Author: ellen

Detect browser support for style properties

Posted on November 23, 2007 by ellen

It is common to use object detection to discriminate between browser capabilities (See Quirksmode: Object Detection.

However, sometimes it is necessary to detect whether or not a browser understands a particular CSS style property, and it is not obvious how to do this.

You can’t test for the existence of the property directly but you can test for the data type of the value of the property. If the data type is anything but “undefined”, the property is understood by the browser.

The example below shows a couple of rows from an automatically generated table of items. Each row has a corresponding editable version which shows up when the “edit” button is clicked. The original, non-editable row is hidden at the same time the editable row is displayed. If “display=’block” is used to display the TR, Safari will render it as a TD. To correct this, “display=’table-row” must be used on browsers that understand it.

Fixing a dead iPod

Posted on November 22, 2007 by ellen

My old first-generation iPod finally gave up the ghost a few months ago. It showed the Folder-with-a-questionmark icon, no matter what I did. I fully charged it, attempted to restore it, reset it numerous times,

Testing whether a frame has been loaded from the frameset page

Posted on November 2, 2007 by ellen

Have you ever tried to use a javascript to modify the properties of a frame? Particularly a javascript ON the frameset page? If you have tried, you probably know that timing plays an important role.

The Cuttlefish: An Intelligent Cephalopod

Posted on October 9, 2007April 21, 2015 by ellen

Before I visited the Georgia Aquarium, most of what I used to know about cuttlefish included the fact that they can be purchased neatly packaged in dried chewy form in Japanese groceries. So, I was very surprised when I first met one face to face in the Georgia Aquarium and realized they are remarkably intelligent creatures.

Cuttlefish are invariably curious about people, and will come up and try to get a better look if you catch their eye. They are precision swimmers, able to hover motionless near an object of interest by rippling their skirt of fins, only to suddenly jet off in another direction using their funnel siphon when they have seen enough.

Make the pandacam show up permanently on your desktop

Posted on October 8, 2007 by ellen

Thanks to Dave Taylor, I now have the PandaCam widget visible on my desktop all the time. No need to hit F12 to see if the Pandas are doing something cute. Per Dave’s instructions, just

A SCORM-ready template: Part 3A. Embedded Questionmark Perception Quizzes

Posted on October 7, 2007November 30, 2013 by ellen

Features of the new embedded quiz module:

iPhone “No Service” message

Posted on October 6, 2007 by ellen

NOTE: I’ve recently posted a better summary of how to troubleshoot this problem, with more fixes, and links to more information. I recommend you take a look at it before getting started: [“No Service” message on iPhone, part 2]

My iPhone started displaying a “No Service” message a few days ago. When it didn’t go away, I called the ATT Wireless people. Here are the easy steps to cure the problem:

Statuary Photoshop Brushes

Posted on October 6, 2007 by ellen

Several of these brushes have been created in the negative, so that using them with light colors on a dark background will reveal only the light tones on the statue. Nice effect. Download file

Ernst Haeckel Photoshop Brushes Set 3

Posted on October 5, 2007 by ellen

High-resolution Photoshop brushes based on Ernst Haeckel’s engravings of shells and sea jellies. Great used as stamps, or the spiky shells look particularly good when you use scattering and angle and opacity jitter. Download