James Oppenheim’s blog

I recently had a large bout of spy ware on my PC, which consequently left my computer paralysed and unable to connect to the Internet! This can be kind of frustrating when you are a web developer: there is only so much I can do on my localhost.

Fortuity, after countless hours spent trying to debug the situation I remembered that Windows XP has a feature called System Restore. System Restore automatically backs up registry and system files whenever you install new software or drivers. System Restore returns your computer to an earlier time (called a restore point) without causing you to lose recent work, such as saved files, history and favourite lists. What’s more, all changes made by System Restore are completely reversible, what more could you want.

To find System Restore go to your start menu then: All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore.

Technorati Tags: Windows XP, System Restore, spy ware

I have been working in the web design industry for a number of years now and I am still unsure of exact requirements for disability rights and Australian websites. With today being blogging against disablism day I thought I should find out.

America has Section 508. But does Australia have anything requiring electronic technology developed in Australia to be accessible?

One thing for sure is that all websites need to be navigated and read by everyone, regardless of location, experience, or the type of computer technology used. This is outlined in the Australian Human rights & equal opportunity commission’s ‘World Wide Web Access: Disability Discrimination Act Advisory Notes‘. But what does this mean for Australian web developers? Do we have to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines priority 1, 2 or 3? And if so, who is enforcing these laws?

There has been one legal case concerning Web accessibility known as Maguire vs. SOCOG, where SOCOG was sued because its website was seen to be inaccessible. This shows us that inaccessible websites can and are seen as illegal!
Therefore, while not being specifically law, it looks like it is up to the web developer, company or client to decided on a moral or commercial grounds weather the website they are building should be done with accessibility in mind.

I don’t think this is the right situation. Maybe there should be an Australian law enforcing all website to be built in an accessible manner? But more importantly, I believe there should be more resources and eduction on building usable and accessible websites that can be used by anyone with any technology and disability.

Technorati Tags: accessibility, web, Australia, disability rights, Blogging Against Disablism Day

I just completed the 2007 Web Design Survey and wow was it easy. There is a distinct lack of quantitative data around about the web design industry, so if you are a web designer I encourage you to go to A List Apart and fill out the survery.

Whats more it only took me five minutes and I am in the winning for an Apple 30GB video iPod, an Event Apart jump drive, or a funky A List Apart T-shirt.

Come on you know you want to.

Technorati Tags: 2007 Web Design Survey, A List Apart, web, interesting sites

This morning I went hot air ballooning over Melbourne. Wow, what an amazing experience! We flew with a company called Balloon Sunrise, I can’t speak highly enough of them - very professional, safe, efficient and funny. Whats more there was a glass of champaign with our 5 star buffet breakfast at the Grand Hyatt to finish off, how could it get any better.

Hot air ballooning was an inspiring experience, silently floating over Melbourne’s CBD enabled us to gain a birds eye view of some of Melbourne’s most famous landmarks - Port Phillip Bay, The Arts Centre, MCG and the Bolte Bridge. I was even considering become a hot air balloon pilot, although I think that whim was more full of hot air than anything else!?!

Hot air ballooning at sunrise provided some fantastic photo opportunities. I will upload them to my Flickr page, so watch out for some hot air.

Technorati Tags: hot air ballooning, Melbourne, Australia, Balloon Sunrise

I am going to participate in the 2007 CSS naked day on April 5. The creator of CSS naked day, Dustin Diaz believes it is the ideal event to promote web standards. While everyone will be able to see my XHTML for its semantic and structural integrity, it may provide some usability problems. I think promoting web standards is a great idea, however, should we do it at the cost of usability? So I will run a small, very small, focus group. If you find it hard, confusing or just plain annoying to navigate my site on April 5, please let me know and I can try and make the necessary adjustments.

I will be away camping at Mungo National Park over Easter - more importantly CSS naked day - so I will 700 KM away from my computer. Consequently, I will not be able to show off my by disabling my stylesheets for the day personally. Hopefully, however, Guff’s Word Press: Naked Day plugin will handle the job for me, so everyone will be able to see me in my birthday suit, if only for one day.

Hopefully this will provide some useful comments on the structural usability of my site as well.

Technorati Tags: CSS, web standards, web, accessibility, usability, Mungo National Park

Daylight savings is changing tonight in Melbourne Australia at 2 AM. Our clocks are going forward this Saturday/Sunday at at the specified time of 2 AM, this mean I can sleep in. Wow, I love sleeping in. Yes I am very productive during daylight savings, but hell, I still do love sleeping in! How sweet it is. Suddenly 9:00 AM becomes 8:00 AM. Could daylight savings get any better? Suddenly I don’t feel so guilty about daylight savings.

