Re: [backstage] iPad
What else would you call it? An operating system it is. Whether you like it or not is a different matter. It does have an input device which you would fall into the term defined as Keyboard IMO. FWIW I¹m a mac fanboy but the lack of decent interop with other devices, lack of a camera (which would have meant you could buy one for your grandparents to use for video calls to the grandchildren) and the closed nature of the app store submission process means I¹m not even slightly interested. Alun On 28/01/2010 09:56, "Brian Butterworth" wrote: > Sorry, I didn't realise we were back in the 1970s where the software that runs > on the iPhone can be called an operating system. > > And it clearly doesn't have a keyboard. > > 2010/1/28 Mo McRoberts >> On Thu, Jan 28, 2010 at 08:32, Brian Butterworth >> wrote: >>> > It does, both, what? >> >> it runs an operating system. >> >> it has a keyboard. >> >>> > >>> > 2010/1/28 Mo McRoberts >>>> >> >>>> >> On Thu, Jan 28, 2010 at 08:03, Brian Butterworth >>>> >> wrote: >>>>> >> > Underwhelming. It's a big iPhone. It's named after the Star Trek >>>>> PADD. >>>>> >> > Might be good it if ran an operating system and had a keyboard. >>>> >> >>>> >> It does, both. >>>> >> >>>> >> - >>>> >> Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk <http://backstage.bbc.co.uk> >>>> discussion group. To unsubscribe, please >>>> >> visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. >>>> >> Unofficial list archive: >>>> >> http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > -- >>> > >>> > Brian Butterworth >>> > >>> > follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/briantist >>> > web: http://www.ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover >>> > advice, since 2002 >>> > >> >> - >> Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk <http://backstage.bbc.co.uk> discussion >> group. To unsubscribe, please visit >> http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial >> list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ > > Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company.
Re: [backstage] BBC News - Googlejuice vs Usability
If people took everything Jakob said as gospel the web would be a far duller place. He's the devils advocate of web development, by offering and extreme view he just gets you to evaluate the decisions you have made. I think it's an improvement. I think the SEO thing is a bit of a red herring and the real benefit is the readability of articles etc. On 20/11/2009 12:18, "John O'Donovan" wrote: > Thanks Mo, Hi Brian. > > We thought long and hard about this, but basically we think it's an > improvement. > > For example, this headline may be short, but what is the article really > about? > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7390109.stm > "Great tits cope well with warming" > > > As an example, I think for this story: > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8369764.stm > > "Procter & Gamble recalls 120,000 Vicks nasal sprays" > > ...is much clearer than... > > "Thousands of Vicks spray recalled" > > Especially if you don't know what Vicks is. > > > John O'Donovan > Chief Technical Architect > > BBC Future Media & Technology (Journalism) > BC3 C1, Broadcast Centre, 201 Wood Lane, London > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/ > http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/ > http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/ > > > Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP > From: owner-backst...@lists.bbc.co.uk > [mailto:owner-backst...@lists.bbc.co.uk] On Behalf Of Mo McRoberts > Sent: 20 November 2009 11:57 > To: backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk > Subject: Re: [backstage] BBC News - Googlejuice vs Usability > > > On 20-Nov-2009, at 11:45, Brian Butterworth wrote: > >> Here's a nice little dillemma. >> >> http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2009/11/changing_headlines.html >> >> BBC News headlines go from 33 characters (because of Ceefax) to 66 >> >> One the one hand, king of usability Jacob Neilson has said the BBC > News headlines are the "world's best" >> >> http://www.useit.com/alertbox/headlines-bbc.html >> >> On the other, Google likes lots of relevant keywords, the higher the > "reading score" the better in fact. >> >> It's not like BBC News comes bottom of any Google search, is it? >> >> My question - which is more important, SEO or usability? > > Given the context: short headlines on the linking pages, longer > headlines on the pages themselves, I'd suggest it strikes a good > balance. > > However, I can't stand the short headlines. Everything's phrased as > though it's a lie. Yes, I know the reasons, it still reads terribly, no > matter what Neilson reckons. So in fact, I'd actually prefer to see the > longer headlines all of the time (which does SEO no harm at all). > > BBC headlines 'lengthened'. > > M. > > -- > mo mcroberts > http://nevali.net > iChat: mo.mcrobe...@me.com Jabber/GTalk: m...@ilaven.net Twitter: > @nevali > > Run Leopard or Snow Leopard? Set Quick Look free with DropLook - > http://labs.jazzio.com/DropLook/ > > > > > > > > > > - > Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, > please visit > http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. > Unofficial list archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ > > - > Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please > visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. > Unofficial list archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ > > > This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the > individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that > is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you > are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, > copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this > message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, > please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from > your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. > > Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as > information could be int
Re: [backstage] License to Kill Innovation: the Broadcast Flag for UK Digital TV?
I meant in terms of the HD element if they are changing the spec? If there is a decryption requirement I doubt the Topfield will have it? On 17 Sep 2009, at 17:52, "Ant Miller" wrote: You'll need to retune, but the services you currently get on Freeview should still be available. Think of Freeview + as an optional upgrade. a On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 5:36 PM, Alun Rowe wrote: I assume my topfield HD will be out of date with these proposed changes? -- Ant Miller tel: 07709 265961 email: ant.mil...@gmail.com - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html . Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error- free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/
Re: [backstage] License to Kill Innovation: the Broadcast Flag for UK Digital TV?
I assume my topfield HD will be out of date with these proposed changes?
Re: [backstage] License to Kill Innovation: the Broadcast Flag for UK Digital TV?
