Yes, that's exactly what I meant. Rule #1 of UI design is that users don't read instructions. Rule #2 is that if you can solve a problem with code rather than placing the burden on the user, you should do it (Automatically filling in city and state from zipcode in a form is an example of a good use of this rule). Rule #3 is that a good UI should be like walking - once you learn how to walk you can go anywhere in the world without having to re-learn. Good UI designs both copy and lead. The re-use familiar components and existing behavior but enhance it with new features. A good example would be the Internet Explorer "rebar" - it was similar enough to existing toolbars as to not confuse the user, but it offered additional usefullness (especially to those with small monitors). Another example would be the smart menus in Office 2000 - they follow the same familiar menu layouts but automatically hide unused options to keep the menus uncluttered (although I think that the Office menus should go one step further by making certian menu items that are important never disappear, like New, Open, Save, Print, and Options).
The more that I think about it, the more that I don't like how meta-moderation works. I think that meta-moderation should be automatically "forced" upon moderators - when you get mod points you should have to meta-mod ten posts before you can moderate.
I'm not a UI expert, but from experience and research I've learned quite a bit.
No offense, but you're going to need a better icon than that. Not that the current icons are that great, but you'll need a nicely AAd image with a drop shadow.
Slashdot should also change the Microsoft icon. While the general consensus around here is that Microsoft is bad, having a "Bill Gates Borg" icon form Microsoft reflects poorly on the community.
Also, the icons need to be more uniform. They all feature different pictures at different angles and different sizes. Some icons have objects that extend past the edges of the canvas (a definate no-no for icons).
The icons need: - A distinct and consistant style - To be easily understood by shape, not color - Representative of what they represent (duh) - Unique - Non-Photographic
Other Slashdot UI problems: - Don't put category icons at the top. The're confusing and don't serve much of a purpose - Sections vs. Topics: Sections are a good idea but should have a different name. They should be more integrated into the design. Perhaps a "tab" system would work. The main page could itself be a "section". - Meta Moderation: Why should "Duplicates are fine" need to be in big type? USERS DO NOT READ INSTRUCTIONS. Duplicates are NOT fine. The script should give users only unique comments.
There are a lot more issues but I don't have time to discuss them right now.
Re:Apple's Software base station
on
HighWLAN
·
· Score: 2
Because you can add a high-gain antenna to make it operate with distances greater than 40 feet.
So why aren't we all using Mac OS for webservers? (excluding OS X)
- It's a major PITA to do any kind of remote management. While the lack of a command prompt may make it hard to hack, it also makes it nearly impossible to administer remotely (unless you resort to a VNC-like solution, in which case you are subject to all the flaws of that solution)
- Macs are expensive. Look at XServe. Look at comparable Linux servers. XServe is expensive.
- Lack of software: Mac OS wasn't traditionally a server OS, so many of the tools that we know and love in Linux and even Win32 are missing
- Mac OS 9 Sucks: Memory management, swap maangment, networking, etc. Mac OS 9 makes Windows 98 look like a reliable, stable system.
This is not to say that Mac OS doesn't have a place as a server. For applications where security is critical and remote access, cost, or performance isn't a priority, it's certainly a viable option. It's perfect for the Army: cost and performance are not issues (they have a $300 billion/year budget, and if it's too slow they can just invest in better hardware), but security is a MUST.
Excuse me, but I don't want to watch tiny low quality videos while a phone gets as hot as a toaster while racking up absurd phone bills for all that data.
I would rather watch a high-quality, high-bitrate DVD that I rented for $3.95 on my 36" direct view TV with 5.1 DTS or Dolby Digital surround sound. Oh, and my hand wouldn't get hot as a toaster, and I wouldn't experience network dropouts, and I wouldn't pay $.10 per minute for the "privelage" of watching it while I was on the go.
I would also rather watch a video off of my iPAQ pocket PC (with a 256MB CF card, of course), with good-quality (better than whatever 3G could offer me) video and audio, no signal dropouts, and no absurd bills (I could rip a DVD or download it off of Gnutella).
I used to bother with bugzilla but stopped caring a while back. Every time I submitted an layout engine bug it was either marked as "redundant", or my website was claimed to be "in violation of the standard" (which, it wasn't, at least according to the WC3s XHTML 1.0 spec). Bugs that got through were pushed back from M9 (yes, I was following Mozilla back then - actually, since M6 - I remember M8 where they introduced a themed menubar) to M12 to M16 to pre-1.0 to 1.0 to post-1.0
One bug which caused the Apple homepage to misdisplay took something like ten milestones to fix.
