Dispatches From The Internets

Must-have

Commit Strip: Must Have

For the non-visual among you…

Programmer sits at a computer with his back to a Project Manager

  1. Programmer

    Hmm, it’s quite a lot of work

    Contact form: 5 days

    Back-office: 8 days

  2. Project Manager

    OK, got it

Pan out to reveal Project Lead sitting next to programmer

  1. Project Manager

    I’ll send the customer the quote and I’ll let you know what happens

  2. Programmer

    OK, great

Zoom in on the Project Lead and Programmer

  1. Project Lead

    5 man-days for a contact form?? Are You kidding??

    It’s half a day at the very most

  2. Programmer (looking smug)

    You’re right…

    …But you’re forgetting the 4.5 days to test the new must-have framework

  3. Project Lead (smiling)

    Ha! Someone has to pay for it…

Sadly, this is so true.

Text for Screen Readers Only (Updated)

This post includes a few excellent ways to add context for “headless” UIs. I use quite a few of these approaches on this very site and they’ve proven quite useful.

Accessibility in the Store

Apps in the Windows Store can now be flagged as accessible on submission. Not sure if anyone is validating these claims, but my guess is that they will if it becomes abused. Regardless, I’m excited to see Microsoft take this step to make it easier for folks who need it to find accessible apps.

Color Contrast for Better Readability

This is an excellent walkthrough on how to evaluate color combinations for contrast. It also includes recommendations for inclusion in your style guide.

Removing Headaches from Focus Management

Focus management is one of those “fun” things we deal with when building websites. This straightforward article gives a bit of an introduction to how you might want to handle it.