Will we ever see HD freeview though? The bandwidth requirement would be enormous. On 17 Sep 2009, at 16:53, "Frankie Roberto" wrote: 2009/9/17 Christopher Woods Moreover, you just *know* that within months of any broadcast flag implementation, the more creative technological tinkerers will have subverted the flag entirely using commonplace/free equipment and software. Like region coding, broadcast flags really are an exercise in stupidity and corporate backslapping. By the sounds of it, the main 'enforcement' mechanism of the metadata compression/encryption isn't so much technological, as the fact that you won't be able to use the "Freeview HD" logo, or be listed on the Freeview website, without signing for a free licence (which requires you to implement some as-yet-unspecified restrictions). Which won't really stop free software from existing - but may stop it from being a commercial success. That said, I wonder how many people will really bother to upgrade from Freeview to Freeview HD anyway - standard definition Freeview seems good enough for most people (especially those with non- enormous tellies). So the migration to Freeview HD will happen slowly, as people upgrade their televisions as part of their natural lifecycle. (Assuming that the signal doesn't get switched off). Frankie -- Frankie Roberto Experience Designer, Rattle 0114 2706977 http://www.rattlecentral.com This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error- free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP
[backstage] Get me off this list!
Visiting this: http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html Then putting in my details and pressing GO sends me to http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/cgiemail/creativearchive/backstage/discuss.txt Which says: Error No email was sent due to an error. 500 Could not open template - No such file or directory /home/system/www/creativearchive/backstage/discuss.txt cgiemail 1.6 Help!
Re: [backstage] Fwd: [Autonomo.us] Skype, out?
Or they provide clear instruction on how to do it WITHOUT having to resort to Google... A large number of issues come from the wide breadth of software and authors, all doing things in their own ways... The Œopenness¹ here is what causes the problem as there don¹t appear to be any accepted design patterns to follow etc. Don¹t get me wrong I¹m a geek and Œmostly¹ can do what I need to on Ubuntu but honestly at the moment I wouldn¹t put Linux on a Œusers¹ desktop. Also, it¹d be nice if the software was seen my a UI designer before launch. Most UI¹s on Linux software are very sucky at the moment! On 04/08/2009 12:46, "Andrew Bowden" wrote: > Out of interest, did you get him to try using a tar.gz file or a deb/rpm? > > I ask as tar.gz is a pain in the backside. This cannot be denied. But then > I use Linux on all my home PCs and almost never use them for software > installation. > > For my mind, using DEBs or RPMs from central repositories is a FAR FAR FAR > superior way of managing your software than the Windows method of downloading > random files from random sites, each of which use a random installation > routine! This is especially true with upgrades. I can upgrade my entire > Ubuntu box with complete ease. > > However it requires a user to be told "this is what you do with software". > > But lets be honest - this is not a Linux thing. When I first tried to > installed software on OS-X, I got completely thrown and that's probably the > easiest installation method going! It wasn't that it was hard - just that no > one told me what to do. > > So software companies either do everything like Windows because "everyone > knows what to do", or they do something which may be better but which people > have to learn something new. > > > >> >> >> >> From: owner-backst...@lists.bbc.co.uk >> [mailto:owner-backst...@lists.bbc.co.uk] On Behalf Of Alun Rowe >> Sent: 04 August 2009 12:36 >> To: backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk >> Subject: Re: [backstage] Fwd: [Autonomo.us] Skype, out? >> >> >> >> >> Ask a genuine user to install some software on it. I know it¹s a LOT >> better than it used to be but my dad still couldn¹t do it. >> >> Alun >> >> >> On 04/08/2009 11:31, "Brian Butterworth" wrote: >> >> >>> >>> >>> 2009/8/4 Alun Rowe >>> >>>> ... >>>> Mere users don¹t stand a chance with anything Linux based. It¹s far too >>>> geeky to use still. >>>> >>>> Your final pronouncement is interesting. How can you justify it? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Alun >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On 04/08/2009 08:13, "Dave Crossland" >>>> <http://d...@lab6.com> > wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> Have you heard of Red Hat? >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>> On 4 Aug 2009, 7:02 AM, "Alun Rowe" >>>>>> <http://alun.r...@pentangle.co.uk> > wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> The problem with a 'free digital society' is that people need >>>>>>> salaries. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Ask the music/film industry what they think. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I love the idea of utopia but we all know that unicorns don't exist, >>>>>>> right? >>>>>>> On 3 Aug 2009, at 20:14, "Dave Crossland" >>>>>> <http://d...@lab6.com> > wrote: > Hi, > > What about the case fo... >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire >>>>>>> OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 33... >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of >>>>>> the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain >>>>>> information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a >>>>>> trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby >>>>>> notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this >>>>>> message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. >>>
Re: [backstage] Fwd: [Autonomo.us] Skype, out?
Ask a genuine user to install some software on it. I know it¹s a LOT better than it used to be but my dad still couldn¹t do it. Alun On 04/08/2009 11:31, "Brian Butterworth" wrote: > > > 2009/8/4 Alun Rowe >> ... >> Mere users don¹t stand a chance with anything Linux based. It¹s far too >> geeky to use still. >> >> Your final pronouncement is interesting. How can you justify it? >> >> >>> >>> >>> Alun >>> >>> >>> >>> On 04/08/2009 08:13, "Dave Crossland" http://d...@lab6.com> >>> > wrote: >>> >>>> Have you heard of Red Hat? >>>> >>>>> On 4 Aug 2009, 7:02 AM, "Alun Rowe" >>>> <http://alun.r...@pentangle.co.uk> > wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> The problem with a 'free digital society' is that people need salaries. >>>>> >>>>> Ask the music/film industry what they think. >>>>> >>>>> I love the idea of utopia but we all know that unicorns don't exist, >>>>> right? >>>>> On 3 Aug 2009, at 20:14, "Dave Crossland" >>>> <http://d...@lab6.com> > wrote: > Hi, > > What about the case fo... >>>>> >>>>> Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 >>>>> 3EW Tel: +44 8700 33... >>>> >>>> >>>> This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the >>>> individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information >>>> that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. >>>> If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any >>>> dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated >>>> with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this >>>> message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message >>>> and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be >>>> monitored. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as >>>> information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late >>>> or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept >>>> responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present in this >>>> message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail >>>> transmission. If verification is required, please request a hard-copy >>>> version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and >>>> do not necessarily represent those of the company. >>>> >>> >>> >>> Alun Rowe >>> Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW >>> Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 >>> Please direct all support requests to it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk >>> <mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk> >>> Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and >>> Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great >>> Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP >>> >>> Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP
Re: [backstage] Fwd: [Autonomo.us] Skype, out?
