Recently in Computers Category

I was looking at the “Curvaceous” plug-in for Movable Type, and one thing that really annoys me is when I feel like I've wasted my time - which might be a recurring theme in my rants. Here's a disclaimer for any tard that happens upon this post: I'm not talking about the plug-in.

What I am talking about are screenshots. Whether I venture to Softpedia, BetaNews, MajorGeeks, Snapfiles, et al, one of the first things I look at is the screenshot associated with the program I'm interested in. I hate to break it to developers, but being on a site filled with other apps that does the same thing as yours isn't enough for me to download, try, and possibly ruin my computer. I like pretty things. When I use a program, I like something that gently strokes the eyeballs and welcomes me into whatever endeavor I happen to decide upon. If an app is useable and clunky, that centerfold allure is what keeps me around. So the question is, “How does someone market their product to everyone, especially people who are hesitant to download software?” The answer? A screenshot.

Now let's take this a step further ... let's say I come across 5 programs that I'm interested in, and they all have screenshots. What then? To me, the next logical step is making sure people are able to see whatever is in the screenshot(s). If you have a screenshot the size of a fly's penis then you've successfully wasted my time and I shitcan any desire of using your program - which knocks three-quarters, or more, of the programs out of the running. Not to digress, but what are some of those people thinking? Granted, there are some people that are stupid enough to try something based off of a picture no bigger than a thumbnail, but would you want someone with that type of intellect representing your product? Every day, whether in a business or personal capacity, approximately 10 people ask me for my input on computer products. Right now I'm batting at 90 percent who actually heed my recommendations. All I want is a decent-sized picture that allows me to legibly read the text of the user interface (UI) and is a clear representation of the product that I possibly might use.

Which leads me to another point about screenshots: make sure the shot is of your current product. Too many times I've seen screenshots that were of a preference pane, a result of using the program, or something that isn't what I'm using. If that screenshot isn't what I'm going to see within the first 5 seconds of using the program then, again, my time was wasted, and I'll wish physical harm on everyone associated with your product. I don't want to see how good your product used to look or how it will look when it comes out of beta in 5 years; I want to know how it will look at the time I will be using it.

With the world the way it is now, everyone's time is valuable, and every step taken to save that person some time will only benefit your product. There are a lot of sites out there for someone to upload their programs to. Remember when I mentioned above about my input on things? Here's an unsolicited example: SnapFiles is the only freeware/shareware site I've come across that consistently has decent screenshots of products, and I mainly use it as a source for other files to try. The ONLY time I use another site is when I'm looking for a product that I've used and liked but isn't being developed anymore and is still applicable to the OS and task at hand. For Macs I have to use VersionTracker and MacUpdate, but I do use iUseThis to help me filter. However, having to swap between tabs or windows is a pain in the ass and even makes me loyal to the apps that might cause me pain because the pain for finding others can be greater at times.

Lately I've been hearing how the Internet is making people ignorant. Nothing to support that statement, just that it's making everyone stupid. If anything, I think the Internet empowers us because it puts a lot of information resources at our fingertips. I think the choices that people are making online are what's killing their brain cells.

If I wanted to find out about the Amazon's average rainfall for 2007, a fix for what's causing the thumping sound in a car, or a software program that will remove a specific virus on a computer, I can find it via the Internet. In addition, I can read about and learn from various related experiences just in case the original solutions didn't help.

With the good, however, comes the bad. Even with all the enlightening data at our fingertips that can better our lives and broaden our knowledge, people choose to get involved in the latest "American Idol" selections, find out about upcoming episodes of "Big Brother," share lost teenage experiences with the foul-mouthed youth of Myspace, or read about the latest celebrity whoopsie shots on TMZ.

So, I don't think the Internet is making people more stupid, it's the choices those people make while online that's doing it. If someone would rather see Brittany Spears' vagina on Perez Hilton's site and share spam e-mails about what Obama believes in instead of educating themselves then they're the perpetrators of their ignorance.

On a side note, I've never understood illogical statements like this. Why blame things and not the people committing the acts? I have yet to see a gun load itself and shoot some random child in the face, the Internet open a skull to perform some back alley lobotomy, throngs of satanists birthed from speakers blaring Ozzy Osbourne songs, or video game zombies fighting over mystical armor in the Shenendoahs. What I have seen are people who are in dire need of mental help or parental skills.

I'm testing another blogging tool developed by Brainjuice, LLC, called "Blogo." The thing I noticed right away was its support for Movable Type's (MT) tags. I don't know the reasoning behind it, but MT has a "Tags" section and "Keywords" section - which are pretty much the same. The only difference is how the words are separated, i.e. commas or spaces. Anyway, this software is the first one I've played with that supports MT's "Tags" feature.

**UPDATE**
I doesn't support tags, and separates keywords with commas. However, there is a preference setting to allow spaces. Unfortunately all of the keywords show up as one big keyword oval on new posts.
Another bug: clear style attribute. I'm using a MT 4 dynamic blog, and the 2 style clear entries jacked up the Smarty rendering; you have to manually log in to MT and remove the style tags in the entry to fix.

I think the program is looks nice, probably one of the easier ones to use, compared to MarsEdit, ecto, and MacJournal. I haven't tested it with Blogger, Wordpress, or Twitter yet, but I would hold off on using it with Movable Type blogs.

One thing I'd like to see in blogging software is XHTML Strict support.

I don't know if it's a problem with the graphics engine, Automator, or what, but when I move the Automator window off screen a little bit the top Automator entry gets selected and becomes a ghost selection while original remains. You can watch the video here.