Have you ever seen the IE6 standard-complaince mode?
I have plenty of pages that are XHTML 1.0/CSS 1.0/CSS 2.0 ERROR FREE, that render in IE and Opera fine, but fail to render properly in Mozilla (usually spacing in tables where there should be none).
No, you're not. "MPA" is not a misspelling, it is the actual organizationame "Motion Picture Association". The site was NOT shut down by the "MPAA", or "Motion Picture Association OF AMERICA".
This is old news... the webserver has been abailable on handhelds.org for a while now.
More intersting in my opinion is the intimate project. Full Debian distro, in your pocket. I currently dualboot to Familiar/Qtopia (for PIM and such, it has a nice UI and fits on my 'paq without a CF sleeve) and Intimate (for everything else, it's a full linux distro). Check it all out at handhelds.org!
While I do agree that US books can be pretty awful (my calc book wastes room with photographs that dont benefit the point), the Japanese material that you linked to is... well... weird. There is a reason that pictures are not as popular in the US: we want to teach reading for content. In other countries, reading for content is taught in language classes... not so in the US where English classes are usually more about analyzing literature for "deep meaning". Non-graphical books are a way to teach technical reading - you have to read and follow the directions to complete the assignment. If every manual were graphical then this wouldn't be a problem. But manuals aren't that way. Look at IRS documentation. Do you really think that the IRS is going to put nice pictures in their tax form instructions? Of coruse not. The documentation is already 50+ pages for a basic 1040, with nice, easy-to-understand graphics it would be 500+ pages! There are also some things that just can't be expressed graphically. The fact is that we need technical reading skills and until they are taught in english classes the only way to teach them is with non-graphical textbooks.
PLII Kicks DD5.1's ass in games because of the inherent.5s decoding delay in DD5.1 systems (this is unavoidable; in the spec). PLII does not have this delay. Bitrate is irrelivent because PLII is not a digital format.
NIC: $35
Re:Your review is inaccurate as well...
on
Review: U-571
·
· Score: 2
Yes, but We didn't start the damn war. It wasn't our fault that all of Europe got itself into a bloody and terrible war (again). It was not our war to fight; we went in there for our own self interest and the interest of our allies.
I believe I speek for everyone when I say: shut up and get off your damn soapbox. The computer industry has increased computing power by a factor of two almost every year. Windows XP, Mac OS X, Linux, and other modern operating systems have made system crashes extremely rare. IRQs are no longer a problem thanks to things like USB and IEEE 1394. There are plenty of computer resellers: Dell, HP (Pavilions are #1 in retail), Gateway, eMachines, and many other smaller companies manufacture and sell computers. PCs are more compatible than ever. I have different products from different companies with an OS that was developed 2 years after the computer was made and a printer that is six years old and and two hard drives from different manufacturers at different rotational speeds with software from at least twenty different companies as well as software which I have developed as well as an internet connection that runs over a cable line that lets my computer talk to computers running different hardware, different operating systems, and different software. And guess what? Everything works just fine.
So what does all of this have to do with the price of eggs?
The computer industry has produced faster, better machines at lower prices every year. Software has become easier to use and more reliable every year. A single network with most of the computers on the planet has emerged. Through open standards, computers of all types can communicate with each other. Hardware and software works on whatever type of system you have. Retailers and manufacturers, large and small, have been putting together standardized, low-cost components to make computers.
On the other hand, the motion picture industry has been giving us mostly rehashes of tired old stories (with a few exceptions), usually filmed and distribued to theathers on 50+ year old technology.
I disagree: Celeron 300A @ 450mhz 256MB 100mhz SDRAM IBM 75GXP 7200rpm 30gb drive Matrox G400 Max 32MB TDK 32X CD Burner SB Live! DLink 530-TX+ NIC Windows XP Professional; 1600x1200; Cleartype and all other visual effects on
Everything runs just fine. Plenty fast for just about anything. No, you don't need a 5GHZ CPU to run modern software.
