Brothercake

came here for something, and found something else

Brothercake is a front-end web-developer based in Australia, with a strong focus on accessibility and standards-based development.

This site is a portfolio for some of my work, and a collection of useful resources including scripts, games and articles. There's also some hobbies and personal stuff, and occasionally I rant or give vent to something or other.

Latest news and stuff

The Crack-head's Guide to Holding Down a Job

Published, 23rd July 2008

“A problem I have — have always had — is reconciling some of the more, er, colourful aspects of my personality in the workplace ... so, from personal experience, here's a short list of tips I've acquired over the years, that might be helpful to you if you're anything like me...”

XHTML or HTML: Does It Really Matter

Published, 8th July 2008

“Eight years on, is HTML stuck in a rut? James looks at the underlying causes of its eight-year sleep, dispels some myths, and considers the XHTML options open to the standards-aware developer in the meantime...”

Dust-Me Selectors: Now Compatible With Firefox 3!

Published, 24th June 2008

“Today I released Dust-Me Selectors Version 2.1, the handy Firefox extension that trawls through your style sheets and cleans up unused selectors.

“The primary change with this version was to add support for Firefox 3. Making this change wasn't a difficult task — all I had to was upgrade to Version 1.0 (beta 3) of base2, and add a couple of UI tweaks.”

Beyond CAPTCHA: No Bots Allowed!

Published, 31st May 2008

“The popular CAPTCHA solution can help lock out robots and reduce spam, but it's far from failsafe — and it causes major accessibility headaches. In this article, James looks at the problems, issues, and alternatives to requiring a human to prove that they're not a bot.”

Stop Using Ajax!

Published, 24th April 2008

“In this controversial article, James "Brothercake" Edwards argues that we should stop using Ajax until we have ironed out the issues surrounding its lack of compatibility with accessible technologies such as screenreaders, and suggests how you can stick to accessible web standards-based techniques, instead of resorting to Ajax.”

The Art & Science of JavaScript

Published, January 2008

“The Art & Science of JavaScript assembles seven of the greatest minds in modern JavaScript to teach you the most inspirational techniques you'll ever use. From creating impressive mashups and stunning, dynamic graphics, to more subtle user-experience enhancements, you're about to be amazed by the true potential of this powerful language.”