Microsoft just announced they are releasing IE8 as part of an automatic update on Windows. Now I’m a mac guy, but I would like to know if this means we can stop designing for IE6. Should we only support the two latest versions of any browser with your coding? That sounds fair.

I haven’t been shamwowed by the beta version, but some have pointed out the coolness. Joe Walker had some nice things to say about the release, citing better css support and javascript debugging. Ultimately, I’m getting the feeling IE8 is just about Microsoft playing catch up to the other browsers- they certainly have to do that first before they can improve on anything we’re used to.

I am almost done with my second theme for Theme Forest and I have learned a great deal. Firstly, if theme authors were journalists, there would be the kind with integrity, and the kind that go after the irrelevant “if it bleeds, it leads” type stories. With my first theme, Billyburg Magazine, I attempted to create something that was unlike anything else on the site. While I think it is a useful design, I tried so hard to create something unique and exciting, I ended up betraying semantic coding, and ignoring my usual design principals. While I may have sold a few, very quickly, the legitimacy of the code (cross-browser functionality, hacky css) was not so stellar. Sadly, I may be the Fox News (or Huffington Post) of theme authors.

And like those news sources that lead with controversial, yet shallow stories, I might have done this because of insecurity. I unconsciously may have thought my design could not compete with the others if it was standard, simple, and focused around usability. Anyway, time to move on and make some solid wordpress themes that are not unique for the sake of uniqueness, but have integrity at their core.

I have been very happy with Wordpress as a CMS for clients, though there are some things I’m still figuring out. This blog runs on textpattern. The page templates are easy to create because you just drop in code snippets where you want certain content to show up. While I think textpattern is easier to modify, Wordpress has a better usability and functionality philosophy that, while making it easier for my clients, make it a bit tricky to set up.

For example, the client site I am about to launch needs multiple content areas on one page. Since WP is intended for blogs, which don’t have too much secondary content aside from post meta data and links, it makes it hard to tweak for CMS purposes. When you get it working, though, it works like a beauty. I’m using a combination of hacks and plugins to get the desired effect.

I’m straying from the typical subject matter of this blog today. It is an all-consuming anxiety, thinking about the economy. In a time when most people are worried about their economic future and how the instability of our country may affect them, there are those that still think about helping other people. A friend of mine, Laura Bluett, is doing a 60-mile walk for breast cancer. Please check out her progress and help support her with $2, $10, $50 (Tax deductible, weeeeee!), or whatever you can do. She will reach her goal; don’t you want to be part of the group that helps her surpass it? During uncertain times such as these, we can at least be certain about getting behind people like Laura Bluett.