No it¹s not confusion. Unfortunately one leads to the other. Open standards whilst highly beneficial in some fields eg Web Standards can also be highly uncompetitive in others eg Telephony. Telephony is all about the quality of the service you receive so the standard IS the product. Websites are about content so the standard is merely a conduit for the product. Preaching open standards is fine AS LONG as you understand the deep economic issues behind them On 04/08/2009 08:03, "Brian Butterworth" wrote: > 2009/8/4 Alun Rowe >> >> The problem with a 'free digital society' is that people need salaries. >> >> >> ah, the old confusion of gratis and libre. >> >>> >>> Ask the music/film industry what they think. >>> >>> I love the idea of utopia but we all know that unicorns don't exist, right? >>> >>> On 3 Aug 2009, at 20:14, "Dave Crossland" wrote: >>> >>>> Hi, What about the case for a free digital society? Regards, Dave >>>>> On 3 Aug 2009, 6:36 PM, "Alun Rowe" < <mailto:alun.r...@pentangle.co.uk> >>>>> alun.r...@pentangle.co.uk> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> No doubt some palms will be crossed with silver (or equity). >>>>> >>>>> The business case for open standards has to be thought through ingreat >>>>> depth before embracing it. >>>>> >>>>> Also Skypes network has been around for a longtime! On 3 Aug 2009, at >>>>> 17:10, "Dave Crossland" < <mailto:d...@lab6.com> d...@lab6.com> wrote: >>>>>> > Proprietary software and centtalised network services strike again... > >>>>>> > Regards, Dave >> >> ... >>>>> >>>>> Alun Rowe >>>>> Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: >>>>> +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 >>>>> Please direct all support requests to it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk >>>>> <mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk> >>>>> Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and >>>>> Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, >>>>> Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP >>>>>>>>>>>> >> >> >> Discuss mailing list >> >>>>>>>>>>>> <mailto:disc...@lists.autonomo.us> disc...@lists.autonomo.us >> >>>>>>>>>>>> <http://lists.autonomo.us/mailman/list.> >>>>>>>>>>>> http://lists.autonomo.us/mailman/list...This message (and any >>>>>>>>>>>> associated files) is intended only for the use of the individual or >>>>>>>>>>>> entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is >>>>>>>>>>>> confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. >>>>>>>>>>>> If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that >>>>>>>>>>>> any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or >>>>>>>>>>>> files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you >>>>>>>>>>>> have received this message in error, please notify us immediately >>>>>>>>>>>> by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. >>>>>>>>>>>> Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. Internet >>>>>>>>>>>> communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as >>>>>>>>>>>> information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, >>>>>>>>>>>> arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not >>>>>>>>>>>> accept responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present >>>>>>>>>>>> in this message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of >>>>>>>>>>>> e-mail transmission. If verification is required, please request a >>>>>>>>>>>> hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those >>>>>>>>>>>> of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the >>>>>>>>>>>> company. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Alun Rowe >>>>> Pentangle Internet Limited >>>>> >>>>> 2 Buttermarket >>>>> >>>>> Thame >>>>> >>>>> Oxfordshire >>>>> >>>>> OX9 3EW >>>>> >>>>> Tel: +44 8700 339905 >>>>> >>>>> Fax: +44 8700 339906 >>>>> >>>>> Please direct all support requests to it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk >>>>> <mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk> >>>>> Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and >>>>> Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, >>>>> Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP >>>>> >>>>> Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP
Re: [backstage] Fwd: [Autonomo.us] Skype, out?
Yes I have but it is fairly unique. How would you obtain funding for an idea which had no IP of it own? ³Do you own the patent on this?² - er no it¹s open source. ³Can anyone arrive in the marketplace tomorrow and replicate what you do?² - er yes. Like I say I love the utopian model but I can¹t see it happening for a long long time. Companies NEED to be able to maintain their own technology without simply passing it to their competitors on a plate. Anyway it¹s no surprise people pay Red Hat for support. Mere users don¹t stand a chance with anything Linux based. It¹s far too geeky to use still. Alun On 04/08/2009 08:13, "Dave Crossland" wrote: > Have you heard of Red Hat? > >> On 4 Aug 2009, 7:02 AM, "Alun Rowe" wrote: >> >> >> The problem with a 'free digital society' is that people need salaries. >> >> Ask the music/film industry what they think. >> >> I love the idea of utopia but we all know that unicorns don't exist, right? >> On 3 Aug 2009, at 20:14, "Dave Crossland" wrote: > Hi, > > >> What about the case fo... >> >> Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW >> Tel: +44 8700 33... > > > This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the > individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that > is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you > are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, > copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this > message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, > please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from > your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. > > > > Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as > information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or > incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for > any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, > that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is > required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented > are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the > company. > Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP
Re: [backstage] Fwd: [Autonomo.us] Skype, out?
