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BloopNews
by Team Bloop

previous entry: Unexpected server downtime

next entry: Issue Tracking System

Thoughts of the day

05/02/2010

Hi Bloopers,

I don't really have anything major update on at the moment, but wanted to update nonetheless.

Bloop version 3 is slowly progressing towards something usable.

I'm pretty certain at this point that I'm going to abolish the side bar in favor of navigation at the top of the page. This will probably sound scary to many of you, but rest assured that the navigation will be much more clearly outlined at the top of the page.

One of advantage of no sidebar is a more versatile canvas for those of you that create layouts. Part of the system that I'm working on is a CSS module isolates CSS to a canvas, so that layouts don't affect system components such as the taskbar. You may have noticed on some pages that the taskbar looks a bit funky, this won't be an issue any longer.

Other things I've been contemplating: How will we present Bloop to mobile devices? How can we make the main page more interactive? How we will support members of Bloop with disabilities?

Bloop Bugs

As always, there are currently many bugs with the existing Bloop system. I'm looking towards halting the development of v3 at the moment and fixing problems with the existing system. I'd like to get some input from you everyone about bugs they think need the most attention.

What's The Poll About?

Some of you may have noticed the poll on the main page regarding choice of laptops. This is interesting to me because the choice of laptops seems to have no correlation to reported reliability of laptops.

Take a look at this report: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9938550-1.html

In my experience, HP and Toshiba are the worst laptops. DELL have awful powerjack problems. And to be frank, I hate Apple. *prepares to be flamed*


Well, I think that's about it.

Have a good day Bloopers.

Steve.





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previous entry: Unexpected server downtime

next entry: Issue Tracking System

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The reason I like my HP so much is the amount of help I'm able to get from their support team. I like that they'll talk me through an issue step-by-step, in layman's terms (I'm a little computer-dumb). Plus it's pretty.
Getting rid of the side bar actually sounds nice to me, I'm looking forward to seeing Bloop without it.
D

[Oprah NoodlemantraStar|0 likes] [|reply]

Don't you dare say anytihng bad about Dell! I KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! jk lol I hate crapple too!

[Greta GarbageStar|0 likes] [|reply]

I actually like DELL, and would pick a DELL out of any brand. But the power jacks on their laptops are very weak and badly designed.

[SteveStar|0 likes] [|reply]

my mom has a dell laptop and has no problem. Everything always has a flaw.

[Greta GarbageStar|0 likes] [|reply]

I hate toshiba! mine cost so much to be fixed just for it break a couple of months later. I bought a sony vaio in the end. I hate apple too lol

[*Amour De Bebe*Star|0 likes] [|reply]

As long as you keep me up and running you can do whatever you think is best for me as a bloop user. No I may not be here as much as I would like to be or have been in the past but I think that will change as my job lightens a bit.

I love this place and it will always be home to me FOREVER

Love you Steve, Kel and baby Charli

[stickbug7Star|0 likes] [|reply]

Every Dell Ive had crashed for some reason. But it was a desktop i wont own another Dell..but lucklie my Dell i did have got fixed. But the one before that burned up! I love my HP laptop!

[.VampireღLove.Star|0 likes] [|reply]

My Toshiba has had the best life of any laptop I've known. The poor thing should be dead, it hasn't been shut down for more than 12 hours since it was purchased 5 years ago. Literally, never had a problem with it, that wasn't user-induced, meaning I just had to reformat and I was good to go! HP is crappy, and I hate Apple too!

[fears.on.fire|0 likes] [|reply]

My Dell sucks.
The power is terrible. I have replaced my charger once. It also holds a charge for about 2 hrs, if I'm lucky. Three hour lectures are brutal. I will never recommend Dell or buy another one. I have replaced an AC adapter, battery, CD drive, case around the screen, and a keyboard.

[- misseriin*Star|0 likes] [|reply]

I hate my dell, its the biggest piece of shit I have ever owned. I had a toshiba and nothing ever went wrong with it, so I obviously loved it. My Acer was pretty amazing too. My dell though, seriously, I will never own another dell for as long as I live.



♥Mindi

[○MindiStar|0 likes] [|reply]

I love my Mac. Not a single problem with Mac in the 7 years I've had one. But I agree with you about Toshiba. Toshiba is HORRIBLE. I once got a Toshiba and within 2 months, it crashed and I lost everything (and I was in school too, so that was a huge deal). Within 3 months from there, it crashed AGAIN, then about a month after that the battery quit working at all, then a few months later it crashed again, then a couple months after that when I was studying abroad, it decided to randomly delete the OS altogether AND out of the blue at that same time after I got someone to put Windows back on it and restart all over again, it would overheat if it was on for more than 30 seconds. I've had problems with other Toshibas as well and family members/friends have too. I tell everyone I know to stay as far away as humanly possible.

[Sunlight Silence|0 likes] [|reply]

laptops never seem like a real PC to me.

