Stack Overflow has always been a better-than-average resource for finding answers to programming questions. In particular, I have found a number of helpful answers to really obscure questions on the site, many of which helped me get past a road block either at work or in my hobby programming. As such, I decided I'd join the site to see if I could help out. Never before has a website given me a worse first impression.
In an effort to keep the community as clean and orderly as possible, new users have very little rights from the get-go. On paper, this is a pretty nice idea. In practice, it makes it difficult for new users to gain any traction. I read through a number of questions today and had several comments for the original poster. Unfortunately, I couldn't make my comments, since new users cannot post comments on articles they themselves didn't write (you have to gain "reputation" in order to gain that privilege). Posting my comment as an "answer" to the original question seemed like bad form, so I didn't do that.
Looking elsewhere around the site, I found a few questions I felt I could answer. As soon as I went to answer said questions, someone else (in some cases, a number of other people) had jumped in and beaten me to the punch. I never had a chance to provide a helpful answer. Not only do you have to be very knowledgeable about a subject, you've also got to be very fast in providing said answer. I eventually did provide an answer for a question, then realized that my approach wouldn't work. Before I could take action and modify the answer, my submission had already been modded down by several people, several of whom left snarky remarks. What a warm welcome for a new user! I subsequently deleted my answer.
I later searched the Meta Stack Overflow site, looking for advice for new users. It turns out I'm not the only one who thinks that it's very easy for new users to get dumped on. Take a look at the questions revolving around new users on the site, and note how a number of them revolve around how hard it is for new users to improve. Documentation for how best to contribute as a new user is sorely needed.
The folks who manage these websites need to examine the barrier of entry for new users. I fully understand the need for keeping spammers and trolls out, but someone needs to develop a tutorial (or better yet, a set of tutorials) for how to properly use the website. New users do occasionally need hand holding, especially with websites as complicated as Stack Overflow. I think the community as a whole would benefit, and it would certainly help people like me who have been quickly overwhelmed by what the site offers.
One minor annoyance I have always had while surfing the web, is the non-standardized order in which you consume a website's content. Two pertinent examples spring to mind. First, are the "post navigation" links that you find on many websites. Out of the box, WordPress uses a link pointing to the left to indicate older posts (example: « Older posts), while a link to the right indicates newer posts (example: Newer posts »). This design decision no doubt stems from the humble beginning of the blog: the journal (as in the pen and paper variant). In English, we read left-to-right, top-to-bottom; and in a pen and paper journal, newer entries are always "to the right of" older ones. I'm sure this is one reason why WordPress themes come as they do. I have always taken the opposite stance, however. Digital entries on a site are not (in my mind) the same as handwritten entries in a journal. So I have always used a link pointing to the right to indicate older posts, while a link pointing the left indicates newer ones. In short, the newest content appears "first".
My opinion changes with my second example, however. The Twitter timeline presents the newest tweets at the top of your home page. This seems like a major design flaw, since I am seemingly shoe-horned into reading tweets in reverse order. My typical modus operandi for reading Tweets is to scroll down to my last known position, and work my way back up to the top of the page. This is really bothersome to have to do. I'd love to have an option to have the newest stuff appear last, so I could consume the content as it was presented to me.
I take a similar stance in Google Reader. I used to browse items in "newest first" mode, but I stopped doing that since I would see stories in reverse order. After switching to reading items in the "oldest first" mode, I've been much happier; it feels much more natural to me. I'm not sure why I feel so differently about two remarkably similar items, but I do.
Which order do you prefer? Is there a "right" way to do it?
According to the WHATWG blog, future versions of the HTML specification will no longer use a version number. I can't imagine why this is a good idea. How are web designers supposed to know how to target their sites to visitors? A "living and breathing spec" will require frequent updates from every browser vendor, so as to stay current with what's allowed. As new features are implemented, how will developers know who's compliant and who's not? It seems to me that removing the version is a big step backwards. Perhaps they have ways of handling these situations?
I recently stumbled on an incredibly wonderful website; one that threatens my productivity just as much as Wikipedia does. The Vintage Ad Browser is a trip down memory lane, showcasing magazine advertisements from as far back as 1800. All kinds of categories are available to peruse: from Airlines & Aircraft, to Gender (some of which, today, are quite sexist), to Transportation. This site is one of those black holes on the internet, where you can get lost down a trail of links. I highly recommend checking it out; definitely worth bookmarking.