Other than the high-resolution screen, there isn't really much impressive about the new Clie. MP3? PocketPC has had that for 2 years. Fast processor? PocketPCs all have fast processors (206mhz StrongARM; some products have 400mhz XScale). Mini keyboard? Jornada + Stowaway costs the same as the Clie. Expandable memory? The Jornada has CF, as do most other PocketPCs.
Oh, and yes, PocketPCs can even run Linux, XWindows, KDE, and even Konqueror. Check out handhelds.org; you don't even have to re-flash your device to do it anymore (you can have a dual-boot PocketPC).
Here's a sample of what the "privacy" agreement sounds like: "If we decide to change our privacy policy, or practices whether or not they effect our handling of personally identifiable information we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it." (Yes, that is a 62-word sentence. No wonder it's impossible to understand)
Great "Fucking" idea indeed. You'll make tons of profit, if you manage to survive the hordes or RIAA/MPAA lawyers who descend upon you. It's proven: legal fees cost a lot more than bandwidth.
I do wish that my local CO hade an OC-192. We're stuck with a paltry five OC-3s.
Since they only tested with a single OS, and that OS was Windows XP(a fairly new release of a historically unstable operating system, probably rife with performance bottlenecks that are more apparent on some types of hardware than others) these benchmarks are principally useful to Microsoft Windows users.
It'd be nice to see similar tests with a couple of linux kernel variants (1.0.x, 2.2.x, 2.5.x) and some BSDs, Solaris, whatever. Just get some heterogenity in there and see what difference OSes make, hardware vendors are famous for tuning their systems to meet benchmarks after all. --Charlie
XP is basicly Windows 2000 (NT 5.1 vs NT 5.0). Win2k has proved itself to be extremely stable as an OS, and XP is likely no exception.
Also, gamers usually use windows. It's just that way.
Blows the IPaq away, huh? Other than the two-slots, Linux OS and mini-keyboard this seems to be exactly the same as the IPaq. And, yes, you can load REAL linux with REAL X-Windows on the IPaq.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, that's exactly what I meant. Rule #1 of UI design is that users don't read instructions. Rule #2 is that if you can solve a problem with code rather than placing the burden on the user, you should do it (Automatically filling in city and state from zipcode in a form is an example of a good use of this rule). Rule #3 is that a good UI should be like walking - once you learn how to walk you can go anywhere in the world without having to re-learn. Good UI designs both copy and lead. The re-use familiar components and existing behavior but enhance it with new features. A good example would be the Internet Explorer "rebar" - it was similar enough to existing toolbars as to not confuse the user, but it offered additional usefullness (especially to those with small monitors). Another example would be the smart menus in Office 2000 - they follow the same familiar menu layouts but automatically hide unused options to keep the menus uncluttered (although I think that the Office menus should go one step further by making certian menu items that are important never disappear, like New, Open, Save, Print, and Options).
The more that I think about it, the more that I don't like how meta-moderation works. I think that meta-moderation should be automatically "forced" upon moderators - when you get mod points you should have to meta-mod ten posts before you can moderate.
I'm not a UI expert, but from experience and research I've learned quite a bit.
No offense, but you're going to need a better icon than that. Not that the current icons are that great, but you'll need a nicely AAd image with a drop shadow.
Slashdot should also change the Microsoft icon. While the general consensus around here is that Microsoft is bad, having a "Bill Gates Borg" icon form Microsoft reflects poorly on the community.
Also, the icons need to be more uniform. They all feature different pictures at different angles and different sizes. Some icons have objects that extend past the edges of the canvas (a definate no-no for icons).
The icons need:
- A distinct and consistant style
- To be easily understood by shape, not color
- Representative of what they represent (duh)
- Unique
- Non-Photographic
Other Slashdot UI problems:
- Don't put category icons at the top. The're confusing and don't serve much of a purpose
- Sections vs. Topics: Sections are a good idea but should have a different name. They should be more integrated into the design. Perhaps a "tab" system would work. The main page could itself be a "section".
- Meta Moderation: Why should "Duplicates are fine" need to be in big type? USERS DO NOT READ INSTRUCTIONS. Duplicates are NOT fine. The script should give users only unique comments.
There are a lot more issues but I don't have time to discuss them right now.
Because you can add a high-gain antenna to make it operate with distances greater than 40 feet.
How about this?
The "Longhorn" is a pub at the base of the "Whistler", a ski resort in Washington.
