Latest trend in website layout/reviews...

[Ken g6]

yeah. let's have these computers with 16gb of ram in them but only use 100k of it. let's not take advantage of all of the extra ram and CPU power in the new pc's. that would be stupid.

In web design you have to make your website at least function on the lowest common denominator system. Right now, at least where I work, that's probably a single-core machine with 512MB RAM running Windows XP and IE8.

On the other hand, I do think progressive enhancement can be a good idea if done right.

 

[Jeff7]

Mercury broswer on my iPad didn't even know what to do with that page. Took forever to load then only half loaded. :\

Want a good website design, follow the KISS philosophy.

Mmmmm.....good web design.
It's simple, it's fast, it gets the job done efficiently.
(I don't like the fact that selecting from a filter category makes the category vanish from subsequent pages, so if you made a filter selection 8 pages ago, you'd best get ready for some backtracking. Mouser's filters are not too good. Newark's setup is almost perfect, but their prices are often .)


Meanwhile, if I load a single page on Amazon, I can expect my browser to come to a screeching halt for half a minute while it loads and processes a ridiculous amount of who-knows-what. (I envision a distant future, where Half Life 3 has been released, Firefox finally makes use of multiple processor cores, and the dying Sun threatens life on Earth.)

 

[Ichinisan]

In web design you have to make your website at least function on the lowest common denominator system. Right now, at least where I work, that's probably a single-core machine with 512MB RAM running Windows XP and IE8.

On the other hand, I do think progressive enhancement can be a good idea if done right.

This. I've experienced some recent nightmares trying to get the latest version of Chrome or Firefox when an outdated version of IE couldn't load anything and Windows Update didn't work. Thankfully, I can download Firefox via command line FTP, but I often find myself on the phone with someone people that can't type "explorer ftp://ftp.mozilla.org" to save their own life.

 

[Ken g6]

Mmmmm.....good web design.
It's simple, it's fast, it gets the job done efficiently.

:thumbsdown: Nope. It's simple, but it's cluttered, kind of ugly, and everything falls off the right side of the page.

 

[touchstone]

I feel like websites have undergone a sort of Arc of evolution, from the pits of pixelated despair in 1998 to the heights of working adblock and chrome in 2010 and now we are falling back into this with enormously complicated and computationally taxing live screen backrounds. I wish we could go back to 2010 PC wise, but stay in 2015 mobile-wise. PCs were so impressive in 2010-11, when SSDs had just come out and the first core i7 generations came out. The first HT hexacores.


Now all the innovation is in mobile. Totally off topic now, sorry about that.

 

[lxskllr]

Mmmmm.....good web design.

this is a proper website...

http://motherfuckingwebsite.com/

 

[AMD64Blondie]

I fucking hate espn.com because of the cluttered new bullshit design of the site.

try it..I dare you:
http://espn.go.com/

 

[holden j caufield]

What would be nice is if noscript would have definition files, so that known good sites are white listed by default, and this file could be updated if desired.

This is a great idea, they already have hosts files to filter the ad sites.

 

[Cerb]

The average Joe does not have 16GB of RAM...

I'm not even the average joe. My mobile computers have 1GB and 2GB, respectively, with no upgradability. But, I still use the same tricks to make my browsing time less frustrating on my 32GB desktop, because they work. I also very much wish I could get a browser with fully-featured extensions on Android, for that reason.

 

[Cerb]

Newark's setup is almost perfect, but their prices are often .)

OT: if it's something that can be replaced by a similar item, like many capacitors, look for that red star. Makes up for the prices, especially if you can use Mouser or Digikey as a 2nd source for the high-priced stuff.

 

[Ichinisan]

Mmmmm.....good web design.
It's simple, it's fast, it gets the job done efficiently.
(I don't like the fact that selecting from a filter category makes the category vanish from subsequent pages, so if you made a filter selection 8 pages ago, you'd best get ready for some backtracking. Mouser's filters are not too good. Newark's setup is almost perfect, but their prices are often .)


Meanwhile, if I load a single page on Amazon, I can expect my browser to come to a screeching halt for half a minute while it loads and processes a ridiculous amount of who-knows-what. (I envision a distant future, where Half Life 3 has been released, Firefox finally makes use of multiple processor cores, and the dying Sun threatens life on Earth.)

Stupid mobile site has no way to view the desktop version. Selecting "Request desktop site" in iOS results in an error message from the web server.

 

[CZroe]

If you disable Javascript, you might as well disable HTML. Javascript is how web pages work these days.

I've never gotten malware that wasn't deliberately installed by an idiot friend. I sometimes deliberately browse unscrupulous websites too.

Leave Javascript on.

I have on our sister's notebook. In late 2008/early 2009, a zero-day exploit broke her laptop from simply visiting ThePirateBay.com

It came from the banner ad stream, no clicks required. It halfway installed itself before triggering a reboot then rebooted endlessly in an attempt to keep restoring itself. It never had all the files it needed to restore itself. System was fully up to date running Vista at the time.

Stupid mobile site has no way to view the desktop version. Selecting "Request desktop site" in iOS results in an error message from the web server.

Any site with a mobile version: Insta-FAIL.

