4 ms·

A few years ago I managed to resurrect my first website which I wrote back in 1994/5 (found it on the waybackmachine.) When I re-published the site I left the u

A few years ago I managed to resurrect my first website which I wrote back in 1994/5 (found it on the waybackmachine.) When I re-published the site I left the uppercase HTML in place as historical artifacts sprinkled throughout the code. :) hah, I just was taking a look at that old code again and found this little gem: <H3 ALIGN = CENTER><BLINK>Frame ALERT!</BLINK><H3> This document is designed to be viewed using Netscape 2.0's Frame features. If you are seeing this message, you are using a frame challenged browser. We've come a long way :)

Jugurtha 10y ago
Not that much. Probably everyone writes something to handle challenged browsers, namely Internet Explorer  Here's my opinion: The fixed resolution has fixed dimensions, not a fixed ratio. Meaning if you view the content on a different screen setting, the content will not change to preserve readability. It's different than the 70 characters per line because you still have 70 characters per line on a bigger screen. The eye not having to travel horizontally is the point because the travel can be irritating at any character size.. That's why code is limited to 70-80 characters per line. However, this is a problem on mobile: on a big screen, the 70 character is a good thing because you still have a good chunk of text vertically and are able to read with ease. On mobile, on the other hand, your reading speed is way faster than 80characters * number of lines displayed on a mobile screen.. So you spend your time scrolling frantically to keep up with how fast your eyes are reading. On a laptop, HN is too small but even having it zoomed at 150%, I still have a lot of leeway to read fast. On mobile, the layout is a bit better but every thread seems to go on like forever because the amount of scrolling is just insane. 70 characters per line was because horizontal eye scanning has a higher cost than vertical scanning. But a muscular action of the hand has a higher cost than both, which you're paying on mobile. Imagine reading a book in which each page has only 5 lines and you have to turn the page every couple of seconds. It's just way too tiring.

Jugurtha 10y ago

Not that much. Probably everyone writes something to handle challenged browsers, namely Internet Explorer <!--[if IE]>. I think what really changed is that the blink has become bad taste, but it has been replaced with other bad practices. Now if your code included screen resolutions forcing people to set their screens a certain way, that would be a throw-back.

erelde 10y ago
Something like that? http://www.paulgraham.com/gfaq.html http://www.paulgraham.com/gfaq.html PS: I agree with Graham on his last point about web design, but that was the first example of fixed resolution that came to mind. I still write 2 or 3 css rules each time I read one of his essays.
- Jugurtha 10y ago
 Actually, this was not his last point. The last point was commented out (if you read the page's source, you'll find this after the 70 characters per line comment).  Here's my opinion: The fixed resolution has fixed dimensions, not a fixed ratio. Meaning if you view the content on a different screen setting, the content will not change to preserve readability. It's different than the 70 characters per line because you still have 70 characters per line on a bigger screen. The eye not having to travel horizontally is the point because the travel can be irritating at any character size.. That's why code is limited to 70-80 characters per line. However, this is a problem on mobile: on a big screen, the 70 character is a good thing because you still have a good chunk of text vertically and are able to read with ease. On mobile, on the other hand, your reading speed is way faster than 80characters * number of lines displayed on a mobile screen.. So you spend your time scrolling frantically to keep up with how fast your eyes are reading. On a laptop, HN is too small but even having it zoomed at 150%, I still have a lot of leeway to read fast. On mobile, the layout is a bit better but every thread seems to go on like forever because the amount of scrolling is just insane. 70 characters per line was because horizontal eye scanning has a higher cost than vertical scanning. But a muscular action of the hand has a higher cost than both, which you're paying on mobile. Imagine reading a book in which each page has only 5 lines and you have to turn the page every couple of seconds. It's just way too tiring.