Gary Bishop

Remotely refreshing multiple browsers during web testing

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:43:00 EST

I'm working on the rewrite of Tar Heel Reader and testing it on desktop, iPad, iPod Touch, and IE6-8. I hate manual steps in my edit/test loop. The i* devices are particularly bothersome because I push my changes, pick up the device, hit the home button to wake it up, slide-to-unlock, and then hit the tiny refresh button. There had to be a better way.

How many Tar Heel Reader users have Javascript disabled?

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:40:00 EST

I'm redesigning Tar Heel Reader in hopes of taking load off the server and making the site friendlier to tablets and phones. Over the last few weeks I did a mockup with jQuery Mobile that works well enough on mobile devices but it was just kludged into the current system and it didn't work at all on IE6. So, I've decided to back up and rethink things.

VirtualBox Tricks

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:24:00 EST

I need to run an old version of Ubuntu Linux on my new server to support some otherwise obsolete software. It should have been easy but my ignorance made it take a few days of intermittent head banging. Here are few notes for my future self.

Yogurt

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:22:00 EDT

I learned most of what I know about making yogurt from Maria Lorraine's post at Chowhound. I combined what I learned there with some technical articles and reading tons of other web postings. This recipe is the result of considerable experimentation and has been successfully producing thick delicious yogurt for many weeks.

Maze Day 2012

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:31:00 EDT

This year Maze Day will be 26 April 2012 from 9AM until 2PM in Sitterson Hall on the UNC Chapel Hill Campus.

Introducing the Next Grid: dgrid

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:50:00 EDT

Nice replacement for DataGrid.

Feature: The iConstitution: how to protect user freedom in an app store world

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:22:00 EDT

Interesting comparison of App stores to other options along with a proposal for how to do it right.

Visually impaired man plays Zelda. [VIDEO]

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:40:00 EDT

A few minutes in you see him using Navi to help him target items. I really like this idea for an accessible game. You've got a little audio "fairy" to help you know which way to go or where to strike. Also, he must have an amazing mental map of the game world. Perhaps we could sell teachers on games as helping kids build mental maps.

put-selector: CSS Selector-Based DOM Element Creation and Manipulation

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:39:00 EDT

Another nice Javascript feature from Zyp.

ComposeJS: Robust, Lightweight Object Composition

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:09:00 EDT

Introduction to ComposeJS