DOM – A brief explanation

HTML DOM is a standard object model for HTML as well as a standard programming interface. Furthermore, it is platform independent. It defines the objects and properties of HTML elements and methods which make them accessible meaning how to get, change, add and delete elements within HTML code. DOM clusters everything within the HTML code in nodes.

There are slight differences at some points, especially the getElementById method and the old document.all. document.all was supported by IE and Opera browsers while newer versions of them as well as Mozilla browsers supported the newer getElementById method.

Same old, same old

So Apple announced their new iPhone on Monday. What’s new? 3G and some applications and a lower price. The not very critical Apple fans love it and can’t wait to buy it yet the stock price fell 5%. Finally! Even with the adjusted price this gadget is way too expensive and manufacturers from Asia already proved that they can do better for a smaller price. AT&T, Apple’s official retailer in the US announced because of they are selling the iPhone the earning per stock are expected to go down 11 cents – now that’s a healthy business relationship. The problem for AT&T is that they signed a long term contract which means they still have to give Apple a part of their earning and pay to subsidy the phone. That’s generous. I just hope that people wake up and realize that Jobs and his team are the real evil here. They are charging consumers for next to none improvements and call it updates (sounds familiar?) and are constantly trying to make as much money as possible by showing no mercy for suppliers and distribution partners.

The wind has changed, Apple is no longer the cool and friendly brand trying to bring joy into your life. They are after your money, people.

Twitter – Yet another Web 2.0 Application

Twitter is a social-networking Web 2.0 Application that allows its users to share any updates in a persons life to be shared with friends in 140 characters or less. Because of the limited amount of symbols you are allowed to use, it is also called a micro-blogging application. It was built using Ruby on Rails and as most Web 2.0 Applications its API can be used for mashups of any kind. Simular services are Plazes.com with the addition of a more in-depth profile and geo locating feature. Both applications built a bridge between the web and mobile phones. Along with many other applications, Twitter introduced their own terminology. A follower is someone who registered to be notified about updates of another user while being followed obviously means that someone else wants to stay in touch with you and is reading your updates.

Common Sense and IT

<Cthon98> hey, if you type in your pw, it will show as stars
<Cthon98> ********* see!
<AzureDiamond> hunter2
<AzureDiamond> doesnt look like stars to me
<Cthon98> <AzureDiamond> *******
<Cthon98> thats what I see
<AzureDiamond> oh, really?
<Cthon98> Absolutely
<AzureDiamond> you can go hunter2 my hunter2-ing hunter2
<AzureDiamond> haha, does that look funny to you?
<Cthon98> lol, yes. See, when YOU type hunter2, it shows to us as *******
<AzureDiamond> thats neat, I didnt know IRC did that
<Cthon98> yep, no matter how many times you type hunter2, it will show to us as *******
<AzureDiamond> awesome!
<AzureDiamond> wait, how do you know my pw?
<Cthon98> er, I just copy pasted YOUR ******’s and it appears to YOU as hunter2 cause its your pw
<AzureDiamond> oh, ok.

The Form Tag

The form tag, obviously, creates a form within a website. Those forms contain textfields, radio buttons, checkboxes, and other elements that a user can manipulate and finally submit to communicate with a server, send a search request and many other things. Here’s an example that contains the typical elements of a form, Simple Form Example.

If you take a look at the source code you’ll notice that form action tag contains the url where the form data is being send to. As I said the before, it’s a very basic form, the only tricky part (not really but I had some problems with that way back) is that if you have radio buttons and you want the user to be limited to make only one selection (otherwise you’d use checkboxes) make sure that the “id” is the same except for a number counting upwards for every possible selection:

…id=”Selection_1″
…id=”Selection_2″
…

If the id’s not matching the form will allow users to make more than one selection. If you want to learn more about forms simply check out a tutorial website like Pixel2Life and try one of the PayPal form tutorials. They contain a lot of different issues and have “real world” touch.

The Empire Strikes Back!

During his last Microsoft CEO Summit Bill Gates pulled of a Steve Jobs’s like presentation (minus the presentation skills – notice how he has his back to the audience all the time) and introduced Microsoft’s Touch Wall, a huge interactive screen that let’s you browse through vast amounts of information by just using a huge screen with cameras and your hands as an input device. It’s like the iPhone on steroids! Although still in development this might be the future of corporate and educational presentations. To watch Bill Gates’ presentation, follow this link.

iSearch?

According to a report in the German edition of the Financial Times, Apple is working on a search engine to complement their browser and hardware devices like the iPhone. For me it’s the logical next step on the highway from everybody’s darling to Microsoft II. (Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Microsoft is bad, but their rep is) With their consistent strategy of closed systems a search engine is a money maker obviously missing in their portfolio. I bet the thing comes with awesome features such as:

- only 1 result if you search for Microsoft:

- you can advertise for US-$ 0.99 or € 0.99 because it’s almost the same, right?

- and obviously, the search results cannot be transfered to any PC…

Can’t wait!

Pimp my Facebook Profile

Like many students, I am just about to start the process of applying for jobs. I stumbled across this interesting article today about how a Facebook profile might actually help you to get the job and what other steps computer and internet-savvy people should take to gain an advantage over the competition.

“If you approach online profiles as a way to present your professional side to the world, then you have a great opportunity,” says John Challenger, CEO of outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“Write about your passions and ideas, and employers who search Google or other sties can find your page and get to know you,” he advises. About 75 percent of employers admit to using Google to do background research on candidates, he notes, and a growing number are using the sites to include candidates rather than exclude them.

I guess I have to update my numerous profiles on social networking sites before I apply to companies. Maybe this blog is a step in the right direction. If you are interested in reading the complete article, go to Baselinemag.com.

Back in the Saddle!

My second semester at Bond started on Monday. As part of my assessment for Web Applications I’ll be posting topics of interest for this course regularly from now on.

This post is intended to provide an overview over my level of knowledge with Web Applications. Studying Business and IT I’ve always been interested in computers and the web. I started designing some web sites back in high school and used these skills throughout different internships. In 2005, I redesigned the website of the Boston-based non-profit United Planet. In addition to that I designed a Joomla! based portal in order to stay in touch with my friends. The site can be found at here. I mainly used Macromedia software (now Adobe) and Photoshop. I am particular interested in Adobe Flash because the possibilities with this software are nearly endless. I’ve spent some time programming basic games in Flash but couldn’t really find the time for it lately. My diploma thesis back in Germany was about Web 2.0 and the new possibilities it offers for organizations to communicate both in- and outwards. If you are interested in this topic and fluent in German I’ll be more than happy to send you a copy…

Make sure you check out this video which explains the concept of Web 2.0 and a lot of topics we are going to tackle in the upcoming weeks.