Journal 32: October 15

As I get ready for my final project, I have to admit I'm a little worried about it. I want it to be really good, something I can use and build on in the future. The problem is, I just have too much fun designing ridiculous things. I want to be able to make it have pop-ups, though I know they would make it bad. I want it to have hilarious background images, though I'd be the only person to truly appreciate them. The list, unfortunately, goes on and on. What I need to do is focus on the best in functionality the Internet has to offer and imitate that, instead of, say, Wolves. Once I clear this hurdle, the sailing will be a little better.

Journal 31: October 15

One of the things I'm most curious about is formatting my Web page for handheld devices. I'm not sure how to design a page to look differently depending on what form of device is used to view it. Do I have to code it different at the top of the page?

Another major problem with my dilemma is the fact that I don't have access to any handheld Web browsing devices. This means that even if I figure out how to design a page to fit PDA's, I have no way of knowing if it worked or not.

Maybe there is a PDA simulator online.

Journal 30: October 15

Here's another tip I learned for Web design: Use a relative scale for font size, not an absolute preset. That's a great idea I would have never thought of by myself. But, of course, now that I think of it, I can remember many times when I had to skip an article online because the font was too small. That's something I need to remember to do.

The reading I got this from also included the mantra, "more is less." That's the opposite of what I would normally think, but it makes sense. I need to give the user complete control to do whatever or go wherever they need on my site.

Good stuff.

Journal 29: October 15

Well, it's time I really start putting together ideas for my final project. I've been going through all the Web sites I normally visit, looking in greater depth. I've also been doing all the readings I can find about Web design. I'm doing all of this in hopes that everything sinks in.

Obvious idea number one: make sure each page clearly tells the user what site they're on. Cool.

Journal 28: October 15

The debate over whether or not Web-based music makes money just got more intense today as the figures from Radiohead's 2007 album/experiment In Rainbows were released. The thing sold 3 million copies! I'm pretty sure record companies are going to take note and start releasing more and more material online before becoming available in stores.

Of course, iTunes and eMusic have been offering "exclusive" albums before official release dates for a while now, but I'd be surprised if more companies don't go the digital prerelease route. I mean, if people really want to hear something before it comes out, it just takes a simple Google search and some form of download manager for them to get it in their ears. In fact, the statistics said more people downloaded In Rainbows via BitTorrent than the 3 million who purchased it at their own price from the official Web site. That's a huge, untapped market there.

It kind of makes me wonder what form of media will soon become forever linked with the Internet...












movies

Journal 27: October 14

While reading Consumer Reports in the Olin Health Center waiting room today, I discovered an article regarding Web safety. It basically said the only way to be safe online is to use a subscription-based anti-virus program. It also said the "I'll trust my Mac to be immune" method doesn't work at all.

Here's the thing. I have a Macintosh PowerBook G4 I purchased in mid-2003. It managed to stay in perfect condition until very very recently. By perfect condition, I mean the thing has behaved every day just as it did on day one. In fact, the recent "problem" I alluded to is simply a minor slowing down and a few sticking keys. Considering how long it has given me top-flight performance, this thing was well-worth the $2000-something price tag I worked all summer '03 to pay.

So what am I getting at? Well, at no point in time, despite continuous Internet use, has my steed been harnessed by an anti-virus program. Not once. And yet, it's shown no known repercussions.

Now, maybe I've gotten lucky. Maybe it's because I don't partake in adult-oriented sites. Maybe it's because an infection just hasn't happened yet. Or maybe it's because the Mac-based system of Web protection actually works.

Yes, I will have to purchase a new computer next semester so I can use Dreamweaver (and also because my version of OS X isn't compatible with much anymore and 30gig hard drives no longer cut it), but I don't know that I'll bother with Norton or McAfee. I think this system works for me.

I will miss this old friend, though.

Journal 26: October 14

It's hard for me to believe people are able to design their pages knowing only code. Getting more into Dreamweaver, I don't know if I'd even be able to get along without it. I mean, I typically type as much code as I can, but I need to be able to see what's going on while I do it. I'm confident I'll soon be able to write HTML and CSS and not have to constantly rely on the drag-and-drop method of page design, but even using it as a check seems to be of the utmost importance. I guess that's why I'm going to purchase Dreamweaver this year.

Journal 25: October 14

I'm starting to get annoyed at the types of sites that are routinely acknowledged as "good" sites. They all seem to have these elaborate Flash intros that take ages to load, look confusing, and generally aren't skippable. They may look "high tech," but behave like crappy sites like, I dunno, Wolves. Good layout beats good visuals every time. My favorite part about these "cool" sites are the pages devoted to compiling them. They look horrible! Ha!

