know is ironically off the Web. Face to Face, that’s the magic place.

I hope to see you at RWE!

Filed under:   accessibility, ajax, announcement, browsers, community, conferences, how we will be, ie8, innovation, javascript, microsoft, policies, rails, society, software, standards, w3c, web design and development, whatwg
Posted by:   Molly | 11:12 | Comments (9)

Tuesday 3 June 2008

Microsoft and Me: Project Wrap-Up Preview

Well, the Microsoft project I’ve been working on for 1.5 years wraps up this month! It’s been a whacked, wild and wonderful ride.

I will be writing a few blog posts over the next several weeks talking about the technical and personal experiences of my recent time working with Microsoft. I was offered so much insight, access to great people and some influence as to IE7 and IE8 as well as other products and processes.

And, for some crazy reason, all this despite my known outrageousness.

Please look forward to more posts from me as I clarify the most educational information, interesting anecdotes and inside scoop from this truly life-changing experience.

Filed under:   WaSP, announcement, browsers, community, creativity, ie8, innovation, microsoft, professional, society, software, standards, w3c, web design and development
Posted by:   Molly | 18:24 | Comments (21)

Wednesday 5 March 2008

IE8 Beta and Readiness Toolkit

Here it is folks, an actual IE8 beta, overview of features, changes and enhancements, and a readiness toolkit for developers.

Check it out, now, my web soul brothers and sisters!

Filed under:   MIX08, WaSP, ajax, announcement, browsers, conferences, general, ie7, ie8, javascript, microsoft, software, standards, w3c, web design and development
Posted by:   Molly | 12:08 | Comments (61)

Monday 3 March 2008

Celebrate, C’mon! IE8 Standards Mode To Be Default

By now you’ve likely read about the big news regarding Microsoft’s commitment to a more interoperable Web, starting with the very good news that standards mode in IE8 will now ship as default.

I’m off to MIX08 tomorrow, and will be attending the keynotes as well as developer discussions on IE8 and additional events surrounding Microsoft’s agenda moving forward. I’ll post more as I’m able.

In the meantime, I just want to shout out a thanks for all the hard work it took this year to keep the IE8 conversation open and alive. We’ve been through some bumpy times, and I for one know that people on the inside of Microsoft faced an enormous amount of pressure in trying to keep that conversation in the public eye.

To all who worked so very hard from both the inside and outside, I toast your dedication, your willingness to challenge what would otherwise be the status quo, and I think it’s really worth taking a celebratory moment to realize that at least for now, the community voice can, and does, truly make a difference.

Filed under:   announcement, browsers, community, conferences, microsoft, policies, professional, society, software, standards, w3c, web design and development
Posted by:   Molly | 22:13 | Comments (45)

Wednesday 27 February 2008

Interview: Roger & Molly: Webstock New Zealand

I like this interview! It runs a bit long but Roger made me feel so welcome it just came out as a spontaneous chat.

Anyone willing to do text transcript, holler. I’d like to make one available!

Thank you, Roger, for a great interview.

Enjoy, comment, bitch etc. below:

Filed under:   announcement, browsers, community, conferences, creativity, food and drink, humor, ie7, innovation, microsoft, professional, society, software, standards, travel, w3c, web design and development, whatwg
Posted by:   Molly | 08:12 | Comments (37)

Saturday 16 February 2008

One Very Phishy Reason to Love IE7?

I’ve been in a wonderful hotel here in Wellington, New Zealand alas, with the crappiest connectivity ever. Then, something rather suspicious began to happen.

Note the URLs – they are the same in each case. Note that the sites are in fact, not the same.

Curious, I thought I’d put a few browsers to the test. Here you see Camino (seemingly) rerouted to someone’s phishy site. Firefox, Opera, Safari and Shiira all FAILed.

Here’s IE7, on Vista, in parallels on my MBP.

Well, that’s just very strangely impressive indeed.

Filed under:   browsers, ie7, microsoft, software, standards, web design and development
Posted by:   Molly | 05:37 | Comments (28)

Tuesday 5 February 2008

Come Spend an Evening with Me!

