http://judsoncollier.com/index.php/site/index/ en judson@judsoncollier.com Copyright 2010 2010-07-05T14:55:37+00:00 http://judsoncollier.com/site/virbthemes.com/ http://judsoncollier.com/site/virbthemes.com/#When:14:55:37Z I’m still waiting on some legitimate information from Virb (both of my eager twitter messages went unread by Virb), but I’ve been hatching up a plan to document some information about the new Virb, and the process of theming it. And it just so happened virbthemes.com was avaliable. Stay tuned folks. Stay tuned. I’m still waiting on some legitimate information from Virb (both of my eager twitter messages went unread by Virb), but I’ve been hatching up a plan to document some information about the new Virb, and the process of theming it. And it just so happened virbthemes.com was avaliable. Stay tuned folks. Stay tuned. 2010-07-05T14:55:37+00:00 http://judsoncollier.com/site/cameron_moll_colosseo_ipad_Martian_giveaway/ http://judsoncollier.com/site/cameron_moll_colosseo_ipad_Martian_giveaway/#When:17:49:37Z I’m entering The Cameron Moll Colosseo iPad Giveaway. A cheap shot? Yes, but from what I’ve seen, much worse has been done. In the meantime, expect me to be a promotional whore this week. I’m entering The Cameron Moll Colosseo Martian iPad Giveaway. A cheap shot? Yes, but from what I’ve seen, much worse has been done. In the meantime, expect me to be a promotional whore this week. You can help by tweeting the link, I need to be in the Top 20 on Google for “The Cameron Moll Colosseo Martian iPad Giveaway”. 2010-04-09T17:49:37+00:00 http://judsoncollier.com/site/asking_the_hard_questions_typekit_web_licenes/ http://judsoncollier.com/site/asking_the_hard_questions_typekit_web_licenes/#When:15:57:46Z NOTE: In this article, I pose many questions to both TypeKit and to foundries. I’m not exactly suggesting these things will happen, but they are in the realm of possibility and should be answered. I’m a skeptic at best, and I only criticize it because I want web fonts to succeed. As of late, the hot issue is fonts on the web, with font-face. To keep it simple, Font-Face allows us to upload fonts on our server so *any* font can be used, rather than just the standard set.  That said, the fonts are unprotected, so everyones in a tizzy on how to fix that (which is fine; i’d rather not deal with it, but I don’t have much of a choice). So, fast forward a few years later, Jeffery Veen leaves Veer, and creates TypeKit: a system that masks the location of your font so we can now use font-face. Sweet.  The Catch? Annual fees, limited by the participation of font foundries. In reality, although I totally dig the concept of TypeKit, it doesn’t seem like a sustainable model for delivering fonts. Realistically we should be getting our web license directly from the foundry, and in a pricing structure that makes more sense. (Click through for the rest, folks)NOTE: In this article, I pose many questions to both TypeKit and to foundries. I’m not exactly suggesting these things will happen, but they are in the realm of possibility and should be answered. I’m a skeptic at best, and I only criticize it because I want web fonts to succeed. As of late, the hot issue is fonts on the web, with font-face. To keep it simple, Font-Face allows us to upload fonts on our server so *any* font can be used, rather than just the standard set.  That said, the fonts are unprotected, so everyones in a tizzy on how to fix that (which is fine; i’d rather not deal with it, but I don’t have much of a choice). So, fast forward a few years later, Jeffery Veen creates TypeKit: a system that masks the location of your font so we can now use font-face. Sweet.  The Catch? Annual fees, limited by the participation of font foundries. In reality, although I totally dig the concept of TypeKit, it doesn’t seem like a sustainable model for delivering fonts. Realistically we should be getting our web license directly from the foundry, and in a pricing structure that makes more sense. TypeKit operates in the same way that a music subscription service works (i.e. Napster Pro or whatever). I’m just hoping that foundries won’t act with as much greed as the music industry will. (I’m going to be using a lot of music industry references here, so I hope your caught up.) Question #1: What exactly happens when the foundry’s contract ends and they ask for more money, or remove a font? This tends to happen when sales start driving. If the foundry wants more money, they either have to jack the prices up, create a new tier for fonts (and remove it from your clients tier). Which sucks. What if a Font Foundry backs out? or if they decide to remove a set of fonts? I’m merely suggesting that once designers start building these websites, the fonts have to last. A very long time. If not, your causing me (possibly hours of) pain having to rework designs to work with another font. Question #2: What happens when a competitor comes into play? I’m going to be reasonable and assume that at some point, a type foundry will be unhappy