Earlier today, Netflix announced some interesting changes they've made to the site. These changes seem to speak volumes about where the company is headed. First off, the "Watch Instantly" tab is now the default view when you log in. This clearly indicates that Netflix is wholeheartedly committed to a future where media streaming is the norm. Is this the beginning of the end for DVDs?
The second change is a relocation of the friends feature; from a prominent tab up top to the very bottom of the page. This must be an indication of how many people actually use this part of the site.
All in all, these are some interesting changes that Netflix has rolled out. It's will be interesting to see where they go from here.
How many people here use Google Reader to follow RSS feeds? I use it as my primary surfing mechanism now, and I'm curious as to how many others use it. Although it has some quirks, I've gotten used to it. Google Reader has made surfing the 'net way more efficient, so much so that I often look for new sites to troll. If you do indeed use Reader, let me know if you'd like to friend me up. I share stories on the service routinely.
It is being reported that Microsoft is trying to pay News Corp. to "de-index" their search results from Google. Rupert Murdoch (billionaire tyrant) has hinted that he'd like to prevent Google from spidering the websites for the companies that News Corp. controls. Ironically enough, what he wants can be done today for free using the appropriate rules in robots.txt.
If this report is true, it sure seems like a desperate attempt to gain search engine market share by Microsoft. What might really happen if this deal goes through? I've got to believe that viewership at the various sites would drop considerably. "The masses" know how to use Google to find stuff. If the stuff they're looking for disappears, will they be willing (or knowledgeable enough) to use Bing to find it? I'm not sure that's the case. Should this scenario play out, I can see things going one of two ways: either Microsoft wins and gains market share, or both Microsoft and News Corp. lose big time.
Gizmodo has a good take on this situation, claiming simply that, in the end, we'll all lose. This will definitely be an interesting thing to watch in the coming months.
Has anyone seen the following bug with the Amazon wish list system? When I purchase something from my list, the purchased item is no longer automatically removed. Instead, it reports a "quantity received" value, and apparently must be manually removed from the list. This is highly annoying, and applying the "unpurchased" filter doesn't affect the purchased item's visibility.
I just found out that Intuit will acquire Mint for $170 million. Though I'm not surprised to hear about this, I'm a little disappointed. Intuit is the company that owns Quicken, so there are now fewer players in this game (which is never good). Time will also tell whether or not the service gets any better or worse as a result of this acquisition. The recent updates to Mint were spectacular, so I'm hoping their momentum continues. Being sucked into a large company, however, is never an easy transition. According to the Mint CEO, Mint will remain a free service, though I can imagine Intuit charging users for a "premium" version of this tool in the future. Only time will tell where this goes.
I have yet to check these out, but it looks like the folks over at Mint.com (which I recently wrote about) have made things easier in various places around the site. The biggest improvement for me is that you can now view a detailed time line of your net income, with way more stats than before. I am very excited about this new feature, and am looking forward to checking it out this evening.
Update: The new updates to Mint are outstanding! Everything I've wanted in the tool, plus more, is here. An already great tool has just gotten even better.
Way back in January, I bit the bullet and signed up for an account at Mint.com, a free, web-based personal finance tool. Moving into a new house had brought with it a substantial amount of financial responsibility, and I wanted an easy way to track where my money was going. Now that I've been using it for 7 months or so, I thought I'd post a few thoughts on the service.
Security
Before I get too far into my description of the service, let me talk about security (which was my number one concern when I joined). When you sign up for an account at Mint.com, you give them your personal login credentials for things like your bank account, credit card, mortgage, etc. I'll give you a moment to recover from your heart attack. Now that you're back, let's go over how Mint keeps that information safe. First of all, Mint collects no personally identifying information. When you sign up, all they ask for is:
An email address (your user ID)
A password
A zip code
That's it. No name, no social security number, no address; none of that. Second, and most importantly in my opinion, is the fact that Mint is a read-only service. You cannot pay bills via Mint, you cannot transfer money via Mint, and you cannot withdraw money via Mint. The service is intended to be used as an organization and analyzing tool.
