A shift in the way we develop for digital devices. The mantra used to be ‘graceful degradation’ - design for what you expect people to use, then let your application gracefully degrade for older browsers, and smaller screens. Generally speaking the richest application, and the first to design for, was on the desktop.

A more recent approach is mobile first. Start with core content, design for the smallest screens and least capable browsers, then progressively enhance the experience onto larger more capable devices, browsers and screens. My intro from Mobile First by Luke Wroblewski.

Progressive enhancement

Two properties distinguish when to use less and fewer in English.

Use less if it's measured by mass, for example, less sugar, and fewer if the nouns are countable, for example, fewer sugar cubes.

Use less if the nouns don't go plural, for example, less furniture, and fewer if the nouns pluralise ok, for example, fewer chairs.

Hopefully, this will help clear up any confusion.

Also see: Affect Effect; stationary stationery; Compliment complement, the pedants are revolting (reddit)

Less and Fewer

I often find myself reflecting on what ought to be an improvement to the caveman-esque communication method, which is the car horn.

My theory generally goes that the vast majority of use of a car horn, in the UK at least, is not for its intended of use of signalling to others to watch out. Instead it probably has most use in telling people they're idiots, perhaps for pulling out in front of you. Next, letting the person in front know that the light has turned green, followed by letting your friends know you're waiting outside or just leaving. And, lastly, to let people know to watch out.

But it’s harder than it seems, I'd guess, to make something that supports helpful behaviour provides safety and avoids lawsuits. Surely can’t be that hard though…

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Use of the car horn