We have used it, and they ended up providing us with a kernel patch that resolved the issue we had, which was then included in the next official release.
The customer doesn't give a shit if you are using css or tables.
No, but they do care that it's taking you twice as long to get the job done because your stuck in eight nested table cells.
Once you get used to CSS, it's hugely quicker. Wouldn't you rather say "put this block over there", then "nest this block, in that one, which goes to the left of that one, and then that nests here"?
As a place to start out I often find books very useful to have. It's not going to teach you everything, and it's unlikely to be completely up to date.
What it does do though is to give you an overview of what you need to know, and cruically, how those parts fit together as a whole. Once you know that, it becomes a lot easier to know what to search for when you hit the inevitable compatiability bugs, and awkward edge cases.
It may be a +5 funny, but unless I'm travelling somewhere, my MacBook may as well be a headless machine as far as OS X goes.
Using a combination of Plex, iTunes, and Remote Buddy I actually do use it without ever looking at the UI. And thanks to Remote Buddy, I can use my iPod as a touch screen, high resolution, remote control;)/me sits back and watches his karma burn.
It's clearly X-Com. They're preparing for the inevitable invasion from Mars.
Remember, when the aliens come, don't walk around in circles on the street. They love it when you do that, and since the X-Com teams can't shoot straight, you may be caught by friendly fire.
I've been attacked in the street 3 times over the last four years, and not once have the police done anything about it.
The last time it happened I was actually told by the police operator that despite the people who did it still being in a group down the road, they couldn't send anyone just now, because they were all at one other incident. I was asked to wait, which I did for half an hour. At that point I gave up, went home, and got a call back from them three days later to get details.
I know plenty of other people that's happened to, and several people who have been hospitalised due to random attacks in the street.
That's exactly what I was going to post (bring on the -1 redundant).
The only way to test a user interface's effectiveness is to sit down and watch users using it.
I don't know how many times I've pushed changes to a piece of software after watching someone doing things with it, and thinking that there is a better way for them to do that.
If you want to be really professional, set up a usability lab, where you record both the screen, and the user watching the screen, and give them a list of tasks to complete (preferably ones that they're familiar with through their job role).
You can then sit down, watch the video, and deal with any problems. If they clicked around 5 windows to find something, reduce that if possible. If the video of their face showed them swearing at the computer, fix whatever caused that.
There really aren't any shortcuts to fixing a UI.
To get an idea of what I'm talking about, have a look at Silverback, which is designed for Mac OS, but appears to do this the best way I've seen. I'm not affiliated with them, just loved the look of it.
Try calling TFL's Oyster line on 0845 330 9876 - it depends who you get put through to, but I've often had some incredibly helpful people there.
Incidently, the travel information line are really good at giving directions to the nearest bus home when you're wondering around London, drunk and lost, at 3 in the morning!
I travel with a rucksack almost everywhere I go, and it's never been a problem for me. You touch your card on the reader and walk through.
If I have to take a suitcase with me, then I have the good sense to use the extra large gates designed to take suitcases through.
While I'm on the subject of underground hates, I hate weekends. Millions of tourists, and most of them don't seem to be able to read the signs saying "stand on the right" on every escalator, so it takes twice as long to get anywhere.
On the grounds that you think that it's your e-mail, because you wrote it, I assume you also believe that anything you produce during work time is also yours.
So, why not just go straight to the client and ask if they want it at a discounted rate for working direct with you, and you'll get them off having to pay your employer, because the product is yours anyway.
Information on problems that need to be fixed should be stored in a bug/request tracker, which would not only allow you to reference it later, but also give access to other people so that they can do it, and keep the other person updated on what's happening.
It'll also make it a lot easier to be able to say "actually, that won't go into the next release, because we've already got more work then we can do. here, look at this report to verify it if you like"
A large proportion of buisness e-mail isn't plain text though, it's plain text or html, with huge Office documents attached to them, and the forwarded around a few times.
After that you then have the same e-mail, and 15 copies of the same document floating around. For really large companies 500 gig will only scratch the surface.
Banning IP addresses is generally a pointless exercise, since most people are on dynamic IPs assigned by their ISP when they connect.
It might work for a little while, but once the troll's IP address changes, you've now banned some other person who just happens to have been given an IP that was once used for trolling.
It'll either be a setting on your router, or if your directly connected to the modem, you'll need to change it on the network settings on your computer.
Slashdot Mirror
We have used it, and they ended up providing us with a kernel patch that resolved the issue we had, which was then included in the next official release.
And the of course there's the Bakers Kilobyte.
No, but they do care that it's taking you twice as long to get the job done because your stuck in eight nested table cells.
Once you get used to CSS, it's hugely quicker. Wouldn't you rather say "put this block over there", then "nest this block, in that one, which goes to the left of that one, and then that nests here"?
As a place to start out I often find books very useful to have. It's not going to teach you everything, and it's unlikely to be completely up to date.
