More on XMLHttpRequest

Some more links on XMLHttpRequest, which I wrote about here:

• At Adaptive Path, Jesse James Garrett writes Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications. JJG defines Ajax as:
  • standards-based presentation using XHTML and CSS;
  • dynamic display and interaction using the Document Object Model;
  • data interchange and manipulation using XML and XSLT;
  • asynchronous data retrieval using XMLHttpRequest;
  • and JavaScript binding everything together.

  The article continues to break down the differences between traditional web applications and Ajax applications.

• XMLHttpRequest, Ajax, and the customer experience cautions that Ajax is a new technology and that its benefits come from the application of the technology to existing or new user interfaces. If someone's used to one way of doing things on the web (check off form items for example and then search for the Submit button) and we change the underpinnings to use XMLHttpRequest, we need to consider the impact on the user experience.
• Very Dynamic Web Interfaces is a walkthrough and demo of using XMLHttpRequest and Javascript.
• Guide to Using XMLHttpRequest (with Baby Steps) is a nice tutorial on implementing XMLHttpRequest
• XMLHttpRequest Introduction is an introduction to XMLHttpRequest and a number of tutorials, examples, and tools to implement it.
• Movable Type な Blog の全エントリを JavaScript with XMLHttpRequest でインクリメンタル検. My Japanese is poor but I think this is an entry about using Ajax/XMLHttpRequest to perform incremental searches of MovableType entries.

My own work with XMLHttpRequest was on hold for awhile but I've started playing with it again and once I finish my !*@&#^! web site redesign (much easier when you have a team of smart people to work with. Frisket is not so good with PHP or HTML).

I noticed a minor irritating problem with the Forbes.com RSS feeds, at least in their interaction with Bloglines. The feeds are RSS 2.0 format and include a <link> element. Bloglines uses the URI in the <link> element as though it were a <base> URI for all other URIs in the feed, so you end up with links like http://www.forbes.com/news/http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/02/24/cz_dl_ibm.html?partner=rss for IBM's Growth Engine Sputters. Now, the feed doesn't validate, but the feed validator only marks the <author> tag as being in error. Digging around for RSS 2.0 examples, it appears that the <link> element simply defines the link for the channel or an item, but isn't intended to be a base element, so it appears that Bloglines is in error.

Straits-Times Interactive goes fee-only

I just started reading the Straits-Times online site several months ago but will be dropping it from my reading list after March 15th: ST website to charge for access from Mar 15 - Feb 24, 2005.

I don't mind registering for newspaper sites, I don't mind the various marketing bits of information they ask for and generally supply valid information (not necessarily correct, but close enough). I only pay for two sites now: The Wall St. Journal and the South China Morning Post, and I may end up dropping either or both (oddly, although I've been a WSJ online subscriber for years, I restarted a paper subscription a couple years ago specifically to read the ads).

My readership of sites is driven almost entirely by RSS feeds these days,a dn that was one thing which attracted me to the STI site. While this means I don't spend a lot of time wading throuhg a site looking for articles to read, it does mean I read far more articles (and thus see far more advertisements which are in theory relevant to me and/or the article I'm reading). Now, if STI's costs are out of line they can do one of three things: cease their online operations (unlikely), charge for subscriptions (what they are doing) or raise their advertising rates. I'm assuming they've done a cost-benefit analysis and decided that fewer readers will generate enough revenue to offset the drop in advertising rates, as well that their advertisers refused to pony up more money.

The WSJ online model works (I assume they at least break even, a differing opinio is here) because they have an interested, specific audience. I suspect STI's switch will not bring the benefits they're seeking; mark me as a former reader come March 15^th, 2005.

Anesthesized Turbot

Todd claims to have come through his surgery fine, however clearly he's addled since he posted his email address to his blog. I predict 10,000 variations on offers for Cialis, Viagra, and Paris Hilton's phone numbers in his inbox within the hour.

As well as the occasional Get well Todd!.