In case you missed it, Google Docs was recently upgraded with a Draw Chart capability. This was, in my opinion, the biggest reason to still use desktop software like Microsoft Office. The best part? It uses SVG to get the job done (and VML if you're still using IE). Bravo! Encore!

Thoughts on the future of this feature? Here are some things I want:

  • Please allow the author to extract the drawing as an SVG file from the service (currently Firebug is the only way I could figure out how).
  • Fill gradients (Linear and Radial), please

And yes, there are privacy concerns with an online (aka 'cloud') service like this - I'm not implying you should use this for everything - but for the occasional document that you want to use for collaboration, it really does the trick.

Now if only I could get them to update their Spreadsheet service so that I can use it offline...

§527 · March 30, 2009 · Google, Software, SVG, Technology, Web · 2 comments · Tags: , ,


Updated my SVG support chart for the latest batch of browsers out there:

  • Safari 4 Beta (81.93%)
  • Chrome 2.0 Nightly (81.39%)
  • Internet Explorer 8 (0.00%)
  • Some more recent Firefox builds (3.5b latest, pre-3.6+SMIL)

Great to see Chrome 2.0 with SMIL enabled (like Safari 4)! I'm really looking forward to the next wave of modern browsers: There's enough SMIL enabled in Opera, Safari 4 and Chrome 2 that you can start to do some really fun things.

Now you can read on for some complaints leveled against Konqueror 4.2.1. Read the rest of this entry ...

§525 · March 29, 2009 · Life · 8 comments · Tags: , ,


Happy AdaLoveLace Day to Shelley Powers. I happened to be browsing through some blogger's archives marveling at how many posts are just no longer intelligible (this and this are good examples). It's a shame that many of her older writings are no longer around (or are they?). Shelley's had an interesting life so far. I look forward to continuing to learn from her.

§524 · March 24, 2009 · Technology · 6 comments · Tags: , , ,