(Whistler was the codename for Windows XP)
So why aren't we all using Mac OS for webservers? (excluding OS X)
- It's a major PITA to do any kind of remote management. While the lack of a command prompt may make it hard to hack, it also makes it nearly impossible to administer remotely (unless you resort to a VNC-like solution, in which case you are subject to all the flaws of that solution)
- Macs are expensive. Look at XServe. Look at comparable Linux servers. XServe is expensive.
- Lack of software: Mac OS wasn't traditionally a server OS, so many of the tools that we know and love in Linux and even Win32 are missing
- Mac OS 9 Sucks: Memory management, swap maangment, networking, etc. Mac OS 9 makes Windows 98 look like a reliable, stable system.
This is not to say that Mac OS doesn't have a place as a server. For applications where security is critical and remote access, cost, or performance isn't a priority, it's certainly a viable option. It's perfect for the Army: cost and performance are not issues (they have a $300 billion/year budget, and if it's too slow they can just invest in better hardware), but security is a MUST.
BULLSHIT:
Intel Celeron 300A @ 450
256M PC133 SDRAM (originally had 64M, upgraded to 256 when it dropped to $50)
Runs Win XP Pro just fine
Runs IE fine
Runs Word fine
Runs most games fine (Matrox G200; later got a G400 for $100)
Excuse me, but I don't want to watch tiny low quality videos while a phone gets as hot as a toaster while racking up absurd phone bills for all that data.
I would rather watch a high-quality, high-bitrate DVD that I rented for $3.95 on my 36" direct view TV with 5.1 DTS or Dolby Digital surround sound. Oh, and my hand wouldn't get hot as a toaster, and I wouldn't experience network dropouts, and I wouldn't pay $.10 per minute for the "privelage" of watching it while I was on the go.
I would also rather watch a video off of my iPAQ pocket PC (with a 256MB CF card, of course), with good-quality (better than whatever 3G could offer me) video and audio, no signal dropouts, and no absurd bills (I could rip a DVD or download it off of Gnutella).
I used to bother with bugzilla but stopped caring a while back. Every time I submitted an layout engine bug it was either marked as "redundant", or my website was claimed to be "in violation of the standard" (which, it wasn't, at least according to the WC3s XHTML 1.0 spec). Bugs that got through were pushed back from M9 (yes, I was following Mozilla back then - actually, since M6 - I remember M8 where they introduced a themed menubar) to M12 to M16 to pre-1.0 to 1.0 to post-1.0
One bug which caused the Apple homepage to misdisplay took something like ten milestones to fix.
I eventually just gave up.
Have you ever seen the IE6 standard-complaince mode?
I have plenty of pages that are XHTML 1.0/CSS 1.0/CSS 2.0 ERROR FREE, that render in IE and Opera fine, but fail to render properly in Mozilla (usually spacing in tables where there should be none).
No, you're not. "MPA" is not a misspelling, it is the actual organizationame "Motion Picture Association". The site was NOT shut down by the "MPAA", or "Motion Picture Association OF AMERICA".
Sorry.
This is old news... the webserver has been abailable on handhelds.org for a while now.
More intersting in my opinion is the intimate project. Full Debian distro, in your pocket. I currently dualboot to Familiar/Qtopia (for PIM and such, it has a nice UI and fits on my 'paq without a CF sleeve) and Intimate (for everything else, it's a full linux distro). Check it all out at handhelds.org!
While I do agree that US books can be pretty awful (my calc book wastes room with photographs that dont benefit the point), the Japanese material that you linked to is... well... weird. There is a reason that pictures are not as popular in the US: we want to teach reading for content. In other countries, reading for content is taught in language classes... not so in the US where English classes are usually more about analyzing literature for "deep meaning". Non-graphical books are a way to teach technical reading - you have to read and follow the directions to complete the assignment. If every manual were graphical then this wouldn't be a problem. But manuals aren't that way. Look at IRS documentation. Do you really think that the IRS is going to put nice pictures in their tax form instructions? Of coruse not. The documentation is already 50+ pages for a basic 1040, with nice, easy-to-understand graphics it would be 500+ pages! There are also some things that just can't be expressed graphically. The fact is that we need technical reading skills and until they are taught in english classes the only way to teach them is with non-graphical textbooks.
PLII Kicks DD5.1's ass in games because of the inherent .5s decoding delay in DD5.1 systems (this is unavoidable; in the spec). PLII does not have this delay. Bitrate is irrelivent because PLII is not a digital format.
