The Pros and Cons of Vendor Prefixes

PPK makes a compelling argument against browser vendors using vendor-specific prefixes:

We’re currently moving toward a situation in which anything that is implemented by two browsers more-or-less automatically becomes a standard. I don’t think that this change of process has been accepted by W3C yet (it might take another generation), but it’s becoming reality as we speak.

While this is true to a degree, what he fails to account for is different implementations of the same effect by different browsers. The border-radius property is a prime example.

The Mozilla implementation differs from the latest W3C draft spec implemented in Opera as well as IE 9. Safari also implements an older version of the W3C spec, and adds the -webkit- prefix. Chrome implements the same spec as Safari with and without the -webkit- prefix.

Sure, maybe the fragmentation could all be avoided by everyone following the draft spec, but it isn't a standard yet, and with good reason. Personally, I think that vendor prefixes are still necessary. Maybe the W3C should change the standard to allow vendors to simply allow others' prefixes when they intend to provide identical implementations.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

I'm having a hard time finding factual information on the national health care reform bill, known officially as "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act". I definitely oppose the $695 annual fine for not purchasing health insurance. Of course, I live in a state where buckling one's seat belt is mandatory, but it isn't worth fighting because it doesn't really cost me anything. On the other hand, I've heard health care reform compared to the Social Security system, but that isn't really working, is it?

You can download a full-text PDF of the bill from the Library of Congress or peruse the bill online.

For the curious, here are the most informative summaries I've found so far:

• CBS News - Very simple, very brief.
• The Wall Street Journal - More in depth, covers "major prvisions".
• Library of Congress Bill Summary and Status - This is more like a detailed outline.

Unprecedented 25-Year Sentence Sought for TJX Hacker

So this is the reason Marshalls decided to try to fix their security.

Borderless Radius

Apparently Firefox no longer requires the border property to be specified in order to render -moz-border-radius. I haven't tested this on Gecko 1.92 yet (I'm using a nightly), but I can confirm that Chrome 5 accepts the implicit border as well. Firefox 3.0 required border to be set, making border: 1px solid transparent a designer's best friend.

Google Responds To Privacy Concerns With Unsettlingly Specific Apology

(from the Onion via Boing Boing)

Mozilla Developer Preview Now Available With Out-of-Process Plugins

Just posted on the Mozilla Developer Center, with regard to Firefox nightlies.

The main feature of this release is out-of-process plugins: on Windows and Linux, plugins such as Flash and Silverlight run in a separate process from the browser. If a plugin crashes it will not crash the browser, and unresponsive plugins are automatically restarted.

Don't Ask For Help

Microsoft advises users to avoid pressing the F1 key if prompted by a web site after a researcher turned up a security flaw in Windows XP.

(via Daring Fireball)

Unexpected Links

I recently made the mistake of clicking a link in an e-mail. The e-mail contained only a link to an unknown web address and the subject was the name of a person I'd never met, but it appeared to be from a friend, using what I recognized as her address. Oops. The link redirected me to a sketchy website purportedly created to sell pills. Funny thing is, the linked page appears to be hosted by a legitimate German Swiss furniture designer. What can I say? The Company's name has the word "design", and I love me some good design.

After being redirected, I tried to report the site to Google as an attack site, but found myself in a captcha loop of death. I did manage to send a message to the contact e-mail on the website. I don't know how much good that will do, as the entire site appears to be in German (with the curious exception of the word "Home"), but I felt compelled to try.

So, what's the moral of the story? Don't click on unexpected links. I'm considering writing a Greasemonkey script to disable all webmail links, but I think that would only aggravate me when I got legitimate links. At any rate the smart thing to do is avoid clicking links that aren't explicitly explained in the e-mail.