So long, Jeff! Next, say “Hi,” to Chris Minnick

Hello! Ed Tittel here, with some interesting news about the next planned edition of our book:

I’m very sorry to  report that my co-author and collaborator, Jeff Noble, has decided to drop out of the upcoming revision to our book. We’re probably going to call it HTML5 and CSS3 For Dummies, and it’s going to be a complete rework to get everybody up to speed on HTML5 markup and some of the HTML5 canvas capabilities, along with coverage of Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) markup with an emphasis on CSS3 stuff. Jeff, however, is too busy with his job as Director of Product Design at CA Technologies (the huge conglomerate formerly known as Computer Associates) to bite off and chew upon the upcoming edition. I’m sad about this, because Jeff has been a great influence on and driver for the two previous editions of HTML, XHTML, and CSS For Dummies, sixth and seventh editions, and had already started to gear up with me to get going on the next edition of the book. But he has wisely decided to opt out of this project because he needs to concentrate on his real job, and keep his many and mischievous minions in line.

As for myself, I’ve been working on this book since late 1993 or early 1994, when the very first edition called simply HTML For Dummies  appeared in print. This fist edition carries a copyright date of 1995 between its covers, but even though it appeared in June of that year, I did almost all of the work on the title before the end of 1994. Since then, I’ve worked on 12 other editions but each one’s title has altered to reflect the state of HTML at the time of its release. That’s why the current in-print version is entitled HTML, XHTML, and CSS For Dummies, 7th edition, because it’s the seventh of a series that have carried the same name on the cover. Other titles over the life of this book have included HTML 4 For Dummies, and even HTML 4.01 For Dummies (but in India only). That’s why it shouldn’t be a major shock to anybody that a new major version of HTML — namely HTML5 — earns a new title for this ongoing project, in which I’ve been involved for nearly 20 years now.

My new partner in markup and mayhem for the first HTML5 version of the book is Chris Minnick. Chris is an experienced …For Dummies author, with WebKit For Dummies having appeared on February 21, 2012 (I’m pleased to report further that I tech-edited that book for him). He and I have worked on books together since 2000-2001, when we collaborated on one title devoted to a Certified Internet WebMaster (CIW) credential, followed by a huge honking book on XHTML for Que in 2001. Perhaps more important, Chris has run a Web-focused business called Minnick New Media (formerly known as Minnick Web Services) since the mid-1990s, and still works regularly with numerous customers and clients to this very day, where he specializes in mobile and video development techniques and technology. He also develops and teaches classes on Web topics — including a currently running class on HTML5 called “Creating Mobile Apps with HTML5″ — for online education colussus Ed2Go.

I’m very pleased to welcome Chris to the project, and look forward to working with him to get the outline completely finished, so we can start writing the new book. This should all be happening pretty fast, because we’re going to try to finish the manuscript by the end of March, less than three scant months from now.  Stay tuned, and I’ll keep you posted on our progress, and offer early (and free) access to chapters-in-progress for those of you who might be interested in reading and commenting on our work. Send me an e-mail at ed at edtittel dot com to indicate interest, and I’ll respond with reading material as and when it becomes available, once you’ve signed a non-disclosure agreement.

–Ed–