Robert Sullivan wrote:
>> Still, 10 years for a web browser (that wasn't all
that great to begin
>> with) is time enough! In "web years",
it's a century.
>
> No argument there, but that's not the point. As NS4
fell off the
> radar, it was replaced by a menagerie of alternate
browsers and (more
> importantly) new devices, so the issue is not just
"Use CSS to design
> for modern browsers and devices we haven't thought of
yet" but also
> designing for methods of access which don't support
CSS.
>
> NS4 is still useful as an extreme case of this, whether
or not anyone
> is using it to look at your site. You could also use
Off by One, an
> HTML 3.2 browser which doesn't support CSS, although
without NS4's
> endearing habit of trying to support CSS and going down
in flames it
> doesn't have quite the same effect.
>
> When we were in the market for a new ILS, one of the
audience members
> at a meeting left the sales rep speechless by asking if
patrons could
> submit reserves on their cell phones. We shouldn't
make the same
> mistake. If you're doing a local history site, your
patrons may not
> be using your city directory street listings on their
cell phones to
> follow their ancestor's footsteps, or standing in a
cemetery and
> searching the nearest gravestone to orient themselves
relative to the
> plot they're trying to find - but they *could* if you
take it into
> consideration when you design the site.
>
I assume the rep was speechless because the question seemed
like a
likely scenario. How the site would look in NS4 might not
be as
pertinent. Indeed, considering the fact that you can't
design for every
eventually on the planet -- sticking to how the online
service looks on
a Cell Phone and dumping consideration even of 3.2 browsers
might be a
justifiable trade-off.
At some point, designers/developers/vendors have to choose.
LEO
-- -------------------
www.leoklein.com (site)
www.ChicagoLibrarian.com (blog)
aim/msn/yhoo/goog: 'leorobertklein'
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