Web Dev Digest Episode 11 
Intro 
...INTRO MUSIC...
 
Welcome to the Web Dev Digest, your daily web development news roundup.
 This is episode number eleven, for Wednesday, July eleventh, 2007.
 I'm your host, Ara Pehlivanian.
 
...MUSIC INTERLUDE...
 
Hello and welcome the show.
 

MSDN's intro to JSON in JavaScript and .NET 
MSDN's front page is featuring a February article called "An Introduction to JSON in JavaScript and .NET." JSON, for those who may not know, stands for JavaScript Object Notation and is a lightweight data-interchange format as specified in Douglas Crockford's July 2006 RFC 4627. The featured MSDN article by Atif Aziz and Scott Mitchell starts with a brief intro to JSON and then quickly gets into the meat of things with Understanding Literal Notation in JavaScript, Comparing JSON to XML, Creating and Parsing JSON Messages with JavaScript, and Working with JSON in the .NET Framework. The article doesn't skimp on details and contains numerous code examples, references and screen captures. And don't worry if you aren't a .NET coder, the first half of the article covers strictly JSON and JavaScript. It's only in the second half where actual .NET implementations are covered.

Introducing Google Mapplets
Google officially released a new feature on Google Maps today called Mapplets. Mapplets allow you to layer third-party information directly on Google Maps with a single click and to save your customizations to a personal library. Example uses of this feature include real estate listings, jogging trails, events and photos. According to the Google release, quote, users who are planning a vacation can now view and layer maps of hotel availability, regional weather forecasts, gas prices and other useful information directly in Google Maps. Once they have created their custom map, they can create their own personalized itinerary by saving the results, adding their own notes, and putting it on a map to share with family and friends. Users looking for a new home can not only search real estate listings, but they can also layer their findings over transit maps and crime statistics to further refine their search, unquote. There are over a hundred mapplets currently featured on the site including several from Google themselves. As far as developers are concerned, Mapplets are currently only available in a special Developer Preview version of Google Maps.

Introducing iUI
Joe Hewitt has cleaned up, renamed and officially released his development kit for the Apple iPhone. Originally known as iPhoneNav it's now known as iUI and contains a bundle of JavaScript and CSS code to make application development on the Apple iPhone's Safari browser much easier. In a post on his blog today, Hewitt says quote, As much as possible, iUI maps common HTML idioms to iPhone interface conventions. For example, the <ul> and <li> tags are used to create hierarchical side-scrolling navigation. Ordinary <a> links load with a sliding animation while keeping you on the original page instead of loading an entirely new one. A simple set of CSS classes can be used to designate things like modal dialogs, preference panels, and on/off switches. unquote. He goes on to re-emphasize the fact that all of this can be achieved without writing any additional JavaScript, but by simply using pre-defined class names and basic HTML. The post covers many subjects, including Ajax Hyperlinks, Scrolling long lists, and Ajax form submission.


Overview of Google's Accessible Services
In a post to the official Google blog, T.V. Raman, a technologist at the company talks about their commitment to accessibility. He says quote, Accessibility at Google is about making sure that our services work well for all our users -- independent of your needs and abilities at any given time... We are committed to finding accessibility solutions that make our services work better for everyone who visits. unquote. He goes on to list examples of the company's accessibility efforts including their Web Search result pages which include headers to delineate logical sections, a simple yet functional HTML mode for Gmail that works well with screenreaders, and Google Maps' use of quote easy-to-use textual directions. Raman's post is all the more pointed for the fact that he himself is blind.

Anti-Aliasing Icons
Icons are used nearly everywhere in todays graphical environments and websites. They quickly catch our eye and tell us exactly what a button, or menu item is supposed to do before your brain is even done processing what the label next to it is. Some of us can tell whether an icon is well designed or not just by looking at it. But for the most part, unless you actively design them, you're more than likely to take them for granted. Well, Dave Shea of Mezzoblue dot com has written a article detailing exactly how much work goes into those well designed icons. In particular, he walks us through the process of sizing and anti-aliasing icons in Illustrator.


Release date set for Visual Studio 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008
Finally, Kevin Turner, Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer has announced a release date for Visual Studio 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008. In what is being touted as the biggest single launch on one day yet for Microsoft, the products will be launched together in Los Angeles on February 27th 2008.
Outtro 

... OUTTRO MUSIC FADE IN ...
 You've been listening to the Web Dev Digest, your daily web development news roundup.
 This was episode number eleven, for Wednesday, July eleventh, 2007. I'm Ara Pehlivanian.
 Show notes with links to the news covered in this episode can be found on web dev digest dot net.