Port32.com - your opinions welcomed with open arms.

[icarus]

*Icarus tap dances -- badly -- to get your attention*

*hooks cane over her arm*

Okay. Now that you're here.

Ever click on a website and wish that you could collar the designers and tell them, "no. Just... no" before they published the site? Dreamed that you could have prevented the agony of thousands, nay, millions of internet viewers?

Now you can.

www.port32.com is about to go live and part of the design team (i.e., my dad) is looking for people to describe their experience browsing the site.

As many people as possible. As soon as possible.

I can already say that since I'm running Win98 with a processor too slow for Flash? There's no way I'd spend ten seconds waiting for their flashy-graphics to load.

*rubs hands together* I've always wished I could do this... some designers must be stopped.



In other news: Last night I dreamed I had a sleek baby porpoise in my arms that kept nuzzling me with his bottlenose.

And the porpoise purred.



ETA: florahart just pointed out I forgot to mention -- just go ahead and post your reactions/experience right here in comments.

Comments

[florahart]

and how does one convey one's experience? via you?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Comment right here. :D

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I've informed my dad (when he joked that he owed you guys a consulting fee) that he, in fact, owed us a story. So he has (eagerly) obliged. A little original fic as a thank you for Port32 (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/520279.html).

Icarus

[shoemaster.livejournal.com]

Easy to browse, I liked the ability to see the little previews of the houses as the slideshow went on. Not really a fan of the music on the front page though.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Cool, thank you. I'm running Win98 with a slow processor, Flash and Javascript disabled (and the sound off). You should see what this site does on my system.

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I've informed my dad (when he joked that he owed you guys a consulting fee) that he, in fact, owed us a story. So he has (eagerly) obliged. A little original fic as a thank you for Port32 (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/520279.html).

Icarus

[moxie-brown.livejournal.com]

No music, noooooooo!

But I love it visually, very well done. Nice graphics. Don't like the fade-out/in of the house galleries, I just want to see the images! I hate that the main menu options aren't clickable. You have to use the drop-down menu to atually follow a link, bleh. The flash galleries in general are slow to load, I think now there are better javascript/AJAX/web 2.0 options than a flash slideshow.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I'll have to turn my sound on just so I can hear this ever-so-popular music. ;)

I think now there are better javascript/AJAX/web 2.0 options than a flash slideshow.

Oh that's cool, I didn't know that. Any way to get the think to stop asking me to download a flash player every page? Because with my slow system, no, it ain't happenin.'

Thank you for the feedback, this is helpful.

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I've informed my dad (when he joked that he owed you guys a consulting fee) that he, in fact, owed us a story. So he has (eagerly) obliged. A little original fic as a thank you for Port32 (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/520279.html).

Icarus

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

Even on broadband it takes too long to load. And yes, music is gah-tastic.

They also might be interested in the results from:
http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze/wso.php
http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.port32.com%2F
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/validator?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.port32.com%2F&usermedium=all

On the plus side, the general design and layout I find very pleasing. With a little optimization and a rethinking of using Flash or not, it could be very nice.

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

Duh, I can't link to the speed analyzer results (the top link that I put). Instead go here http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze/index.html and put in the url.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Oh, see, my judgment on loading time is bound to be skewed because I'm running a 42K dial-up. It takes three seconds just for the pull-down menus to appear.

That's cool about the general design, they'll be happy to hear that.

At the very least I want an option to turn off both the music and Flash.

Icarus

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

I have a fast connection, so I had no problem loading it. It's visually pleasing, and quite easy to browse. But there's the logo on top that keeps breaking (I have IE 5. or is it 5.5?). And I think I prefer it without the background music.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thank you, cool. A lot of people are getting that breaking logo -- including me. I haven't heard the background music, but I'm against putting music in as a rule. People's tastes in music vary.

Icarus

[dancing-moon.livejournal.com]

I run Firefox on Win XP, have a pretty new computer. Got real broadband, and I still think the loading time is a bit on the high side

I HATE the music. Also, house browsing is something I can see sensible adult people doing in a lull at work or during lunch... Loud, autostarting unstoppable music = not a happy boss

Got some error when I hovered above a link, but when I refreshed it went away. See screencap

My greatest problem with the site is that (since I assume it's there for selling houses?) I can not easily save or print only the images that I like. When my parents looked for hotels we often encountered that problem and it's annoying. It's a lot easier to print a couple of pics and sit in the sofa and discuss then to cluster around the comp

Can't read any instructions on "Let's see the plan" screencap and the plans themselves are completely tiny. This here? Is me going away somewhere else.

Good menu system, navigation is easy and understandable. Ah, this is for older people? Then they should be able to enlarge the text, and an alternative site which works with reading out loud equipment could be made.

