I’ve always been a sucker for valid markup code. I personally cannot stand the sight of that little red bar when heading on over to W3C’s Validator. So heres a little tip for you all on embedding valid (X)HTML videos in your blog (or webpage).

There are a couple key things to take note of. Normally, the code you use to embed videos, like that of a Youtube video, makes use of the embed tag. This tag, among other elements, was never part of any standardized versions of HTML. And so, using the embed tag produces invalid markup. There are a lot of other elements which would produce invalid markup, such as the classid or the codebase attribute.

You’re probably thinking, thats all fine and whatnot, but just tell me how to do it already! So here you go, just copy this bit of code replacing the appropriate values.

I myself have had a lot of debates and discussions over this topic. But I’m going to try and keep it sweet and simple in another last ditch effort to promote Firefox. Firefox at the end of the day is the better browser. Lets break it down shall we; a look at some of the reasons why you should switch to Firefox.

• Secure
• Faster
• Customizable

Sure, everybody says that, but really, what does it all mean and how does it effect me directly? Let me explain.

Security
Well, lets look at one of the key factors in keeping yourself safe on the internet. We all know that Macs are virtually virus free and a lot safer then machines running Microsoft. And for one explicit reason. Not necessarily because Mac OS X, or whichever OS you may be running, was coded better then Windows. No, its simply because the majority of the world uses Microsoft’s Windows products. Now obviously, just as a consumer looks to get more bang for their buck, so to do our “attackers.” Those who are responsible for writing all those malicious virus’ and Trojans, aim to effect as many people as they possibly can with one virus. With a consumer base which runs primarily on Windows, that task is 10x’s easier. Virus’ do in fact exist for Macs, but seeing as so few use Macs, by the time a fix/patch is released, the attacker would have gained far less then if he or she were to write a virus for a Windows machine.

So what does all this mean? Anonymity; keeping a low profile. Just as there are hardly any virus’ for Macs, the same idea can be applied to Firefox and Internet Explorer respectively. Attackers know most people choose to use Internet Explorer, so they will write malicious software targeted towards the many flaws and bugs in Internet Explorer. Mind you, with Microsoft’s product being the target of most attackers, it becomes doubly difficult to prevent such attacks before they happen. Consequently, drawing Microsoft’s attention away from the user experience and directing their focus on fixing the always arising problems and potential exploits.

Faster
Firefox provides a faster browsing experience. A perfect reason to use it. Aside from the many tweaks and addons you can install for Firefox, the results come from the development of Firefox. Its rendering engine works faster then Internet Explorer’s and as a result, represents about an average of a 1-2 second load time reduction, (or at least that is what I have noticed on most websites). In all honesty, for the average user, they probably wouldn’t notice much of a difference mainly because that is not something which concerns them. But the fact still remains, Firefox is indeed a faster browser.

Customizable
Themes, addons (formally known as Extensions) and tweaks, you name it, you can do it. Not only does Firefox allow users to pick and choose from a wide variety of themes, but it also allows you to install addons which greatly improve your browsing experience or the functionality of your browser. Not to mention the security benefits which comes from a lot of great addons, all of which are freely available through Mozilla’s website. Extensions such as NoScript or AdBlock Plus serve to provide another layer of protection.

Standards
Last but not least, lets not forget about the fact that Firefox adheres and complies to much of the currently established World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards for the web. Which in short means, when your using Firefox, so long as the developer of the website adhered to these standards, you know you will be viewing a website the proper way it was meant to be viewed.

All in all, when you look at each browser as whole, one stands out from the crowd. So do the right thing. Make the switch now. If not for yourself, do it for her. Get Firefox.

Has Microsoft finally came to the cold, harsh realization that their browser is in fact terrible? I certainly hope so, and the announcement of Internet Explorer 8 was more then thrilling. When I first found out about IE8 and Microsoft’s decision to finally throw us designers and developers a bone, I was overwhelmed.

Internet Explorer and standards complaint where two terms I thought I would never hear my self utter in the same sentence. But it is in fact true. This new Internet Explorer now complies with CSS 2.1 and has fixed a lot of the HTML inconsistencies present in older versions of IE.

Cascading style sheets 2.1 compliance
The Internet Explorer 8 layout engine is built to be cascading style sheets 2.1 compliant, enabling web developers and designers to write their pages once and have them render properly across all cascading style sheets 2.1 compatible browsers. However, Microsoft is not finished—hence, Microsoft is seeking feedback from developers working with Internet Explorer 8 Developer Beta 1.

HTML improvements
Many cross-browser inconsistencies have been fixed in Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1, including:

* Separate URL handing for attributes
* The get/set/remove attribute implementations are now compatible with those of other browsers
* Default attributes for HTML are supported so that they always exist on elements whether specified in the markup or not

One key thing to note is that Microsoft, for some strange reasons I have yet to understand fully, has decided with this release of IE8, users will be able to choose from 3 different layout engines. The IE 8 “Standards” mode, “Strict” mode, which essentially replicates the behavior of IE7, and lastly “Quirks” mode, which is pretty much an emulation of IE6 and below.

But ask yourself this, if Microsoft is finally developing their browser to comply with long since established internet standards, why on earth would they give you the option to pretty much continue to use the old, buggy IE7? If Microsoft gives to users the ability to stick with the old IE7, then are they really solving anything? There is still going to be a need for developers to design their websites with those, I will be frank, morons, who choose to stick with the IE7 layout engine. I for one do not see any rhyme nor reason to that decision. Hopefully, Microsoft will eventually force upon the world, a browser that is finally one day, truly complaint to standards and actually works. Until then, viva la Firefox!

Choice of layout engine
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 will ship in standards mode by default. However, three different rendering modes that may be set using the X-UA-Compatible header:

* Quirks mode which supports Internet Explorer 5 and legacy browsers
* Strict mode which supports Internet Explorer 7 and is accessed through the emulate Internet Explorer 7 button
* Internet Explorer 8 standards mode

I for one am rather picky when it comes to the design of my websites. Consistency paired with organization are two key factors which play large roles in any of my projects. Take this blog for example, when you navigate away from my main website to view it, I want users to feel as though they are still part of my website and that this blog is just an extension of it. Once I get some more time, I will take a poke around the CSS sheet’s and create a new theme for Wordpress to match my website.

Apauled is a great comedic series of videos I stumbled upon during my daily internet browsing, my search for the ever growing entertainment bug. I couldn’t get over how funny some of these videos were. I even went to the lengths of downloading all 15 episodes and burning them to DVD. I couldn’t let these be passed up. One thing that certainly pops into my mind when I watch these, was the old show, Just for Laughs: Gags. Quite similar. This one would have to be the best one of the lot if you ask me.

I would have to say, what makes these videos so entertaining, for me anyway, is the calm attitude he takes with the people who chose to question him. “How are ya? It’s no problem at all, have a good day.” I would rate this series a hearty 5/5 and recommend you watch all of the episodes.