My three-month old S2 IS (not under warranty - refurbed) now has the E18 error.
@#@*&$*!#!&#^!&^$!#!@!!!
I must admit, I get choked up over buttons. Good buttons. Nice buttons. Helpful buttons. I'm not talking about the buttons on the shirt I'm wearing, nor the ones on my coat. I'm of course talking about virtual buttons: buttons on websites and in interfaces.
We're in the midst of redesigning our site at work, and the form standards (which are all-new) were gleaned from lots of research already out there. I did want to take a moment to talk about buttons, though, since I love them so.
Dry and Cold
Most buttons on most websites evoke no emotional response. "Submit" and "Submit Query" are the most common in part because they're the defaults for the submit input element. Lots of new folks are quick to leave these and just never come back to change them, and I think this is a grave mistake.
When someone clicks a button, that button should give evidence as to what it's going to do. Like on the page I'm typing this into right now has a big ol' Save button at the bottom, centered, and called out. That's great: it's an easy target, easy to read, and tells me exactly what it's going to do. Compare this with, say, this random form. "Send". True, but blah. And don't get me started on the "Clear" button. (Don't ever use them, ever. Ever. Ever.)
One fine example comes from Google Checkout. When you're at the very end of the checkout process, the final button, the one that does everything, the one that makes you give up money, is labeled: Place Your Order Now $779.99. Very nice: it tells you what it's going to do, and how much it's going to cost - a big relief to see, even though it's on the page multiple times.
We've taken that and adapted it for our e-commerce transactions. For instance when you're signing up for a class or event on our site, we've changed the old "Register Now" button to the dynamic Register Now - Charge My Card $30.00. For donations, Donate Now - Charge My Card $30.00. It tells you exactly what it's going to do and what will happen.
Obvious
One other issue with a lot of buttons is that they aren't called out very well. They tend to be the default Sleepytime Gray color. Color is important to use correctly, and can be used with buttons to make actions more obvious.
Again, using the Vox compose page as an example the giant Save button (as well as the less important "Edit Date" link) are in an area backed by a Web 2.0 gradient. That's good: it draws your eyes' attention there so you can say (interally), "Oh yeah, that's where I need to go."
We've run with that idea too. Our buttons are now our corporate color (purple), and are set against a lighter purple background color. The standards dictate that only one action button appears on each page under most circumstances (there are always exceptions!) This means that any other actionable thing is styled as a plain link - just like Vox's "Edit Date". It's there, it's still got some importance, but not as much as completing your transaction or continuing on in the process.
Default
The surprising thing in all this is that people have grown accustomed to the dry, robotic "Submit Request" and its friend "Submit". Thus, when we see a great example of an emotional button we might feel even more than we ordinarily would. Vox's Save doesn't move me as much as our Register Now - Charge My Card, but I'm jaded. The simple fact that the Save button is larger-than-average makes up for it a bit, and definitely points people in the right direction.
When we work with websites and computers, the dialog should mimic person-to-person interaction as much as possible. That means paying attention to the little details, right down to the cold "Submit Request". I encourage you to give your default buttons a second look, and think about what they really do. Then, restyle them. Pretty them up, make the text work, and give your visitors an experience.
No video review for this edition.
Cereality almost seems like a ridiculous concept: sell cereal for $4 a pop, with ancillary items like smoothies, parfaits, milk, and coffee. But I tell you, it works.
The price is the big deal here, so let's get that out of the way. Yes, $4 is expensive; yes, you can buy a box of cereal for $4; yes, I think it's too much; yes, I would absolutely go back and try it again.
Cereality's menu is simple but the choices are extensive and perhaps confusing. You can get hot or cold cereal your way or their way. Hot cereal gets you a scoop of grits (!) or oatmeal along with another hot scoop; cold gets you two scoops. "Your way" means that you get to choose the ingredients; "our way" is pre-chosen goodness. For "your way" you have a choice of over 30 cereals and 20 toppings (ranging from sweet stuff to fruits) as well as a choice of milk (soy is 50 cents extra, sadly.) If you're unable to pick, "our way" is the way to go. I was tempted to get a hot cereal on this chilly day but elected instead to get a cold "my way" cereal: Reese's Puffs and Cinnamon Life with mini-marshmallows and chocolate syrup.
