Webword Statistics - Recent Comments

last updated:16 Aug 2002 13: 32 Webword time, or 16 Aug 2002 18:32 UK time

Webword Statistics - Recent Comments
(Comments added for week ending Sun 05 May 2002) | View Other Weeks

Color Wheel Expert is a useful and easy-to-use color utility for web designers, artists, or anyone who works with color.

Tue 30 Apr 03:18 | Jon Helfner | These guys directly stole the idea from Color Schemer.com. I have used the color schemer for the past couple of years and when I came across this blatant rip-off, I was shocked. The words and features were stolen directly from the color schemer. Shame on whoever copied teh color wheel. Do NOT buy this product. That would be promoting stealing and fraud.

Sat 04 May 04:50 | Niels Lau | I am the author of Color Wheel Expert. I found the comments by chance and I was shocked. >These guys directly stole the idea from...... Please don't draw a conclusion so quickly. Actually my idea came from several articles in MSDN, please check out the following URL: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dn_voices_hess/html/hess07102000.asp?frame=true The articles are 'wheel of color','coloring the world' and 'scheming in color'. After reading these useful articles, I have decided to add these futures to new version of color expert (the former name of color wheel expert). Because this is the first version which includes the feature of 'color wheel', there are some shortcomings in this version, just like 'color square' issue (Thank you, Chad Lundgren, I think your comments is right. Would you please allow me to use your ideas in our new version?) Frankly, I have tried our competitor's program before (I think our competitors have tried ours too). But I think there is big difference between our software and our competitor's (including interface, features...)- Though both have a color wheel (or you can say 'color square') - The concept of 'color wheel' is very basic in color theory. I don't know why I can't use this concept in our program! Best Regards, Niels Lau http://www.abitom.com

XP Updates Start to P.O. Users | Mon 29 Apr

(Wired) One of the purported user-friendly features of Microsofts new operating system is turning out to be user-annoying. As many as three times a week, on average, XP users see a little window pop-up at the bottom of their computer screens announcing the availability of another new update for their system.

Tue 30 Apr 09:55 | Eric Grose | Or how about the rather frequent message that says 'Your system has just recovered from a serious error. Do you want to report it?'

Fri 03 May 20:06 | JB | Microsoft just don't get it.... no one really cares about these little value adds - just get the OS to work and release products with no major security flaws.

Adobe wins Macromedia patent suit | Fri 03 May

Adobe filed the suit in August 2000, alleging that the user interface of Macromedias Flash Web animation tool infringed on Adobes patent for tabbed palettes, a feature that allows users of design software to rearrange the work space on the PC screen.

Fri 03 May 11:22 | jonathan | The proven, effective components of Adobe's UI should be able to be incorporated into other tools. The users are the ones who get hurt via Adobe's actions here, I think.

Fri 03 May 13:21 | Chad Lundgren | Both companies have borrowed each other's features. I am in favor if it enhances the usability and feature set of the products I use. Speaking of usability, looking at both company's flagship products, Photoshop has better usability and reliability than Dreamweaver 4. The only major thing I dislike is that the Undo key also changes which layer is selected. Dreamweaver, on the other hand, has too many usability and reliability issues to even list. If you paste a chunk of HTML into the graphical view, DW thinks it's text and ampersand codes whatever it can. Apparently, it thinks I'm teaching an HTML class. I changed this by editing the menus.xml file, but of course this will have other odd side effects. Since I've hand coded HTML since the early 90s, I'm using DW less and less. I feel like overall, Adobe gets usability much more than Macromedia (Illustrator being the major exception). The Photoshop 6.01 patch fixed a couple of minor usability issues, among other things. Anyone else have opinions on which company places more importance on usability?

WebWord Comment | Tue 30 Apr

I have posted about 80 entries on WebWord using Movable Type. Over 140 comments have been posted by readers like you, and Jack Über Poster Schonchin. Seems like Movable Type is working well for WebWord. I need to fix the archives still and I need to set up the RDF/RSS feed(s). If you see any other gross errors or problems, let me know. Thanks.

Wed 01 May 00:03 | Jack Schonchin | Hey man, I can stop posting any. time. you. want. I've got a box of 96 Crayola Crayons and my cats just love to watch me write. (Mom's not crazy about washing the walls every day though.) Can Movetable Type tell you how many posts are mine? Now that would be innovation. I'm still awaiting replies to my senior commentary. You know, post #22 where I actually start talking about the link. Nothing disappoints me more than to not be challenged after I post something.

Wed 01 May 00:37 | John S. Rhodes | What would WebWord be without Über Jack's postings? We need you man, you keep us honest. Regarding how many posts are yours, I cannot say. WebWord doesn't track users or user behavior. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. Say no more! Regarding the senior posting, you say: 'I believe the infrequent and inconsistent use of link color changes is responsible for an increase in interlaced browsing (managing multiple browser windows, especially for launching new windows to navigate a site). Users are beginning to adjust their browsing behavior to cope with a negative, industry-wide shift in web design.' Most novice users I know only use one browser window at a time. Indeed, most novices users I know don't know about Cut, Copy, and Paste. They don't know you can pull information from a web page and plop it into an email message for example. However, I do think the gist of your message (at least the part I quoted) is right on. Humans will always find ways to route around problems. But it isn't just the web...