Hmm. Overall, once it loads it looks like a nice site. Then you try using it and discover that arghlbg it's all Flash. If they want the images to move in a spiffy way, they should make only the slideshow Flash and use something else for the menu. It's not multi-browser compatible at all.

I can neither save images nor highlight and copy all text. It's good to be able to print things like that out, without getting the entire site every time.

And music = kill.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Great feedback. Good to know how people use the site in real life, you know? I'm passing along every syllable.

Icarus

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Looks nice, easy to maneuver, the slideshow loads easily for me and the ability to stop the slideshows and look at the photos individually is easy to figure out. The music isn't even obnoxious and it only plays on the home page, but as others have said, the first thing that should load on that page is a big ol' "Music On/Off" switch. This is the sort of site people might browse at work, and you can't have music blaring while you do that.

A crucial thing: the home page of the website gives one NO CLUE as to where the heck this place is located! Bobcaygeon...Kawarthas...Lock 32...wtf? What state is it in, fergoshsakes? (In further browsing, I see it's in Ontario. Okay, then the home page should say "Bobcaygeon, Ontario.")

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Heh. Not mentioning the location on a real estate site.

My dad says thank you (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/515925.html). He was, apparently, having trouble getting honest feedback.

Icarus *Puts down the site-bashing sledgehammer. My work here is done.*

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

I had to close it out right away because of the music. *g* I'm always playing my own music, so any site that has music playing is, well, I just close out that tab immediately, no matter what it is. *g* I didn't even wait for the whole site to load in. (I hope that's not too mean, but sites should not have music unless it's something you click on to play because you mean to play it.)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

You know, the music doesn't play for me since I don't (and won't) use flash.

My dad says thank you (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/515925.html). He was, apparently, having trouble getting honest feedback.

Icarus *Puts down the site-bashing sledgehammer. My work here is done.*

[siegeofangels.livejournal.com]

I hope you don't mind my replying; I'm wandering around friendsfriends.

First, I should say that I'm using Opera 7.0, with graphics turned OFF because I'm connected at 28.8kbps.

1. It would be really helpful if there was a non-image option. There are no textual links, so it's really hard for me to navigate (I can't tell what any of the menu options are, and if they're meant to be dropdown, they're dropping under the Flash screen). Most of the actual information on the site is in graphics rather than text, which is a problem.

2. Even with graphics turned on, the logo breaks where it crosses the menu.

3. The music is both nice in an NPR way, and very annoying because there's no way to turn it off. Also, it reminds me a little of Deliverance, which is probably not the effect they were going for.

4. The only page I can get to using the menu is HOME. (And CONTACT US, which takes 45 seconds to load and doesn't have any links.)

5. It takes about a minute for the flash to start playing (graphics off), and three minutes in, something's still loading. The music only takes about twenty or thirty seconds to load, so it starts playing first.

I have the feeling that if I could afford one of these homes, I'd have a better internet connection, but still, a text-only option would really help things.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm on a 42kbps dial-up connection and you wouldn't believe -- actually, you would, because you see the same site I do.

And thanks for stopping in, I need to hunt for more of your great fics. Anything in particular you're proud of lately?

My dad says thank you (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/515925.html). He was, apparently, having trouble getting honest feedback.

Icarus

*Puts down the site-bashing sledgehammer, dusts off hands. My work here is done.*

[jaig.livejournal.com]

For some reason, I have to scroll right to see the site's menu bar on the top. I think it's misaligned.

The logo looks like this

ooo
ooooooo
ooooooo
ooo

Like it's been sliced through the side. All the drop-down menus shift right too.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Yep. I guess a lot of the PC users are using IE 6. Either that or they haven't complained while the Mac-users have.

My dad says thank you (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/515925.html). He was, apparently, having trouble getting honest feedback.

Icarus *Puts down the site-bashing sledgehammer. My work here is done.*

[stinksap.livejournal.com]

The logo is broken where it crosses over into the dropdown toolbar area.

I use firefox 1.5.0.4 with flashblock, so the annoying music others mention isn't annoying me, but I'm also not seeing the big picture I assume is in that frame- and I won't, because I won't play flash unless I really know and trust the source. (I don't even trust livejournal anymore after the ad debacle.)

Too much Java. I hate java for the same reasons I hate flash (Security.) but I do have it turned on because sooo darn many sites I frequent regularly are java dependent. The drop downs seem to work though, and that is a plus- many sites, especially movie and media sites do not run properly on my older system.

From what little looking I did this seemed to be aimed at older people and retirees. I can tell you that most of my older relatives computers would not play this site properly or at all- they are not tech savvy and tend to run older versions of programs using slow, dial up coinnections. (All they need for email.)

