tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post526654823819142059..comments2024-03-27T23:28:20.274-04:00Comments on Face to Face: Does technology fail because of switching costs and user laziness?agnostichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-87439956633602221252009-11-11T09:34:50.689-05:002009-11-11T09:34:50.689-05:00I have to admit, I'm not up on browsers. Why d...I have to admit, I'm not up on browsers. Why does microsoft or google or whoever care what browser people use?<br /><br />I strongly suspect that open-source things are for the sort of people who can't think of anything more fun on a Friday night than adjusting browser settings. I'm sure there exceptions for things where proprietary versions are really expensive, finite element analysis and multiphysics come to mind.<br /><br />The vast majority of people who just want something to work are not lazy, they simply want something different from the application than software evangelists. <br /><br />Off topic: why is almost everything on wikipedia convoluted, stilted, and written in the passive voice? Is it because is plagarized, is that writing style a side effect of Aspergers?robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-91849011163237545712009-11-09T12:23:43.744-05:002009-11-09T12:23:43.744-05:00There are the lazy users but even they will switch...There are the lazy users but even they will switch if the need is there. I agree with the "Do we really need another web browser" point of view though I do feel Chrome does bring something unique to the table. <br /><br />I've thought for a long time that Microsoft should just abandon their Web Browser/Web Search. Competition is important but they have been trying to be relevant for so long and their competition is MILES ahead of them. Microsoft is so big you think they would have something more important for the developers to work on.Jebbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04967618922369755432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-1004206666149198162009-11-08T17:48:29.864-05:002009-11-08T17:48:29.864-05:00Thought you'd be interested in this.Thought you'd be interested in <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-juice8-2009nov08,0,1821402.story?page=1" rel="nofollow">this</a>.TGGPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11017651009634767649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-64698641388317018922009-11-07T20:42:12.600-05:002009-11-07T20:42:12.600-05:00Opera has a killer app: It can play the Javascript...Opera has a killer app: It can play the <a href="http://www.wolf5k.com/" rel="nofollow">Javascript port of Caste Wolfenstein</a>.Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04720409839023747889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-35674861749592060362009-11-07T20:33:52.799-05:002009-11-07T20:33:52.799-05:00I recently switched from IE to Firefox for most th...I recently switched from IE to Firefox for most things because Wikipedia didn't work right with IE. I couldn't figure out how to fix it, so I just switched to Firefox.<br /><br />I tried Chrome. No Google bookmarks. I use one PC at work, another at home. I need the bookmarks to sync. Chrome doesn't offer support for Google toolbar, which I really rely on.GMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16839216603164745797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-65608446377043380232009-11-06T01:58:05.659-05:002009-11-06T01:58:05.659-05:00Reading this post made me want to try Chrome. To b...Reading this post made me want to try Chrome. To be honest, it's amazing. The increase in speed is very noticeable.Underachievernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-386836403743434892009-11-05T21:22:48.673-05:002009-11-05T21:22:48.673-05:00If anyone is offended by tabs then they are perfec...If anyone is offended by tabs then they are perfectly free to simply not use them. The existence of tabbed browsing is a Pareto improvement; some people are better off and no one is worse off for it. Even your 50 year old aunt would benefit from being able to check the weather and the news at the same time.<br /><br />Another advantage of using a modern browser is that they are standards compliant. I'm no web designer, but it is my understanding that it is necessary to kludge together a bunch of IE6 only hacks to support it. So there is a very good reason for the webpage developing community to hate old browsers.Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18436306631750642714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-61636179597752869892009-11-05T21:05:52.886-05:002009-11-05T21:05:52.886-05:00I use Firefox mostly, so I already do use tabs. My...I use Firefox mostly, so I already do use tabs. My point is that -- strange as it is for Asperger sufferers to believe -- people's preferences aren't all the same.<br /><br />A 50 year-old aunt who uses the internet to keep in touch with family through email, and maybe check the weather or local news, doesn't need lightning-fast speed or tabs.