 

[Ichinisan]

I have on our sister's notebook. In late 2008/early 2009, a zero-day exploit broke her laptop from simply visiting ThePirateBay.com

It came from the banner ad stream, no clicks required. It halfway installed itself before triggering a reboot then rebooted endlessly in an attempt to keep restoring itself. It never had all the files it needed to restore itself. System was fully up to date running Vista at the time.

Almost surely a Flash / Java exploit. Those are notorious for completely bypassing the web browser's security sandbox.

 

[lxskllr]

Anyone that says js isn't actively used for exploits is a fool, and doesn't belong on a tech site. Stick to facebook.

 

[Jeff7]

:thumbsdown: Nope. It's simple, but it's cluttered, kind of ugly, and everything falls off the right side of the page.

No, it falls onto my second monitor.

(Having loads of filters is preferable to having fewer filters, as far as I'm concerned anyway.)

OT: if it's something that can be replaced by a similar item, like many capacitors, look for that red star. Makes up for the prices, especially if you can use Mouser or Digikey as a 2nd source for the high-priced stuff.

Clarification: I'm usually at their site at work, and there are often various specs and quality levels that need to be met. (Specs which I got to have a hand in creating. :awe Temperature range, package size, lifetime rating, ripple current, tolerance, all that stuff. So the requirements aren't always flexible.

Stupid mobile site has no way to view the desktop version. Selecting "Request desktop site" in iOS results in an error message from the web server.

A mobile what now?


(I don't have a smartphone. I just can't stand using anything that's not at least dual-monitor or large-screen with a keyboard and proper mouse. Tiny-screen devices get very frustrating very quickly. Just using a keyboard is sluggish enough, and I can only type at around 50WPM due to crappy coordination and achy joints.:\
</mighty PC-user snobbery> )

 

[Maximilian]

Fancy... impressive stuff! I still don't like it much lol.

Responsive design websites don't have to look like that right?

 

[Ichinisan]

Anyone that says js isn't actively used for exploits is a fool, and doesn't belong on a tech site. Stick to facebook.

Oh there's absolutely no doubt that JavaScript gets exploited. Browsers have done a lot over the years to increase security and limit JavaScript exploits. The biggest vulnerabilities come from those plugins that bypass sandboxing and share common vulnerabilities that end up affecting *all* web browsers instead of affecting only specific versions of a specific web browser. Even worse, those plugins usually have to be updated separately from the browser. I can't tell you how many people I encounter that have a 3-year-old "Java update is available" notification in the system tray and they haven't installed it because "I try not to ever click on anything..." -- yet their system is infested with malware and will be infested again 2 days after cleaning it up.

Since very few Windows users have any need for Java these days, I usually recommend that typical users should just uninstall it.

I can't recommend that they disable JavaScript because the web just won't work. Period. The web without JavaScript doesn't do what people want it to do. To create a web form with decent usability, you simply must be able to show / hide fields dynamically based on other selections, show focus, validate fields as they lose focus, etc.

 

[lxskllr]

I can't recommend that they disable JavaScript because the web just won't work. Period. The web without JavaScript doesn't do what people want it to do. To create a web form with decent usability, you simply must be able to show / hide fields dynamically based on other selections, show focus, validate fields as they lose focus, etc.

Blocking js wholesale is a blunt weapon, and won't work long term. Using something like NoScript will give a better experience with the tradeoff being a small amount of additional work.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I have on our sister's notebook. In late 2008/early 2009, a zero-day exploit broke her laptop from simply visiting ThePirateBay.com

It came from the banner ad stream, no clicks required. It halfway installed itself before triggering a reboot then rebooted endlessly in an attempt to keep restoring itself. It never had all the files it needed to restore itself. System was fully up to date running Vista at the time.


Any site with a mobile version: Insta-FAIL.

Bolded the main problem for you. Don't go to sketchy places on the internet and you'll greatly reduce your risk.

Underlined second problem. Ad servers are a popular infection route. Run adblock and you greatly reduce risk again.

 

[CZroe]

Bolded the main problem for you. Don't go to sketchy places on the internet and you'll greatly reduce your risk.

Underlined second problem. Ad servers are a popular infection route. Run adblock and you greatly reduce risk again.

It wasn't my system. I was simply explaining to him that I witnessed a fully-patched system get compromised from web browsing with no downloading or executing. It was his own sister (my own sister; our own sister).

 

[pete6032]

i hate all the bullshit ads, with "sensational" catch phrases like "you wouldnt believe what this 10 year old did...." especially on news websites. wtf?

Drivers feel stupid for not knowing this new state law.

Hollywood hates him: man gets iron abs without the gym.

This one weird trick will help you cut belly fat.

 

[CZroe]

I hear that "one weird trick" thing on radio ads now too.

 

[mmntech]

Since very few Windows users have any need for Java these days, I usually recommend that typical users should just uninstall it.

I'd recommend the same thing for Flash as well. It does run fully sandboxed inside Chrome, but I still use a blocker so I only see what I want. Otherwise, it's gone from my system. Really, Flash is no longer necessary for web design so I don't know why it's still widely used. Video has HTML5 and banner ads can go suck a lemon.

 

[lupi]

have you seen ESPNs new page?

its one of the worst things ive ever seen

haven't been since 4/2. feel like i'm in withdrawal.

 

[Maximilian]

I hear that "one weird trick" thing on radio ads now too.

Ive discovered a loophole in female psychology, get any girl you want! Ill tell you about it for $29.95.