What it does do though is to give you an overview of what you need to know, and cruically, how those parts fit together as a whole. Once you know that, it becomes a lot easier to know what to search for when you hit the inevitable compatiability bugs, and awkward edge cases.
If you're worried about not being worried. Click Google, and search for "psychiatrist".
It may be a +5 funny, but unless I'm travelling somewhere, my MacBook may as well be a headless machine as far as OS X goes.
Using a combination of Plex, iTunes, and Remote Buddy I actually do use it without ever looking at the UI. And thanks to Remote Buddy, I can use my iPod as a touch screen, high resolution, remote control ;) /me sits back and watches his karma burn.
Otherwise known as the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory.
It's clearly X-Com. They're preparing for the inevitable invasion from Mars.
Remember, when the aliens come, don't walk around in circles on the street. They love it when you do that, and since the X-Com teams can't shoot straight, you may be caught by friendly fire.
I've been attacked in the street 3 times over the last four years, and not once have the police done anything about it.
The last time it happened I was actually told by the police operator that despite the people who did it still being in a group down the road, they couldn't send anyone just now, because they were all at one other incident. I was asked to wait, which I did for half an hour. At that point I gave up, went home, and got a call back from them three days later to get details.
I know plenty of other people that's happened to, and several people who have been hospitalised due to random attacks in the street.
That's exactly what I was going to post (bring on the -1 redundant).
The only way to test a user interface's effectiveness is to sit down and watch users using it.
I don't know how many times I've pushed changes to a piece of software after watching someone doing things with it, and thinking that there is a better way for them to do that.
If you want to be really professional, set up a usability lab, where you record both the screen, and the user watching the screen, and give them a list of tasks to complete (preferably ones that they're familiar with through their job role).
You can then sit down, watch the video, and deal with any problems. If they clicked around 5 windows to find something, reduce that if possible. If the video of their face showed them swearing at the computer, fix whatever caused that.
There really aren't any shortcuts to fixing a UI.
To get an idea of what I'm talking about, have a look at Silverback, which is designed for Mac OS, but appears to do this the best way I've seen. I'm not affiliated with them, just loved the look of it.
Hell no - the last thing the world needs is more browsers that let people install viruses with a click, hop, and a jump.
You won't be able to sue them for it, but I'm sure if you called up the company behind KDE they'd be happy to negotiate a price.
Do you have a source for that? I'm playing with Xen at the moment, and hadn't heard any mention of it.
Try calling TFL's Oyster line on 0845 330 9876 - it depends who you get put through to, but I've often had some incredibly helpful people there.
Incidently, the travel information line are really good at giving directions to the nearest bus home when you're wondering around London, drunk and lost, at 3 in the morning!
I certainly didn't. How hard is to work out that when you approach the ticket barriers, you'll probably need a ticket to get through them?
I travel with a rucksack almost everywhere I go, and it's never been a problem for me. You touch your card on the reader and walk through.
If I have to take a suitcase with me, then I have the good sense to use the extra large gates designed to take suitcases through.
While I'm on the subject of underground hates, I hate weekends. Millions of tourists, and most of them don't seem to be able to read the signs saying "stand on the right" on every escalator, so it takes twice as long to get anywhere.
You probably need a new card then - I keep mine in my wallet and never even take it out.
I'll very occassionally have a problem if my company ID (which also has an RFID chip in it) gets in the way, but that only happens every few months.
On the grounds that you think that it's your e-mail, because you wrote it, I assume you also believe that anything you produce during work time is also yours.
So, why not just go straight to the client and ask if they want it at a discounted rate for working direct with you, and you'll get them off having to pay your employer, because the product is yours anyway.
It's not your e-mail.
It's stored on company servers, and writen on company time. I've never worked for a company where it's "my" e-mail.
Information on problems that need to be fixed should be stored in a bug/request tracker, which would not only allow you to reference it later, but also give access to other people so that they can do it, and keep the other person updated on what's happening.
It'll also make it a lot easier to be able to say "actually, that won't go into the next release, because we've already got more work then we can do. here, look at this report to verify it if you like"
A large proportion of buisness e-mail isn't plain text though, it's plain text or html, with huge Office documents attached to them, and the forwarded around a few times.
After that you then have the same e-mail, and 15 copies of the same document floating around. For really large companies 500 gig will only scratch the surface.
Banning IP addresses is generally a pointless exercise, since most people are on dynamic IPs assigned by their ISP when they connect.
It might work for a little while, but once the troll's IP address changes, you've now banned some other person who just happens to have been given an IP that was once used for trolling.
Yeah, that's the theory. In practice it seems that if a bus goes out with a working Oyster reader, it'll die by the end of the day ;)
I've lost count of the number of times that I've been told to just get on, because the reader isn't working.
It'll either be a setting on your router, or if your directly connected to the modem, you'll need to change it on the network settings on your computer.
The last information I saw was that if you got hit with the maximum fare while the gates were open, they'll refund automatically.
Of course whether that happens or not is a different question.