A new version of Unicode is now available. Version 5.1 contains:
the enabling of ideographic variation sequences which are needed for Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.
changes to properties and behavioral specifications, which primarily deal with Polish, Portuguese, and Tamil and other languages.
1,624 newly encoded characters
[from Cafe con Leche]
The W3C has posted a document to help both developers and authors create XML documents that work across languages and cultures. Best Practices for XML Internationalization is divided into primarily two sections: best practices for those designing XML applications and those authoring XML content.
Best practices for authors include:
Specifying the language of content
Specifying text directionality
Overriding information [...]
For the second year, the Congressional Management Foundation has reported on the web sites created by members of Congress and their staff. Called the 2007 Gold Mouse Report, the report itself is well written, with insights into what makes a good congressional website, e.g., easy to use and navigate, Section 508 compliance, information on how [...]
A new LITA guide will be available in early February:
Lehman, Tom and Terry Nikkel. Making Library Web Sites Usable. Neal Schuman, 2008. ISBN 978-1-55570-620-3. 208 pp. $65.
From the LITA Blog:
With clear, non-technical language, Making Library Web Sites Usable breaks down what usability assessments are, why they are important for libraries, why libraries [...]
Instead of remembering letters, number, and symbols, the brain has an easier time remembering pictures. Researchers at Newcastle University have created a way to use graphics as passwords. The user first chooses a background and then draws, freehand, and picture on top of the background. This becomes the password. The background [...]
The Nielsen Norman Group is providing a report on web site accessibility at no charge. Called Beyond ALT Text: Making the Web Easy to Use for Users With Disabilities. It includes the results of usability tests with users that have various types of disabilities and a list of 75 detailed design guidelines.
[from Web4Lib]
Instead of using hand-controlled joysticks for gaming, researchers are working with brain-controlled joysticks. Brain-Controlled Interfaces (BCI) allow you to control things with your mind. Some gaming companies are set to release BCI-controlled games in the next year.
Although this sounds great, other scientists worry that the way you must train your brain for gaming might cross [...]
Logitech has a new keyboard, the Wave Keyboard, that has an undulating top surface — to reflect the curvature of your fingers: ” . . . a gentle wave of different key heights to conform to the shape of your fingers.”
According to Rich Brown at the Crave blog, it was an easy transition, which [...]
Yahoo’s Exceptional Performance team has posted 13 rules to make your web sites faster. In addition to the rules, there is commentary that explains their reasoning. The 13 rules are, in summary:
Make Fewer HTTP Requests
Use a Content Delivery Network
Add an Expires Header
Gzip Components
Put CSS at the Top
Move Scripts to the Bottom
Avoid CSS Expressions
Make JavaScript and [...]
During the past American Library Association conference, the Council adopted this resolution dealing with accessibility and digitization:
Accessible Digitization Projects Resolution
WHEREAS, ALA Policy 54.3.2 states that “library materials must be accessible to all patrons including people with disabilities”; and
WHEREAS, Technology has given libraries the mechanism to make materials [...]
