Edinburgh Web Development

May 2016 newsletter

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  May 2016

This month's menu

The end of Passwords?
Animation makes a comeback
Battery saving browser
 

Just off the wire

WhatsApp for Desktop

Facebook releases version for Windows and Mac.

 

Blot Links

Blot newsletter archive
Blot software
Blot articles
 

The end of Passwords?

The Internet has dragged us into the Passwords Era, and most people are heartily sick them.

With so many online services, we all have loads of passwords to remember (and if you use only one password for everything, you are asking for serious trouble). Personally, I have a little app that stores them in encrypted format, which makes it (relatively) easy to find them. But no getting away from it, passwords are a drag.

All this password strife is going to go away if Google have their way.

Their plan, apparantly soon to be trialed at some financial institutions, is to replace passwords with a whole set of indicators, such as face recognition, fingerprinting and voice pattern, as well as some more esoteric ones like your movement style, typing style and how you swipe on the screen. While a single indicator would be weak, when all your indicators are added up it can only be you, they say.

Anything that closes down the Passwords Era must be a good thing.

Read more…

 

Animation makes a comeback

Cast your mind back to 2002 and all those websites with fantastic Flash animation.

Gorgeous, and beautiful they were, although they sometimes took ages to load, didn't always work, and often didn't give much information at all!

But Flash animation crashed and burned, especially after Apple announced no support on their iPhone to put the final nail in the coffin.

But there will always be opportunities for animation on the web, and there are new technologies gaining a foothold. Here's some examples of how animators are finally picking up where Flash left off.

Some of these are amazing. In particular, check out Bruno Quintela's site - stunning (just like Flash!!)

Like most animation, these are pretty resource hungry, so not sure how they will play on a smartphone.

Find out more …

Battery saving browser

When it comes to web browsers , most of us use Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge, or Safari.

But Opera is a web standards browser that has a solid user base and continues to innovate with facilities that make web browsing easier.

It uses pretty much the same engine as Chrome, so it is based on a very good foundation.

With an ad-blocking feature and built-in VPN, they keep coming up with some great ideas.

This month, they announced a power saving mode for computers they say can extend laptop battery life by over 50%.

They just keep rolling out these features. Might be time to give them a shot.

Read more …

 

T: 0131 208 1792 E: info@blotdesign.com W: www.blotdesign.com

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