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I am both stunned and yet not surprised by the recent announcement that support for Netscape web browsers will officially end on February 1, 2008. While I have always had some version of Netscape installed on my machines, I have never been much of a Netscape user, only opting to use Netscape for testing purposes and just plain curiosity when new versions were launched.  However, once I converted to Firefox, I immediately gained a healthy respect for Netscape.

Some see this as a victory for Microsoft, that Internet Explorer has finally killed off it’s long-time nemesis.  However, I do not believe it was Microsoft that killed Netscape.  Really, with both Netscape and Firefox sharing the same guts, it was Firefox that ultimately killed Netscape.  And let’s face it, Netscape was essentially a skinned version of Firefox anyway:

Recently, support for the Netscape browser has been limited to a handful of engineers tasked with creating a skinned version of Firefox with a few extensions.

Oh well, for now I am quite happy to use Firefox. With Netscape’s demise, I will potentially have one less browser to test against in the near future and the world wide web has a more consolidated alternative to Internet Explorer. Fare thee well, dear Netscape. Go get Firefox today.

This is a great idea in theory.  In an attempt to become the one-stop-shop for web folks struggling with CSS issues, Adobe has launched a new website called CSS Advisor. It is a great idea but it will need to gain popularity in order to be useful. Spread the word, and if you have CSS knowledge, go to CSS Advisor and spread the wealth.

Adobe Labs web application known as Kuler is kind of like a color wheel on steroids. I first heard about Kuler from the Adobe Edge newsletter shortly after I had just finished pointing a colleague to an online color wheel as a good way to pick out colors for a color-coded table. After reading Adobe Edge I told the colleague to forget about what I had sent him earlier to go check out Kuler instead. Very awesome looking indeed and I cannot wait for my first opportunity to use it to create a new color scheme.

One thing I take issue with:

According to Mark Hilton, vice president of the Creative Solutions business unit at Adobe, “You don’t need to understand color theory to use kuler; we created the program for experienced designers as well as anyone who wants to be creative.”

So even the average joe could use kuler to do anything from, say, picking out paint for their house to choosing the interior colors for the old hot rod they are restoring. I have no problem with that part. The part that I do take issue with is the idea that a slick piece of software can take the place of the need to understand color theory. That type of thinking usually leads to sentences like “I have (insert software title here), what do I need to hire a designer for?” Just because I can download CAD does not make me an engineer. Oh well, though, I am sure that it will most likely be creative professionals rather than the hobbyist that uses Kuler.