with the standards by TypeKit, and want to build their own service. They might even get other foundries in on it, because their plans are more pricey, and deliver more cash to the foundry. Which is, well, attractive. Even possibly, to reference the first question, a font-foundry moves from TypeKit to TypeKitCompetitor. So I pay TypeKit $50/month, and now I need to pay TypeKitCompetitor $75/month for so-and-so’s font that I need for a client. Which makes Judson a very unhappy designer. To sum up: What precautions is TypeKit making to make sure that we, the designers, aren’t going to get screwed out of out money in the future? Question #3: Why exactly, am I paying per website? There’s not a lot of logic in that. When I use a font in photoshop, I use fonts on dozens of projects, for no extra cost. But now— mystically— that I want the font to be built in, I need to pay for every domain I use it on? A lot of foundries base similar claims that it’s not per domain, but that every domain is on a different computer, justifying a second license. Okay then. So, hypothetically, my (dv) server from Media Temple can hold hundreds of domains on one server. So I only need one license for that, correct? Actually, thinking about it, the entire signifigance of the websites meter actually confuses me. Because technically, in the personal plan, I can use 1000 fonts on my website in the Portfolio Plan, and that ought to rack up fees like crazy. I think they’re just banking on the fact that I’m a legitimate designer who knows better than to use 15 fonts on one site (which is fine, but just makes the process odd for me). Question #4: Wouldn’t it be better to charge based on how many fonts are being used, or by how much bandwidth? Realistically, you are currently charging based on the number of websites that is using fonts (the personal plan limits fonts, but honestly, I’m not counting that one). And I’d imagine you’d pay the bills based on whose font is being used x many times, and by how much bandwidth is being used. To sum up: Why are your payment tiers weird? Question #5: Why can’t I buy the font, and recieve a web license with unlimited websites, and pay overages in bandwidth? This seems like the best way to purchase a web license: Bulletproof, my investment is protected, I get the web license for free (as it should be), and I get it for the price of the real font. This is the method Typotheque uses. They also sell a web license exclusively for 20% of the full font price. They give 500mb of bandwidth perfont, and you pay $1.4/GB a month (also: Typotheque claims 500mb will offer 27,700 impressions, fine for most everyone). If you ask me, it’s the perfect way to sell web fonts. In reality, just as we use fonts on multiple projects in Photoshop, it should be no difference to use it on the internet. Why should I pay a penalty to use a font on the web? Should I pay for it to be printed as well? I should however, pay for the url to be masked, and the bandwidth involved with that. General 2010-01-07T15:57:46+00:00 http://judsoncollier.com/site/the_most_comprehensive_article_on_html_5_forms_youll_read_this_year/ http://judsoncollier.com/site/the_most_comprehensive_article_on_html_5_forms_youll_read_this_year/#When:02:38:36Z Pay close attention on how to write forms that can dynamically change the keyboard on iPhone’s. 2010-01-05T02:38:36+00:00 http://judsoncollier.com/site/so_this_is_the_new_year/ http://judsoncollier.com/site/so_this_is_the_new_year/#When:02:27:02Z Normally at the end of December, I write out around 50-100 New Years Resolutions. A bunch of simple tasks, like read 10 books, or something or the sort. I’ve done it since 2006. In 2008 and 2009, I wrote out about 5 really big ones. And this year, I’ve written none. I have no expectations. Only lots of fear as I step through this year blindfolded. Bring it, new year. 2010-01-05T02:27:02+00:00 http://judsoncollier.com/site/tidying_up_2009/ http://judsoncollier.com/site/tidying_up_2009/#When:19:20:13Z Christmas break started today. Which is nice because this year sucked. Christmas break started today. Which is nice because this year sucked. Today, my good friend Extraface is talking about tidying up at the end of the year. And I kind of forgot about that. Preferably, I’d like to write out some goals for next year, wipe the computer clean and backup, and tie the loose ends on some things this year. How are you going to tidy up for 2010? 