tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30216842011-07-28T16:37:11.638-07:00webmstr.comThese are the miscellaneous comments of Robert Boucher. I've been building web sites since 1993, and own the California license plate WEBMSTR and the always-sparse <a href="http://www.webmstr.com">webmstr.com</a>.The Photographernoreply@blogger.comBlogger201100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-71437626424994549132010-03-13T10:17:00.000-08:002010-03-13T10:30:19.119-08:00How Dumb is TIVO?So the new miniseries "The Pacific" is coming up. "Band of Brothers" was excellent, so I want to watch this one in the initial HBO broadcast rather than some watered-down network version.I call Comcast, press a few buttons to route my call, and reach a very helpful lady who gives me two options: just HBO for $18/month or HBO and 7,000 other channels for $14. Hmmm... I accept The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-1155309211200003992006-08-11T08:06:00.000-07:002006-08-11T08:13:31.213-07:00Front-Line Technical SupportI called a company for tech support this morning. I use their product on one of my web sites. When I discovered there was a problem, I updated the html they provide - there was one small syntax change (including language="JavaScript" in the script block). This client-side change didn't fix the problem, so I called for help.Since I made the mistake of telling them The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-1106849125834667272005-01-27T09:44:00.000-08:002005-06-05T19:18:26.243-07:00iPod, part deux[ This post sat as a draft for a while. Might as well send it out. ]So, it's been about a month since I got the iPod. Here's the latest: The iPod locks up when I try to install music on it. I took it to the Apple store in the local mall, and they admitted that connecting an iPod to a PC seemed to be a bad idea. Trying to make life as simple as possible on the poor iPod, I The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-1104633698336288582005-01-01T18:23:00.000-08:002005-06-05T19:16:34.540-07:00Lots of information, but still stupidEver send something via the US Postal Service, ExpressMail? They issue you a tracking number for your package, just like FedEx and UPS. The big difference is that the USPS web site is updated once per day, only if they feel a package has changed status.I recently was sent a package from New York. There was no update on their site for two days - from when the The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-1104620038884569552005-01-01T01:48:00.000-08:002005-01-14T16:03:15.496-08:00Apple, King of the User Interface?
If you get past your euphoria after unwrapping your new iPod, did you happen to notice:
the battery takes 5 hours to charge? the date and time are wrong? the unit needs to be formatted before use? there's no obvious reference to formatting in the manual? there's no index in the manual?
during formatting, there is no indication of how long it willThe Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-1103302867081767462004-12-17T08:51:00.000-08:002004-12-17T09:01:07.080-08:00News Reporting on the Web
Today, the SJ Mercury News posted an article entitled, "State unveils Megan's Law Web site." (Try to read it before the Merc locks it up behind their lame registration system).
If you've read the article, you're probably assuming I'm an ACLU weenie who is going to complain about the lack of privacy - but you'd be wrong.
In this entire article about the state's new The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-791246212002-07-18T16:02:00.000-07:002005-01-14T16:03:48.203-08:00Unix on the Desktop
For years (decades!), many companies with large development organizations have been trying to come up with a version of Unix that would unseat Microsoft Windows on the desktops of average computer users worldwide. In this battle, they've run across many obstacles:
Unix's overall complexity Clumsy user interfaces Lack of office productivity tools (spreadsheets, etc.)The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-753993502002-04-14T14:54:00.000-07:002005-01-14T16:04:07.033-08:00More Product Design
Continuing the discussion on usability, do people really think about how their users will actually use their systems?
Take job sites (topical for me!). I've hit so many sites where you have to register and submit your entire resume - field by field - before you can search for their jobs. The one that prompted this post ended up having one job in their database!
You will The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-72781562001-11-20T15:14:00.000-08:002005-01-14T16:04:24.236-08:00Where have all the CEOs gone?
(Should that be sung to the tune of "Where have all the flowers gone" by Pete Seeger?)
I found the following job description on the web:
Chief Executive Officer - CEO
Develops primary goals, operating plans, policies, and short and long range
objectives for the organization. Implements these following Board of Directors'
approval. Directs and coordinates The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-61859682001-10-07T23:09:00.000-07:002005-01-14T16:05:11.946-08:00Network Security
In a recent email bulletin, David Raikow of Smart Partner Magazine seems to blame the spread of the Code Red virus on bad systems administration, citing that Microsoft had released a patch that would block the virus one month earlier.
