Topic: Mostly browser check for PFL

Been working on this when I can, which hasn't bee much as of late. Before I get much farther, I would like a browser check and perhaps other suggestions.

Okay, I'm using PHP for the first time. I have yet to implement some nosey folks code. Also, a PHP thing or two is just a test and might break.

I've ripped some of my content, 3 PS tutorials. The content of the first two has been converted over to CSS only (no table). If you happen to see these and they break, let me know.

HTML and CSS code - I'm still working on hitting all of the corners. So a few things aren't quite right with the tags in the header area. The main template does validate, but I have to propograte on one of the pages. Also, I haven't tried validating the CSS just yet (I'm fairly confident it will, or be very close).

I'm sure there are a few other details that I'm forgetting to mention. With all of the little things yet to go, I would like a quick check before I get much farther.

I'm mainly interested in a browser check. I am fairly set on the design/lay-out, but my ears are open. After all, JKM did give me 10%.

play.fiddle.learn (.com)

Oh, yeah. I do have some extra place-holder stuff in there, like on the left. Not sure what I'll be doing with that space, so I'll probably be taking it out until I figure out what to do with it. Right now it's just room to grow.

Double oh, yeah. Looks good to me in IE 6 and Opera 7. Um... WinXP.

There are two thick horizontal black lines running nearly the full width of your Lorem ipsum...on the first line of the first paragraph and again on first line of 2nd paragraph.

The first line ends with 'weather' the other 'my ip'...both are 'cutouts'.

ie5 win2kpro

Thanks, NJ.
I'll get to it later and give another holler.

Holler!
Little tweak in the CSS.
Does it look better for you?

No. Still there only not quite as severe those two lines now run only maybe a third of the way across. Check your email I sent you a screen cap.

warjournal: You should add a clear:both; rule in the cp class 'coz in the Firebird, the elements having that class are stacked on the left.

IE5.5 behaves like IE6.0

In IE5.01, the left pannel is f...ed up. There's still the gray pannel but its content ( the play fiddle learn logo and the Weather and My IP blocks ) is rendered beneath the main content.

Due to the @import rule, the CSS is not imported in NN4.79. I don't want to push the users to use that age old browser but a slow degradation of your CSS is feasible.

Oh, and on a graphical point, I'd say your site is not "sexy". It reminds me Craig MULLINS's website : awesome content embeded in html 3 or 4 . I guess the play fiddle learn logo is old, but it looks like it's been converted from JPG to GIF.

Anyway, I'm eagger to see your new website in all its glory.

Mathieu "POÏ" HENRI

Man, NJ, that is perplexing. I ran into a very similiar problem once, and the problem was in the order of the CSS. Once I rearranged some of the way things were ordered in the CSS, it came out just fine. I never did figure out the hows and whys of it. So I checked the ordering of my current CSS and it looks fine.

As per Poi, I added {clear: both}. I don't know much about clear, but I hope that takes care of that problem. ~crosses fingers~

So now I'm left with what to do about Poi and NJ not seeing things layed out properly. Krets posted a link in the Ozone forum about Slashdot's overhaul. The interesting code tidbit:

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"

  rel="nofollow" href="styles/layout.css" media='screen' />

<style type="text/css">

  @import "styles/markup.css";

</style>

Should I take that kind of route and let the older browsers bite the layout while keeping content usable?
Or should I try using link rel for the whole CSS deal and hope everybody sees it okay?
Or should I just say screw the older browsers and keep just @import?

I'm really on the fence about letting the older browser bite it. However, the Slashdot solution of using link rel and @import sounds more proper.
What say you?

Good eye on the banner, Poi. Actually, I did some bad things to that silly banner just to knock it out in a hurry. Let's just say that it's been through a few too many resizes in the wrong directions. Once I get this CSS/layout deal taken care of, I'll pay better attention when I make a few new banners. And I love your not sexy comment. When it comes to this kind of thing, I only have a few goals in mind, and sexy isn't exactly on the list. Although, I will definitely keep it in mind if/when I do an overhaul. Too bad you weren't around when I had my old site - that one was about as sexy as I get. Heh.

Oh, one more thing. I'm seriously thinking about turning the front page into a news/updates/blogger/whatever kind of deal. Any thoughts on this?

The layout totally breaks in IE5/Mac. Complete with overlapping text. Sorry, but I can't operate a Mac well enough to take a screenshot.

Works great on both Opera7 and Firebird on my Linux

I like to get some clue as to what has happened to a site since my last visit when I see the front page. Much better than having to browse through the relevant sections just in case something new has popped up. So a news/update is defiantly a good idea imo. 'Upgrading' it to a blog as well is more of a taste thing. And you don't really need to decide. When you add something to the site add a short notice about it one the front page. If you feel like writing a blog, do so.

If the old browsers (e.g NN4.x) aren't that important to you I would let them bit the dust. There aren't many left using them and if they do they should seriously considering getting a new browser. So I would design with newer browsers in mind, but make sure that the page at least is viewable (and usuable) in all browsers. But if you use clean and nice code that shouldn't be a problem.

Suggestions apart from that, is mostly that the menu is a bit too plain. Make something more out of it, at least add a slight hover effect and change the colors to something that fits the page. The menu should also be a list and not a paragraph.

_________________________
"There are 10 kinds of people; those who know binary, those who don't and those who start counting at zero"
- the Golden Ratio -

Haven't had a much time to sit down and get my head into Code Mode. So today I decided to let the dishes and laundry go for a day.

Here's the deal: if this doesn't work in the browsers mentioned, then I'm going to give up on them. I know that's a piss-poor attitude sometimes, but I'm all vexed out.
Let me know if this breaks: test2.html.

Ven, I will definitely do something about that horizontal nav. I might go vertical and float it to the right. Or something else. I'll figure this out a bit later. Actually, since I want it at top and bottom, vertical floating might look a little to0 silly.

I might do a regular blog on the front page, then do a mini-update blog on the left. Sounds like a good idea to me.

edit:
You know, I just want to get to writing content.
My head is so full of things that I want to babble about, and those things don't really belong on Tech-Slop.
I just want to write.


[This message has been edited by warjournal (edited 12-07-2003).]

Still breaks.

My question is; .. what is it/where is it... on your page that 'weather' and 'ip' would come in?

Well, colour me not happy.
Maybe some day I'll figure it out.
For now, I'll just trudge ahead with it as is.

NJ, that stuff is just place holder stuff.