The problem with a 'free digital society' is that people need salaries. Ask the music/film industry what they think. I love the idea of utopia but we all know that unicorns don't exist, right? On 3 Aug 2009, at 20:14, "Dave Crossland" wrote: Hi, What about the case for a free digital society? Regards, Dave On 3 Aug 2009, 6:36 PM, "Alun Rowe" wrote: No doubt some palms will be crossed with silver (or equity). The business case for open standards has to be thought through ingreat depth before embracing it. Also Skypes network has been around for a longtime! On 3 Aug 2009, at 17:10, "Dave Crossland" wrote: > Proprietary software and centtalised network services strike again... > > Regards, Dave >> >> ... Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP >> >> >> Discuss mailing list >> disc...@lists.autonomo.us >> http://lists.autonomo.us/mailman/list ... This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error- free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP
Re: [backstage] Fwd: [Autonomo.us] Skype, out?
No doubt some palms will be crossed with silver (or equity). The business case for open standards has to be thought through ingreat depth before embracing it. Also Skypes network has been around for a longtime! On 3 Aug 2009, at 17:10, "Dave Crossland" wrote: Proprietary software and centtalised network services strike again... Regards, Dave -- Forwarded message -- From: "Nathan Willis" Date: 3 Aug 2009, 4:05 PM Subject: [Autonomo.us] Skype, out? To: "autonomo.us discussion mailing list" Seems like this would be a good opportunity to discuss the free alternatives: http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/if-skype-goes-who-would-fill-gap-106880 Executive summary: eBay is in an acrimonius patent lawsuit with a company called Joltid that owns a patent on something used by Skype; Joltid is claiming that eBay violated their license and has "terminated" it, a situation that if upheld by the court would force them to deactivate Skype. Highly doubtful that that will come to pass, but I suppose you never know. Nate -- nathan.p.willis nwil...@glyphography.com aim/ym/gtalk:n8willis flickr.com/photos/willis Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP Discuss mailing list disc...@lists.autonomo.us http://lists.autonomo.us/mailman/listinfo/discuss This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error- free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company.
Re: [backstage] Mobile sites - how wide
On another mailing list I just received this. I hope you find it useful... (Plug time) We've got quite a lot of info on my site about Mobile web dev: http://dev.opera.com/articles/mobile/ Generally the advice is to try to build your web sites so they will work across mobile and desktop where possible, but think about optimizing for mobile (various ways, eg CSS 3 media queries, tailoring content on the server using feature detection, etc). And do lots of testing on different browsers - iPhone, Opera Mini/Mobile, NetFront and S60, Pocket IE, crappy default browsers on some phones as well. You should be able to get quite far just by using web standards. Best articles to start with are http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/introduction-to-the-mobile-web/ http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/designing-and-developing-mobile-web-site/ http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/opera-mobile-9-7-features-standards/ Chris Mills Opera On 20/07/2009 21:29, "Brian Butterworth" wrote: > "The phrase "mobile usability" is pretty much an oxymoron. > > Before the study, we had expected to get better results in London because the > UK has a stronger tradition for mobile services than the US. However, the > actual sessions didn't bear this out: the British sites were just as bad as > the American sites, and users struggled about as much to get things done." > > http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html > > <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html> > > 2009/7/20 Brian Butterworth >> Another good mobile site is wikipedia's... >> >> http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Felt_Like_A_Kiss >> <http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Felt_Like_A_Kiss> >> 2009/7/20 Alun Rowe >> >>> >>> People aren't looking for beauty in design on mobile. They usually are >>> looking for specific data to accomplish a set task. Setting a page header >>> using a background tile and an overlayed logo would be suitable in a mobile >>> app IMO >>> >>> OK. Yeah, tiled and overlaid logo. What size is the overlay logo? >>> >>> You might not need "beauty", but graphics that don't fit the layout are just >>> plain bad. Too small to see, or so big they take up the whole screen, is >>> poor usability. >>> >>>> >>>> Also what about the people who are using the m.domain on the laptops, pc's >>>> etc as they want optimised data. Will they see an ugly version? >>>> >>> You get to choose the one you want, don't you? Or have I missed something? >>> >>> >>>> >>>> Alun >>>> >>>> >>>> On 20 Jul 2009, at 18:48, "Brian Butterworth" >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Iain, >>>>> >>>>> Your points are all good. >>>>> >>>>> My general idea was to do something like these "single tall colum" mobile >>>>> sites. Certain search engines like to have the "m." as a prefix to denote >>>>> a mobile site. >>>>> <http://m.guardian.co.uk/> http://m.guardian.co.uk/ >>>>> >>>>> <http://m.guardian.co.uk/> or >>>>> >>>>> <http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/index.html> >>>>> http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/index.html >>>>> >>>>> or >>>>> >>>>> <http://m.twitter.com> http://m.twitter.com >>>>> >>>>> <http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/index.html> I just want to know the maximum >>>>> image dimensions so that the very few that I am going to use are not too >>>>> big for this kind of layout.I just find it very displeasing to get >>>>> images that are out of scale to the device. >>>>> >>>>> Given the data for the first list of phones that have come in give the X,Y >>>>> (max image size) as: >>>>> >>>>> 224,300; 315,460; 168,180; 120,92; 120,92; 300,300; 320,480; 360,640; >>>>> 120,128; 120,92; 168,180; 235,240; 120,92; 300,300; 224,280; 232,300; >>>>> 120,92; 228,228; 300,240; 224,340; 300,200; 120,92; 120,92; 236,136; >>>>> 228,280; 300,448; 440,700; 224,280; 360,640; 234,300; 229,210; 120,92; >>>>> >>>>> IMHO there is considerable scope for improvement with a few simple tweeks >>>>> to get the image the right size and format. >>>>> >>>>> Anything that
Re: [backstage] Mobile sites - how wide
Quoting jakob isn't going to help you here. There are plenty of mobile friendly sites out there and working with a half decent agency will get you the results you require. Ask the question 'what do you want?' to your users and Start there. Alun On 20 Jul 2009, at 21:35, "Brian Butterworth" wrote: "The phrase "mobile usability" is pretty much an oxymoron. Before the study, we had expected to get better results in London because the UK has a stronger tradition for mobile services than the US. However, the actual sessions didn't bear this out: the British sites were just as bad as the American sites, and users struggled about as much to get things done." http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html 2009/7/20 Brian Butterworth Another good mobile site is wikipedia's... http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Felt_Like_A_Kiss 2009/7/20 Alun Rowe People aren't looking for beauty in design on mobile. They usually are looking for specific data to accomplish a set task. Setting a page header using a background tile and an overlayed logo would be suitable in a mobile app IMO OK. Yeah, tiled and overlaid logo. What size is the overlay logo? You