Third, Mint stores your usernames and passwords separately from your financial data. In other words, your credentials are stored on separate physical servers. All of this is handled with the same security used by banks for electronic transactions (in fact, the software being used behind the scenes is, in many cases, the exact same software being used by banks on a daily basis). Even though you're providing login information, I like the fact that, at any time, I can change my login info to essentially lock out the Mint service. If Mint ever gets hacked, it's just a matter of changing my passwords at my various financial institutions to keep any "bad guys" out.
The security page at Mint.com has lots more information, along with a video from the CEO describing how their security works in more detail. I recommend checking it out.
Budgeting and Cash Flow
For most folks, the meat and potatoes of Mint.com comes in its budgeting and cash flow tools. Mint allows you to set a budget for various categories each month, and it will even modify your budget over time as it analyzes your spending habits (which I think is a great feature). I only casually use budgets, so I'm going to gloss over that part of the site for now.
One of my favorite parts of Mint is the cash flow analysis graph. Unfortunately, this graph is limited to six months at a time (I wish I could specify a larger duration, such as a year). I'm hoping that Mint will improve this functionality, but for now I can live with it. Here's a snapshot of my cash flow graph as of last night (the values have been censored to protect the innocent):
With this handy graph, I can see whether or not I'm making money each month. As you can see, March was a great month for me income-wise, thanks to a first-time home buyer's loan, and a sizable return on my taxes. The following month was a net loss since I made an extra mortgage payment (again, thanks to that sizable income in March). And each month since that time, I've been saving more than I spend (August is in the red, but I haven't been paid yet). When I log into my Mint account, this is the first graph I look at and the one I find most interesting.
Transactions
The other most useful view to me is the Transactions view. It lists all of the transactions in all of your accounts: withdrawals from ATMs, purchases you've made on your credit cards, interest earned in your bank accounts, etc. In this view you can categorize various purchases and filter the data a number of ways. Rules can be created to automatically rename and categorize recurring transactions. Think of it as a ledger specifying each and every transaction that happens. I personally use this view to keep track of whether or not I've made certain payments, and to keep track of how much interest I'm earning each month in my bank accounts.
Alerts
Mint makes it easy to set up alerts for various things. I have several alerts set up to watch for unusual spending. For example, whenever a very large transaction comes through (> $1000, for example), I can get an email or text message. This capability is very useful for keeping an eye on your accounts, allowing you to quickly respond to transactions that you may not have made. I consider this an extra safety net in watching for stolen credit card information, a hacked bank account, etc. You can also elect to get weekly summary emails, making it easy to keep tabs on your funds without even having to log in.
Spending Trends
Spending trends is a great way to see how your money is divided up each month. Here's a snapshot of my spending trends for this month (it's admittedly not as exciting as a full month's worth of data would be):
I pay the vast majority of my bills at the beginning of the month, which accounts for the large chunk of money being sent to that category so far. Usually, my mortgage payment (filed under the 'Home' category) is the largest chunk, but I have yet to make that payment this month. As I said, the more data you have for a month, and the more categories are represented, the more interesting this pie chart becomes. It's cool to see where the bulk of your expenses goes each month.
It's also worth pointing out that the graph is interactive. Click a slice of the pie, and the chart will zoom into that slice, and break down how that slice is, itself, broken up. Very slick.
One other spending view that Mint offers is the "SpendSpace" view. I rarely use this, but it's occasionally fun to look at. Here is my grocery spending over the past six months as compared to other folks in North Carolina:
As you can see, I spend way less than the average family for groceries (which makes sense, seeing as I'm only feeding myself). The missing data for July is odd; either the data has yet to be loaded up, or no one in North Carolina bought groceries in July. I'm guessing it's the latter. ;-)
Minor Gripes
I only have a few gripes with Mint. Every so often, Mint will have trouble connecting to my bank accounts. This can occasionally become an annoyance, especially when the connection failures last for a few days. All of the problems eventually clear up, however, and the service catches up with all the transactions it missed in the mean time.
