A great tumblelog I've just added to my feed reader (it's only up to 210 so far): 1001 rules for my unborn son.
The cool Git repository host and online interface, GitHub went officially live today. It does mean paying now for private repos, but I have no problem with that - it's a great service and they're adding cool features like comments on commits that can be pointed at specific lines of code.
I've been using GitHub for a few weeks on a personal project and so far it's been very good. I'm sure I'd see more benefit from it when working with other developers on a project, but even as an external host for personal git repos it's good for me.
It also has Lighthouse integration, which they've just made easier by handling it through the web interface rather than git post-commit hooks, although the 2 commits I've pushed since switching to that feature haven't shown up in Lighthouse yet. I'll wait a while and see if it's just a lag on launch day.
Just upgraded to Wordpress 2.5 and let it go back to the default theme rather than the rubbish blank one I've been running until I can get around to doing a proper design.
Anyone in the UK has probably seen the adverts for online DVD rental service, LOVEFiLM recently. I saw an ad on a website pointing out that you can also rent console games, which could be cool at the right price (with the online rental services not time-limiting you) so started having a look at the site.
Browsing around I noticed the download-to-own option so checked it out. There's a mix of straight downloads and those accompanied with a proper DVD copy. Except that the 'proper' DVD copy isn't - you get the film in a LOVEFiLM envelope with none of the original packaging and (more importantly) none of the bonus features on the disc. Basically, you're getting the film and nothing else, just the bonus of being able to download it while you wait for the physical copy to arrive so you can watch it the same day you order.
The downloading and watching straight away is cool, but with the physical copy not actually being the full retail release, you'd (or at least I would) still expect it to be a cheaper option than buying the full retail DVD. So Shaun of the Dead for £20? A 2-second search on Play.com shows I can have the proper DVD in a proper DVD case and with the extras on the disc for £6.99 including postage.
One day the film industry will realise that you don't stop piracy by providing legal film downloads at higher cost with lower value to the customer. Until then, I think I'll stick to waiting a couple of days for the postman for often a third of the cost (and those who pirate will keep on pirating and paying nothing).
With the hype over Web 2.0, it's funny how many online advertisers are still using the same crass techniques of the web's earlier years. Within a minute of each other, I just got hit by three of the most annoying advert types while checking two websites.
I loaded up an article on the Sky Sports website along with Blue's News in separate tabs. Looking at Blue's News first, there was an irritating buzzing noise.
"Oh look, it's a Flash advert in the top right corner inviting me to zap a bug and win a laptop". It's at this point I could no longer care less about what gaming news goodness Blue might have to offer me and went to close the tab - as I do, a pop-under sneaks its way open. Marvellous. So they've irritated me enough with one ad that I'm closing the window without ever getting to the content of the site and now as I leave they find another way to motivate me in looking for a better site to read about upcoming computer games.
The pop-unders have actually been on Blue's News for a while and I generally work around them, but today's double-whammy just about does it.
OK, so that was an annoying website that stopped me in my tracks. Back to Sky Sports...
"Goodie, a floating Flash advert obscuring the article content" I think to myself (or is that just what the advertisers and webmasters expect us to think?). I was lucky this time and the 'close' link actually did get rid of the ad, but so often with these absolutely-positioned Flash ads the close link doesn't work properly and you either have to reload the page in the hope the ad won't show next time or just give up.
Given that both of these sites are driven by their content, why are they allowing adverts to hinder me in getting at that content so much? The Sky Sports one is the only that actually does prevent me reading the text, but the two on Blue's News do just as good a job in making me leave as fast as possible. When it's accepted (I'm pretty sure there's actually proof, but can't point to it now so I'll not go that far) that people are much more likely to click on relevant text ads, why are we as site visitors still suffering with obtrusive, irritating advertising? Is there some mad majority of the population that actually responds favourably to having the content they're trying to read obscured by an advert that they'll actually change tack (from trying to read the content) to clicking the ad and then buying whatever it sells?