February 27, 2015 at 11:15AM •
1 hour 40 minutes
The Internet Archive is a treasure trove of digitized culture — films, software, audio, websites and more. How it it being collected, and how might the Internet Archive be our best hope for preserving the history of this era, as we invent the web? Jason Scott joins Jen Simmons to talk about the challenges of archiving in the digital age.
February 18, 2015 at 11:30AM •
1 hour 6 minutes
Virtual reality technology is starting to take off. VR hardware has been steadily improving. VR films are getting a lot of attention. VR games are leveling up. But so far, virtual reality systems are closed platforms, each working with the equipment and software of one company. What could a cross-platform web of Virtual Reality look like? What might web designers do with a fully-immersive web experience? There's a team at Mozilla working on WebVR. Jen Simmons talks to Josh Carpenter and Vladimir Vukicevic to find out what they are doing.
February 11, 2015 at 9:00AM •
1 hour 9 minutes
After months of work, I've launched a new website for The Web Ahead, at thewebahead.net. Hear a saga of the agony, the ecstasy, the design and the build. How? Why? On what? A lot of geeking out about tech and design and some talk about future plans, too. The inimitable Jeff Eaton switches seats and interviews me, Jen Simmons, all about it.
January 30, 2015 at 4:00PM •
1 hour 23 minutes
Microsoft announced that they will be introducing a new browser, codenamed Project Spartan. Windows 10 will ship with both IE and Project Spartan, but Spartan is the future. What is happening? How is it that the oldest popular browser is going to end? Rey Bango joins Jen Simmons to tell all.
January 23, 2015 at 2:15PM •
1 hour 8 minutes
The practice of web design has evolved tremendously over the last two decades — so much so it's almost hard to understand where we are at. User experience design, user interface design… so many complex pieces working together. Andy Budd joins Jen Simmons to articulate his vision of the current state of web design.
January 15, 2015 at 11:00AM •
1 hour 1 minute
Sadly, a lot of websites are a mess. They're rife with inconsistencies, broken links, mangled meaning, confusion and frustration. How does this happen? How do we get out of these messes? Information architecture can help. Abby Covert joins Jen Simmons to explain.
January 9, 2015 at 4:00PM •
2 hours 2 minutes
Too often, websites are designed with only the ideal user in mind — a typical person, in great health and sound mind, happy to be on your website doing a thing. In reality we humans exist in a variety of states, including panic, fear and reacting to a crisis. How could our sites be better, considering the needs of people in crisis? What are the consequences when we don't acknowledge the impact of our design decisions? Eric Meyer joins Jen Simmons to talk about his last year and a half, what he learned, and what he's thinking.
December 16, 2014 at 6:15PM •
1 hour 37 minutes
Front-end development has changed a lot. What used to be simple text in files is now a deep stack of robust engineering tools. Is this a good change? What advantages do the power tools provide, and what might we be giving up in exchange? Claudina Sarahe joins Jen Simmons to debate.
December 2, 2014 at 1:00PM •
1 hour 24 minutes
It's clear that responsive web design is the way to build a website in today's crazy world of mobile devices, but what's the best way to do so? How can you create a responsive site that's fast and snappy? Scott Jehl joins Jen Simmons to tell us about the latest in how to do RWD right.
October 29, 2014 at 11:45AM •
1 hour 28 minutes
This week has been declared "Geek Mental Health Week" by Andy Clark. He asked us at The Web Ahead to participate, so I invited yogi Peter Ferko to talk about ways to find contentment, balance, and sanity in a world that can be painful or overwhelming.