There are ways the tool could be improved. I wish the cash flow view allowed you to view longer periods of time, and I've seen people calling for a cash flow predictor, which is an interesting idea. The folks at Mint seem willing to listen to the public, which is great. Hopefully some of these improvements will show up at some point in the future.
Conclusion
Overall, I'm incredibly pleased with Mint. There are plenty of other features that I haven't listed here, many of which you may find useful (learn more at the Mint features page). Signing up for an account is free and easy, as long as you're willing to provide your financial login information.
Jeffrey Zeldman has written an interesting article on URL shortening and, more specifically, how he rolled his own using a plugin for WordPress. He also points to an excellent article written by Joshua Schachter, describing the benefits and pitfalls of link shortening utilities. Both articles are worthy reads. I suggest reading Joshua's article before Jeffrey's.
Do you use URL shortening services? I mainly use bit.ly at Twitter, mostly because that's what everyone else seemed to use. Have you found some services to be better than others?
I've bitten the proverbial bullet and joined twitter. You can follow me (if you're so inclined) at my oh-so-clever username: jonahbishop. I'll be using the service for small things that aren't quite worth a blog post (it will not take the place of this site). We'll see how it goes over time.
Frustratingly enough, when I signed up for twitter, the site was having major problems. Thankfully, things seem to be back to normal now. I've noticed a strange thing with the service, however. After climbing into the twitter pool, I noticed a number of leeches attaching themselves to my account. In other words, a number of random people started following me for no apparent reason (I recognize none of them). Does anyone else here who uses twitter see the same thing? Is there a way to stop it? Are these people simply spammers out to get "trackback" style web-cred?
You've no doubt seen the commercials for the "free" triple credit score reports, or the "learn to work at home" packages on TV. In most of these cases, a URL is provided in the ad for you to visit. For the observant among us, note that the URL changes. Most often, a number appears at the end. For example, workathome.yes.you.can might become workathome58.yes.you.can and then workathome132.yes.you.can. This observation leads us to our Internet Safety Tip of the Day:
If the URL in an advertisement changes on a regular basis, you should stay away!
Jeffrey Zeldman has pointed his readers to an interesting article entitled Digg, Facebook Stealing Content, Traffic, Money From Publishers? The article focuses on the recently launched DiggBar, and the negative effects it's having on the web. I gave up on Digg long ago, and this just furthers my intent to stay away from the site. With shady practices like this, it doesn't deserve my attention.
Gizmodo pointed me this morning to an oh-so-wrong yet oh-so-fun Google Maps mashup, that allows you to nuke the city of your choice. Simply search for your favorite (or least-favorite) city, select your weapon, and nuke it! It was interesting to compare the blast radius of the Little Man and the more modern nuclear weapons. Suffice it to say that today's weapons are awfully scary.
My favorite, however, is the asteroid impact. Most. Destruction. Ever.
A week or two ago, I was introduced to the Eye On Springfield blog. For a Simpsons nut like myself, the site is pure enjoyment. According to the site's official description:
Eye On Springfield is a retrospective of Simpsons hilarity spanning from seasons 1 to 9, when it was still funny.
I would disagree with the "still funny" bit; there are plenty of classic episodes in seasons 10 through about 18, though the most recent seasons have definitely fallen off. Site posts range from scenes in an episode, sometimes with an accompanying quote, to sound clips. It's a great site, and I highly recommend it for a laugh.
I'm also glad to see that I'm not the only one who, in the words of Patrick Cassels, has:
that annoying habit of beginning half my sentences with, "Remember that Simpsons episode where..."
I ran across a thoroughly engaging article at the Netflix blog that discusses the various encoding techniques they use for delivering "Watch Instantly" content. It sheds light on a number of the issues they face, and some of the decisions they are making. Silverlight is apparently their future player platform of choice, and the article discusses a little bit about why they chose this path. The technical details are appreciated, and it's cool to see them being open like this. Maybe they'll share similar information about other aspects of their business in the future.
I'm a sucker for desktop wallpaper (I change the background of my laptop and desktop daily). So I was surprised to stumble upon a web resource I've never seen before: InterfaceLift.com. There are tons of great images there, available in all kinds of resolutions. I'm looking forward to perusing their database to find new ways of dressing up my computer screen.