might not need "beauty", but graphics that don't fit the layout are just plain bad. Too small to see, or so big they take up the whole screen, is poor usability. Also what about the people who are using the m.domain on the laptops, pc's etc as they want optimised data. Will they see an ugly version? You get to choose the one you want, don't you? Or have I missed something? Alun On 20 Jul 2009, at 18:48, "Brian Butterworth" wrote: Iain, Your points are all good. My general idea was to do something like these "single tall colum" mobile sites. Certain search engines like to have the "m." as a prefix to denote a mobile site. http://m.guardian.co.uk/ or http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/index.html or http://m.twitter.com I just want to know the maximum image dimensions so that the very few that I am going to use are not too big for this kind of layout.I just find it very displeasing to get images that are out of scale to the device. Given the data for the first list of phones that have come in give the X,Y (max image size) as: 224,300; 315,460; 168,180; 120,92; 120,92; 300,300; 320,480; 360,640; 120,128; 120,92; 168,180; 235,240; 120,92; 300,300; 224,280; 232,300; 120,92; 228,228; 300,240; 224,340; 300,200; 120,92; 120,92; 236,136; 228,280; 300,448; 440,700; 224,280; 360,640; 234,300; 229,210; 120,92; IMHO there is considerable scope for improvement with a few simple tweeks to get the image the right size and format. Anything that scales an image on the page usually looks very poor, and even on this small sample the "max x" goes from 120 to 440, and the "max y" from 92 to 700. Another issue, of course, is that some browsers (my G1 does this) use a server to degrade the quality (and file size) of JPG images, which is probably OK for photos, but not for a page-header logo. 2009/7/20 Iain Wallace If this is specifically designed for mobile, e.g. m.facebook.com or x.facebook.com and you've already determined if the user is on a mobile device or not, there's not much more on the server you can reliably do to determine the screen size. For more recent smart phones running something Webkit based (Android, iPhone) or Opera mobile you should be able to get away with interrogating the window property in JS to determine a maximum width, which you can then use to either resize images on the fly that are already there (which is what google reader does) or to write image tags with a size of your choice in the actual image request, e.g.: http://strawp.net/img/daynight/mariosnow/100x100.png compared with: http://strawp.net/img/daynight/mariosnow/300x100.png which are generated on the fly using PHP (with caching on the server) you're still then left with devices that can't handle JS at all, to which I would say the safest bet is not to use images directly in the layout, rather have them as background images which won't break the page width. This also has the advantage that if a device can't handle proper CSS you should hopefully just get reasonably plain HTML. From mobile devices I've owned (Winmo, Sony Ericsson, Android) the user will often have the image either resized for them or have the ability to zoom out if it's too big. In summary, I maintain that separation of layout into CSS from content in HTML and letting the page deteriorate gracefully with the capabilities of the browser is the sane path forward. Try doing clever things to make it fit the width if you want, but you probably don't need to if you have the CSS nailed. Cheers, Iain On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 3
Re: [backstage] Mobile sites - how wide
g at adapting some sites to work better on mobile >> > devices. >> > I can do the stripping down everything to text and minimal graphics and >> > so >> > on, that's the easy bit. >> > Does anyone know of anything reliable that can tell me the width in >> > pixels >> > of the device? >> > I was hoping that Glow would cover this, but it does't. >> > -- >> > >> > Brian Butterworth >> > >> > follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/briantist >> > web: http://www.ukfree.tv - independent digital television and >> > switchover >> > advice, since 2002 >> > >> - >> Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please >> visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/ mailing_list.html. >> Unofficial list archive: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ > > > > -- > > Brian Butterworth > > follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/briantist > web: http://www.ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover > advice, since 2002 > - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html . Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ -- Brian Butterworth follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/briantist web: http://www.ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover advice, since 2002 This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error- free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP
Re: [backstage] Mobile sites - how wide
We support phones usually through m.domain where the customer pays us to write a specific version otherwise we'd consider graceful degredation to be enough to support the majority of Phones. Writing a mobile version is usually about delivering a significantly stripped and optimised version rather than a different stylesheet. This is always our preffered option. A well thought out mobile design WILL work across the majority of phones. Browser sniffing, res sniffing etc are all things that I hoped had died a long time ago. In the case of mobile versions the simplification of the site 'should' lead to an easy to adapt/degrade 'design' which will work in most browsers. Yes I do own an iPhone but the key word was 'significant'. My feeling is that if the facebooks etc of the world are doing an iPhone specific version then it's likely that platform offers a worthwhile ROI. The user base 'might' be different in your app but If it is then doubt there is any one platform/browser combination that significantly appears head and shoulders above the others. It's also important to note that the iPhone offers a higher level of navigational control than it's competitors (excluding the latest android phones which I haven't had a chance to test yet) therefore it is possible to treat it as an interesting middle ground between traditional desktop and traditional mobile experience. Alun On 20 Jul 2009, at 15:57, "Brian Butterworth" wrote: 2009/7/20 Alun Rowe I agree with the first paragraph and then you lose me beyond that. M.whatever.com serving mobile optimised pages using good CSS 'should' work on any platform. If you want to optimise per platform then go ahead but the return is low value IMO. The only platform I'd bother with is iPhone if I was customising as the usage is significant enough for me to actually see it on our stats. Given there are 11,233 types of phone listed in the WURFL, just developing for the phone you have (that is my assumption) is a bit short-sighted, surely? A good argument could be made that you don't get the hits, because you don't support the phones. So far the people who have hit the test are using: apple_generic apple_iphone_ver3 blackberry7730_ver1_sub400midp danger_hiptop_ver1 goodaccess_ver1_submsiepalmos google_wireless_transcoder_ver1_subua htc_magic_ver1 htc_p3700_ver1_subopera950 htc_touch_dual_ver1_subminimo lg_kp500_ver1 mot_q9h_ver1_subie711 nokia_5800d_ver1_sub210025 nokia_e71_ver1_sub1776 opera_mini_ver3_sub19903 opera_mini_ver4_sub213221 opera_mini_ver4_sub213221 opera_mini_ver4_sub213918 samsung_sgh_i900_ver1_subopera95_subua sonyericsson_k800i_ver1_subr1kg sonyericsson_x1i_ver1_subr1aa_o2 stupid_novarra_proxy tmobile_mda_varioiii_ver1 tmobile_sda_ver1_sub10 tmobile_sda_ver1_sub10 upg1_ver1_subblazer40 upg1_ver_1_subblazer43do50448 