Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Power of XHTML

What is XHTML
eXtensible HTML - otherwise known as XHTML - the next evolution of HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is leaner, meaner and more tuned for compatibility with browsers on a wide range of devices. The new standard is XHTML 1.0. XHTML is based on XML. There isn't much difference between the famous HTML and XHTML. Basically there are just minor changes which have been done to make XHTML a more powerful web language. 

Why should you use XHTML
XHTML has some interesting advantages over the ordinary HTML. Some of the benefits of using XHTML are;
  • Its becoming the language of choice for a wide range of browsers including those on mobile devices, such as PDA, IPhones e.t.c.., and cell phone.
  • Unlike HTML, XHTML has elements for vector graphics amd mathematical formulas.
  • XHTML allows aural screen readers and other browsers for the visually impaired to more easily consume Web content.
  • By using XHTML, you're future-proofing your web pages to take advantage of all the greatest browser advances to come.
  • XHTML is great for storing large structured document collections
  • XHTML is backward compatible and can be read by existing software applications that already understand HTML.
HTML or XHTML? The choice is yours...
Do any advantages of XHTML matter to you? Are you working on pages that will be displayed on mobile devices? As we have noted, the differences between HTML and XHTML are minimal, so its easy to migrate the existing HTML to XHTML. The good thing about XHTML is that, its very accommodating. It will allow the old versions to work. Its all about being on the cutting edge of technology.

Monday, January 10, 2011

The Auto Navigation System

What is the point of having an auto navigation system
 By: Owen Jones 

Maps are essentially flawed. By the time the surveyors have finished and the data that they have collected has been mapped out and the printers have published the map and sent it to the distributors and they have sold it to the shops and you have made up your mind to buy one, it is out of date. Occasionally years out of date

Another difficulty is that it is impossible to read a map and drive carefully at the same time. You cannot read a map and look out of the windshield at the same time. So, you either need a co-pilot who can read a map, or you have to stop repeatedly and memorize a small part of the map. That is all right, people did it that way for a hundred years or more, but now there is a better way.

GPS satellite navigation systems have been around for a long time. At first they were only utilized by aircraft and ocean liners. As the price fell, yachting people could afford them; later still long distance lorries had them, then very expensive cars and now practically all cars.

In spite of the odd story of someone driving into a river in the dark, because the driver trusted the sat nav and the sat nav did not know that the bridge had been removed, the auto navigation system has been a resounding success. 




I am certain that family Sunday outings are far happier now that the spouse does not have to do the map-reading; lone travellers do not have to stop to get their bearings and lone female drivers are more secure because they do not have to stop to ask directions.

Being lost at night or having broken down in the countryside or even taking a wrong turn into a rough district of town is terrifying. Even if you have your cell phone to call the breakdown service, you have to know where you are and if you are in a rough area of town by mistake, you do not want to stop to ask the way and you certainly do not want to go farther off the beaten track.

Then there are the detours that we want or have to make because of natural disasters, break-downs, traffic jams and roadworks teams. Often you will get advanced warning on the local radio of trouble spots up ahead, but if you do not know the neighbourhood, there is not much you can do about it. Unless you have an auto navigation system.

I know many people who do not use their auto navigation system every time they get into their car and that is how it should be for those people, but it is like insurance, it is good to have it when you need it.

No-one needs an auto navigation system to go to the neighbourhood shop, but it is really nice to take the scenic route the next time you go out of town to visit a relative. Perhaps you always take the same route when you visit your Aunty Lil, but with an auto navigation system you can vary your journey to pass local attractions.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Technology Evolution


Ever wonder where all amazing gadgets come from? Ever wonder who try out these gadgets first? Usually those that try it first risk everything from their investment and having the things  blow up in front of their faces. The weird fact of the story is that most of the gadgets originate from a destructive application. Consider one of the first computers called, the ENIAC whose sole purpose was for calculating artillery-firing under varied conditions for target accuracy.  Now technology is a door to door necessity and has moved into the private sector for important projects like, Microwave Ovens, Nuclear Energy, aviation space travel, telecommunications, Internet, even designing of state of art vehicles. Who can believe this that all this technology you see today came from military background. 

But now we are seeing things move so fast that the general population will be getting the new technologies in some way or another within a few years from discovery and proving of concept. Many things are now being created in private sector and the military is finding great applications for them such as the palm computer technology for Navy Seal Teams, cell phone telemetry tracking. 

The company with the marketing channels and fastest roll out gets the cake, but does not have time to eat it. Remember in the new age the fast eat the slow. The game never stops and people and companies enter and exit the field of their choice at will. With the Internet as a distribution channel a new widget can be to market in months and delivered in 8-12 hours by FedEx if the company has their manufacturing at or near a regional hub. The World is changing and we maybe getting many of these new technologies a lot faster than before. Think about it.