Journal 24: October 14

I'm constantly amazed at how new Web technology really is. I was looking at the history of CSS via analysis of old sites while sick in bed today. Stumbling on a message board from 2000, I was quite amused at the interplay between the person 'in the know' and the 'noobes.' Gosh, 2000 doesn't really seem that long ago.

Journal 23: October 13

Upon further inspection of the readings about logos, I realized how important a company's colors are to their image. I would like to research what each color best represents and use that as a guide for my final project. The colors I've picked out so far, orange and blue, may have to go in favor of something better. I kind of thought something like this may happen, but that's the advantage of planning early...

Journal 22: October 13

Another thing I've been noticing from the readings lately is the importance of logos to their respective companies. I guess, as a consumer, I never realized how much thought and importance was placed on the millions of logos put in front of my face. Each company designs their logo with so much thought and detail in an effort to convey what they intend to bring to the marketplace: quality, integrity, class, etc. It's helping me realize just how complex every part of our society really is.

Journal 21: October 13

While doing my class readings today, I discovered we're going to be learning some CSS this week! Although I don't understand HTML as much as I hope to in the future, I'm excited about the chance to further my knowledge in Web design. After this reading, I'm not as intimidated by it as I used to be - it's just code! Cool!

Journal 20: October 12

I was reading an article this morning about bad Web sites. I was kind of shocked to hear the writer's opinion that it's easy to find good sites. I don't know if I agree with that. Sure, most of the Internet is functional and with purpose, but that should be the standard and not the standout. I think for a Web site to be considered good, it must transcend its common denominator and rise above the competition. Maybe I'm too picky, but I don't think everyone can be the best. I mean, if mediocre quality gets recognized, everyone will just shoot for that as a goal, and no boundaries get pushed. I don't think technology should ever stay stagnant.

Journal 19: October 12

Bad sites seem to peak everyones interest! When checking my email today, I discovered a link posted by MSN to an article listing some of the worst Web sites of the Internet. I gleefully clicked the link and explored the MSN-perceived worst of the Web. While the design of most of the featured sites wasn't horrendous, the content was. This reinforced the idea that the content makes the site, and the design is what makes it accessible. I think it's easy to get caught up in design, and it is important, but it would be useless without functional content.

Journal 18: October 7

Today was a good day.

I got my bad Web site finished this afternoon, and believe me, it's horrid. What exactly did I do to make it bad? Well, any time I got to a good stopping point I sat back and asked myself, "How can this be worse?" Should I use animated caution tape for a background? Yes. Should I insert a massive animated firework explosion? Yes. Should I insert lots of YouTube videos? Yes. Should I add seemingly never ending pictures and animated GIFs? Yes.

Trust me. This is a truly awful site.

Awesome.

Journal 17: October 6

Big news!

I just figured out what I'm going to do for my final WRA 210 project!

If you flip over to my sporadically updated other blog, you'll see that I write music reviews in my free time. This is something I not only like to do, but something I want to do for, well, money.

So I'm going to take some of those reviews, add some new and old ones, and compile them onto an actual non-blog Web site. This will look good for my readers, for me, and for anyone interested in hiring me in the future.

I decided on this because it's relevant to the field I want to go into, and interesting to me. Basically, it's exactly what I want to get out of this course.

Journal 16: October 6

I've been having a lot of fun in my WRA 210 class lately. Why? Well, besides the usual learning about how the Internet works, I'm learning about how it's not supposed to work. Considering most of the major lessons I've learned in life have come from doing the wrong thing, this is my kind of topic. So, what kind of poor tactics have you been learning, you ask. Well...

I'm no stranger to bad Web design. As a high school freshman way back in 1999, I entered the absurdist world of Yahoo's Geocities. What a nightmare that was. Of course, I was the most tech-savvy 14-year-old in the school (so I thought). It didn't matter that the Web site featured Smashmouth record reviews (oh man, I just fessed up to owning that), bullshit Superbowl predictions, and, uh, stolen animations of Hamsterdance. But, man, I had my own Web site!

What does this have to do with my current project in WRA 210? Well, this is my grand chance to out-do that atrocity (long-since removed by Geocities). What's worse than dancing hamster GIFs and Smashmouth? Well, this may be debatable, but one could take the stance that pop upstarts The Jonas Brothers offend just enough sensitive tastes to do this. Okay, they aren't as bad as Smashmouth, but I can't just re-make that old site, you know!

As a creative experience, this exercise was somewhat fulfilling. When I create in words, music, whatever, I like to assume other points of view than my own. I like to tell fictional stories, as embodied by the narrator. In this case, the narrator was a Jonas Brothers fangirl, roughly modeled after my sister's youth. As that psyche has, until now, remained entirely untapped, found this a very interesting creative experience. I think the, er, badness of the final product shines.