Yahoo’s Design Pattern Library has become my go-to source for UI solutions. The site presents common problems within a specific context and suggests optimal solutions with a pattern. They also provide much of the scripting to run each pattern with the Yahoo! User Interface (YUI) Library, which is a set of JavaScript utilities and controls for building richly interactive web applications. I’m no UI developer by any stretch of the imagination, but I still prefer jQuery and its limitless plugins.

It’s nice to see that Google is now throwing its weight behind OpenID, a free and open standard that allows web users to log on to different web sites using a single digital identity and eliminates the need for a different user name and password for each site. Google joins the ranks of AOL, Microsoft, MySpace and Yahoo! in offering this service, and their involvement will certainly put OpenID in a position for massive adoption throughout the web.

Also notable is how Google is communicating this feature to users; in lieu of mentioning OpenID, Google is using the phrase “Sign in with a Google Account.” This is similar to Yahoo’s messaging, “Sign In with a Yahoo! ID.” The choice is likely influenced by the Yahoo! OpenID Usability Research, which concluded that users do not understand OpenID, but do support using trusted providers such as Yahoo! for authentication.

If you deal with a website that has any sizable amount of content, you understand that asset management can quickly get out of hand. I’m guilty of this, and I’m here to come clean: I have a junk drawer, and it’s name is the “images” folder. A quick look at my “images” folder reveals multiple formats of a background, some rounded corners, and a bunch of ornamental images. So it was a joyful occasion when I discovered Yahoo’s method for managing images that are reused throughout a site: massive sprite graphics.

Typically when I create a graphic with multiple visual states I use a single sprite with the sliding door technique. Yahoo simplifies the process by creating only one graphic for all sprites. When new graphics are added to the site, they can be appended to the bottom of the existing master sprite graphic without interfering with existing x-y reference points.

Today at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Steve Jobs announced the release of Safari 3. It’s a great update to the browser, which was last released in 2005.

I’m still committed to Firefox, but I’ll give Safari an occasional spin. When it has the same plugin capability as Firefox I will gladly reconsider. If you are considering a switch today, here are five reasons to make the change:

1. It’s available for the PC. Wow; I should have seen that coming. It makes perfect sense considering that millions of iPhones will be connecting to PCs in the next few months.
2. It’s super fast. Safari loads pages up to 2 times faster than Internet Explorer 7 and up to 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2.0.
3. Private browsing. Flip a switch and Safari will not retain any of your Google searches, cookies, history of downloads or pages viewed, or form information.
4. Font smoothing. Great for designers, really bad for readability and usability. Fortunately smoothing can turned off through the panel at Edit > Preferences > Appearance.
5. Windows Media support. Are publishers still using this format? It’s comforting that Apple is at least playing fairly.