jd/adobe

"Best practices" documents must always make some judgment calls, but this new summary from the W3C is a good checklist for evaluating a project before it goes public.

The emphasis is on HTML development ("do not use tables", "do not use frames" etc), but lots of the recommendations are good for any runtime engine: strike a balance between similar experience across devices and using device-specific capabiloities... use emulators early but be sure to test on the varied devices themselves before release... minimize auto-refresh without audience disclosure and control... doublecheck contrast and color use under various viewing conditions... my favorite: "Use clear and simple language" (which implies acceptance of language-neutral imagery and appropriate animation).

There's a longer version available too, but it's good to keep the summary bookmarked, both for personal checking and as ammunition in internal workgroup discussions.

Posted by John Dowdell at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Techmeme is clustering on a survey of 402 people in Japan, and found that 91% were not immediately planning on entering The iPhone Experience. Couple of different takeaways on that:

• Anthony Ha had a telling line this afternoon: "iPhone is the tech blogosphere equivalent of Brad and Angelina." Same thing with the mention in the Adobe Analyst Call... didn't warrant the attention... same with the discussions about a new JavaScript framework. This is audience-driven news ("Would you like to supersize that?"), with a life of its own.
  
• The native-English techblog elite are not the whole of technology today. Silicon Valley prompts a lot of conversation, but most people who use technology are not native English speakers. Yes, other people may make different choices. It's important to understand why they do.
  
• Mobile adoption is based on what your friends are doing. Apple has an exceptionally strong brand in Japan, but a new type of choice in pocket devices has a strong social aspect. We can expect regional differences in how devices and applications are received, and must learn from them.
  
• California has been backwards and weirdly retro in mobile phones for a long, long time. Apple's iPhone helped this impoverished culture embrace advanced pocket functionality. Techmeme and similar sites are very California-centric. It's a distorted worldview.
  
• Japan has had a very strong mobile culture for a very long time. A new entrant would have to prove they could support how people already use their phones. And manufacturers attuned to the local markets have not been standing still....
  
• Considering that Flash Lite has been ubiquitous in Japan, Korea, and other mobile-savvy societies, you could say "People in Japan don't want an iPhone, 'cause it ain't got Flash" but that would be too facile. I just put that in the title to attract some trolls.... ;-)
  

Large computers may not be used all that differently across cultures, but personal devices sure are driven by our surroundings, as are the social applications built atop them. When we see a shocking difference like this iSHARE survey, it's good to take some time, and see what the difference is all about.

Posted by John Dowdell at 08:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Flash Lite talks with J2ME: There were articles earlier today about Sony's Project Capuchin, but now Sony has info on their website. It seems like Sony phones will have an API so that a local Java engine can communicate with the local Flash Lite engine. They cite three use cases: a Java application triggering a Flash application; using a SWF presentation layer atop a Java processing/services layer; and intermixing SWF components within a Java application. Inter-engine communication has taken place in web browsers for awhile, but implementation differences and latency limited uses... may be different in this mobile implementation. I asked within Adobe this morning for context, and heard there will be more info after a conference next week. Sony's got some source info up now, though, to go beyond the morning's news articles.

Posted by John Dowdell at 07:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)