Even less support for IE6

Alongside with the HTML 5 discussion, and the release of FireFox 3.5.1 three days ago, voices calling for global content denial to IE6 users are getting more and more. The idea is simple: It’s been SOME years now people are advised to upgrade with nagboxes and the like, yet IE6 enjoys percentages that in several portals reach even 50%. So, this time, instead of “suggesting” website visitors to upgrade their browser for a better user experience, we simply display a “Upgrade your browser to see this web page” – page – , linking to the major browsers updates. Read the whole story

Blogosphere debates heating up for HTML 5

Case you’re lying in a sunny beach and you’ve missed out, here’s what’s going on on the net last month or so:

In Zeldman‘s -aka “King of Web Standards” – blog, the debate whether HTML 5 working group is heading towards the right direction or not is getting pretty nasty. A guy called John Allsopp commenting on Zeldman’s blog, explained why “HTML 5 is a mess“, and all hell broke loose. Then, couple of days ago, another guy, Bruce Lawson, an Opera employee, explained in detail why HTML 5 is “several different kind of messes“. And if you’re bored to read the whole story, the main arguments of Lawson are 1) HTML 5 is a mess cause it’s built on a mess (HTML 4) and 2) The process followed is chaotic – since several groups are trying to promote their own different views on the specification.

For now, the debate remains civilised, and let’s hope it stays like that. All debaters, agree that bitchin’ on the blogs is not the way to go, and suggest actively helping the Working Group resolve any ambiguities.

Unemployment rates don’t seem to get any better

European unemployment rates announced couple of weeks ago from Eurostat, show a continuous worsening of the situation. Just some quick numbers: Eurozone unemployment: 9.5%, lowest rates: Netherlands (3.2%), Austria (4.3%), highest rates: Spain (18.7%), Latvia (16.3%) and Estonia (15.6%). Rates have been continiously growing each month since May 2008 in all European Union (27) countries.

Sudden increase in Spotify commercials

Spotify has been rocking my world since some Swedish friends passed me out an invitation months ago. It’s definately a magnificent idea for music lovers. (who isn’t?) But lately, commercials are becoming more and more often. I suppose the experience is different for each country, but still, I’m guessing it must be a global thing. Maybe the increase in popularity is pushing Spotify in terms of bandwith, or it’s just a marketing tactic to push users to the Premium. Anyway, 10€ a month for the Premium package doesn’t sound too much, considering Spotify’s library has already a great variety of music for all tastes. And with the thought of having 320 instead of 160bps quality, plus no ads, I’m really tempted!