What? Why, it’s “An evening with Molly Holzschlag” in Melbourne, Australia. An informal, question and answer forum, the goal is to have a great discussion about all things Web. Standards, practices, oh, and yeah, I’m sure IE8 will be of interest. The event was organized and is being brought to you free by the wonderful folks at WIPA (Web Industry Professionals Association) and Web Standards Group.

Date:	Wednesday 6 February
Time:	6.30pm for 7pm start
City:	Melbourne
Venue:	Loop Bar, 23 Meyers Place Melbourne 3000 VIC
Cost:	FREE

The conversation will likely take up an hour or so, with plenty of time for drinks, socializing and networking after. I’m very excited to be seeing old friends, and meeting new! Please come by if you’re near the area, and make sure to come say hello to me.

Filed under:   announcement, community, food and drink, microsoft, professional, standards, travel, w3c, web design and development
Posted by:   Molly | 05:26 | Comments (11)

Sunday 3 February 2008

Call for Web Standards Quips and Clips

I’m preparing my keynote for Webstock in Wellington, New Zealand, coming up next week. I would very much like a sampling of video shots of a wide range of individual opinions and thoughts answering the question: “What is the definition of Web Standards?” You can be as funny, mean, or weird as you like so long as you have some clear point to make. If you’re an enthusiast, be enthusiastic. If you’re a hater, be a hater. Just have a point, and think of the children

If you’d like to help out, drop a me! please in the comments. Shyness definitely does not apply here. I’ll contact you by email privately with details as to where to send and format, etc.

I’ll be using these clips within the presentation to gain a widespread look at how people define, and feel, about Web standards. Mostly, the point is to demonstrate how it can mean such a variety of things to people from all over the world. The more variety, the better. I will then publish them in the public domain for all to enjoy.

Up for it? Let’s hear from you!

Filed under:   WaSP, accessibility, announcement, browsers, conferences, javascript, microsoft, professional, society, software, standards, w3c, web design and development
Posted by:   Molly | 18:55 | Comments (16)

Thursday 31 January 2008

Web Standards Aren’t

After a fantastic day in Perth I ended up talking to a group of oil workers. Men of all classes and walks of life. Scottish, English, Aussie. Tattoos, guys with attitude, heart, and an amazing decency of soul.

An engineer on an oil rig finds a fitting that’s defective. He tells his mates to fix or replace the fitting.

Following manufacturing specs, the person given the task consults the specs, and he builds it just so.

It fits, and will function. If it does not fit, it is not allowed to be used. Those are standards. The products developed meet manufacturing specs world over, and that’s that.

What we have today, on the Web, are not standards in the truest sense. We are at a time in the evolution of the Web where the idea of “standards” is more of a profound misnomer than ever.

Please Define Web Standards

Bet an Aussie dollar you can’t!

Most folks reading this post will say Web standards are markup and CSS, and maybe, just maybe, accessibility.

So what about JavaScript?

If you’re really smart, you raised your hand like Arnold Horschack and shouted out: JavaScript.

Surprise you markup and CSS pedantics, you know, that’s a “standard” too.

Democracy Killed My Grandma

The democratic Web fosters anarchy. That’s not a bad thing per se. I like the idea of anyone having a soap box. It makes for intrigue if not logic.

But professional sites must set some practice that is equivalent to all counterparts. And also supports my Mum when she wants to post a photo.

Don’t you agree?

Context, He Said, Is Everything

There’s a reason that we don’t have standards on the Web, or clearly understand what “standards” really are. The bottom line is it’s not that important.

Web standards aren’t, because democracy demands it.

The grand paradox is that our professional world demands a standard that can be measured and judged. And yet, we need to be free to not be conformists.

Web Standards Really Aren’t

Go ahead, tell me what they are. I know you can’t, because they aren’t. We have specifications, recommendations, implementations and a lot of best practice chatter.

What we do not have is the ace that will fit perfectly in the hole. Web standards aren’t.

It’s time to move on to whatever is next.

Filed under:   WaSP, accessibility, ajax, browsers, innovation, javascript, microsoft, professional, society, software, standards, w3c, web design and development, whatwg
Posted by:   Molly | 08:28 | Comments (75)