Wed 01 May 04:26 | Matt Round | Does Jack exist, or is this some kind of usability version of Fight Club where he's really John's alter ego..? ('First rule about WebWord is you don't talk about WebWord')

Wed 01 May 11:54 | Jack Schonchin | Oh please. Have you met John? I'm not that fat. Nor balding. There's no gap between my teeth. Oh, and I bathe every day.

Wed 01 May 19:27 | Jack Schonchin | 'If you see any other gross errors or problems, let me know.' Oops, I guess my Greymatter issue was posted in the wrong area. Matt... John and I are not the same person, but we were born as Siamese twins. I realize the politically correct thing to say is 'conjoined twins,' but we were born in Siam, so anyone who doesn't like my language can go take an eternal nap at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Yeah, OK, some smart guy will probably point out that we're from Thailand because the Siamese monarchy was neutered in 1932 and the country was renamed in 1939. (You know, things just haven't been the same since we lost King Prajadhipok.) Anyhow, I've got news for you bucko. John and I are 75 years old. So we are Siamese Twins. What, you thought usability professionals have to be young whippersnappers? How ageist of you! (If you're wondering what part of our bodies were fused together, well, suffice it to say, John will never father children. When we were surgically separated I retained the virility of two men! Ladies, take note.) If any of this bothers you guys and gals, let me know. I can go back to my Crayon box.

Thu 02 May 00:51 | Lyle Kantrovich | Jack, Now would be a good time to go back to your crayon box... :) Which village in Siam are you from? I think I might've seen you and John there at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. That Buddha sure got fat later in life! My understanding is he really took a liking to cotton candy after going to the 1904 World's Fair and became so addicted to the stuff that he gave up daily exercise and took up 'reclining' ever after. From the rest of your story, I'd say it wasn't just the Siamese monarchy that was neutered! See, I told you to go back to your crayon box.

Thu 02 May 07:48 | MadMan | I guess I'm not an 'Über Poster', but I do post a fair few comments on this site. John doesn't even notice. [MadMan sulks in his corner] I'm going to abstain from posting any comments for a few weeks, I think.

Fri 03 May 05:18 | James Tuddenham | Sorry, very boring point I know, but I mostly use Netscape 4.7 for browsing, and the comments pages don't seem to display at all in that browser. Therefore need to go to Explorer to see these pages, which means I read them less etc.

You Deserve A Month Off | Mon 29 Apr

We should all have a month off, minimum, everyone, every full-time employee everywhere in the country. Increased to six weeks after your first year. Then up to two months. That would be just about right. Two months. Maybe more.

Tue 30 Apr 00:20 | Jack Schonchin | I agree, but corporate America would never go for a month off. I have an idea that is equally as unlikely... a six-hour work day. Imagine. Arrive at 8 a.m., take a half-hour lunch, and leave at 2:30 p.m. You would skip those last, unproductive work hours at the end of the day when you're thinking about home, about picking up your kids at school, about all the shopping you'll be doing after 5 p.m. before the stores close when you should really be eating dinner with your family, etc. Golly, you might even be as productive as those fools who drudge along 8 hours a day.

Tue 30 Apr 08:19 | Berna | I wonder if this columnist is in need of any usability specialists or anything... ;o)

Tue 30 Apr 14:51 | Jack Schonchin | Six-hour workday. Excellent idea.

Tue 30 Apr 17:28 | JB | It would never work. Everyone would then factor their same behaviour into a six hour day. It is not a reaction the length of a work day, but more that it is 2 hours to going home time.

Tue 30 Apr 18:10 | mcw | Some people would like the time off. Not everybody. How to blend the inclinations of the live-to-work crowd with the work-to-live bunch? Organizations tend to adopt the same standards for work and attendance, it's rare that an office has some people work less hours, and others more; this can lead to feelings of inequity. So, find a job and organization that allows for time off. Teaching, perhaps? Be your own boss, open your own business, and set your own hours?

Tue 30 Apr 18:43 | Jack Schonchin | JB, I disagree. By 3 p.m. I am tired and less productive. I have worked part-time before and I believe I was more productive than my full-time counterparts. If I had 2 extra hours, my overall satisfaction with life would rise, and that would influence my work too. I could pick up my kids up from school, take them to soccer, get a hair cut, mow the lawn, go bike riding or jog, prepare dinner, shop, run errands, and do many other things that are far more troublesome or time-consuming to do after 5 p.m. as the sun is going down. This isn't just time. We're talking 2 hours less in an office, 2 hours more in sunlight doing things you really want or need to do for you, not your employer. Shoot, for 2 hours of my own time I'd gladly read WebWord at home instead of at work!

Wed 01 May 15:16 | boysen | i agree that different personality types are motivated by different means. i've always been a fan of the pay-for-performance model. sure, many jobs are difficult to squeeze into this model but i'd bet creative thinkers could make it happen and reap the benefits.

Thu 02 May 04:09 | Alan Fisher | Here in the UK, the government are trying to introduce performance related pay for teachers. It isn't going down well. One of the elements of the equation will be the performance of their pupils in GCSE / A Level examinations. Think about it - you're going to be judged on the quality of someone else's work. Someone who may not be very bright, and that's not your fault. Going back to the original subject of this post, I know several people who have worked in the USA, and they all say that the biggest downside was the pitifully small holiday / vacation allowance. In the UK, we get 4 to 5 weeks on average, and it doesn't seem to be doing us any harm.