usha_lexus_888b_ver1 Alun On 20/07/2009 11:58, "Iain Wallace" wrote: > Trying to match the style/layout of a site to the expected resolution > of the device that you think is displaying it is going about it the > wrong way - this is why CSS has percentage widths for doing layouts. > > Or is the question more about what you can send back to the server in > order to choose an image size? > > If you want an example of something that does this quite well, visit > the iPhone/Android optimised interface for Google Reader using a user > agent switcher. This will load up images in atom feeds and then > instantly resize them in javascript to fit the page width. > > On Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 3:09 PM, Brian Butterworth> > wrote: >> Hi, >> I've been looking at adapting some sites to work better on mobile devices. >> I can do the stripping down everything to text and minimal graphics and so >> on, that's the easy bit. >> Does anyone know of anything reliable that can tell me the width in pixels >> of the device? >> I was hoping that Glow would cover this, but it does't. >> -- >> >> Brian Butterworth >> >> follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/briantist >> web: http://www.ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover >> advice, since 2002 >> > - > Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please > visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. > Unofficial list archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ > > > This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the > individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that > is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you > are not the intended rec
Re: [backstage] Mobile sites - how wide
I agree with the first paragraph and then you lose me beyond that. M.whatever.com serving mobile optimised pages using good CSS 'should' work on any platform. If you want to optimise per platform then go ahead but the return is low value IMO. The only platform I'd bother with is iPhone if I was customising as the usage is significant enough for me to actually see it on our stats. Alun On 20/07/2009 11:58, "Iain Wallace" wrote: > Trying to match the style/layout of a site to the expected resolution > of the device that you think is displaying it is going about it the > wrong way - this is why CSS has percentage widths for doing layouts. > > Or is the question more about what you can send back to the server in > order to choose an image size? > > If you want an example of something that does this quite well, visit > the iPhone/Android optimised interface for Google Reader using a user > agent switcher. This will load up images in atom feeds and then > instantly resize them in javascript to fit the page width. > > On Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 3:09 PM, Brian Butterworth > wrote: >> Hi, >> I've been looking at adapting some sites to work better on mobile devices. >> I can do the stripping down everything to text and minimal graphics and so >> on, that's the easy bit. >> Does anyone know of anything reliable that can tell me the width in pixels >> of the device? >> I was hoping that Glow would cover this, but it does't. >> -- >> >> Brian Butterworth >> >> follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/briantist >> web: http://www.ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover >> advice, since 2002 >> > - > Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please > visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. > Unofficial list archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ > > > This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the > individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that > is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you > are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, > copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this > message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, > please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from > your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. > > Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as > information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or > incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for > any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, > that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is > required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented > are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the > company. Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/
Re: [backstage] Mobile sites - how wide
http://blueflavor.com/blog/2006/jul/21/designing-for-mobile/ + seaqrch for Brian Fling + Mobile for lots of extra info. Also SimpleBit¹s Dan Cederholm has done a bunch of googlable mobile stuff. On 14/07/2009 15:09, "Brian Butterworth" wrote: > Hi, > > I've been looking at adapting some sites to work better on mobile devices. > > I can do the stripping down everything to text and minimal graphics and so on, > that's the easy bit. > > Does anyone know of anything reliable that can tell me the width in pixels of > the device? > > I was hoping that Glow would cover this, but it does't. > > -- > > Brian Butterworth > > follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/briantist > web: http://www.ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover > advice, since 2002 > > > > This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the > individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that > is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you > are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, > copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this > message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, > please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from > your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. > > > > Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as > information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or > incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for > any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, > that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is > required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented > are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the > company. > Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP
Re: [backstage] Make the primary operating system used in state schools free and open source
On 10/02/2009 10:24, "Fearghas McKay" wrote: >> I was basing it on purchasing a single copy. Purchasing a site wide >> license >> for say 500 desktops would see significant savings. >> > > Which was Adam's point. Indeed, the figures I included on the first email were just an example >> The Home/Student edition is cheaper but that's not for schools to >> use, it's >> for the students to have on their own laptops which they aren't >> allowed to >> connect to the school wifi... > > ?? > > Well I had better remove the copies off my son's desktop and tell him > not to connect to his school network with the laptop... > > Really ? Do you have a citation for that? My reading of the licence > didn't not include those restrictions on the Mac version, albeit a > couple of years ago when we purchased the software. The copy on your son's computer is fine, he is a student after all. It is a Home/Student Edition. When I say not for School + mean a school could not use it as a base install throughout their class rooms as it would be being licensed to a business (the school) not an individual user. As for connecting his laptop to WiFi I was being slightly tongue in cheek as most schools won't let kids on the network with their own machine due to security restrictions.
