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The WebKit project now includes HTML5 client side databases. I can’t wait to try this out!

The current working spec for the HTML5 standard has a lot of exciting features we would eventually like to implement in WebKit. One feature we felt was exciting enough to tackle now even though the spec is still in flux is client-side database storage. So for the last few weeks andersca, xenon, and I have been cooking up an implementation!

I have been playing around with jQuery and think that it is an amazing JavaScript library. It seems to work the way that I want it to. If you are thinking about giving it a go, the article “jQuery Crash Course” by Nathan Smith is a great introduction to the jQuery Library

The article “Best Practices For Bulletproof E-Mail Delivery” delivery over at Smashing Magazine is worth taking a look at if you are trying to find the best way to get your email marketing campaign to people’s inboxes.

Here is a quick overview

• Avoid follow-ups, ask for a brief feedback — one word “soon” is enough
• Don’t attach large files to your first e-mail
• Use a consistent senders’ name and email
• Never put a link before important information
• Snail mail is bulletproof
• Avoid fictional or irrelevant sender’s name

A List Apart has released its findings from it’s 2007 Web Design Survey.

Like many aspects of web design itself, our research process took the form of a dialog and included multiple stages of discovery. Preliminary findings answered some questions and raised others requiring additional study.

Helping your client maintain markup quality is a difficult problem solve when your client is using a CMS to input their own content. The article “Helping your client maintain markup quality” over at 456 Berea St. looks at an interesting way to inform the CMS user when they creating non compliant markup with the WYSIWYG editor.

Smashing Magazine has a good article The Showcase Of BIG Typography that showcases some cool uses of large typography.

The main advantage of excellent typography lies in its ability to be both attractive and functional at the same time. Although images communicate more vividly, text presentation can impress visitors with its sharpness and precise geometrical forms and curves. Consequently, chosen wisely and used carefully, it can be very effective If you are interested in learning more about typography this article is worth checking out.

http://clientside.cnet.com/wiki/mootorial

This is a good place to start learning about the MooTools JavaScript Library.

OpenID is a simple user authentication system that uses a URL as your identity. Acts as Authenticated is a great plug-in for Ruby on Rails that handles user registration and login. This is a great tutorial that shows you how to integrate the two.

http://www.bencurtis.com/archives/2007/03/rails-openid-and-acts-as-authenticated/

At a Webstandards Group meetup in London Chris Heilmann gave a rather funny and informative presentation on code bloat. You can check out the slides from his presentation as HTML, PDF, or a Podcast at http://www.wait-till-i.com/index.php?p=441. Here is a quick run down of his seven reasons.

1. Wrong perception of time needed to accustom ourselves to a project
2. Maintenance without using the right tools
3. Bad or non-existent documentation
4. People do not read or look before they start
5. Lack of awareness
6. Failure to specialize
7. Lack of a front-end build process

This article by Mark Boulton has some good tips for increasing the legibility of website designs.