FreeXenon BLog has moved...

All right People the FreeXenon BLog have moved to a permanent Domain Host and is at www.FreeXenon.com. This BLogger account will no longer be updated. For more updates move yourselves on over to www.FreeXenon.com.

Moving to a New Home...

FreeXenon.com will be moving to a permanent home that will use a domain host so we do not play this little redirection game. Yea!

Cross-browser Keypad Support for Prototype?

I am currently working on a project that is using the Prototype script library and it seems that the character detection routines do not detect the numbers typed into a keypad on Internet Explorer. Grrrrr.... It, of course, works fine on Firefox.

Notes and Java/Javascript/XHTML Resources?

At work we have a Lotus Notes/Novell based Infrastructure sitting on top of Windows Servers. We have a developer that that does a lot of Notes application design and from what I have seen Notes Scripting and working with the canned widgets can be rather frustrating.

I am wondering if anyone out there knows of any good Java/Javascript/XHTML development resources for Lotus Notes Applications. I need to know how to hook into a Notes Application, the Document Object Model and things of that nature. How do I run or call Javascript/Java from within the notes application? Custom Designed XHTML front ends accessing a Notes Database, perhaps?

Please, throw me a bone here people! =)

It's the End of CSS hacks as We Know It...

P.I.E.'s article"CSS Hacks and IE7 and the oh so popular post on the IE Blog "Call to action: The demise of CSS hacks and broken pages" has made me think and desire to post what I have been thinking about all of this. I have also read various posts referring the the later and a common theme I am hearing is stop hacking your CSS because IE7 is coming. I do not ascribe to this thought at all.

It seems that with IE7 coming that we might actually be able to count IE7 as a modern browser.... What did I just say? I said that we might be able to count IE7 as a "modern" browser. This is very welcome and strongly desired by the web developer community. Does IE7 mean the end of CSS hacks? No! Does it mean that we will have to hack for IE7? If IE7 has truly joined the ranks of modern browsers then we will not have to. This is a wonderful prospect. However, the need to hack for legacy browsers: IE5, IE6, and older versions of Netscape and Opera, and others will still remain depending on the users of your site. If all of your IE users instantly convert to IE7 as soon as it is publicly available count yourself lucky, but I do not think that this is going to be the rule for what happens, especially in the Enterprise sector, until it has been out for a while and the side effects are known and it has been well tested with their web based applications

IE7 does not mean the end of CSS hacks as we know it, but may be a harbinger that in the future years when most everyone has have upgraded their PCs to get rid of old versions of legacy browsers and most everyone is using IE7 and updated versions of Firefox or Opera then hacks may be a thing of the past. I look forward to the day but it is not going to be any time in the very, very near future.

I'm Still Alive

I'm still alive, but still very busy at the moment. My wife and I are buying a house so that is still in the works. I have 3 related articles that I am working on when I get the time: Header Tags and Title Element both of which are related to "Usage of the Link Element", and then Thinking About Web Development Correctly. I'm still alive and very busy. Thank you for being patient.

Geeky and Humorous MP3's

Are you a Code Monkey or Web Standardsista, well there are songs out there for you. These are quite entertaining.

"Code Monkey Like Fritos" by Jonathan Coulton pays homage to Code Monkeys every where; without which the world would end. All hail Code Monkeys!

"Hands to Boag" is a love song about Web Standards set to "Raise Your Hands" by the '80's band Breathe. If you love Web Standards like I do you will love this song.

May 7th, Day of Angels

Siete de Mayo; Dia de Angeles; May 7th, Day of Angels - a new holiday started by .... Me. =) Why?? You Ask... To celebrate the Angels in my life. Find the Angels in your life... the people who have lifted you up when you have fallen, those who have given you strength when you were weak, those who have given you hope when all is lost - and thank them... Show them that their support made a difference! Tell them that without them and thier support things would have been very different.

We don't always know how the things we do affect people. We do not know how much we help and sometimes it is the little things, the innocuous things that we do that can give hope or inspiration - something as simple as a smile can renew the soul. There are Angels in your life find them, and let them know!! (I do not typically put personal stuff here, but I am making this an exception)

Celebrate the Angels that are in your life. I am happy to say that I ahve many that have made a difference in mine. This is third year that I have celebrated it and thee first year that I ahve made this public. So celebrate with me and spread the word.