If you get it to go, it's served in a stubby container that's a hybrid of a Chinese take-out box and a Big Gulp. You can get your milk on the side or help yourself from the milk vending machine.
In addition to cereal, Cereality offers cereal bars and the aforementioned parfaits and smoothies. The smoothies are prefabbed (and compete with Jamba Juice in price), but the parfaits can be made to order. Worth noting is that Cereality also sells coffee, and it's the cheapest coffee in the area: $0.99 for a small, quite reasonable.
With that all out of the way, it's hard to throw a general "it's good!" or "it's bad!" on the food because, well, the food is cereal and we all pretty much know what it tastes like. It's worth noting that it's possible to get a healthy snack here, as granolas, fresh fruits, and the like are available. You can also just go crazy and get a pure sugary treat like I did. Above all though, Cereality is really fun: experimenting and mixing cereals is a blast.
The shop itself is reminiscent of a kitchen, with big tables and comfy chairs. It still has that New Store Smell, so get in while you can. A display near the front of the store sells various crap such as t-shirts, books, hats, etc.
Overall I think Cereality is a great idea and it's definitely in a place where it'll succeed with Northwestern nearby. I can't say I'll be back regularly due to the price (it needs to be $2.50), but I'll be back for the fun factor.
The Place
Cereality
1622 Sherman Ave., Evanston
847.864.4400
The Meal
Cold cereal "my way": Reese's Puffs and Cinnamon Life with mini-marshmallows and chocolate syrup: $4.34 with tax, no tip.
The Verdict
A.
My desk was a mess.
Really, it wasn't a big deal. The area I used the most - the surface - was fairly clean and somewhat organized. Somewhat. But the storage area of the desk was a total mess and was, frankly, embarrassing. A few weeks ago I started looking into making my desk less of a mess and more of a... uhm... less... messy.
My two main sources were The Container Store and CB2. The biggest restrictions I had were budget (not much) and the fact that my desk is black. I'm not crazy about it anymore but, frankly, a lot of that was due to the lack of organization. But with that restriction in place I decided to play Roger Black and go with three main colors: white, black, and red. The computer, iPod, keyboard, and mouse were already white of course. Red would bring a little warmth and (hopefully!) style to the party.
The main point of concentration was the storage itself. Here's a quick before and after shot. In the before, you can see that it was, uh, messy. The open mesh storage bins (also from The Container Store) were a little dated and not really my style anymore but, most importantly, not doing a good job. From the bottom shelf I usually needed printer paper, so I just left it on top of other things. From the top shelf I only occasionally needed a CD-R. And there was a third short shelf at the top - removed in the before shot - that was only about 2" tall and could hold paper and assorted stuff. That's where I put almost everything without thinking.
The solutions were closed storage and a sliding drawer, which is what really got me excited. No, really: I'd finally have a closed, neat place for all sorts of knick-knacks and stuff. I bought a narrow elfa drawer ($11), the sliding guides ($8), and a plastic organizer that fit perfectly inside ($7). It took me about 10 minutes to install - dead simple. I like elfa's stuff overall as it's great quality and stands up to a lot of abuse. I was impressed that the plastic organizer was a perfect fit. Oh, and I had to go with the narrow elfa drawers because my desk thingamajig is only 15" wide.
Closed storage was a really tough decision. I originally wanted these hot red boxes from CB2 but they weren't quite big enough for paper! Bummer. They had a luminous quality, great texture and just looked nice. After considering an open canvas bin and white paper boxes I settled on the stowaway bins ($8 each). They're deep, have lids, and look good - but are not admittedly knockouts. I might dress these up in the future with red pulls or labels.
The top of the desk was, again, not a huge problem. The biggest issue I had was that my desk had become my "throw stuff out of my pockets" place. Wallet, Metra pass, badge for work... all that stuff would just sit on the corner of my desk. I got inspired at CB2 and picked up my only red item, a plate! They had a desk on display with matte black plates holding envelopes and the like. I got the Cayman dessert plate ($4), which was the perfect size for my stuff. As Jeani put it, "You're still just throwing stuff on the desk, but this elevates it."