Web applications? Are they international, definitely yes! What about Flickr, when is my picture publishes? Daylight savings or not? What about my shopping cart purchase at Amazon. Daylight savings or not? What about a simple comment on a post. Daylight savings or not? How do you handle different time zones. Do you count on the server? Well the short answer it seems is yes. But the long answer is - does it realy matter?

Well do I like this? The answer is yes. I can sleep in and be an hour late, wow daylight savings helps me me be a better person. More sleep = good. More comments on a post per day = good. More importantly it is impossible to be late!

Daylight saving for Melbourne Australia, you are great. Thank you and it can help slightly late web application developers.

Technorati Tags: daylight savings, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, time zones, happiness, Flickr, Amazon, web application

Where can I get the cheapest royalty free stock photos on the internet I here you say.

Fotolia.com provide royalty free stock photos at extremely reduced prices - $1 for medium, $2 for large and $3 for extra large. After you come too from the shock of those crazy low prices, you will ask, well why are they so cheap? Well according to Fotolia it “is the first worldwide social marketplace for royalty free stock images, allowing individuals and professionals to legally buy and share stock images and illustrations”.

With the medium images being about 2MB in size they are easily big enough for use on the web.

That being said some of the images can be quite cheesy, but if you do some intense searching I am sure you will be able to find something useful and all for a measly $1, a US dollar that is.

So go forth and prosper, tell your friends and family the more the merrier.

Technorati Tags: stock photos, photography, cheap photos, free photos, web

With the advent of Web 2.0 and the evolution of the web as a whole I started to wonder: How far has the web come from its humble inception? Luckily Archive.org can provide a portal into our past, looks like we don’t need Doc from Back to the Future after all. Below are some interesting comparisons, I hope you enjoy.

1. Google
   1998 - Take me back
   2007 - http://www.google.com/
2. Yahoo!
   1996 - Take me back
   2007 - http://www.yahoo.com/
3. eBay
   1997 - Take me back
   2007 - http://www.ebay.com/
4. Microsoft
   1996 - Take me back
   2007 - http://www.microsoft.com/
5. Sony
   1996 - Take me back
   2007 - http://www.sony.com/
6. BBC
   1998 - Take me back
   2007 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/
7. Adobe
   1996 - Take me back
   2007 - http://www.adobe.com/
8. Apple
   1996 - Take me back
   2007 - http://www.apple.com/
9. GeoCities
   1996 - Take me back
   2007 - http://www.geocities.com/
10. AOL
    1997 - Take me back
    2007 - http://www.aol.com/

This begs the question: What will websites look like in 2020? Will we be up to web 5.0? Will Google control the internet?

Technorati Tags: websites, archives, web, web 2.0, Google, Yahoo!, eBay, Microsoft, BBC, Sony, BBC, Adobe, Apple, GeoCities, AOL

Australia Day. Wow, what more do you want in a day. No work, beer and a BBQ. Plus Australia thumped England in the Cricket. Is there anything more fitting? I should use the day to be constructive, but I don’t know, maybe I should just be patriotic and put another snag on the barbie?

Technorati Tags: Australia day, Melbourne, Cricket, BBQ, patriotism

So after a few months of doing this blogging thing I thought to myself, is this really the best / most efficient way for me to participate in the blogosphere. I am using WordPress to publish this blog and it is great, easy to style, effective and user friendly. Well this is good yeah?

But what about the new Bubbletwo (this site no longer exists) by Ben Nolan. I have setup another blog and it took 5 seconds. Now that is great. It takes me about the same time to write a post. So is this better than WordPress? Well it depends on what you want. I think Ben’s web application is a fantastic idea, but it lacks a few key features.

1. Lack of customisation. - You should be able name your blog and give it a strap line
2. Strange URL’s - You should get a more memorable URL you can give your friends rather than http://www.bubbletwo.com/gaaye (this site no longer exists)
3. Edit - You should be able to have the ability to edit your other posts, not just delete them

Once these features have been integrated I think Bubbletwo has the ability to be the next MySpace, Flickr, YouTube or Twitter.

While Bubbletwo is in a different market than WordPress, I still think it could have a major impact on the internet or at the very least change the way I blog.

Technorati Tags: WordPress, bubbletwo, blog, blogging, web, personal, Ben Nolan, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter