Waterfall Web

Very excited/pleased to read this post from Balsamiq relating to their online mockups web app.

I’ve been a desktop Balsamiq user for some time now and am finding it more and more indispensable with each project. It’s been replacing project specification docs to the point where I don’t really have to write any other instructions. By linking pages together and viewing it in fullscreen mode, we can see how the home page, section pages, contact pages, and even modal popup windows and AJAX behaviours should work.

I can “knock together” a basic site in a few minutes – and an intranet in a few hours. In each case, the result is much clearer and easier that written briefs or specification docs. Clients can understand them just as easy as programmers and designers!

And when the client approves the mockups, we can refer back to them if there are any additional requests. “That wasn’t in the mockups you approved. We can do it, but it will cost an additional $x…”

The webapp will make collaboration that much easier. Really looking forward to its release!

Internet Explorer 6 is still out there. In large numbers.

Often the reason given is that the corporate sector is tied to it through intranets and other applications that rely on it.

So, why not release IE6 as a single-site browser (SSB), like Mozilla’s Prism for example?

1. Corporates can run their intranets via the IE6 SSB
2. The general-use browser can then be updated to the latest version (IE8), which has to make security easier for their IT department
3. Microsoft can then officially drop support for IE6, and only need to support the SSB in its corporate environment
4. The rest of us can breathe a sigh of relief as we watch IE6 usage fall rapidly!

It seems like a simple solution to me, but perhaps it’s not that simple. Otherwise Microsoft would have done it already. Yes?

I’m holding my breath regarding Microsoft Exchange support in Apple’s new OS10.6 Snow Leopard.

You see, I dropped using my PC altogether about a week ago. Well, almost. I still have to remote into my server and use Outlook that’s installed there, as we rely on Exchange for our email and calendar.

Which is a bit of a nuisance, as any links clicked in the mail open up in IE on the server inside the Remote Desktop window. And saving attachments? Sheesh.

So apparently my copy of Exchange-supporting Appleness is being shipped on Friday.

I really hope it “cuts the mustard”. I’ll post my thoughts here once I’ve installed it!