Radiant Core: browser tag

Firefox 3: Meet the New Features

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:20:00 GMT

It's always been a pleasure for us to be involved in the Mozilla Firefox project — we did the design and implementation of the official theme for Firefox 2 — so we feel the excitement pretty keenly when they start preparing a new release. The Mozco engine is humming along and you better start prepping your Firefox themed party treats, because Firefox 3 is almost here!

We didn't have a chance to work on this release, but we're really looking forward to a whole bunch of the new features. There's a great rundown on Mozilla Links' A Deeper Look at Firefox 3 (even if they did call our work "washed out" :), which is well worth the read if your browser blood runs red. Some of our favourites:

The Proto native theme for Mac OS will finally give Firefox a truly platform native feel on our favourite operating system
A number of changes to the toolbar and tabstrip which make a lot of sense from the perspective of optimizing the browser experience (the Go button is gone! Let the rejoicing begin!)
Places, which will bring some sanity to our extensive bookmarks collections
Blocking JavaScript from resizing windows without permission (and various other nefarious message control tactics â take that marketeers!)
Our good friend Madhava's awesome work on the Add Ons manager which brings browsing and installation of Add Ons right into the browser chrome. It's about time!
Our other good friend Johnathan's equally awesome work around security, site verification, and anti-phishing measures, summed up in Larry the Security Guy.

Beta 3 is out right now if you want to grab it and start playing. We're told that over 40% of popular Add Ons have been updated to work in it, but we're still holding out for a new version of Firebug before we make the switch entirely. I've got to go dig up my recipe for Foxy Cupcakes and find the punch bowl before the big fete, so you run along now and remember: don't hurt the web!

BrowserSim Updated!

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:00:00 GMT

I first posted BrowserSim to the Radiant Core blog nine months ago. After 110 downloads and reports of the PSD being used by a range of interesting firms I decided to spend the time updating and improving it. I'm proud to announce that BrowserSim is now 1.0!

Following months of eager use in our office, version 1.0 has been updated to a PSD/ATN pairing, reducing the set-up to three steps (and less than 500KB zipped):

Substitute your window title and URL in the appropriate text layers
Run the action for either IE 7 or Firefox 2
Get designing!

Download it now!

browserSim 0.2 - browser chrome for design made easy

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:00:00 GMT

Many web design types use a masked browser chrome to present their design work to clients - it helps provide a context for the visuals being presented.

I personally find it a tremendously useful technique to use from the very start of a design process - it keeps me aware of how the elements I'm producing will sit within the browser, and ultimately of how they'll appear to the end-user.

I've done several versions over the past half-decade or so, but finally got around to doing one with multiple chrome options, layer group masks, etc., which makes it all ludicrously easy to use. Even better, the chrome is nicely drop-shadowed and pretty much presentation-ready!

All you need to do is grab the .psd and use. Instructions are in the first group. If you find yourself making improvements (such as adding browser versions), do ping me!