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The Collective
Hand-picked interesting links for
web creators, updated daily.
Prefer a weekly digest?
The Complete 2024 Web Development Bootcamp
Become a Full-Stack Web Developer with just ONE course. HTML, CSS, Javascript, Node, React, PostgreSQL, Web3 and DApps.
Running Pong in 240 Browser Tabs
Nolen Royalty hacks Pong into 240 browser tabs, syncing movement across favicons and canvases while solving throttling and tab communication challenges.
An Emoji Naming Convention
Adam Argyle proposes using emojis in CSS naming for clarity but questions its practicality for readability and accessibility.
Liquid Metal by Paper
Liquid Metal is an open-source tool by Paper that lets you transform your logo into a liquid metal effect, inspired by Apple's design.
Record
Addy Osmani launches Record, a free, open-source browser-based screen recorder with camera support, teleprompter, and MP4 export—no installs needed!
The World’s Largest Search Doesn’t Want You to Search
Ted Gioia argues that Google has shifted from being a true search engine to prioritizing AI content, user retention, and ad revenue at the expense of search quality and trust.
Mastra
A TypeScript AI framework with agents, RAG, workflows, and integrations, enabling fast AI app development with LLM model routing.
How To Use Chrome’s Developer Tools
Matt Zeunert provides a comprehensive guide to Chrome DevTools, covering essential and advanced debugging features for web developers.
Reimagining Fluid Typography
Miriam Suzanne challenges conventional fluid typography, exploring better ways to respect user preferences without relying on pixel-based assumptions.
Prada
Mister&Prada's Three.js demo transforms a logo image into interactive particle-based geometry, featuring DOF effects with Simplex Noise.
Navigating the web platform
Patrick Brosset offers a concise cheatsheet for web developers on tracking new web platform features, browser updates, and ways to influence future developments.
Faux Containers in CSS Grids
Tyler Sticka explores "faux containers" in CSS Grid, showing how to create flexible layouts that break free from traditional boxy designs.
Otherlife Labs
Amelie Maia unveils Otherlife Labs, a hub for experimental web design, debuting with a high-fidelity WebGL virtual car showroom.
CSS Space Toggles
Jim Nielsen Explores CSS Space Toggles as a Solution to Light-Dark() Limitations for More Dynamic Theming.
XOR
Deep dive into XOR in logic, computing, and mathematics, covering properties, applications in cryptography, graphics, algorithms, and its role in game theory and algebra.
My Washing Machine Refreshed My Thinking on Software Effort Estimation
Chris Horsley compares a frustrating washing machine setup to software estimation, highlighting "unknown unknowns" that derail even routine tasks.
CSS @function + CSS if() = 🤯
Bramus explores CSS Custom Functions (@function) and the new CSS if() feature in Chrome Canary, showing how they enable advanced, flexible styling.
The Generative AI Con
Edward Zitron argues that generative AI is an overhyped con, fueled by inflated user metrics, media complicity, and corporate greed, with no real breakthrough or profitability in sight.
The hardest working font in Manhattan
Marcin Wichary uncovers the history and cultural impact of the Gorton font, from its industrial origins to its quiet ubiquity in Manhattan, blending history, design, and personal discovery.
New Junior Developers Can’t Actually Code
A critique of AI in coding, arguing junior developers rely on tools like Copilot without understanding fundamentals.
Learning web extensions
Chen Hui Jing explores the fundamentals of web extension development, covering manifest files, content scripts, background scripts, and key browser APIs.
How to start a React Project [2025]
Robin Wieruch compares Vite, Next.js, and Astro for React projects, weighing performance, flexibility, and rendering techniques to suit different needs.
Aspect Ratio Changes With CSS View Transitions
Jim Nielsen encounters a subtle CSS view transition bug and finds a one-line fix in Jake Archibald’s guide, gaining deeper insights into the feature.
Rethinking Find-in-Page Accessibility: Making Hidden Text Work for Everyone
Schepp explores how the hidden="until-found" attribute can improve find-in-page accessibility, making hidden text searchable and enhancing UX for assistive tech users.
trot
Robin Rendle explores switching from web dev to iOS, missing DevTools, loving SwiftUI animations, and rediscovering the joy of making without constraints.
uchū
uchū is a color palette designed for internet lovers, using the OKLCH color space for precise, vibrant colors—crafted by NetOperator Wibby.
“A calculator app? Anyone could make that.”
Hans-J. Boehm tackled the impossible: making a calculator that always gives correct answers. His brilliant approach powers Android’s superior math.
Finding Flow: Escaping Digital Distractions Through Deep Work and Slow Living
A thoughtful reflection on focus, deep work, and digital minimalism, blending personal experience with insights from books and productivity methods.
StringTune
StringTune is a modular JS library for smooth web effects like parallax, cursor interactions & animations, using a simple, attribute-based approach.
smolmodels
Smolmodels is an open-source Python library for creating machine learning models using natural language and minimal code.
Evaluating overlay-adjacent accessibility products
The article critiques overlay-adjacent accessibility products, highlighting their flaws, ethical concerns, AI reliance, and business models while advocating for built-in browser and OS accessibility features.
Firefox + custom elements + iframes bug
A known Firefox bug causes custom elements to lose their prototype when moved to an iframe. This post explains why it happens and provides a fix using customElements.get() to restore the element’s prototype.
Fast & Smooth Third-Party Web Fonts
Scott Jehl shares a faster way to load third-party web fonts asynchronously while keeping text hidden for up to 3s, improving page speed and UX.
Smuggling arbitrary data through an emoji
Paul Butler explores encoding data in Unicode variation selectors, hiding arbitrary bytes within emojis and text. A clever but abusable Unicode trick.
How to add a directory to your PATH
Julia Evans explains how to add a directory to your PATH across different shells, covering gotchas, debugging, and best practices for bash, zsh, and fish.
Astro 5.3
Astro 5.3 boosts performance with faster page rendering—SSR up to 4x faster. Plus, easier session storage setup and improved Netlify bundling.
Ribbon
A WebGPU-powered physics demo featuring a simulated ribbon using Rapier for physics and Three.js for rendering. Made by Christophe Choffel.
Smuggling arbitrary data through an emoji
Paul Butler shows how Unicode variation selectors can be used to hide data inside a single emoji, with possible applications in watermarking and bypassing content filters.
Style-observer: JS to observe CSS property changes, for reals
A robust JavaScript library to detect CSS property changes, supporting custom and standard properties with browser bug workarounds.
Marquee
A Marquee component built on the Web Animations API for smooth, customizable scrolling, offering real-time control over speed, direction, and playback.
CSS text-box-trim
Adam Argyle introduces CSS text-box-trim in Chrome 133, allowing developers to trim space above and below text for better alignment.
Modern-Day Oracles or Bullshit Machines?
A series of lessons on LLMs, exploring their potential to simplify tasks, their risks of spreading false information, and how to navigate both.
We are destroying software
Modern software is collapsing under complexity, fragile dependencies, rushed development, and neglect of documentation, killing the joy of coding.