Thu 02 May 12:08 | Jack Schonchin | These links via MetaFilter.com: 30 hour work week (yes!) Shorter work week Alternative work schedules We aren't whining, we do work too much Part-time solution and part-time problem

Thu 02 May 15:57 | MICK | This approach has down wonders for the French Economy!

Thu 02 May 16:44 | JB | Jack I was just thinking about my organization where you could give an inch and they would take a mile. And.... I guess I was coming from a single no kids perspective...after reading your reply I guess 2 hours does make a difference.

Thu 02 May 18:20 | Jack Schonchin | Whaaaaa? I don't have kids. As a usability professional I have the empathic ability to look at the world from the viewpoint of other people. ;-)

Thu 02 May 18:54 | Jack Schonchin | Dang, I finally looked at the time graph in the work too much article. It would seem, in the year 2000, Americans took an average of 12.6 days of vacation time.... whereas, Germans took an average of 75 days vacation. I've always heard Germans take month-long vacations... I know I've encountered German tourists on every U.S. vacation I've taken. Germany's economy is going OK, right? Well, who cares, as long as the people are getting by and they're happy.

Thu 02 May 22:26 | John S. Rhodes | Tomorrow will be the first vacation day that I have used this year...

Fri 03 May 04:22 | Alan Fisher | Jack, Germany's economy is actually turning into something of a basket case. They have a high (by European standards) level of unemployment and a growing budget deficit. The problem is that most of the adverse effects of this economic decline are felt in the east (i.e. the old communist state). I'd bet good money the Germans you see on vacation are from Cologne, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Munich or one of the other wealthy (western) areas, where they can afford to take a month off work.

Removing the Ws from URLs | Sun 28 Apr

(WebWord) In this article, however, I will go one step further and recommend that sites should be set up to work with or without the Ws, but also have the Ws automatically removed from the URL using a server-side technique I will henceforth refer to as removing the Ws. I will detail why I feel this is a more appropriate solution and explain how this can be done.

Mon 29 Apr 01:01 | Jack Schonchin | A few people don't recognize a web address without the 'www.' So I always print it or recommend printing it in all advertising. Perhaps those people think it's an e-mail address. I don't know. But they ask me, so I include the www.

Mon 29 Apr 07:41 | Alastair Campbell | Jeff Lash wrote: 'People are not confused when they're removed' I'm not convinced of this. Has anyone done testing on this, or noticed any confusion when testing other aspects of a site? Also, it's easier to select the browser bar and type www.domain.com, or domain and hit enter. But if it's not a .com address, you'd have to type in http://domain.co.uk, which is harder on the typing!

Mon 29 Apr 08:55 | Jack Schonchin | The W article is good info and I appreciate having it. I'd like to see addresses advance even more... 1) Drastically improve how browsers manage bookmarks. (And get Microsoft to start calling them 'bookmarks!') 2) Establish a standard whereby all domain names can be translated into a numeric and bar code address (not IP numbers!). 3) Make pen-size 'URL scanners' commonplace for grabbing URLs from everyday items. (Not proprietary technology like CueCat.) Sure, keep domain names around, but once you make addresses easy to grab, store and use, few people will bother trying to remember some goofy-name-address.com.

Mon 29 Apr 09:42 | Jeff Lash | jon wrote: 'A domain name is not just a pointer to a web site, and subdomains help segregate traffic and help people understand the difference between www.domain.com and mail.domain.com.' I am not saying that subdomains should not be used. My point was that most people don't see any difference between www.domain.com and domain.com (because, in nearly all cases, they are exactly the same). Ideally, users should never have to explicitly say what resource they are trying to access. If they type domain.com into a browser, it means 'www.'; if they type it in a mail program, it means 'mail.'; if they type it in an ftp program, it means 'ftp.' Since most people only encounter the www side of a domain (and the mail subdomain is usually transparent), they shouldn't have to understand the difference from the technical side. Jack wrote: 'A few people don't recognize a web address without the 'www.' So I always print it or recommend printing it in all advertising.' If you're in a situation where people will not understand that domain.com is the same thing as www.domain.com, then adding the www is the right thing to do. However, I think is becoming less and less common, and the nice thing about setting the server up the way I described is that it will accept the www prefix. Alastair wrote: 'I'm not convinced of this. Has anyone done testing on this, or noticed any confusion when testing other aspects of a site?' I have done a number of tests on sites where the URL changes and have never had anyone make a comment or even notice the change. This includes the change I described in the article (from www.domain.com to domain.com) as well as more drastic domain changes (from onedomain.com to anotherdomainname.com). In my experience, so long as the visual design remains fairly similar, the URL change will not be noticed. Alastair also wrote: 'Also, it's easier to select the browser bar and type www.domain.com, or domain and hit enter. But if it's not a .com address, you'd have to type in http://domain.co.uk, which is harder on the typing!' This system allows users to type in the www prefix. So, they could type in www.domain.co.uk and it would get them to the correct site. It is my understanding that nearly all modern browsers (v3 and later) will automatically insert the 'http://' for you, so someone would choose between www.domain.co.uk and domain.co.uk, or www.domain.com and domain.com. And, if the person is one of the rare people who knows the key command to have the browser automatically insert the 'www.' prefix and '.com' suffix (and actually uses it), this system will support them as well.