I suspect this site is too heavy on flash, java and graphics to run well on systems using older and outdated programs.
I'd recommend a low-bandwidth/flash/java version for people who don't like the 'bells and whistles'.
I hope this helps!

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I can tell you that most of my older relatives computers would not play this site properly or at all- they are not tech savvy and tend to run older versions of programs using slow, dial up coinnections. (All they need for email.)

My thoughts exactly, and I emphasized this point in the summary I sent, as well as sending the specific comments (under User G, User H, etc. What it lacks in creativity it more than makes up in anonymity).


My dad says thank you (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/515925.html). He was, apparently, having trouble getting honest feedback.

Icarus *Puts down the site-bashing sledgehammer. My work here is done.*

[snowqueenofhoth.livejournal.com]

I'm using Safari on OS 10.4. The main page looks nice, minus the fact that it causes a horizontal scroll bar to pop up in the bottom 1/4 of it.
Also, the music DEFINITELY needs to have an off option. I didn't even really look through the rest of the site because the music was so annoying.
One thing I did notice. The menu drop down fuction seems to spazz out when I try to mouse over it. The drop down section flickers on and off, and sometimes disappears entirely, just leaving random button images behind. If I want to click on something, it feels like I have to chase after it.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I think you were the only Safari user who turned up and apparently a lot of complaints about the site were from Mac users.

I almost wish I could have heard that music. Almost.

My dad says thank you (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/515925.html). He was, apparently, having trouble getting honest feedback.

Icarus *Puts down the site-bashing sledgehammer, dusts off hands. My work here is done.*

[j00j.livejournal.com]

Don't have a lot of time to look at this, but...
I'm on a Mac using Opera with a cable connection. Load time is fine for me, but I imagine it's a problem for people on dialup. The logo is messed up in Opera, in the way others have described. It seems to look better for me in Firefox? Also, I don't get the menus in Opera (this doesn't really surprise me-- Opera in general seems to have issues with Flash). They seem to work okay in Firefox.
One of my problems with flash sites in general is that you can't always copy and paste text from a site. What if I want to copy stuff for later or e-mail it to someone because I think we should get a house? On this site I can mostly do that, but not always. Also, I personally just find this much Flash annoying-- anyone trying to sell something seems to think they need it, but I think it's overrated. I'd rather have a clean, simple site that shows me what they've got without so many bells and whistles (and again, there are the accessibility issues for people with slower computers/connections, and/or people with disabilities). But that's just me.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I personally just find this much Flash annoying-- anyone trying to sell something seems to think they need it, but I think it's overrated. I'd rather have a clean, simple site that shows me what they've got without so many bells and whistles

Same here. I always turn the flash off and after my last computer melt-down I never replaced my flash player. The key to internet travel is a) can I find what I need? and b) can I find what I need quickly?

My dad says thank you (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/515925.html), apparently he wasn't getting honest feedback. He also let me know he's heading off for the cottage, but I got this last batch of comments to him in time.

He's a great writer. Do you think we should milk a cottage journal story out of him?

Icarus

[sarka.livejournal.com]

Mostly, I get the same problems as everybody else - broken up logo and annoying flash graphics. I agree with someone in the comments who said that when you're looking at something like this, print-out-ability is essential. Also, the music is annoying.

In addition, I'm browsing on a wide, high resolution screen - 1920x1200. For me, the script on the site is just too small, and I think it needs to be possible to make it larger. The floorplan of the house is about the size of a postage stamp on my screen, and the welcome screen for the floorplan has a font that is way too tiny to read.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of eye-strain on someone like WG's mom. *nods*

My dad says thank you (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/515925.html), apparently he wasn't getting the kind of honest feedback he wanted. Heh. Reading between the lines he also wants to be clear "I didn't design this site, I just took the pictures and directed the video!" :D

Icarus

[swtalmnd]

I didn't look past the first page, because it has the one flaw that will ALWAYS make me close the window -- sound that I can't turn off.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

It's a pity the sound won't work for me. I've heard so much about it. :D

Icarus

[lherelenfeline.livejournal.com]

not to be redundant , but the flash is a problem. There needs to be a flashless option , IMHO. Other than that , it's pretty good.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Agreed, 100%.

?

My dad says thank you (http://icarusancalion.livejournal.com/515925.html). He was, apparently, having trouble getting honest feedback.

Icarus

[harveywallbang.livejournal.com]

awww, cute cuddly purring porpoise :D that made me go "awwwwww"

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

It was a great dream.

Do you know what dolphins (especially porpoises, apparently) mean to me? Happiness. The dream gave me permission to be happy.

:D

Icarus