Hey everyone and welcome back to the Front End News newsletter. Going into a regular schedule means that there won't usually be that much stuff as the first issue had, which, in turn, will make these newsletters easier to "digest". So let's not waste time and start with the news.
Global Privacy Control
Are you tired of having to manually opt-out of being tracked every time you load a website? Then you might just be in luck.
There is a new initiative called Global Privacy Control, spearheaded by a group of privacy-focused companies, non-profits, and publications, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Mozilla Foundation, DuckDuckGo, or Automattic, to name just a few of them.
These entities banded together to work on the specifications for a "global opt-out" that would match the requirements of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This will allow you to define your privacy settings once in your device or in your browser (directly or using an extension) and these options are sent to every website you visit and to every app you are using.
This initiative is just starting now and only time will tell if all this will get more traction or if it will have the same limited effect as the "Do Not Track" initiative from years ago.
I'm also adding some press coverage that I found to offer more details than what can be found in the press release:
- https://www.wired.com/story/global-privacy-control-launches-do-not-track-is-back/
- https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/10/global_privacy_control/
2020 Material Design Awards
Google is currently running its 2020 edition of the Material Design Awards. This year they are focusing on three main categories: Material Theming, Dark Theme, or Material Motion.
Have you created a product that uses Material Design? You have until October 16th to submit your application. There is not that much time left, so hurry up!
2020 React Community Survey
The React Core team is updating the official documentation and they are looking for feedback from the community. If you are a React user, you are invited to take their survey so that they can help you learn your craft better.
Browser News
Chrome
Chrome 86 updates are already rolling out and your browser might be already running the latest version. Here are the new things that are now available to you:
- Use the File System Access API in the latest stable format
- Use your controller to play web games thanks to the WebHID API
- Get screen properties in a multi-monitor environment using the Multi-Screen Window Placement API
- Enhance your CSS with better support for the
:focus-visibleselector and::markerpseudo-element
The full details of this update can be seen using the link below:
Edge
Users of Visual Studio Code can now use the Microsoft Edge Developer Tools in their editor. This brings out two of the most important panels - Elements and Network and removes the need to switch back and forth between your editor and your browser.
There's a lot more to this than I can possibly cover in this short description, so I invite you to check the article below:
Safari
Safari Technology Preview 114 is out now. The release notes are again a few pages long so if you are using and developing for this browser, you should definitely check them:
Updates and Releases
Wrapping Things Up
And that's all there is in this issue. I'm going to continue to work on making your experience better. You might have already noticed that the web version got a makeover and I'm going to work next on a better email template.
As always, further updates and notifications will be distributed via the Front End Nexus Twitter account @frontendnexus, so you should also head there and drop a follow.
Thanks a million for being with me and I am looking forward to getting in touch with you next week with the next issue.
Have a great and productive week, keep yourselves safe and I will see you next time!