Mon 29 Apr 10:01 | Jack Schonchin | Ya, in defense, I also know a few people who got excited when they discovered they could reach a web site without typing www. They now try all addresses that way and get annoyed when they have to type the www.

Mon 29 Apr 10:46 | Eric Scheid | I've had a number of special case web servers set up, usually using subdomains. Things like asar.ironclad.net.au or iye2002.ironclad.net.au. In telling people these domain names, and telling them it is a website, I'm frequently confounded by the user automatically typing www. in front, making www.asar.ironclad.net.au ... which doesn't work and isn't meant to work. I'm resigned to the fact that users expect to find www. in front of domain names for websites. Yes, they don't notice or care or get confused if the website redirects to the simpler address ... but then if that user ever goes to communicate that domain name to someone else they will invariably add in the www. Seems like an uphill battle with little real benefit .... ... and some serious negatives: my mac recognises 'slack' urls and reacts intelligently - if it sees 'www.somestring' it will automatically turn it into 'http://www.somestring'. Similarly, when it sees 'ftp.blahblah' it treats it as 'ftp://ftp.blahblah', and any string with an '@' character it will consider to be an email address. I've leveraged that same significance in a basic CMS for a non-technical audience. All they need enter is www.domain-name.com and the system turns it into an HTML link. Magic. Many systems rely on the 'www' acting as a signifier of the missing 'http://'. Remove the 'www' and you'll force people to start typing 'http://' instead. Going backwards now on the typing front.

Mon 29 Apr 14:58 | Matt Round | I agree, I think some users expect (and possibly need) the www. and some software (e.g. MS Word) uses it to recognise URLs, so you may end up having to play safe and include http:// more often. So even though removing www. appeals to me for technical and brevity reasons, I think for usability I'd be inclined to reverse the system and add it when it's missing. The obvious exceptions are sites like this which are promoted as [something].com .

Mon 29 Apr 15:02 | Shane | The pro's and cons of this approach and the existence of (or lack of) sufficient data to dictate what to do, I do know that Apache isn't the only web server out there. A number of my sites run on Micro$oft IIS. Here's the quick and dirty on how I configured IIS 5.0 for a corporate client awhile back to accomplish what Lash described for Apache. (I know, I know - coinz.org doesn't practice what this preaches. Give me a break, I'm trying to help...) Fire up the IIS administration console and locate the website you want to refer to - for the sake of this example, let's say it's named 'Foo' in IIS and currently refers to www.foo.com. Right-click on 'Foo' and select 'Properties... On the 'Web Site' tab, click on the 'Advanced...' button. In the 'Advanced' window, remove the 'www.foo.com' header from port 80 and add a 'foo.com' header to port 80. Create a new website using the web creation wizard. When prompted for a name, call it Redirect. When prompted for host header information, enter the host header information of the site you want redirected (www.foo.com). When prompted to choose a path to your home directory, choose anything - you're going to override it anyway. When prompted to adjust web access permissions, don't - leave the defaults and click next. You now have a website called 'Redirect; in your IIS list. Locate the website 'Redirect' that you just created. Right click on the Redirect web site and select 'Properties...'. Click on the home directory tab and select the 'A redirection to a URL' option. In the 'Redirect to' text box, enter http://foo.com$V$Q - the URL you want www.foo.com with some important 'IIS gibberish' attached. Check the 'The exact URL entered above' check box and click OK. That's it - you're done! (OK, OK - Apache's one line edit was a little easier, but hey - no wizard!) Incoming www.foo.com requests will now be redirected to your foo.com web site ('Foo') by your redirector web site ('Redirect'), along with any parameters passed in the original URL (that's what the IIS gibberish was all about - more about that can be found on Microsoft's Advanced Server site. You can add as many other headers to the redirect site as you'd like - they'll all be redirected in the same way, along with all parameters. Hope this helps a few of you, Shane

Mon 29 Apr 15:16 | Sandra | From what I have observed, most people don't get confused when they see something like 'visit yahoo.com' (using Yahoo as an example), but they seem to prefer seeing 'visit http://www.yahoo.com' for scanning purposes - it is easier to recognise the 'http://www.' in an article than it is to see 'yahoo.com' within text. I have become spoiled by the Macintosh IE browser, which allows you to type in just 'yahoo' and it will add the 'www.' and '.com' for you. (obviously, for .net addresses or other variations, I have to type that part in myself.) I go to work and use the PC, where I have to type everything in, and I perceive it as taking me much more time. I have (on a smaller scale than a typical usability testing situation) observed that inexperienced users become irritable when they type www.yahoo.com and the address changes to http://yahoo.com. They miss the www. For consistency (in case I reference other URLs that don't drop the www.), I use the www. all the time in print. Experienced users can always drop it when they type in the address if they want to.

Mon 29 Apr 21:55 | Eric Scheid | One last technicality - these browser redirects will work with the typical GET HTTP requests, but will *break* any POST requests. You probably won't see that problem much though, unless you have some popular webservice where the form is located elsewhere.

