I’ll be the first to say I love Javascript. I have two big Javascript books to my right to prove it. It’s one of the greatest things about the web two-point-oh! movement (yes, I hate that term). And I love milk. But I will also be the first to say I hate how some people misuse Javascript.

My main complaint is the use of Javascript menus. If you will, flash back to 1999… no wait, go back earlier than that, let’s say… 1997. Okay, that’s right. It’s 1997 and P. Diddy was Puff Daddy sampling that Police song. Remember the VMAs? Anyway, look at the web and you will see hundreds of tacky, superfluous IE-only menus.

Now flash forward to 2007. Ten years later and Puff Daddy is P. Diddy (or is it just Diddy? who knows) and he’s probably sampling some other popular song from the 80s. But guess what’s still around? Yes, those superfluous Javascript menus.
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No this is not a post related in any way to the fallen pop star’s latest flagellation for attention, but all about how i want the iPhone! And I want to see beautiful websites on that crystal clear LCD.

Here’s how: iPhone’s Mobile Safari Compatibility Tips

We all know that “click here” is perhaps the weakest of all calls-to-action, and should be banned from any good copywriter’s vocabulary.

However, coming in at a close second is “learn more”. This generic phrase screams copywriting laziness and a lack of interest in understanding why a visitor to a page would actually be interested in learning more.

The use of “learn more” seems to be particularly prevalent in home page promo banners.

I see it used so regularly that when someone actually takes the time to write a more meaningful call-to-action, it really stands out.

We all know that “click here” is perhaps the weakest of all calls-to-action, and should be banned from any good copywriter’s vocabulary.

However, coming in at a close second is “learn more”. This generic phrase screams copywriting laziness and a lack of interest in understanding why a visitor to a page would actually be interested in learning more.

The use of “learn more” seems to be particularly prevalent in home page promo banners.

I see it used so regularly that when someone actually takes the time to write a more meaningful call-to-action, it really stands out.

Guilty as charged. As I have become aware of this glaring ugliness of verbage, I have attempted to phase out the use of Click Here to…” but sometimes it takes a really poignant blog to show me the error or my ways.

Here is an example of a good and bad call to action:

Enhance your web knowledge with the rest of this article on SmileyCat.com

Recently I’ve started optimizing my PNG images. In most cases, I can get file sizes smaller than GIFs, and if I’m real lucky cut 24-bit PNGs in half.

There are a few optimizing programs out there, but none of them do what I really want. Previously I was using PNGpong, a dashboard widget, but I’m not a fan of Dashboard (I know, I know) and wanted a program that I could simply drag a folder onto and not have to worry about selecting fifteen different PNGs.

So today I created my own application that will optimize any PNG (or folder of PNGs) dropped onto it. Once the optimization is complete, PngOptimizer will notify you via Growl with the total number of images it has optimized and how many kilobytes you have saved. (This can come in handy for iPhone development where the EDGE network is seriously limited.)

Without further ado, I present you with my first Mac programming attempt:

PngOptimizer v1.0 (360kb).

Yes, it has a lame name and an even worse icon. But I don’t claim to be a great icon designer or a clever programmer.

Simply copy the application into your Applications folder and drop any folder of PNGs onto it and watch PngOptimizer do its magic.

PngOptimizer is powered by the OptiPNG library and built with Ruby and Platypus (hence the horrible icon).

So I’m a big football fan and as such have always been one to root for the underdog; it didn’t get any better than Saturday when #5 Michigan got beat by their “Sub-Division” tune up game opponent Appalachian State. Needless to say here’s a look at my new desktop.