Re: [backstage] Make the primary OS used in state schools FOSS
On 10/02/2009 09:36, "Rob Myers" wrote: > On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 9:13 AM, Alun Rowe wrote: > >> //personal rant coming up... >> >> For any open source software (Linux for example) to really work on the >> network en mass we need to about user experience. Currently I've yet to see >> an attractive/user friendly piece of FOSS. > > Anecdotally, I find that Inkscape is much better usability wise than > Illustrator, and that Firefox is much less awful than IE's menu bar > idiocy. There are obviously exceptions to prove the rule :) > Be careful what you wish for: the current KDE 4 train wreck came from > the developers focussing on "user experience". It's an interface so > godawful that everyone I have seen use it has been personally offended > by it. ;-) The problem with usability is that everyone has their own way of doing things! > The desktop user experience with Free Software is getting much better. > For me personally it's become a non issue over the last two years > (before then I might have agreed with you more). It is getting better but it's still not 'Dad' proof (My dad has an extremely short fuse when it comes to computers having programmed them since he left school (with punch cards!) through to RPG based Advanced 36's). Once my dad is happy using them then the revolution may begin! > But for many people, "usability" equals familiarity; making it work as > badly as Windows. ;-) Firstly, not everything about Windows is bad, but I grant you lots of it is! Secondly I'm not sure that people want it to be just like Windows. Lots of people try Macs and complain for about 30 minutes about it then when you try to take the machine away at the end of the day they threaten you with violence... People WILL move but it has to be BETTER rather than different.
Re: [backstage] Make the primary operating system used in state schools free and open source
I was basing it on purchasing a single copy. Purchasing a site wide license for say 500 desktops would see significant savings. The Home/Student edition is cheaper but that's not for schools to use, it's for the students to have on their own laptops which they aren't allowed to connect to the school wifi... On 10/02/2009 09:44, "Fearghas McKay" wrote: > > On 10 Feb 2009, at 09:23, Alun Rowe wrote: > >> >> ³Microsoft offers the OS and Office at extremely competitive prices >> to schools. I have heard it quoted as being around £5 per license >> for Office.² >> >> It is cheaper but not that cheap... > > At Glasgow University it used to be nearly that cheap - because there > was a site wide licence students could get a set of discs for ~£10. > Which probably only just about covered the costs of the admin and the > floppies. > > The current retail price for a 3 user Home/School use only copy is > £99, inc VAT, so £33 a user. > > f > > - > Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please > visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. > Unofficial list archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ > > > This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the > individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that > is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you > are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, > copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this > message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, > please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from > your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. > > Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as > information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or > incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for > any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, > that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is > required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented > are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the > company. Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/
Re: [backstage] Make the primary operating system used in state schools free and open source
³Microsoft offers the OS and Office at extremely competitive prices to schools. I have heard it quoted as being around £5 per license for Office.² It is cheaper but not that cheap... For example: MS Office single license = £43 + £25 Software assurance Windows Server Standard (Single License) = £85 + £42 software assurance ³Parents have an expectation that MS Office will be taught in the classroom as it is what they know and use in their work place.² Most parents I know are not that worried about what is used but they are concerned about compatibility with their home machine etc. ³The majority of schools have limited IT resources and might have limited experience of using and securing Linux and other open source software. They could be substantial costs in retraining staff.² Yes they would have limited experience but nothing a bit of training wouldn¹t cover IMO. ³I totally agree that opensource has a great to offer schools with applications like Moodle, Audacity and many others, but currently I don't think many schools are ready for Linux/Ubuntu and OpenOffice.² I don¹t think most users would care if you ran Ubuntu/OpenOffice. Beyond that we come back to my argument regarding the user interface where, unfortunately, most of the open source software loses out big time! Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:it-supp...@pentangle.co.uk Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company.
Re: [backstage] Make the primary OS used in state schools FOSS
On 09/02/2009 23:15, "Christopher Woods" wrote: > unless some incredibly > well-designed thin client solutions were brought to my attention (and then > you're talking equivalent prices for thin clients as you would for regular > MiniATX desktops). I'm not sure that a thin client can, as you suggest, handle the requirements of a school's media department, in this instance you would place a desktop/tower instead. We run a mixed client setup for a number of housing associations in the UK where the majority of users (admin/management etc), who do not require huge graphics capability, run with a Wyse terminal and the planning department (for example) will have a well specced Dell machine. As you suggest a decent thin client will cost you as much as a MiniATX machine BUT it has much lower power consumption and have a potential life of 8 years or more. Typically a PC if having to run Windows will be lifed at 3 years. So after 3 years where a typical Windows environment will be replaced in toto we are simply adding more power to our VMWare server pool. > I'm still personally very sceptical of thin client solutions, I don't think > their capabilities ar sufficient to satisfy all the potential uses for > educational machines. And I wouldn't like to have all that total reliance on > just a handful of extremely powerful servers; it's bad enough when the > Internet proxy server goes down or the network drive can't be accessed > because the Active Directory is having a fit, but to have a classful of > children sitting in front of dumb terminals when the primary host server for > that classroom's client machines goes down? Wuh oh. You can run multiple head servers and backend pool for a TS environment. > Maybe my mistrust is misplaced, and thin clients are actually really quite > good at most things now... Perhaps my perception of them, like many other > peoples', is part of the problem which needs to be addressed. There must be > some reason other than bloody-mindedness that makes schools keep on going > for full-PC solutions time after time though... Really? In my experience school IT staff are generally beholden to RM or similar and do as they are told. RM would see a MASSIVE drop in hardware sales if they pushed people onto thin client do to the reasons I list above. So I can't see them doing it anytime soon... >I do aim to do more work in > the educational sector as my own business gets going in the next few years, > and I want to offer all kinds of viable solutions as long as they work well > for everybody. Do you really think that setups like the LTSP are as > competitive as regular networks of fairly powerful x86 machines and central > file/print/etc servers for secondary school environments? (not being sarkies > here, genuinely interested to know your thoughts and prepared to do a lot of > reading if you have suggested starting points). I've unfortunately not had enough experience of a pure FOSS network and would definintely like to see more. My IT company are always looking to improve things! The couple of Ubuntu servers we run for Web Services/SVN etc are wonderfully reliable. But... //personal rant coming up... For any open source software (Linux for example) to really work on the network en mass we need to about user experience. Currently I've yet to see an attractive/user friendly piece of FOSS. Whilst the software (once you've worked out how to use it) is extremely effective IMO user experience is a big part of the software which usually gets overlooked in FOSS scenarios. I think FOSS can have a huge future but the community need to think about user experience then it will be taken more seriously.