Wed 01 May 04:36 | Alan Fisher | Two words - 'security' and 'certificates'. If you intend to trade from your website, you're probably going to want to buy a security certificate from Verisign or whoever. Or at least, if you don't, you're not going to get many customers. Problem is, a certificate must be bought and used for a precise URL, including the WWW. So, what are you going to do? Buy a certificate for your URL with or without the WWW? Or one for each, meaning you'll have to put up 2 versions of the relevant pages or do some clever re-routing. Of course, this doesn't mean that Verisign is going about things the right way, but it rather works against the 'drop the WWW' idea.

Thu 02 May 16:42 | Dave Menendez | Certainly, if your site is set up to accept 'http://www.something.com/' and 'http://something.com/' as its home page, you should configure it so one is redirected to the other. It's confusing on multiple levels if you have multiple valid URLs for the same resource. As for whether to include the 'www.' part, I can argue both ways. Certainly, in a context where the 'http://' is omitted, the 'www.' helps people recognize it as a web address. People recognize it, and unconsciously associate it with web pages. There's already been a campaign to replace 'www.' with 'web.', and you can see how successful that was. As far as forms and certificates go, the key is consistency. Once you pick the One True URL for each page, make sure that every reference to it is correct within your own site. Apache has a lot of stuff to help make sure people get redirected to the correct addresses, like mod_spelling, but you have to turn them on first.

Thu 02 May 17:26 | Antonio Cavedoni | There seem to be a typo in the original article. Where the autor wrote: ServerAlias www.somedomainname.com Redirect permanent / http://somedomainname.com ...I think it should really be like this (note the trailing slash): ServerAlias www.somedomainname.com Redirect permanent / http://somedomainname.com/ Without this little modification I couldn’t get Apache to redirect correctly the subdir, as I was being redirected to, say, mysite.commydir instead of mysite.com/mydir. Does it work for you this way too?

Review: The amazing keyless keyboards | Sun 28 Apr

Many notebook owners have learned to use little touchpads in place of mice, but a company called FingerWorks is using large touchpads in place of keyboards as well. Instead of traditional keys, FingerWorks touchpads have silk-screened diagrams representing keyboards: You simply touch the area marked Space, Enter, or 8, for example.

Mon 29 Apr 04:50 | emp | A note on tactile feedback.. I think that it is important to have tactile feedback and a lot of people do have prblems with touch-interfaces not being able to give feedback. i.e. a simple button being able to 'feel' that you pressed it, vs. a flat touch plate

Mon 29 Apr 10:16 | Berna | Do you remember the older ATMs? They used to be like that, and you'd never know if you pressed the right button or not or even if you've actually pressed anything... I'd just stand there and cross my fingers... :)

Thu 02 May 14:00 | Jack Schonchin | John, why were you typing on your Atari 400 keyboard? The only input device you needed was the joystick. (And oh boy, four joystick ports! Asteroids was never the same after that.)

WebWord Comment | Thu 02 May

Last night I went to the Ale House to celebrate. A good friend of mine earned his Masters degree in Psychology from Binghamton University. I decided to have a couple of bottles of Lindemans Peach Lambic, which is a fruity Belgian ale. I also had Buffalo Chicken Pizza. It was a good night.

Thu 02 May 13:48 | SLIMMSHADEE | Not a newsworthy night (aside from the Master's). Tell us all when you racked 1 or more hot girls in a single night. Not some buffalo pizza bullshit.

Thu 02 May 13:58 | Jack Schonchin | Is this what my shenanigans have wrought? I knew not the dregs of humanity followed me to your doorstep.

WebWord Comment | Tue 30 Apr

What flavor is your portal? TechJourney, MyYahoo, CEOExpress, FirstGov, Forest Conservation, FunTrivia, or ALFY? Something else? Hmmm...what is a portal?

Wed 01 May 11:46 | Jack Schonchin | Hey John... Unless you fixed your web site at the exact same time I did this test... you've got to remove Greymatter ASAP! This morning many of us found your front page had gone back in time to April 13. While many folk were befuddled by this oddity, I used my superior intellect to surmise that Greymatter had overwritten your front page. It happened this way: 1) A user, coming via a deep link on another web site, visited an old Greymatter-powered page. The user posted a comment. Greymatter then overwrote your front page to reflect the new message totals, as they existed on the last day you used Greymatter. 2) Regular WebWord users got totally confused this morning and ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. One user even reset his system clock to April 13 to alleviate the pressure building inside his brain. 3) I remained calm. I was one cool customer. I proceeded to use Google cache to identify, visit and post a new message on a Moveable Type powered page. And thus I returned everyone to present day, at least for the time being. Yes, I saved the day. Bow and kiss my ring.

Wed 01 May 12:03 | jonathan | Jack, you bastard...this means I have to pay my mortgage in 2 days! I don't believe you've saved the day at all. I was very happy turning time backwards, thanks.

Wed 01 May 15:14 | boysen | my favorite 'portal' is still Yahoo! as it does most of the things i want it to do. it doesn't do it with my style, so maybe there is the opportunity? usability testing would reveal a few improvement options. 8^)

Wed 01 May 23:31 | Frank Lynch | My portal is my list of bookmarks. They are all mine, no extras.

