Interesting bits from around the web as uncovered by the Odopod Code Forum.

Adobe's iPad-izer
Adobe worked with Wired to bring a digital version of their magazine to the iPad as a native app. Here's an interesting article about how it was built.
• Cool: Nicely designed. Seeing Adobe trying to provide alternative tools to create content for iOS.
• Not Cool: A 527 MB download and being all image-based doesn't seem like a viable approach.

Exposing Audio Data to JavaScript
In a previous post we pointed out the limitations of the current html5 audio tag not having access to raw data. It turns out that a group of web audio and Mozilla developers are working on bringing audio data to audio and video elements.
• Cool: Offering a solution to bring raw audio data to the browser. This is essential to be able to create web-based audio applications or at least fully featured audio players.
• Not cool: As usual, when will we have this (or something like it) for ALL browsers?

SmokeScreen
Open-source project aimed at converting Flash to JavaScript/HTML5.
• Cool: Simplifying the conversion of Flash ads to JS and HTML (who loves making ads?)
• Not cool: We did a quick test and unless your swf is timelined and really simple it won’t work. Minimal bits of ActionScript broke it.

Web Fonts at the Crossing
A very nice and concise article about the history and current landscape of web fonts.
• Cool: A List Apart bringing great and relevant content to the web.
• Not cool: Nothing really.

Apple HTML5 Showcase
Apple put up an HTML5, CSS3 and JS showcase to prove that a standards-based web is the future.
• Cool: Moving the web forward.
• Not Cool: You've probably already heard by now how uncool this is and how it has backfired. The demos are doing some browser sniffing forcing users to see the demos on Safari (misleading into the belief that this is only possible on Safari). Demos would work on other browsers, especially on Chrome since it’s built on Webkit. How's that for an open web Apple?

IE9 Preview
Microsoft is giving a preview of the capabilities and performance of IE9.
• Cool: Finally a promising browser from MS.
• Not Cool: Only for Windows Vista or Windows 7?

Safari 5
Apple released a new version of its browser despite not being announced in the WWDC 2010 keynote.
• Cool: Some more html5 tags supported. Better web inspector. Opening up Safari to third party developers via extensions.
• Not Cool: Not so sure about the new Reader, not very fond of the justified text.