2009-12-19T19:20:13+00:00 http://judsoncollier.com/site/internet_explorer_9_supports_css3_still_fails_misrably/ http://judsoncollier.com/site/internet_explorer_9_supports_css3_still_fails_misrably/#When:02:14:50Z MSDN posted a new blog about IE9 beta. Normally I wouldn’t pay attention to anything Microsoft related, but as the existence of Internet Explorer has literally brought me to tears while working, I like to pay a close eye. I’ll try to keep this as unbiased as possible. [click through to see the facts. yo. ] MSDN posted a new blog about IE9 beta. Normally I wouldn’t pay attention to anything Microsoft related, but as the existence of Internet Explorer has literally brought me to tears while working, I like to pay a close eye. I’ll try to keep this as unbiased as possible. Amoung the blog posts it talks about “standards compatibility”, better CSS3 support, defacing the name of ACID 3, and Direct X support. Oh, what’s that? Did you say “deface the name of ACID 3”? Please say it a little louder. Some standards tests – like Acid3 – have become widely used as shorthand for standards compliance, even with some shortcomings. Acid3 tests about 100 aspects of different technologies (many still in the “working draft” stage of standardization), including many edge cases and error conditions. Here’s the latest build of IE9 running Acid3: How many times did the pass that through PR? Some standards tests – like Acid3 – have become widely used as shorthand for standards compliance, even with some shortcomings. Acid3 tests about 100 aspects of different technologies (many still in the “working draft” stage of standardization), including many edge cases and error conditions. Here’s the latest build of IE9 running Acid3: Let’s be clear: the only accepted standards test is ACID 3, which is written by Ian Hickson, who is kind of in charge of HTML 5. It’s not that I don’t think that it’s possible for him to screw up, but he’s under enough public scrutiny that these changes would have been addressed early on by the WHATWG list or another active group. As a member of the browser community, it’s your job to make Ian aware of your concerns, and address them. Not to mention, that you make no explicit recommendations on how to change the test anyway. It’s like denying the government because the man is lame. God forbid they give you streetlights and the police. It should also be said, that Microsoft has a history of denying these tests as legitimate standards tests—until they pass them. In 2007, when Microsoft announced they wouldn’t pass ACID2 with IE7: The original Acid Test tested only the CSS 1 box model, and actually became part of the W3C CSS1 Test Suite since it was a fairly narrow test – but the Acid 2 Test covers a wide set of functionality and standards, not just from CSS2.1 and HTML 4.01, selected by the authors as a “wish list” of features they’d like to have. It’s pointedly not a compliance test (from the Test Guide: “Acid2 does not guarantee conformance with any specification”). As a wish list, it is really important and useful to my team, but it isn’t even intended, in my understanding, as our priority list for IE7. This was written by Chris Wilson (who I admittedly respect for diving in and admitting they we’re behind in CSS support). Again in 2007, Another IE blogger writes: Now, with all that context, I’m delighted to tell you that on Wednesday, December 12, Internet Explorer correctly rendered the Acid2 page in IE8 standards mode. While supporting the features tested in Acid2 is important for many reasons, it is just one of several milestones for the interoperability, standards compliance, and backwards compatibility that we’re committed to for this release. But it’s not about ‘standards’ It’s really about how the other browsers reacted. Because if you notice, no one else is complaining. The fact is, Firefox 2, a browser released in 2006 and predates Acid 3, scores a 52/100 versus the current IE9 score of 32/100. And did I mention? Every major browsers scores over 90 on ACID 3. Infact, here’s a table. .BrowserAcid 3 ScoreYear Released.IE 7142006 - October.IE 8222009 - Spring.IE 9322010 - TBA.Firefox 2522006 - October.Safari 3752007 - June.Firefox 3.5932009 - June.Opera 101002009 - Fall.Safari 41002009 - Nov.Chrome 31002009 - Sept Look at it any way you want to. IE glady rides the backseat in standards, and it’s making my life terrible. 2009-12-17T02:14:50+00:00 http://judsoncollier.com/site/vimeo_sued_for_lipdubs/ http://judsoncollier.com/site/vimeo_sued_for_lipdubs/#When:02:01:39Z Zach Klein, co-founder of Vimeo (now at a little place called Boxee) comments on Capitol Records choice to sue Vimeo. In other news, Capitol Records stole Jimmy’s lunch and gave him a wedgie. Jerks. 2009-12-17T02:01:39+00:00 http://judsoncollier.com/site/facebook_profile/ http://judsoncollier.com/site/facebook_profile/#When:18:24:44Z I’m cool with all the new facebook changes, but I’m not sure how conformable I am with this: (Yeah, your gonna have to click-through for the punchline. Suck it, RSS). I’m cool with all the new facebook changes, but I’m not sure how conformable I am with this: General 2009-12-16T18:24:44+00:00 http://judsoncollier.com/site/the_survey_for_people_who_make_websites/ http://judsoncollier.com/site/the_survey_for_people_who_make_websites/#When:14:27:21Z Help A List Apart compile “The Survey for People Who Make Websites”, for the third year in a row. Help A List Apart compile “The Survey for People Who Make Websites”, for the third year in a row. Also: Anyone else feeling a little small after seeing the options for dollars paid per hour? 2009-12-16T14:27:21+00:00