Finally, my ugly pencil holder from IKEA needed to go. It was a translucent white plastic and just looked sterile and uninspired. I wanted to go red here too, but at CB2 I started entertaining the option of getting a cool mug to use as a pencil holder. Plus, I wouldn't need nearly as many at hand with the elfa drawer. I chose the Palette Mug ($3) because it looked great, and has a very interesting shape. The red was too phony red (compared with the jewel-like quality of the Cayman plate), so I went with black and white.
The end result is a cleaner look with just a little color. I want to definitely bring in more red and try to do away with a couple of ugly things that remain: namely, my non-white Firewire and USB cables (oh, the problems of living in a first world country!) and the hideous, faux aluminum silver FireWire hard drive housing. But sheesh, try to find a non-ugly one. This is easily my next big challenge, because almost every FireWire enclosure I've seen is hideous or dripping with ugly-ass text ("HARD DRIVE ULTRA" et al.) A red enclosure would be lovely!
So that's it. I took care of most of my desk's problems. It took me only a day, and about $70. Not too shabby!
Desperate Housewives is kicking all kinds of booty this season (except perhaps the Gabby/Carlos storyline and Julie's thing with shirtless annoying Abercrombie suburban stereotype... hm, maybe it's kicking some kinds of booty). It's tight, and unwrapping itself very slowly - a total contrast to last season. Remember the Applewhites? Yeah, snoozefest. Last night dropped another bomb and that was after a surprise shooting. Nice writing happening there.
Contrast that to Lost. Lost is my favorite TV show at the moment but even I will admit that the first six episodes (the "pod" - it's on hiatus till February) were a little thin. There were moments, brief moments, but too many things were picked up and then put on the shelf again. Interestingly there was a recent Slate or Salon or Something article noting that shows like Lost will have a hard time keeping viewers because the central mystery can't be revealed. (WTF is up with that island?)
The Others are boring. The season opener showed that they had potential but since then they've appeared to be Just Some Bumbling Folks - not the ones who kidnapped kids, walked barefoot on the island, and generally scared the crap out of everyone. So far there's no explanation for it, and hell, they don't even appear to be evil outside of Juliet and Ben! For crying out loud.
That all said, I'll still watch the show. I can understand the fatigue that others (heh) are experiencing.
Grey's Anatomy is also a bit better this season but, to be honest, I don't think of this show on the same level as the aforementioned. It feels fluffier and the central problem with the show for me is that I really don't care about Meredith, the title character. She might sleep with one of two guys. Who cares? I'm more interested in the new Bailey/Yang dynamic, and if Callie and George will ever mesh (I'm guessing maybe.) The Derek storyline is played out.
All right. Back to reality.
How do you eat your pizza: folded, flat or with a fork and knife?
Submitted by danimass.
Depends on the pizza, of course.
Chicago-style pizza always gets eaten with a fork and knife because it's so damn thick, but I usually finish off the crust without utensils.
Square-cut is always flat (duh), and on that one occasion every year when I actually desire a NY style pizza, I fold it.
Of note: I think it's Wrong to eat a thin crust pizza with a fork and knife. Very very Wrong.
I'll try to stop starting my posts with "So".
So I bought Brain Age for the DS, the game that supposedly gives you Teh Smart. It arrived yesterday and I did the initial round of assessment and tests.
My Brain Age was 51. 51!
This morning I did the daily exercises and got my age reevaluated at 32. That's a bit closer, I'd say.
I'm not sure if it's just a placebo or if doing 120 math problems and reading Dickens aloud did anything for me, but I definitely felt sharper this morning after today's exercises. I'll keep it up; it'll be interesting to see how well things go.
The biggest challenge so far? The "count the number of syllables in a sentence" test. Whoo boy, I'm pokey at that one.
So I'm trying out OmniWeb 5.5 again, given it's on sale this month, and am a little surprised Vox still doesn't offer Safari (WebKit) support.