Practical JavaScript for the Usable Web | Mon 29 Apr

(WDVL) This is a new kind of JavaScript book. Its not cutnpaste, its not a reference, and its not an exhaustive investigation of the JavaScript language. It is about client-side, web-focused, and task-oriented JavaScript.

Wed 01 May 15:11 | Chad Lundgren | I like the sound of this book. I prefer the 'surgical' use of Javascript. No big IE-only DHTML monstrosities, just small little changes. Two examples: Google is so minimalist that I'd assumed they didn't use any Javascript. Then I looked at the source code, and realized they are putting the focus on the search field, which just makes it that one bit faster. Or take babelfish. You can either punch text directly in, or you can put in a URL. If you bring focus to either of the text fields, the respective radio button is selected for you. Speaking of DHTML, looking at scrollable DHTML pages makes you appreciate the elegance of the scrollbar. In one device you can: 1) Scroll a small bit at a time. 2) Scroll a screenful at a time (possibly with some overlap) 3) Scroll all the way to the bottom and top of the document very rapidly. 4)Scroll up or down to an arbitrary place in a document. 5) Get a rough idea how long the document is. With most DHTML scrollers, you get to scroll at one speed, possibly with a mouseover. Woo hoo. I do dislike one thing about the Windows implementation of the scrollbar: Windows needs to set a higher minimum size for the face (raised area) of the scroll bar. I hate when it's incredibly small: I don't want to have to think about not missing the scrollbar when I'm trying to read something. Don't reinvent the scrollbar!

WebWord Comment | Thu 25 Apr

Give com.com a try in your browser. You might also want to give news.com.com a try for the same reason. URLs can be fruity.

Wed 01 May 11:32 | Jack Schonchin | Ugh.

WebWord Comment | Sat 13 Apr

Ive installed Moveable Type behind the scenes. It shouldnt be too long before I can change WebWord over to it. My biggest problem right now is that my archives are completely broken. Greymatter is not working; I cant rebuild my archives.

Wed 01 May 08:02 | James Tuddenham | What's going on John? Reverted to two weeks back.

Wed 01 May 09:57 | jrb | I knew I shouldn't have stepped into my tesseract closet this morning!

Wed 01 May 09:59 | Jack Schonchin | You're wierding me out, man.

Wed 01 May 11:14 | jonathan | It's okay...I was freaking out a bit too and then I just reset my system OS clock back to 4/13/02 and all is okay now... whew... I also now have a whole 3 more weeks before I have to pay my mortgage. Thanks, John!

Wed 01 May 11:15 | jonathan | It's okay...I was freaking out a bit too and then I just reset my system OS clock back to 4/13/02 and all is okay now... whew... I also now have a whole 3 more weeks before I have to pay my mortgage. Thanks, John!

Australian banks can do more with their Internet channel | Wed 10 Apr

(IDC Newsletter) The results of the banking/finance portion of IDCs annual Marco Polo survey of Internet users demonstrate that banks need to do a better job in explaining the benefits of their Internet banking services and addressing the concerns of current and potential users. Internet banking and investing is gaining a significant and loyal foothold among Australian Internet users, according to the new report Australian Internet Users and Online Financial Services, but banks are not necessarily making the most of the opportunity they are presented with.

Wed 01 May 06:08 | Erfmufn | Check out http://thought.joint.net.au (Home of the Great Australian Weblog).. updated daily with Humour from Down Under!

Learning from my students on network security products | Mon 29 Apr

(Web Informant) Network security products like PGP and low-end VPN routers have their place, to be sure. But they are still way too hard to use for the average person, even a highly motivated teenaged geek.

Tue 30 Apr 13:42 | Eric Grose | A respectful question, Mr. Rhodes. What is it that you recommend about this product, the Linksys EtherFast BEFVP41, when a classroom of people couldn't get it to work? He even says that he spent an hour on the phone with tech support. Sounds like dancing bearware to me (to anyone who doesn't recognize that phrase, read Alan Cooper's 'The Inmates Are Running the Asylum'.)

Tue 30 Apr 18:12 | mcw | Can't speak for everyone's experience, only mine. Linksys install was close to plug and play for me. It works, and requires no attention.

Usability for Senior Citizens | Sun 28 Apr

(useit.com) Websites tend to be produced by young designers, who often assume that all users have perfect vision and motor control, and know everything about the Web. These assumptions rarely hold, even when the users are not seniors. However, as indicated by our usability metrics, seniors are hurt more by usability problems than younger users. Among the obvious physical attributes often affected by the human aging process are eyesight, precision of movement, and memory.

Mon 29 Apr 07:17 | daniel | Think webword is just superb John! keep up the good work and think a book is a great idea. Daniel in HK

Mon 29 Apr 10:22 | Michael D'Amico | John, writing a book is a great idea. I know that I would purchase a copy. On another note...I am relatively new to the concepts of usabilit. Actually, I am fairly new to the Web Design field as a whole. Alertbox was actually my first exposure to any type of usability concepts. I was amazed at some of the things that Jakob had to say. Then I started noticing his little advertisements for NNgroup reports in his articles. I became more skeptical of his work and often times found it difficult to decipher the useful information from the marketing junk. Then I found Webword. I soon realized that Jakob isn't god and there are many dissenting opinions when it comes to web design & usability. I come to Webword not just for hyperlinks to usablity information, but because i trust that the people of this community 'know what they are talking about' and always seem to weed out the crap from the useful information... hmm...I just re-read my post..if someone else posted this, I would think they were an @ss kisser. I hope no one gets the wrong idea. I am just very very interested in usability, and for someone that is mostly self taught, WebWord has been a very valuable resource for me. I appreciate it...hmm we'll see what happens..

