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Start with a strong foundation.

Who says church can't be fun? The Metropolitan Chicago Synod helped make our redesign experience a pleasure -- and we learned a ton along the way. Check it out. »  

So Much to Enjoy

Our good friend Linda writes about Lake Forest's Market Square over at the Enjoy Illinois blog. Go check it out, it's a great resource, full of things to do and see in the Land of Lincoln. Summer may be over, but this mid-70s and sunny weather is perfect (IMHO), so go outside and enjoy it before Old Man Winter returns and bums everyone out.
 

Why use film to change the world? BeCause.

Thanks to our good friend Ken Waagner over at Smartley-Dunn, we were able to get involved with an incredible non-profit organization called The BeCause Foundation, which takes a novel approach to solving some of society's least understood and rarely discussed problems. BeCause leverages the powerful medium of documentary film to educate and empower audiences, enabling grassroots solutions to such issues as child sexual abuse, healthcare for the homeless, and more. We worked with Ken and BeCause to build a dynamic site designed by Smartley-Dunn to showcase the foundation's growing catalog of films. If you haven't heard of them, check out the site at becausefoundation.org. It's amazing how inspiring a powerful story can be -- especially when it's true.   

The Long, Slow Death of Internet Explorer 6

CNN recently published a piece on the latest efforts of web developers and designers to convince Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) users to upgrade to a better browser. (We tend to recommend the latest flavor of Firefox around here). The number of hacks, workarounds, techniques, and advice for dealing with IE6 really is quite impressive. For whatever the reason (and there are many) IE6  has managed to stick around like that awkward friend at a party for a an impressive amount of time, and that tends to stir up the emotions of developers everywhere (present company included). Heck, even Google's home page throws an error in IE6 these days.


Even IE6 error dialogs throw errors

About a month ago, Digg.com polled its IE6 users in an attempt to understand why they hadn't upgraded, and to help them determine how to continue to evolve functionality without completely shutting this audience out. The results confirmed suspicions of  corporate users who are stuck in browser hell because IT won't let them (or they think they can't) upgrade, clocking in at a whopping 70% of responses. I have to hope (for my own sanity) that a good portion of the 7% claiming to prefer IE6 over more modern browsers were pranksters.

If, as Digg's numbers indicate, the vast majority of the dwindling minority of IE6 users out there are indeed trapped in a corporate IT upgrade holding pattern, perhaps the impending release of Windows 7 will be the final nail in IE6's coffin.

Microsoft has said they will support the browser until they cease support of XP, in April of 2014. With any luck, it'll become an edge support case far sooner than that. Some high profile web properties are beginning to drop support for IE6, although I can't believe YouTube's decision to drop IE6 will change much for corporate users: YouTube was probably blocked for them already.

For us, the goal has always been to accommodate IE6 as much as we can, suggesting users upgrade if it makes sense for the audience, and maintaining content fidelity over functionality.
 

Are You Being Attacked?

Wilco will love you, baby. Go check out the new wilcoworld.net. We're having fun this summer helping Ken and the Smartley-Dunn crew keep the hamsters running smoother than a John Stirratt bassline.



 

AT&T Portal Madness

At our office, we use AT&T DSL. We also have AT&T phone service, which comes with their "U-Verse" service for voicemail and digital fax. We really like this service because when we get voicemail, we get an email with a .wav file, and digital versions of faxes. Switching to this service also dramatically cut our monthly bill, a nice side effect.

The DSL account is connected to a legacy email address back when AT&T was known as SBC 'round these parts. Anyone with an account with one of these older email addresses probably knows they'll get re-directed to an AT&T portal-like site if they try to type in the domain. Invariably you'll be asked for your email address, and asked to select from a very large list of prevously gobbled-up online services.

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The doctor is in.

High-end photography, clean, sophisticated design, and copy that gets the job done. What more could you ask for? Meet Dr. Aviles. »  

Madam, I'm Adam

... and if you thought that was impressive, just for fun, check out the English language's longest palindrome.*

"Dammit I'm Mad"
by Demetri Martin

Dammit I'm mad.
Evil is a deed as I live.
God, am I reviled? I rise, my bed on a sun, I melt.
To be not one man emanating is sad. I piss.
Alas, it is so late. Who stops to help?
Man, it is hot. I'm in it. I tell.
I am not a devil. I level "Mad Dog".
Ah, say burning is, as a deified gulp,
In my halo of a mired rum tin.
I erase many men. Oh, to be man, a sin.
Is evil in a clam? In a trap?
No. It is open. On it I was stuck.
Rats peed on hope. Elsewhere dips a web.
Be still if I fill its ebb.
Ew, a spider... eh?
We sleep. Oh no!
Deep, stark cuts saw it in one position.
Part animal, can I live? Sin is a name.
Both, one... my names are in it.
Murder? I'm a fool.
A hymn I plug, deified as a sign in ruby ash,
A Goddam level I lived at.
On mail let it in. I'm it.
Oh, sit in ample hot spots. Oh wet!
A loss it is alas (sip). I'd assign it a name.
Name not one bottle minus an ode by me:
"Sir, I deliver. I'm a dog"
Evil is a deed as I live.
Dammit I'm mad.

*please note this is purely for English nerd purposes and does not reflect my mood. Via Element friend John Hettwer and Slate.