I forwarded all of your helpful comments to my webmaster, except the one from Mr. Hunt. (I didn't want to spoil his day). He sent me this email this morning.
John John L. Carmichael Jr. Sundial Sculptures 925 E. Foothills Dr. Tucson Arizona 85718 USA Tel: 520-696-1709 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: <http://www.sundialsculptures.com> ----- Original Message ----- From: "K. B. McHugh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "John Carmichael" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, March 08, 2003 10:27 AM Subject: RE: New Website > Thanks. > > Just a note: using Netscape 6 and newer (I think they are at Netscape > version 7 now...) the popups will look and work identical to how they > work in Internet Explorer from version 4 forward. Remember the fuss > about being W3C compliant? Older versions of Netscape are far less > compliant with the W3C recommendations than Internet Explorer, so things > look different. Newer versions of Netscape are equivalent to Internet > Explorer. > > The best one can hope for in Netscape versions older than 6.0 is that > they work the same. There's no way to make them look exactly the same > unless you write two entirely different web sites. > > > Another useless bit of useless trivia: > > I use all these version numbers like you know what it means. It means: > Netscape versions older than 4.0 and Internet Explorer versions older > than 3.0 were written for HTML 2.0 specifications, which were EXTREMELY > limited. The guy who raised the fuss about compatibility has an HTML > 2.0-only compliant web site, and you can see by his example just how > extremely limited HTML 2.0 was. > > HTML went to version 3.0, a light-year leap in technical capability over > HTML 2.0, but which is also in no way compatible with HTML 2.0. The > browsers were updated to take advantage of some of the new technical > capabilities (Netscape 4.3 and Internet Explorer 3.0). So there are > HUGE difference between the fossil versions of the browsers and the > newer versions. There is much, much less difference between say, > Netscape 4.5 and Netscape 7.0 than there is between Netscape 4.0 and > Netscape 4.3. > > See, you didn't need to know that, didja? > > This is, however, why we ignore butt-heads. Your pages "degrade > gracefully" which is a geeky term meaning that someone with an ancient > browser (the ones that can only do HTML 2.0) can still see and use your > site - but it will look very different to them and not work the same way > it does when you see it. It takes extra programming to do that, but not > lots and lots. Anyone still using one of the fossilized browsers > already knows they are going to have problems with 99% of the pages on > the web. The way a page degrades gracefully rings the error alarm bells > because those techno-butt-heads at the W3C have no sympathy for users of > ancient browsers. > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: John Carmichael [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Saturday, March 08, 2003 07:19 AM > To: K. B. McHugh > Subject: Fw: New Website > > > Hi Kevin > > Got your email about popups. They all work just fine for me and almost > everyone else. Nobody really had any problems except my friend, Mac > Oglesby. > He's always very helpful. I think I mentioned him to you before. Here's > his > letter to me offering his services as a "tester". I don't think we > really > have a big problem with the popups, and I think you understand how the > popups are working, so we probably don't need Mac's help, but it was > nice of > him to offer. > > Here's Mac's letter: > > John > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mac Oglesby" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "John Carmichael" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Friday, March 07, 2003 9:06 AM > Subject: Re: New Website > > > > > > John, > > > > I don't pretend to know much of anything about websites, but I make a > > pretty good tester. Tell your friend that he's welcome to contact me > > directly if that's of any use to him. I'm willing to send him screen > > snaps, for instance. > > > > The pop-ups work better when I use Internet Explorer 4.5 on the iMac > > (I normally stick with Netscape). They still hide part of the > > selected page, but do reappear from the home page. > > > > Best, > > > > Mac > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Hi Mac, > > > > > >It's so much fun learning all this stuff! You guys have been very > helpful. > > >I love it when everybody pretty much agrees on something (Gifs vs. > JEGS), > > >then I know the information is correct. > > > > > >But your letter is of the most interest to me because you are the > only > one > > >(so far) who has had problems with the popups. I have forwarded your > letter > > >to kevin for his analysis of the problem. User-friendliness is top > priority! > > > > > >Thanks for your note > > > > > >John > > > > > >John L. Carmichael Jr. > > >Sundial Sculptures > > >925 E. Foothills Dr. > > >Tucson Arizona 85718 > > >USA > > > > > >Tel: 520-696-1709 > > >Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >Website: <http://www.sundialsculptures.com> > > >----- Original Message ----- > > >From: "Mac Oglesby" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >To: <[email protected]> > > >Sent: Friday, March 07, 2003 3:42 AM > > >Subject: Re: New Website > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hi John, > > > > > > > > On my iMac, using Netscape 4.7, the pop-up windows don't function > well. > > > > > > > > ** They require Javascript, which not all users have enabled. > > > > > > > > ** They block part of the menu item selected. > > > > > > > > ** They disappear if one clicks on the main window. > > > > > > > > ** They don't seem to work after the first time. (If I get back > to > > > > the home page, the pop-up window remains hidden when I try to > recall > > > > it.) > > > > > > > > ** Pop-up windows have become associated (in my mind at least) > with > > > > intrusive ads for things I never want, so my initial reaction to > any > > > > pop-up is negative--followed by quick, automatic deletion. > > > > > > > > Hope this helps. > > > > > > > > Mac > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Hello sundial surfers, > > > > > > > > > >Kevin, my webmaster and I finally finished replacing that damn > Types > > > > >and Prices PDF (in my new website at > > > > ><http://www.sundialsculptures.com>www.sundialsculptures.com) > with > > > > >normal formatting. We used a series of popup windows and put > the > > > > >graphics in GIF format. > > > > > > > > > >Kevin says that the GIFs make a graphic download in a > progressive > > > > >sort of way so that when it first starts to download it has > horrible > > > > >resolution, but as the download progresses, the resolution > improves > > > > >greatly until the download is complete. A JPEG graphic is not > > > > >visible on the screen until the download is finished, then the > > > > >graphic appears all at once. I think he used GIFs instead > because > > > > >the file size is smaller than JPEGs, but I might have > misunderstood > > > > >him. > > > > > > > > > >I'm not sure I like the slow way GIFs progressively appear on > the > > > > >screen. And the download time seems longer than JPEGS. (I > haven't > > > > >tested this though, so it's just a feeling). > > > > > > > > > >Do any of you have any format preference (GIF or JPEG) for > websites? > > > > >Should we change the graphics to JPEGs? Also, do you think the > > > > >popups are user-friendly? > > > > > > > > > >Thanks > > > > > > > > > >John > > > > > > > > > >John L. Carmichael Jr. > > > > >Sundial Sculptures > > > > >925 E. Foothills Dr. > > > > >Tucson Arizona 85718 > > > > >USA > > > > > > > > > >Tel: 520-696-1709 > > > > >Email: > > ><mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > >Website: > > ><<http://www.sundialsculptures.com>http://www.sundialsculptures.com> > > > > > > > > - > > > > > > > > > > > > > -