Mon 29 Apr 10:35 | Anonymous | Hey Michael! Stop kissing ass. ;-)

Mon 29 Apr 10:49 | Michael D'Amico | Yeah..Go ahead...i deserve it...:-)

Mon 29 Apr 12:12 | JB | Jack I just did that exact process. I like some of the things he has to say, but stop with the sales pitch already!!!! If you want to sell stuff make useit.com a sub domain of nng.com (or whatever it is)

Mon 29 Apr 13:03 | Frank Lynch | Jack, I agree with your position that there is an obvious opportunity for a conflict of interest. But he's entitled to make a buck off his efforts -- no man but a blockhead, & all that -- and I'm sure you're aware that there has been something self-serving about useit.com for years. For years he has highlighted news articles where -he- is quoted, which enhances his reputation and consulting fees. (Anyone wanting to quickly introduce a colleague to Nielsen would send that colleague to useit, and said colelague would see all his exposure, and on a limited, no-random sample of articles conclude that he's authoritative. To my knowledge, JN has -never- had a section where he listed articles where Jared Spool [for instance] is quoted.) I guess I'm just surprised that you would react this way to Alert Box columns' inclusion of a link to where a fuller report can be purchased. I'm just not sure why -this- crosses your threshold.

Mon 29 Apr 13:53 | Jack Schonchin | It's a credibility issue. Am I reading advice or a crafted sales pitch? When you tie advice to sales, the advice is suspect. This principle applies everywhere else in life, why not here?

Mon 29 Apr 14:15 | Frank Lynch | Exactly: the principle applies everywhere -including- useit.com. Academic journal articles garner reputation for the programs that a researcher is affiliated with, ultimately leading to higher salaries and/or survival. Network nightly news shows scratch the surface of a story before telling you more can be heard on their magazine show later that night. The New York Times tells you what is coming in the Sunday magazine so you will -buy- the Sunday edition. Nielsen was -always- commercial, he just wasn't always able to leverage it. To my knowledge, Nielsen has never said that all usabilty labs conducted by others are suspect. Yes, he uses the foot-in-the-door selling technique in his Alert Boxes, but I don't think he's overstating the rewards of what he's selling.

Mon 29 Apr 15:07 | Jack Schonchin | Frank, let's look at your examples. Academic research (PDF) is peer reviewed and open to detailed inspection (because the research findings must be reproducible). If the researcher had a personal monetary interest in the research, he would be discredited and likely out of a job. The New York Times news department and advertising department are separate. If a journalist had a monetary interest in what he wrote about - even a columnist - he would face harsh criticism, or even be fired. Your broadcast news observation, well, that's just like http links. There are limits to the length of any news program, so it's a benefit for the viewer to be informed about an in-depth program that will follow later that evening. On a related note, when a corporate parent influences news coverage -- it happens every day -- the news organizations are suspect. If you are not questioning corporate media today, you are not a wise news consumer. At the very least, in my opinion, the nature of Alertbox has changed and we should revise how we interpret its contents.

Mon 29 Apr 15:27 | MadMan | AOL owns everything! :P

Mon 29 Apr 16:40 | PeterV | But then, when Jakob does some research, and sells a report about it, isn't he allowed to share some of the results with us for free? And at the end of this can't he put a link to the full monty?

Mon 29 Apr 16:55 | Jack Schonchin | My contention -- based on the historic nature of the Alertbox -- is that a sales pitch belongs on the NNGroup web site. I believe Jakob, over the past several years, has established a relationship between himself and his readers, one built on an understanding and trust. When Jakob began cross-promoting commercial reports with the Alertbox, he changed the nature of that relationship. Therein lies the rub.

Mon 29 Apr 21:23 | Frank Lynch | Jack, I understand your arguments and appreciate them... The importance of peer review is something I'm aware of (there was a wonderful article in the 80s in 'Journal of Marketing', the 'lighter' brother of JMR, which was titled something like 'I Hate When That Happens; or, Why Anyone Would Subject Themselves To The Peer Review Process'), but useit has never existed in a peer review space. And maybe I don't know enough of what it was like pre-97, but I never even thought it was in an -academic- space... Even within academia, there are journal publications where peer review is an intense process, and publications where it's not. I never thought useit was even that... It was (is) one man's soapbox, grounded in very strong background... I don't recall any reports being sold in the 'Flash: 99% Bubonic Plague' alert box, but for me that lack didn't enhance the credibility. IMO useit is kind of comparable to Paco Underhill's 'Why We Buy': observational science and recommendations, makes a lot of sense, and disregard it at your own risk. Controversy sells. Folk-loric appelations like 'Usability Guru' sell (as unfair as they are). I have never considered content on the Internet gospel, no matter who its from. Even if it's Gospel, you have to worry about the translation :-) I think we will both continue to disagree on this, though I have enjoyed the exchange, and am glad we have both been able to clarify our opinions... (Thank you, John, for the forum.) It -still- would have been nice to see your complaints about what JN actually -wrote-.

