I cannot help but grin (more like grimace) when someone mentions HTML5. Often this is someone I respect as both a comrade and a friend. You just never really know what they mean. Is it a technology? Is it an app platform? Is it a strategy? Is it a buzzword? This makes it even more rewarding to read the now constant flood of articles denouncing HTML5 as a barely feasible (let alone recommended) approach for a display technology. This surely is a result of the long delay in HTML5 being properly (consistently) implemented “everywhere”. It is just not living up to the promise and 2 years later, people are running out of patience.

What is HTML5 really? These guys spell it out pretty well. What is it "really" like? See this link at Apple (Safari only).

I like web apps, and phone apps, and desktop widgets. Really, I do.

For example, I like Facebook. It has provided me a way to stay in touch, or at least know I can, with friends from my childhood. And I like that. It also gives me a way to express my thoughts to a relatively large group of people with a slight chance of garnering at least a few responses to my status update.

It seems we are at the crux of a major breakthrough in TV interaction. I have just uncovered a major conspiracy set forth between hardware manufacturers, interactive design companies, and the MSOs and CE companies. They have been hard at work making absolutely sure that all TV UI is without a “down state”. Only after exhaustive investigation have we been able to determine such a conspiracy exists for such reasons as bold as “The consumer will never know”, and the good ole, “It will save us some time”.

(Fife and drum melody playing lightly in the background, voice in somber tone)
I recall a day when PC interactive was down stateless. Users were confused “did I click?”. Will the event fire when I click or when I release? This UI is out to get me…

It is like, why does my CPU always have to point out seemingly meaningless things about my mouse.

To me, a lot of people get caught up in the ideas of holidays, birthdays, and all those other "special" occasions. I'm sure we've all heard that every day the sun rises is a day to be thankful for. I have repeated it many times to many people through the story of the "Taoist Farmer". I think that's the point of the title (and content) of this video... "All Ways Days" which is partially a play on words for "Always Days".

The main thought is to live to the extents of enjoyment (Not to be confused with having fun). Enjoy "All" days "Always" and in "All Ways"... not just on those days with a label... because everyday is a wonderful gift of experience, embrace the "good" and the "bad"... just don't forget to let them go.

Samsung Internet@TV Flash Gets Focused

Recently while working on a Stagecraft based project for RCDb I ran into a little snag that had I not quickly RTFM’ed I might have been stuck on for a long time. Now when I say quickly I mean about after an hour of trying every trick in the book including praying, posting to Samsung Dev forum (waited 3 days with no response), and every combination of using the .focus() method I could think of…

The manual states that HTMLObjectElement in fact does *not* have a .focus() method. Well, this does not jive with the fact that whatever browser they are using in the "Emulator" does in fact support the .focus() method. Hence why maybe I did not go to the manual right away. "It works in the emulator" (It works on my machine echoing as scene slowly fades to black then a vision of Eddie Vedder glows like the Jesus thing you stare at, image below).

Well, in the end, you need to actually do two things to make it work in both places.

What is it?

I asked just this question to Don Woodward, a Principal Scientist and leader of the Adobe Digital Home initiative. Don explained it in this manner.