RasterWeb!

Ok, this one is really a tip for any website. Do not duplicate browser functions.

Have you seen sites that have a link, and maybe even an icon of a little printer, with a ‘Print this page’ function? I have… I’m also pretty sure that almost every single browser I’ve used in the past 11 years has had a print function, just like 99% of the applications I use everyday. So why? Now, if your print function actually does something besides just bring up the print dialog, perhaps there is a case for it (though with CSS and print style sheets this is less relevant nowadays.)

Still, we continue to see things like Javascript powered links to “Bookmark this page” or go “Back” even though these functions have been built into browsers for over a decade. Why clutter up the valuable real estate of your page with things that every browser can do? Wouldn’t you prefer people focus on your message rather than on how they can print your page, bookmark it, send it to a friend, etc.?

It’s like a newspaper printing dotted lines around every article, just in case you wanted to clip it out and save it. Really. It is. one more time folks, Do not duplicate browser functions!

Ripped from the local news, 10-foot inflatable penguin mascot plucked from store:

“It’s our mascot. It’s one of kind. It seems kind of stupid for someone to steal,” said Rob Wallace.

Has anyone checked the local Linux Users Group Headquarters?

Les of decafbad (and many other things) is headed to Yahoo!

The Midwest will miss you Les! Sure, we’ve still got 37signals and I’m sure there are a few other highlights, but as I recently mentioned, while my network appears to be out west, I alas, am here in Wisconsin… Still looking for a company that at least somewhat gets how the web works… :/

Hey, at least I can do a +1 on the number of people I know that work at Yahoo!, that must be worth something, right?

Despite my complaining about Windows, I just installed Windows XP on my Mac. Have I totally lost my mind? Almost…

I’ve been doing a lot more work that requires testing sites in Internet Explorer 6, which of course, is only available for Windows. I contemplated getting a cheap PC, maybe spending a few hundred on a low-end model from Tiger Direct or finding a friend with an old cast off machine, but I finally realized the insanity of that, and decided adding a Windows PC to my network/desk/life would be a bad idea. So Virtual PC it is!

I had an older copy of Virtual PC, but it seems to have broken under Mac OS X 10.4, so it was time to upgrade. Installation took way to long, and there were way too many hiccups along the way, but eventually (3 hours later, right after midnight) I got it all working. I can now test things properly, and see what the world looks like using Internet Explorer on Windows XP. I’ll try to keep the swearing to a minimum.

You might know that I am not a fan of Microsoft, but I do try to give them a chance now and then. My latest attempt was the use of Live.com, a search engine. I’m not even here to complain about the search results (though I did find it amusing the third result was a link to Google with my site’s url in it’s query string.) My complain is all in the UI and usability.

Live.com uses some crazy scrollbar that doesn’t work like the standard scrollbar that millions of sites I’ve used does. Nope, they decided to implement their own damn scrollbar. Someone decided that instead of working like 99.5% of the other web sites out there, that creating a custom scrollbar, that probably requires Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP with a top-of-the-line Dell, would be sheer genius. Maybe it’s just because I’m a Firefox user with a Mac, I don’t know. It seems that Microsoft still doesn’t get the web, and believe me, I’m getting sick of saying that. I no longer get pleasure from it, and I hope someday I can say that Microsoft does get the web. Will that day ever come?