While he doesn't draw any solid conclusions or make any recommendations in his article (!), the implication is that sysadmins are a weak link in The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-47062622001-07-24T10:43:00.000-07:002005-01-14T16:06:53.700-08:00Forest for the Trees
A recent article in Internet Week talks about the Department of Defense is trying to rollout a system of smart cards to their 4 million people, and how health care companies are rolling out card to their members, but they're facing all kinds of problems due to the size of the user base.
Here's a great quote:
"When you're getting into that kind of
environment, you're pushingThe Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-39227212001-06-04T11:49:00.000-07:002005-01-14T16:07:18.613-08:00Customer Service
I needed to call technical support for a laptop computer. After entering all the little digits on the bottom of the system, I received the following notice from their phone system:
Due to heavy call volume, we are experiencing delays of an hour or more.
Not what you really want to hear when your computer isn't working. Now that I have to sit on hold for this long, I can't evenThe Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-37960122001-05-25T15:36:00.000-07:002005-01-14T16:07:44.833-08:00Usability
There's a lot written about usability on the web. There are expensive consultants you can hire who will teach you about usability [1]. But is it really too hard to imagine how users will use your site?
I was visiting a site today that had one of those "top 100" lists. They started out by presenting a list of the first 25 in an area on the side of the page. Click one, and the page The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-35599532001-05-08T21:52:00.000-07:002001-05-08T21:54:36.763-07:00Topic: Internet taxesThere's little new about internet taxes. We've all grown used to buying from catalogs to avoid sales tax. Of course, you've been writing a check to your state for use tax, haven't you?Now that the internet has caught on, people have noticed that you don't have to charge tax on out-of-state purchases (except when the company has a presence in the origin state). This is the The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-35386622001-05-07T15:02:00.000-07:002001-05-07T15:04:22.240-07:00Topic: Service (maybe part 2)I just got an email that requires attention in the blog, so please pardon two posts in one day.I happened to need some service from my county clerk's office. I went to their website, but it was pretty barren. No way to search the database online for the information I needed. There were three options left:Drive down to their office. What decent telecommuting The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-35382902001-05-07T14:34:00.000-07:002001-05-07T14:37:13.173-07:00Topic: The New EconomyWhat new economy?The laws of economics were not postposed for companies that do business online. You still need great employees making interesting products that yield revenue and earnings.It's sad that so many people (the media, institutional and individual investors, corporate executives, managers and even a few employees) got caught up in the new economy hype. Why would The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-35236142001-05-06T16:19:00.000-07:002001-05-06T16:21:57.516-07:00Topic: NapsterI've been wanting to write about napster for a while, but didn't get my blog setup until a fewdays ago. Please forgive me if you find these thoughts to be a little late.Napster, the middleman service where people can send each other audio files, is evil.Plain and simple. Evil. Why? Oh, a small thing called copyright. The peopledistributing those files don't own them. Why is The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-35152432001-05-05T23:02:00.000-07:002001-05-08T13:00:35.366-07:00Topic: LinuxWhat is Linux? It's an operating system. Wow. How exciting.Why can't anyone grasp that:Linux is not a revolution. How long has Unix been around?Linux is not a way of life.Linux will not make your users have a better experience with your web site.Linux is not free. Have you ever heard of support and maintenance?Personally, I'm thrilled that Linux has caught on. The more The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-34987202001-05-04T15:26:00.000-07:002001-05-04T16:09:33.366-07:00Topic: CRM
CRM? That's Customer Relationship Management to you! Many companies blur the line as to what CRM is or should be, but they all fall short.
Some use CRM to replace or "augment" their help desks. While customer service has never been a widely adopted discipline on the web, adding CRM help desk software doesn't help. [ Ask me about customer service successes. ] When the user mails The Photographernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021684.post-34975562001-05-04T14:05:00.000-07:002001-05-08T13:02:38.953-07:00IntroHere starts the weblog. I will occasionally post thoughts and comments on a variety of subjects. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.- robertThe Photographernoreply@blogger.com