NIC: $35
Yes, but
We didn't start the damn war. It wasn't our fault that all of Europe got itself into a bloody and terrible war (again). It was not our war to fight; we went in there for our own self interest and the interest of our allies.
I believe I speek for everyone when I say: shut up and get off your damn soapbox. The computer industry has increased computing power by a factor of two almost every year. Windows XP, Mac OS X, Linux, and other modern operating systems have made system crashes extremely rare. IRQs are no longer a problem thanks to things like USB and IEEE 1394. There are plenty of computer resellers: Dell, HP (Pavilions are #1 in retail), Gateway, eMachines, and many other smaller companies manufacture and sell computers. PCs are more compatible than ever. I have different products from different companies with an OS that was developed 2 years after the computer was made and a printer that is six years old and and two hard drives from different manufacturers at different rotational speeds with software from at least twenty different companies as well as software which I have developed as well as an internet connection that runs over a cable line that lets my computer talk to computers running different hardware, different operating systems, and different software. And guess what? Everything works just fine.
So what does all of this have to do with the price of eggs?
The computer industry has produced faster, better machines at lower prices every year. Software has become easier to use and more reliable every year. A single network with most of the computers on the planet has emerged. Through open standards, computers of all types can communicate with each other. Hardware and software works on whatever type of system you have. Retailers and manufacturers, large and small, have been putting together standardized, low-cost components to make computers.
On the other hand, the motion picture industry has been giving us mostly rehashes of tired old stories (with a few exceptions), usually filmed and distribued to theathers on 50+ year old technology.
So who's the dinosaur?
I disagree:
Celeron 300A @ 450mhz
256MB 100mhz SDRAM
IBM 75GXP 7200rpm 30gb drive
Matrox G400 Max 32MB
TDK 32X CD Burner
SB Live!
DLink 530-TX+ NIC
Windows XP Professional; 1600x1200; Cleartype and all other visual effects on
Everything runs just fine. Plenty fast for just about anything. No, you don't need a 5GHZ CPU to run modern software.
How about "Gnutella/Kazaa MP3 Fodder"?
Double click on the icon in the upper right-hand corner of the window. This has worked since Windows 1.0
Other than the high-resolution screen, there isn't really much impressive about the new Clie. MP3? PocketPC has had that for 2 years. Fast processor? PocketPCs all have fast processors (206mhz StrongARM; some products have 400mhz XScale). Mini keyboard? Jornada + Stowaway costs the same as the Clie. Expandable memory? The Jornada has CF, as do most other PocketPCs.
Oh, and yes, PocketPCs can even run Linux, XWindows, KDE, and even Konqueror. Check out handhelds.org; you don't even have to re-flash your device to do it anymore (you can have a dual-boot PocketPC).
Here's a sample of what the "privacy" agreement sounds like:
"If we decide to change our privacy policy, or practices whether or not they effect our handling of personally identifiable information we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it."
(Yes, that is a 62-word sentence. No wonder it's impossible to understand)
Great "Fucking" idea indeed. You'll make tons of profit, if you manage to survive the hordes or RIAA/MPAA lawyers who descend upon you. It's proven: legal fees cost a lot more than bandwidth.
I do wish that my local CO hade an OC-192. We're stuck with a paltry five OC-3s.
Since they only tested with a single OS, and that OS was Windows XP(a fairly new release of a historically unstable operating system, probably rife with performance bottlenecks that are more apparent on some types of hardware than others) these benchmarks are principally useful to Microsoft Windows users.
It'd be nice to see similar tests with a couple of linux kernel variants (1.0.x, 2.2.x, 2.5.x) and some BSDs, Solaris, whatever. Just get some heterogenity in there and see what difference OSes make, hardware vendors are famous for tuning their systems to meet benchmarks after all.
--Charlie
XP is basicly Windows 2000 (NT 5.1 vs NT 5.0). Win2k has proved itself to be extremely stable as an OS, and XP is likely no exception.
Also, gamers usually use windows. It's just that way.
I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I sent this story in hours ago and it was rejected! Bah.
Blows the IPaq away, huh? Other than the two-slots, Linux OS and mini-keyboard this seems to be exactly the same as the IPaq. And, yes, you can load REAL linux with REAL X-Windows on the IPaq.