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-22552279049476824862009-11-05T19:46:14.293-05:002009-11-05T19:46:14.293-05:00I use Chrome for 95% of my internet experience. It...I use Chrome for 95% of my internet experience. It is incredibly faster than any other browser, which is the most important thing for me.<br /><br />Anyone still using IE is just doesn't care. It's a pile of shit.<br /><br />Firefox is a worthless browser because it takes 5 minutes to load (I exaggerate, maybe 30 seconds). However, a lot of people won't leave Firefox because of add-ons, which would obviously no longer be available when switching. For example, Firebug is an essential plugin for designing webpages. Fortunately, I don't make design decisions very often (I just let our current theme do its magic) so I don't have to bring it up.<br /><br />So, unless you have some lock-in to Firefox extensions (e.g. you have some weird fetish for making the internet complicated... or you are an academic that uses Zotero for collecting citations) you should use Chrome and the only thing that will bother you is ads. <br /><br />Tabs? You'll get used to it. It makes more sense anyway. You'll realize. Why do your eyes needs to scan over the tabs before making it to the URL bar??? Yeah, answer that for me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-88058774120910685362009-11-05T16:31:53.570-05:002009-11-05T16:31:53.570-05:00"Your whole point on user laziness is belied ..."Your whole point on user laziness is belied by the fact that 23.3% of people use the awful IE6 and the only slightly better IE7 has 18.8% share.z'<br /><br />Perhaps they find tabs unnecessary, annoying, cluttering, etc.? Remember, the internet is much more widely used than 15 years ago, so you have plenty of people who have little need for what you and I consider necessary, but which they'd consider mere bells & whistles.<br /><br />I still use a Sensor Excel razor because I find those 3, 4, and 5000-blade razors pointless.<br /><br />Again, with heterogeneity of preferences in the audience, you aren't going to have a total winner-take-all outcome.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-46899663681380633072009-11-05T14:29:31.428-05:002009-11-05T14:29:31.428-05:00"Does anyone but geeks care about how fast [C..."Does anyone but geeks care about how fast [Chrome] goes compared to current alternatives?"<br /><br />Yes, everybody. There are all sorts of web apps that are basically impossible today, because the browsers are so slow. I'm thinking along the lines of a collaborative word processor with integrated voice chat and voice-to-text notes. The existence of Flash is proof: current browsers suck so hard that <i>Adobe</i> could outdo them.<br /><br />"Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari all have the URL bar above the tab headings. Opera and Chrome have a URL bar embedded underneath each tab heading. Why would this matter?"<br /><br />Things you click on often should be closest to the edge, to be closest to the mouse cursor when it plows to a halt at the edge of the screen. Frankly the tabs ought to be where the title bar is, with everything inside the tabbed pane.<br /><br />"But real people have voted that it isn't. And they don't need to explain why -- it just feels weird."<br /><br />Both are equally weird and unwieldy. One simply has a lot more synapses programmed in the cerebellum. Moving GUI widgets around is like rearranging someone's office overnight. Even if the new arrangement is 10X better and can be learned in an hour, they'll still chase you with an axe.<br /><br />eBay once started a revolt by changing <i>a color</i> on a form—people reflexively flipped out, which for their brainstem-with-a-voice demographic was pretty disruptive. So they change it back and grovelled disgustingly. Then they started changing it gradually, adjusting the color a few percent a week until it was back to the "bad color"; nobody noticed.Daniel Newbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16447547303783134514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-50057000902072213512009-11-05T13:22:44.835-05:002009-11-05T13:22:44.835-05:00Chrome isn't doing all that terrible. I believ...Chrome isn't doing all that terrible. I believe it's already beating Opera and is closing in on Safari. It took Firefox years to pick up market share, and it still only as 24%. The real reason it hasn't taken off is because there's no real need for it. Older versions of IE were so terrible that there was a clear niche for a superior browser, and Firefox has filled that niche. Your whole point on user laziness is belied by the fact that 23.3% of people use the awful IE6 and the only slightly better IE7 has 18.8% share. There are now a bunch of pretty decent browsers, but almost half of people use horribly outdated ones (IE6 doesn't even have tabs). I use IE8, Firefox and Chrome at different times and on different computers, so I'm no fanboy for any particular browser.Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18436306631750642714noreply@blogger.com