Jim Roepcke's weblog have browser, will travel (est. 1999)

Groove… I’m so frustrated!

I installed Groove. But, I don't want to USE it. (Okay, I do, but not under these circumstances)

I don't want to use software that locks me into Windows... I'm looking forward to moving to Mac OS X. I'd love to start a family space -- but my Dad uses a Mac and couldn't participate.

I'd love to start a project workspace -- but my customer's project manager uses a Mac and couldn't participate.

I'd love to start a discussion forum -- but so many of my friends use Macs and wouldn't be able to participate.

I'd love to starta a file collection space, but then I couldn't get to the files from my PowerBook.

Sigh.

Respect my platform choice, DAMNIT!

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What really upsets me about this is -- okay, they endorse Bush. Does that mean they want him to win? Does that mean they aren't objective in their reporting? Are they in Bush's camp? If I'm not a Republican (I'm Canadian so this is moot) can I trust this paper to present an unbiased view of the world for me on a daily basis?

I don't really understand what this means, for a paper to endorse a political candidate.

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via dansays: What the hell is the media doing, endorsing someone for president?

I thought the media was supposed to be impartial, just report the news. Is this like the Tribune making their pick for the Superbowl? Hmm, seeing as how politics are just as overblown as american football (and college basketball), maybe so!

I can't wait til this nightmare is over.

Scient – a "one stop" shop (’cause you won’t go back)

via Spahr.org: Scient redesigns their "site", it's 100% Flash.

Is this even a "web presence" as James calls it, given there isn't really any HTML?

Problems that immediately come to mind:

- What are the search engines going to index? (Nothing. Think about the % of referrals your corporate site gets from search engines)

- How do you bookmark a "page"? (You can't. cf: Why Frames Suck)

- How do you present the "site" (and I use that term loosely) to people with disabilities? I'm sure it passes the Bobby tests, but only because there's nothing to test.

This seems like a pretty stupid idea to me. Is it really THAT important to have everything pixel perfect? I don't think so.

Maybe this would work for the kind of web application where bookmarkability isn't an issue, but not for a company's web presence.

Every time I go to that site I have to follow the same click path (which might not be the shortest click path either, but the one I have discovered) to get where I was the last time.

It's like playing Myst or Riven (but worse)... to get to that one place you have to move through the world until you get there -- you might not know the best way, it might take you twice as long as other players.

At least in Myst/Riven, you start off where you left off so you don't have to start every game session from the beginning of the game!

I wondered if maybe they were leaving a cookie to tell their Flash app which screen I last saw -- but no, when I go back to the site after restarting my browser I'm taken back to the opening screen of their presentation.

There's a reason why the web was based on HTML and not on HyperCard. Hell, even with HyperCard you could address the screen you were on:

Ficticious HyperCard address:

card id 5232 of stack http://foo/bar.stack

or perhaps as an URL:

http://foo/bar.stack/5232

Two BIG thumbs down for the Scient site. Bad bad bad.

How appropriate that the current Alertbox is: Flash: 99% Bad. (I haven't even read the article yet, I found it when looking for the Why Frames Suck link)

Teen Pop Sucks

Teen Pop Sucks

SegaWeb.com: Features: PS2: Disappointing Technology

SegaWeb.com: PS2: Disappointing Technology

For me, it's the availability of EA (NHL!) games that makes or breaks the system. Will NHL 2001 / NHL 2002 run on the Dreamcast? If it did, I'd probably get one of those instead.

4 MB of VRAM (PS2) is a joke! What were they thinking? Couldn't they add more, or is it directly on the EE and thus very difficult to change?

I'm glad I held out on the PS2. I might still get one eventually. What I do NOT want to do is end up having to get an XBox because it's the only decent current generation system. I hope the Nintendo Game Cube kicks ass.

PS2: how is it?

If you've played with a PS2 today, how is it?

Is it worth getting? I can pre-order one for shipment next week, but I don't want to unless it totally rocks.

Netscape 4.76 / Mac

Huh. Apparently the new Netscape 4.76 release for Mac is quite significant... a big feature is the ability to use the MRJ for Java, increasing compatibility with applets.

I wonder though, would that be at the expense of the Java/JavaScript bridge?

Netscape was the only browser that supported JavaScript scripting of Java applets on the Mac... a strategic move by Microsoft to slow down Java, I'm sure. I hope it still supports it.

FEED: Report: Birth of a Station

FEED: Report: Birth of a Station

Geez Slashdot sucks! They point to that cool article about the PS2, and don't even bother to mention that it was written by MARK PESCE (of VRML fame).

Amateurs.

Oh... right, I have to go back upstairs and continue to work on convincing Cheryl that getting a PS2 (tomorrow) is a gooood idea!

Radio UserLand: Styled HTML Text

Radio UserLand: Styled HTML Text

Oh my, someone pinch me! Now, RU can actually be USEFUL as a content PRODUCTION tool.