The UWO Alumni Gazette online
As a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, I receive their alumni publication. The latest copy touts that they are moving to making it an online publication. I'd much rather get an online version than a paper copy, so I opted to check out the online version.
The online publication is a disappointment, to say the least. The version I was pointed to is a Flash application that simply recreates the printed version, complete with the need to turn pages.
Here is a letter I sent to the editor summarizing my thoughts on the matter.
Looking at the online version of the Alumni Gazette as pointed to by a letter I received with my print copy, I was struck by the disappointing realization that the Alumni Gazette team has missed a web truism: online is not print.
The online version I was pointed to is two things: an Adobe Flash application and, to be blunt, an abomination of web publishing. Flash applications that display the exact printed version of a publication are not a good way to publish online content. The problems with Flash publications have been well documented, but let me reiterate a few of them for emphasis.
First, there is no way to (easily) cut and paste text from the articles. This discourages sharing. It also inhibits simple text searches using built-in web browser functionality; instead, it makes you rely on (often inferior) searches supplied within the Flash application.
Second, the display of the text almost assuredly requires you to zoom in, which means that instead of simple vertical scrolling to view more text, you're forced to navigate horizontally as well. Further to this, recreation of print means columns, which are great on paper, but awful on digital screens since, again, vertical scrolling is the norm.
Finally, Flash on any platform but Microsoft Windows is slow. Very slow.
Flash has its uses, but distributing textual content is not one of them. As tempting as it may be to recreate the look of print on the web, it has never worked — they are fundamentally different mediums (ask newspapers and magazines). I was encouraged by the fact that all the articles for the same publication are available in more web-friendly format on the Alumni Gazette's website. Enhancing that format is a wiser course of action for the future and should be examined more closely by the publication team.
Incidentally, I tried the search in the online publication and it was useless. For example, I searched for "print" and got no results, even though there is an entire article devoted to the print industry.
The sad fact here is that the university either didn't seem to do their research or feel that reproducing the printed version of something verbatim for online consumption is acceptable.
A poor argument against critics
Bruce Corcoran doesn't see much point to film criticism, particularly when it comes to children's films.
We’ve all seen it. Critics review Disney or DreamWorks animated movies. “Kung Fu Panda” and “WALL*E” are two of the latest victims. Critics had issues with the fact one went for looks over plot depth, and said the other had a weak story line.
Bruce apparently missed the fact that both films are getting good reviews and WALL*E is considered to be a masterpiece of storytelling. He also doesn't seem to understand that a critic's job isn't necessarily to judge whether a children's film is good for children or not. A decent critic will consider the notion when writing for the local paper, but not when considering the merits of the art form. His point amounts to the fact that people have a difference of opinion.
And really, children are more sophisticated than he may think. I, for one, saw through the Earnest movies and related ilk when I was a kid. I only wanted to see them so I wouldn't have to take part in church-related activities.
Distressing events and the mob mentality that follows them
Out in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Penny Boudreau is being charged with the first-degree murder of her daughter, Karissa. The death of Karissa was distressing enough, but the fact that these incidents are rare in the town gets people riled up.
It seems, however, that a fair number of people out in Bridgewater don't seem to understand the concept of innocent until proven guilty. At a brief court appearance recently, people gathered outside decided to taunt her. Stuff like, "Kill some more kids!" and "Child killer!". Even worse was the comment by someone about the trial that, "It helps to us to rest, to give us a little peace."
I hate to break it to these people, but the police don't arrest only the guilty, nor are the guilty the only people who get charged with crimes. Just ask Anthony Hanemaayer, who was recently exonerated of a crime he was implicated in over 20 years ago. The crime? Attempted rape of a 15-year old girl. Who really did it? Paul Bernardo, who confessed last year — and they just exonerated the guy now. How about Guy Paul Morin, if you're interested in high-profile cases.
This kind of attitude shows why there is a system of law set up in the first place. People judging ahead of time should be ashamed of themselves.
Employment and thesis news
Earlier this week I accepted a position with TVWorks as a software developer. The team I'll be joining seems to be doing some interesting work and I'm looking forward to working there. It gives me a chance to get some industry experience and put together some research projects I have in mind.
In conjunction with the start of gainful employment, I'll be finishing my thesis. (For those interested, it's about something I'm calling behavioural synthesis, where I propose some programming constructs for obtaining structure given behaviour.) It's been a long road with the graduate work, and at times I wasn't sure where I would be ending up with it. I'm in the process of getting everything put together and aim to have it submitted by the end of June.
I also had a paper accepted to the European Lisp Workshop. Assuming everything works out and I get to travel to Cyprus, that ought to be fun.
End of term
Now that classes have ended and I don't have to prepare lectures (just an exam and a marking scheme), I can get back to writing some more here.
I just have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the teaching the course, but I am very glad that I am done. I have a dissertation to write. (And I only taught the course for the money. Really.)
Car Wash, 5 miles (probably)
I hope to post more interesting and provocative things in the near future. Right now, I'm too busy with teaching, writing a dissertation and looking for a job. In the meantime...
An amusing experiment in marketing, except the messages hold no particular meaning.
My favourite exchange happens when the person is holding up a sign that says "Hyp-hens":
Woman: "Why are you doing this?"
Guy with sign: "I am informing people about hyphens."
I really don’t know what to say about this
Assuming this is not a joke, I think I have officially heard the strangest story so far in my life, simply because I cannot come up with an explanation for this behaviour aside from severe mental illness. I'm not even sure there's any comedy in it.
Woman spent 2 years sitting on boyfriend’s toilet.
Seriously. A woman spent 2 years sitting on a toilet. Her legs "looked like they had atrophied". They had to pry the toilet seat off with a crowbar because "her body fat had grown attached to the seat". She initially refused medical services.
Her boyfriend would check up on her, and bring her food and water. He would ask her if she wanted to leave on a daily basis. She refused every time.
I don't know what's more stunning: The fact that a woman seemingly wanted to sit on a toilet all day, every day, or that the boyfriend didn't do anything about it for two years.
We suck at multitasking
London (UK) is running a trial of padding lampposts so that people who are walking and focussing on their mobile phones don't hurt themselves.
Uh...