It has become more or less expected that browsers will release developer tools. Firefox really pushed this concept with its developer toolbar and, of course, Firebug.
Opera has been hinting at the release of developer tools for a while; and when dragonfly.opera.com went live, speculation was that we knew what they were going to be called. Well the release date is finally here and yes, Opera has released an alpha of their developer tools - Opera Dragonfly.
The name was chosen because "dragonflies are highly evolved predators". That is, dragonflies are fast as hell and eat bugs for breakfast :) The name also makes a nice nod to Firebug, which is an undeniable source of inspiration.
features
So what's in the first release? From Opera's official email:
The alpha release includes the initial implementation for the JavaScript Debugger, CSS Inspector, DOM Inspector, Command Line and the Error Console, as well as the Scope module, which allows Opera Dragonfly to communicate with the Opera browser. This will be followed with a second alpha in the coming weeks, which will add inline editing support, improved remote debugging, improved threading in the JavaScript Debugger and infrastructure for localisation. You can read about the current features at <http://www.opera.com/dragonfly/>
One of the key reasons for the alpha release is to collect feedback from developers, to gauge how Opera Dragonfly covers their needs. We will use this feedback to improve Opera Dragonfly as it moves into beta and then full release. Feedback can be given at <http://www.opera.com/products/dragonfly/feedback/>
The Opera Dragonfly team will be maintaining a blog at <http://my.opera.com/dragonfly/blog/> where you can follow the progress of the application.
A really significant feature will be the ability to debug content for devices on your computer - yes, debug mobiles with a real keyboard. That's a pretty cool feature.
reactions
So far common reactions are that people are really looking forward to the inline CSS editing/CSS inspector; and some users report that it's running quite slowly for them. It is an alpha release though, so it's not time to panic about the speed issue.
The first release runs as a separate window from the main browser; which is absolutely brilliant on a dual-monitor machine (like my work machine). However it's not quite so awesome on a single monitor or widescreen; but the single-window mode will take care of that.
Basically, every feature request I've seen so far has been for stuff already listed in the "coming soon" paragraph on the Dragonfly homepage. That's great news, really - the features are clearly well matched to the target audience.
Frankly I'm mostly excited that other developers will now be able to debug in Opera the way they do in Firefox. The lack of a Javascript console and CSS debugger has been a consistent complaint... :) Opera really isn't hard to build for, but the lack of a debugger did make it uncessarily difficult to bugfix existing sites.
notes on trying dragonfly
As it's not been 100% clear - Dragonfly is included in Opera 9.5 Beta 2 release. It's not like Firefox, where you go and find an extension; it's just included in the package. The required code is downloaded when you first run it; and updated automatically after that.
I do recommend you install the beta separately from the currently release; and later when Opera 9.5's official release arrives, you should uninstall the beta and upgrade the stable release. To put it another way, don't install stable releases over the top of beta releases, or vice versa.
Also, when you fire up Dragonfly, note that you need to click on the script you want to inspect; or click into the DOM tab for the CSS inspector. Check out Chris Mills' Introduction to Dragonfly for a full run-through.
No matter how you slice it, Dragonfly is a sweet new tool for web developers; and as more features get rolled in, it's just going to get better.
The MD walked into this meeting believing she held all the cards; in fact, GregoryP is the one with his finger poised over the launch button. With just a word, he could completely ruin her business. This utter transformation in power politics – “hyperconnectivity” leading to hyperempowerment – is another brand new thing. This brand new thing is going to change everything it touches, every institution and every relationship any individual brings to those institutions. Many of those institutions will not survive, because their reputations will not be able to withstand the glare of hyperconnectivity backed by the force of hyperempowerment.
We've always had networks of friends; and news would spread through those networks but it could take days, weeks, months or even years. Information would lose momentum or simply be too far out of date to be useful by the time it got around.
But these days, all of these people can be connected. Information can travel through extended networks faster than ever before - seconds, minutes, hours.
So what? Well, information has long been recognised as power. What's changing right now is who controls information. Anyone with a phone in their pocket can be connected to Twitter all the time. They can tweet for help if they get arrested or they can Twitter about the aftermath of being bullied by a large company's MD.
Where it gets really powerful is those 140 character messages can instantly go to other people who can help you. In Mark Pesce's post, he describes the way the MD's bullying could be globally publicised in minutes... and there's not a thing her old school power base could do to stop it.
The formerly disempowered can now hold the power. Just like that. Because they think it's pretty cool to send messages to friends on Twitter.
Enough from me. Go read Mark's post.
Update: Mark has YouTubed his presentation on the topic...
I know there are a few people around the traps who use a graphics tablet (or would like to use one). So I thought I'd post my thoughts on the Wacom Bamboo.
Wacom Bamboo (small, black, 20cm x 18cm)
Summary:Excellent mouse alternative and entry level tablet
I've had the Wacom Bamboo for a few months now. I'd used a Wacom Intuos at work for about 18 months before I bought it, so I already knew I liked using a tablet.
how and why i use a tablet
I use the tablet as an alternative/replacement for a traditional mouse. I use it for everything except gaming; for which I keep a Microsoft Intellimouse 3 connected.
