the 200ok weblog

(This post is essentially an expanded transcript of a short talk given at Sydjs.)

Web Directions South 2013 is done and dusted, as ever seeming to pass in a blur and be over in an instant.

Here are my notes, hammered out quickly for my own recall. The usual notes: they're done in a hurry, if you need exact quotes check the recordings later. Presume everything is a paraphrase rather than a quote. Jump menu is old school but hey it's a big post…

Much as I know the technology is simple, I still think there is something compelling and slightly magical about bridging the digital and physical worlds.

So on saturday I joined a crew of slightly bleary-eyed nodejs and hardware enthusiasts at Web Directions HQ for Nodebots Sydney 2013.

Sometimes bugfixing is a near-zen demonstration of your mad l33t skillz. You stare at the problem for a few seconds, nod sagely and deliver a short flurry of keystrokes. The bug is squashed and the crowd goes wild.

Sometimes.

Last week I did a five-minute lightning talk about ARIA, at Sydjs. The main point was to illustrate a secondary benefit to using ARIA, beyond the primary purpose of accessibility: taking advantage of the standardised definition of state.

The speaking is done, the blankets packed away to save us from the freezing aircon again next year, drinks consumed and planes have returned our friends to various corners of the globe.

It must be time for the Web Directions South 2012 Big Stonking Post™.

Welcome to the Web Directions South 2011 Big Stonking Post™, my rough notes hammered out on a laptop (to aid my own recall) and posted here for your enjoyment.

The usual notes: These are very raw notes - excuse typos, and if you need an exact quote please check the podcast as some of my quotes end up more like paraphrases (I can only type so fast...). Anything marked "Aside:" is my own thought and not something the speaker said.