Re: [mediaqueries] Making the 'color' query static, like CSSOM colorDepth?



On 8/2/13 1:20 PM, "Brad Kemper" <brad.kemper@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Aug 2, 2013, at 9:38 AM, "Tab Atkins Jr." <jackalmage@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> If you're dealing with a device low-tech enough to have white/black
>> pixels only, it's likely also got an extremely low resolution, and
>> probably a weak processor underneath it too. You're not going to be
>> putting content on that without explicitly designing for the device,
>> which means you don't need to be able to discriminate in CSS.
>
>I don't think you can make that assumption. If I have some sort of POS or
>cash register system that is used in 3,000 different gas stations around
>the world, I might well have three different levels of LCD screens (cheap
>one bit, grayscale, or more expensive color), or maybe big 1-bit outdoor
>LED screens as an economic alternative to color versions). It would be
>much better if there was one adaptable CSS file, instead of having to use
>a different query string on the URL or something to change CSS content.

So we are talking about someone who manufactures a dedicated device with
an embedded CSS rendering engine; and they would rather conform with
requirements set for arbitrary web content their device is probably not
meant to access over those they'd need to satisfy for their specific
needs? I think it's very likely such highly specialized implementations
will do what is needed to achieve their goals regardless of what we say;
and I doubt this is all that would stand in the way of cross-POS content
interop. It's somewhat difficult to foresee and specify what custom
devices and implementations should do.

Printing scenarios seem somewhat more intriguing. And since e-ink was
brought up, e-books and associated readers are an area where some interop
is valuable. I kind of like Zack's MAY proposal, in this respect.

Fwiw other devices that use CSS to render on limited LCDs include, afaik,
printers and maybe some camera on-screen menus (Canon's use SVG; not sure
if they also use CSS). But like a POS they don't render arbitrary content
from the web, afaik.

Received on Saturday, 3 August 2013 00:26:42 UTC