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Is there a venue for me to show off my HTML skills?

I occasionally receive email from people telling me that they think they've become quite the HTML/CSS mavens and are curious if there are any competitions they could enter to demonstrate their prowess. It's a great idea if you think about it, because I know that I've certainly come across little CSS pages or JavaScript widgets that are just, well, amazing. So how do you get some peer and industry recognition for this skillset?

Dave's Answer: One opportunity that's popped up in the last few days is worth mentioning because it's something that can actually make you some money in addition to just peer recognition: the Apple Dashboard Widget Competition.

To quote the site itself:

What Is a Dashboard Widget?

The Dashboard and Dashboard Widgets are intriguing new technologies that will be available in Mac�OS�X Tiger. Dashboard is a semi-transparent layer that zooms across your screen at the press of a key. It�s also home to a new kind of application called a Widget. A Widget can be self-contained like a clock or calculator, display information from the Internet like headlines or the status of an order, or enhance an application by adding features or making the application easier to use. Great Widgets are small, lightweight, and simple, with a compelling interface that�s fun to use.

Creating a Widget Is Easy

Widgets are not only fun to use, they are also easy to create. You don�t need traditional application development skills to create a Widget. Widgets are based on Apple�s Web Kit, so if you know JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, you�re well on your way to creating a Widget. If not, it�s easy to learn! The Widget SDK and documentation are included in the Mac�OS�X Tiger Developer Preview release so you can get started today.

Of course, if you're not on the Mac OS X platform this won't do you much good, but on the other hand the spiffy Konfabulator just arrived on the Windows platform so you could work within that context and create some widgets for the Windows community using similar ingredients.

Whichever you choose, going through the motions of figuring out how to get one of these widgets to work within the specific environment, Dashboard or Konfabulator, is certainly going to be a great way to further hone your HTML, CSS and JavaScript skills.

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Categorized: HTML and CSS (Article 3756)
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