Tue 30 Apr 01:09 | Jack Schonchin | My complaints? OK, IMHO, the article is short on specifics. Ahhh, I guess I have to buy that pesky report. I simply do not believe the assertion that 'seniors easily lose track of where they have been' when visited/unvisited link colors are not used. Many web sites have done away with this distinction (especially in navigation menus, which are increasingly graphical), and so the convention is dying. It is no longer a reliable user tool, and so users are not depending on it. I suspect a person who relies on link color changes would also be confused when links are not blue and underlined. They are trapped in a world that existed in 1996. Remember, Jakob claims seniors are getting lost, which means they are relying on the color change. I believe the infrequent and inconsistent use of link color changes is responsible for an increase in interlaced browsing (managing multiple browser windows, especially for launching new windows to navigate a site). Users are beginning to adjust their browsing behavior to cope with a negative, industry-wide shift in web design. Also, I suspect people use their 'back' buttons 500% more (or whatever) than they did in 1996 because web sites are more complex, confusing, and slow-to-load. As such, when they hit 'back,' any link color change is not seen. So even sites following this convention are not fully reaching users who may look for it. I do not see the color difference being taught in 'Intro to Internet' courses anymore. (Ever try instructing a senior with rules that do not universally apply?) Where are techno-novice seniors learning to browse the web? How did Jakob arrive at his amazing conclusion? I am not willing to pay $125 to find out.

WebWord Comment | Thu 25 Apr

Exactly what value does Flash add to the GM home page?

Mon 29 Apr 12:25 | kevin D. White | I have to agree with Matt about automotive clients. I cut my Web teeth on this same group. After a bare six months I SWORE I would never, ever work for another automotive company of any stripe ever again.

Toys of Misery: A Report on the Toy Industry in China | Sun 28 Apr

Do you ever imagine women working all day long in 104-degree temperatures, handling toxic glues, paints and solvents, women fainting, nauseous, sick to their stomachs? Women housed 16 to a dorm room and trying to get by on four hours of sleep a night? Workers whose bodies ache, who are exhausted from racing through the same operations 3,000 times a day, day in and day out? Women who are fired when they get sick?

Mon 29 Apr 11:44 | James | Why does Kernaghan not cite sources? Is this 'report' false?

Review: Mozilla loaded up for browser wars | Sat 27 Apr

(ZDNET) Surprisingly, such speedy performance doesnt cost a cent. Sure, other browsers say theyre free, but most have hidden costs. Mozilla, on the other hand, doesnt come bundled in your OS like IE, doesnt plant AOL icons onto your desktop like Netscape 6.2, and doesnt bombard you with banner ads like Operas free version.

Mon 29 Apr 11:12 | andyed | Might Mozilla be the right platform for your Ghost ideas? See mozdev for lots of foundation technology.

Interview - Vincent Flanders of Web Pages That Suck | Sat 27 Apr

Well, Im a marketing weasel and I hate everything thats boring personally, I think being boring is the only sin so I come up with an attention-grabbing name instead of an appropriate one. Not to rag on Jakob (Nielsen) because Jakob really is a cool guy, but I would imagine Jakob would have called it Web Pages That Have Mistakes.

Mon 29 Apr 10:35 | Jack Schonchin | I look for two things in a guru... 1) Succinct, powerful writing I can use as supporting material when fighting the good fight (in committees, with your boss, etc.). 2) Discovery of a new or unrealized design issue. Or giving a name to an issue we've all grumbled about, but never formalized in our minds. The term 'mystery meat navigation' is a household word (in my house anyway). I don't frequent Vincent's site and I'll never buy his book, but that has nothing to do with credentials. I look at Mystery Meat as a sort of one-hit-wonder. A Ph.D is not necessary for anything, except getting a job. (oops!) So do consulting, write a book, and blog away, until you have that piece of paper that makes you legitimate in the eyes of foolish people. (I prefer seasoned real-world experience over a piece of paper.)

WebWord Comment | Sun 28 Apr

I cut my finger badly yesterday as I was pruning back my small grape arbor. I immediately applied pressure, ran inside, washed the wound, and wrapped up my finger. It didnt hurt too much but it has forced me to alter my typing, among other things. I expect that it will take a few weeks to heal. Shrug.

Mon 29 Apr 01:40 | Murat Akin | Get well soon!

Mon 29 Apr 02:00 | Jack Schonchin | Don't leave us in suspense! Which finger? Index, middle, ring or pinky?

Mon 29 Apr 09:40 | John S. Rhodes | Left index. I had the tape so tight that part of my finger went numb. It came 'back to life' this morning...and boy, did it hurt. However, as I like to think, if it hurts then it didn't fall off. The pain tells me that it is still there. Jack, now that Movable Type powers WebWord, you aren't changing your email address (you must have saved your profile information). Now when my pointer is over your name, it is a simple 'no-spam-thank-you' message. I miss the suspense and entertainment...ha!

Mon 29 Apr 10:06 | Jack Schonchin | With every innovation, a little magic is lost.