So I use the Bamboo for all of my browsing, coding, word processing and the relatively small amount of Photoshop work I do (photo retouching and cutting up images, but not original artwork).
My main reason for the switch from a mouse was an RSI problem in my wrist. The position of the stylus just seems to put less stress on my wrist than a mouse. The transition to a tablet does take a couple of days, so if you haven't used one before just be prepared for a short adjustment period. It really is worth it!
bamboo breaks the cost barrier
The main barrier to buying a tablet for home use was the cost. The Intuos3 is nice, but at AUD$569 I wasn't going to be justifying that purchase too soon. The smaller 4x6 Intuos3 only runs to AUD$379 so I could perhaps afford that; but I'm not wild about having the extra buttons on the left. At work I actually turn the 6x8 around and remap the touch area, so the active surface is quite close to the edge of the keyboard. It looks a bit odd but it reduces reach by a couple of inches; and I don't miss the extra touch area anyway.
Although Wacom did have a budget model before (and still do in fact; the Graphire is still available), it wasn't as nicely packaged (or as good looking) as the Bamboo. Plus, it didn't come with a stand for the stylus; and that would be a pain in the bum.
The Bamboo just hits a sweet spot of good specs, nice looks (it's black!) and really low price at AUD$130. Having used the more expensive model at work, my main concerns were how the cheaper tablet would feel; and what the quality would be like.
so what's it like?
It turns out I needn't have worried about it being cheaper. The Bamboo has a really nice feel - grippier than the slick surfaced Intuos, but that actually just makes it feel more precise for general computing tasks.
The stylus isn't quite as nice in the hand as the Intuos stylus, which is a pity. I'd love to be able to buy a better stylus and a heavier base for it to sit in. Still, the Bamboo stylus isn't bad, it's just not quite as nice as the chunky, rubberised stylus with the more expensive tablet (and keep in mind we're talking about another produced which is four times more expensive!).
There are some preset function buttons, but I don't use them all that much since I have keyboard shortcuts worked out for most things. Still, it never hurts to have extra buttons around. They're a little heavy to click, although that might loosen up over time if you actually use them a bit.
touch ring = fail
The only real disappointment with the Bamboo is the Touch Ring, which just doesn't work for me at all. This is a pity as scrolling is a key weakness of ditching a standard wheel mouse for a tablet. You don't want to be stuck scrolling by pointing and dragging, as that's quite tiring for your hand.
So anyway the touch ring is meant to respond to an up+down motion for scrolling and a circular motion for zooming. Scrolling barely works for me - I have to have several goes to get it to respond. Zooming does work a bit better but I don't really use it that much.
scrolling
I've ended up with a slightly odd compromise for scrolling - my wheel mouse is tucked to the left of my keyboard; and I use the scroll wheel on it with my left hand.
As a sidenote, I have heard of people being unable to reverse the mouse buttons for left-hand use while the Bamboo was connected; but I didn't have any trouble setting different click settings for the mouse. This may be because I have the full MS Mouse software package installed to manage the mouse.
final thoughts
So, who should buy a Bamboo? Well, basically anyone who hasn't used a tablet before and wants to try one; and anyone who gets sore using a mouse. Professional designers and artists might be better off investing in the more expensive models, but for an aspiring artist (or an artist on a budget) the larger Bamboo would be well worth a shot before shelling out the big bucks.
All up, the Bamboo is a good quality tablet with a really low price. It is inexpensive, not cheap. My only regret is that I didn't buy one sooner.
I don't know if you've ever tried to use TV captions in Australia or not, but from my small experience I sure wouldn't want to rely on them. Most shows have some level of captioning via teletext, which is good; but I've rarely seen a show with flawless captioning. Meanwhile, others are simply unintelligible.
I can understand that live broadcasts are quite a challenge; but I can never really understand why captioning remains terrible on stuff that was created well ahead of time.
Anyway, I don't have to rely on captions. I just like to use them when I'm trying to watch TV in a noisy environment, or I don't want the noise of the TV to bother people around me. They're also good for shows with thick accents or murky sound. We use them on DVDs to decipher mumbled lines as well.
Apart from all those reasons, I suspect deaf people probably find them handy too. That's where this issue really gets important. The modern world uses video a hell of a lot, for both fun and serious reasons. It's about time people who need captions weren't marginalised by being unable to rely on video.
The issue around the world is that captioning sucks. Joe Clark has been telling us this for years! His current project, The Open & Closed Project, aims to help the situation by creating standards for captioning. This is an important step, as it's much harder to advocate "good captioning" when there's no definition of "good".
To raise awareness of the problem, Joe is now launching the Captioning Sucks! website...
...and despite the fact it's April 1st, he's deadly serious.
So what is your experience with captions? Good? Bad? "Depends"?
Web development ideas, news, trends, tips, tricks and hacks; as seen by Ben Buchanan. Web standards and accessibility feature heavily, since the author may be addicted.
