Want to upgrade to Windows 7? Want to save 50%? Want to help me out a little? I’ve got you covered. Just follow the Amazon link below and you’ll be whisked over to the Windows 7 pre-order page where you can pick the version you want. Sure I’ll get a little something in the deal too, but you don’t mind that, right?
Hopefully db won’t mind me using his blog for a little evil – I’m doing the same on my site too…
I admit it – I actually read the phishing e-mails, some more closely than others. Not because I believe that the Crown Prince of Nigeria wants to give me any money or that I’ve inherited money from an unknown relative in Tiawan or anything. It’s just that some of these e-mails are so pathetic that it’s kind of amusing.
The latest one to get my attention:
—–Original Message—– From: chenjb [mailto:chenjb@mail.stut.edu.tw] Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 4:35 AM Subject: Please Reply to this email:acct.service55@gmail.com
Attention,
This mail is to get you inform that there was a record of a deposited fund of $1.5 million dollars in our Bank with your details by Steven Coleman Company Ltd as your own share of the contract you both did
You are been noted as to get back to us so that we can be able to work out the transfer immediately.
UBA BANKING GROUP PLC
E-mail:acct.service55@gmail.com
David Doye
Note that more details will be needed for transfer clarity sake.
Thanks,
chenjb Lui
Please Reply to this email:acct.service55@gmail.com
What I really like is the e-mail address it came from – this guy is so lazy he can’t even be bothered to send from an e-mail address that might almost be remotely credible… Instead he just uses what is quite probably his own student e-mail account from his school in thTiawan… So here it is for every e-mail spambot on the interwebs – chenjb@mail.stut.edu.tw SPAMBOTS ATTACK!!!!!
You might remember this from back in December about roaming internationally with AT&T. I do believe my official comment was unless you are made of money.
Turns out, the same is true of Verizon Wireless.
Thought I’d give them a ring to find out exactly what they would charge me to use my phone in the UK next month. I knew it would be bad, but it’s actually worse. I certainly hope you are sitting down.
If I were to call VZW, get the unlock code for my SIM so that it would work on the GSM networks available in the UK and then make or receive a phone call, I would be happily charged $1.29 per minute for that call. Sure that’s steep, but then I asked about data charges.
Holy crap. And, for good measure, holy crap!
$.02 per kilobyte. that’s 2 pennies for 1/1024th of a megabyte. I’ll save you the headache from doing the math by telling you that it comes to a little more than $20.00 per MB! Are you fucking kidding me? $20?!?!
Am I to believe that the largest cellular carrier in the United States, who, from what I understand, is pretty tight with Vodaphone, can’t work a better deal? No, I don’t think so. I think they VZW, much like the rest of the cellular providers, are a bunch of greedy bastards that like to take advantage of their idiot customers that don’t know any better any chance they get.
I’m still waiting for that point in history where humanity rises up against the evil that is known as the cellular phone industry and starts to demand fair pricing, good coverage and good service, not just a fancy handset. And, if anyone could point me in the direction to get on the mailing list for that memo, it would be greatly appreciated.
Much like the iPhone epidemic of aught seven drove me beyond distraction, Twitter is doing the same.
I use Twitter. I like Twitter. I think it’s handy to have around. But lately it seems that it is the only thing anyone can talk about.
For example, the word Twitter appears over 20 times on the front page of Mashable. I have unsubscribed.
In the last 2 episodes of TWiT, more than 50% of the stories were about Twitter. I have unsubscribed for the time being. Hopefully normal tech talk will resume soon.
Even on Twitter there is getting to be too much talk about Twitter. I just finished unfollowing about 5 of the worst offenders there.
It’s time to realize that there are more important things to discuss than how many people follow you on Twitter or what’s the best Twitter app to use or, or, or.
You people are like Pitbulls. You find something you like, get it stuck in your jaws and wave it around until it’s a bloody, limp mess that nobody wants anything to do with anymore. Time to find something else to talk about.
I’ve been having issues with HTML forms ever since I switched to the Mac.
On Windows browsers (pretty much all of them), when you press the tab key (insert ridiculous apple symbol here), you go from field to field. This includes stops at drop downs, radio buttons and check boxes. Without doing anything, it just works.
But not so on the Mac. When I tab through a form invariably it skips drop downs and radio buttons and check boxes. This is terribly annoying. I would guess it is because browsers on the Mac more closely follow HTML standards, but I’m not sure.
I have some experience designing forms. Forms in Word, in Excel, in MS Access, even in HTML. I am of the belief that when it comes time to use a form, the user should not have to take their hands off of the keyboard to navigate. Only to check a box or click a button. Everything should be handled with the tab key (or shift-tab for backward navigation). Every form I’ve ever created does this.
The way to get HTML forms to properly navigation is by using the TABINDEX attibute. According to the W3:
The following elements support the tabindex attribute: A, AREA, BUTTON, INPUT, OBJECT, SELECT, and TEXTAREA.
Just about every form element in HTML supports the TABINDEX attribute as you can see above. I think it might be something that not everyone is familiar with. It’s as simple as adding
tabindex=1
to the form attribute. Using sequencial numbers will provide tab stops exactly where you want them. Especially handy if your form covers 2 columns or has many SELECT (drop down) boxes.
Forms are a big part of the user experience on the web. It’s a shame not all sites treat them as such and just cobble them together without fully checking how they navigate. Just a little something to think about.
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