Most cited
Posts that commenters keep linking to, ranked by how many different people have cited them in Hacker News comments. 61 posts.
Breaking the web with hash-bangs
Update 10 Feb 2011 : Tim Bray has written a much shorter, clearer and less technical explanation of the broken use of hash-bangs URLs . I thoroughly recommend reading and referencing it.
What Safari’s Reading List means for Instapaper
Before today, I knew that a reading-list feature similar to Instapaper’s core bookmark-saving purpose was being added to Safari in Lion, and wrote a big blog post about its potential impact on Instapaper.
Pdf.js: Rendering PDF with HTML5 and JavaScript
Update: I updated the links again. pdf.js has moved to a new location on github. Why? While traveling to the Firefox 4 launch parties in Seoul and Taipei all the way from California, we killed a lo…
New Khan Academy Exercise Framework Is Live
Today we’re pushing live a complete rewrite of the Khan Academy Exercise framework ( live demo ).
Understanding "Prototypes" in JavaScript
For the purposes of this post, I will be talking about JavaScript objects using syntax defined in ECMAScript 5.1. The basic semantics existed in Edition 3, but they were not well exposed. A Whole New Object In JavaScript, objects are pairs of keys and values (in Ruby, this structure
Understanding JavaScript function invocation and "this"
Over the years, I've seen a lot of confusion about JavaScript function invocation. In particular, a lot of people have complained that the semantics of this in function invocations is confusing. In my opinion, a lot of this confusion is cleared up by understanding the core function invocation primitive,
Free Wordpress themes coming with a price
There are so many free WordPress themes out there it can put your head in a spin. This post is the one-stop resource for info about free WordPress Themes
Browser Market Pollution: IE[x] is the new IE6
Feb 2015: 3½ years later, we’re in a better place. The new IE Spartan project has killed off document modes . (Technically, still possible in firewall environments, but… effectively dead for us.) These days, our IE support landscape is IE8 (still), IE11, and IE Mobile. 3 is definitely better than 72.
Skype 5 for Mac
A while back, when Skype's group videochat feature was still free, a friend of mine sent me a Skype message, asking me whether it was possible to do videochat with more than one person in Skype. "Sure," I replied, "you can do that, but you need to install the new Skype 5 beta." I sent her the link. A few minutes…
Google adds verbatim search mode for your exact search terms
Behind the simplicity of Google search is a complex set of algorithms that expands and improves the query you’ve typed to find the best resu...
Modern Web Applications are Here
Battlefield 3’s Battlelog system is an interesting web application that many of us missed. Here is why it’s amazing and worth a look at.
JavaScript is Not Web Assembly
Writing and Stuff from Isaac Z. Schlueter
The strange story of etherpad
I don't actually know this story - certainly no more of it than anyone who has read a few web pages. But luckily, I'm pretty good at making...
The Ambiguity of Open and H.264 vs. VP8
Google has recently announced their intention to remove the H.264 video codec from its Chrome browser. This decision has been smeared as an evil campaign for controlling video on the web, akin to not-invented-here syndrome. It’s also been lauded as the push that the web needs to remain open and free. Mostly, it’s been…
Neat trick for getting private info for Facebook, GMail, Twitter and Digg users
Hidden img and script tags with onload and onerror let any site tell if you're logged into GMail, Facebook, Twitter or Digg. Google called it expected.
Brendan Eich on Ecma TC39, JavaScript.next, and Google Dash
I spoke at TXJS , a really excellent regional JS conference, in June. Thanks to @SlexAxton , rmurphey , and everyone else involved. My talk was concerned with the good, bad, and ugly of Ecma TC39 (and I mean those words in the best possible way!), mixing philosophy with historical events from the last 14 years.
Design for Hackers: Why You Hate Comic Sans
Everyone loves to hate Comic Sans. The child-like handwriting font is so infamous, there is a movement to try to ban it. Mention its name to the common layman (aside from a preschool teacher), and you will likely get a chuckle, mention it to a trained designer, and you’ll get a look of disgust. In […]
Compiling Clojure to javascript pt 1
this is the first entry in an n-part series explaining the techniques and design principles of ClojureScript . translations: [ 日本語 ]
The Problem with Implicit Scoping in CoffeeScript
A longer explanation of why I think that the CoffeeScript scoping is problematic and should be changed.
37signals Basecamp Mobile HTML5 app for WebKit browsers
Today we launch Basecamp Classic Mobile for phones and devices with WebKit browsers. This includes the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, Motorola Droid X, Motorola Droid 2, Samsung Galaxy S, HTC Incredible, HTC Evo, Palm Pre 2, BlackBerry Torch, or any other device running iOS 4+, Android 2.1+, webOS 2, …
The Noob Guide to Online Marketing
“Get me to page 1 of Google, while emailing our customers a bi-weekly newsletter, engaging influencers on Twitter, maintaining a captive Facebook audience, capturing new leads, and putting out 3 blog posts a week.” Harsh? Yes. Familiar? Definitely. Everything a Non-Marketer Needs to Take a…
Uniformity vs. Individuality in Mac UI Design
The conservatives see non-standard custom UI elements as wrong. Liberals see an app built using nothing other than standard system UI elements as boring, old-fashioned, stodgy.