Re: [backstage] Backstage logo design competition is live!
I have a design I'm working on... On 7 Nov 2008, at 19:17, "Rain" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: --- On Fri, 11/7/08, Mark Griffin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Most definitely! Should it include the .co.UK bit? Hi Mark Yay! ..it's up to you, but it might be nice to get backstage.bbc.co.uk in there somewhere :-D Looking forward to seeing what you come up with! Rain Rain Ashford | Technologist | http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/ - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html . Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error- free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/
Re: [backstage] ping.fm
Groups on Twitter/Pownce/Ping etc would be the killer feature for me! On 28/10/2008 12:17, "Chris Sizemore" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > so it seems to me that Ping.fm is a pretty useful thing, but just needs a fair > bit more subtlety? i.e. different distribution lists? or is that already > available? > > > --cs > > > > > Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Sam Mbale > Sent: Tue 10/28/2008 10:50 AM > To: backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk > Subject: Re: [backstage] ping.fm > > Alun has a good point, anyone here remembers the good ole days of "the free > for all links" ? (see > http://mpelembe.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2005/12/19/3925166.html ) > In my experience, different social networks attract different types of > people. My friends on hi5 are totally different to those on Myspace and > Facebook. My followers on twitter do not share my interests on Digg. For > this reason I make an effort to address friends in the appropriate context > rather than blast off the same post to everyone. > > On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 8:13 AM, Alun Rowe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > >> > >> > To me updating so many services at once feels a bit spammy. I often >> > finding myself cursing when pownce, facebook, Twitter etc all tell me the >> > same thing by the same person at the same time... >> > >> > >> > On 28 Oct 2008, at 06:36, "Dave Cross" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> > >> > Ian Forrester wrote: >>> >> >>>> >>> Yeah this is the thing I'm really worried about happening. Ping.fm >>>> >>> currently is my preferred way to do microblogging. Without it, geez >>>> >>> it would be bad news. Surprised no ones created a ping.fm type thing >>>> >>> for the desktop. >>>> >>> >>>> >>> Interesting piece about ping.fm - >>>> >>> >>>> >>> >>>> http://mashable.com/2008/09/02/pingfm-solving-the-problem-or-exacerbating-it/ >>>> >>> >>> >> >>> >> The thing that bothers me about ping.fm (and the reason that I won't use >>> >> it) is that it encourages you to give your username and password for all >>> >> of the supported services to a third party. >>> >> >>> >> I'll only start using it once the services that I'm interested in are >>> >> all suing OAuth. >>> >> >>> >> Dave... >>> >> - >>> >> Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, >>> >> please visit >>> >> http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. >>> >> Unofficial list archive: >>> >> http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of >>> >> the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain >>> >> information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a >>> >> trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby >>> notified >>> >> that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files >>> >> associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have >>> received >>> >> this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the >>> >> message and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us >>> may >>> >> be monitored. >>> >> >>> >> Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as >>> >> information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or >>> >> incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept >>> responsibility >>> >> for any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any >>> >> attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If >>> >> verification is required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or >>> >> opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily >>> >> represent those of the company. >>> >> >> > >> > >> > Alun Rowe >> > Pentangle Internet Limited >> > 2 Buttermarket >> > Thame >> > Oxfordshire >> > OX9 3EW >> > Tel: +44 8700 339905 >> > Fax: +44 8700 339906 >> > Please direct all support requests to >> mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> > Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. >> > Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great >> > Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP >> > >> > >> > - >> > Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please >> > visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. >> > Unofficial list archive: >> > http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ >> > > > > > -- > Sam Mbale > Mpelembe Network > http://www.mpelembe.net > > Follow me on http://twitter.com/mpelembe > >
Re: [backstage] ping.fm
To me updating so many services at once feels a bit spammy. I often finding myself cursing when pownce, facebook, Twitter etc all tell me the same thing by the same person at the same time... On 28 Oct 2008, at 06:36, "Dave Cross" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Ian Forrester wrote: Yeah this is the thing I'm really worried about happening. Ping.fm currently is my preferred way to do microblogging. Without it, geez it would be bad news. Surprised no ones created a ping.fm type thing for the desktop. Interesting piece about ping.fm - http://mashable.com/2008/09/02/pingfm-solving-the-problem-or-exacerbating-it/ The thing that bothers me about ping.fm (and the reason that I won't use it) is that it encourages you to give your username and password for all of the supported services to a third party. I'll only start using it once the services that I'm interested in are all suing OAuth. Dave... - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html . Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error- free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Alun Rowe Pentangle Internet Limited 2 Buttermarket Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EW Tel: +44 8700 339905 Fax: +44 8700 339906 Please direct all support requests to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Pentangle Internet Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 3960918. Registered office: 1 Lauras Close, Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire PE19 5DP - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/