[Tommy Decentralized |0 likes] [|reply]

HP are the shittiest laptops I've seen, my roommate has had his repaired several times and replaced once already in the past few years. I've never seen a problem with Toshi though, and my other roommate has one. Dell is kinda cool, I guess.

Oh, and Miracle Whip is STILL better.

[Bring On TomorrowStar|0 likes] [|reply]

On a side note, I like Acer a lot. It doesn't give me many problems.

Minus the fact that I drop it frequently and it is apparently NOT indestructible.

[Bring On TomorrowStar|0 likes] [|reply]

IBM/Lenovo and Dell are certainly the most reliable laptop brands, and you're right that Del has had their issues with power jacks. I had good luck with very old Toshibas but about 6 or 7 years ago they went to crap.

[dreams.came.true|0 likes] [|reply]

i have a dell and it's a piece! it randomly overheats on me alll the time. i bought a laptop cooler to sit it on and it STILL overheats. i can't figure the damn thing out.

[jessn.|0 likes] [|reply]


NO SIDEBAR? OMGWTFBBQ!!!!1 I AM SCARED! QUAKING IN MY BOOTS, YO!

I'M WONDERING... CAN YOU DO THE TOP OF PAGE BAR SO IT DOESN'T FLASH AND SHUDDER EACH TIME YOU SCROLL DOWN? LIKE, THAT DOES MY HEAD IN, YO! I LIKE TOP BARS, BUT... DO NOT BE ANGRY, YO... LIKE THE ONE IN OPEN DIARY! sOZ! NATURALLY BLOOP IS MUCH BETTER THAN OD AND ALL, BUT, LIKE, THEIR TOP BAR DOESN'T MOVE AND FLASH AND SHUDDER!

AND, STEVIE BOY, YOU WERE THE ONE WHO FIRST ADVISED ME THAT DELL ARE ONE OF THE BEST LAPTOPS, BACK IN THE DAY, YO! YOU TOLD ME THAT HP WERE BAD AND THAT DELL WERE REALLY GOOD! WHICH DO YOU PERSONALLY ADVISE NOW, YO? I HAVE A TOSHIBA NOW, BUT I TOTALLY GOT IT FREE, SO I'M NOT COMPLAINING!

[Estella the ElderStar|0 likes] [|reply]

I still recommend DELL. But more than the brand, you have to be very particular about the hardware the laptop comes with. If you want it to last, going for a powerful graphics card is a big NO NO. Go for something entirely Intel based, skip AMD because they suck.

The taskbar doesn't shudder for me? What browser are you using?

[SteveStar|0 likes] [|reply]

It shudders for me using Chrome, and IE. I hate FF, so no chance of me using that. But yeah, I've just disabled the top bar as it drives me nuts too!

[fears.on.fire|0 likes] [|reply]


Gosh, I did not get a notification that you'd replied to my comment, yo! I use Firefox browser. And I have selected the option where the taskbar always stays on the screen. So when I scroll down, it shudders. On both my Dell laptop and my Toshiba, yo!

[Estella the ElderStar|0 likes] [|reply]

I pretty much used my old Dell laptop for the past 6 years straight and never had a problem with it that wasn't made by me. I blew out the dial-up modem cos stupid me had left it on during a storm, but other than that, besides the specs not being up-to-date with the computer/internet world, it works great, and I gave it to my dad.

I just bought another Dell laptop (inspiron 1545, my other laptop was an inspiron) and I am in love with it. No problems so far. Gotta love Dell.

♥Lacy

[foreverglowStar|0 likes] [|reply]

it's refreshing to see someone actually hating apple's. i don't hate them, but i hate the whole "ZOMG APPLES NEVAR HAVE PROBLEMS!!1!!" attitude. uh, yeah they do dip shits.

[& skull.Star|0 likes] [|reply]

Yeah - very true, they do have problems. And actually, some of the problems they have are very difficult to fix. They are more difficult to find support for. Labour costs are higher. They charge much more for the hardware. They are not an open market like the IBM PC is - for example, you couldn't buy a 'DELL' Mac. They all look freaking identical.

There are a lot of things I don't like about Apple.

[SteveStar|0 likes] [|reply]

I think that HP/Toshiba are aimed to be more user-friendly for the non-tech savvy people.

Personally I'm a Sony girl.
I'm saving towards a Vaio, and yes, In pink. We all know me

Apple irritates me. So much.
Every time I use one I want to bash myself over the face.

[Jessica|0 likes] [|reply]

I've had 2 Gateway laptops and they've been awesome. The only problem I had with my first one is that the AC Adapter kept screwing up, but that hasn't been a problem so far on the 2nd one. My husband had a Dell before he got my hand-me-down Gateway and he never had a problem with it, and we got my mom an HP laptop for Christmas and it's been awesome to her so far, so I really have no "ZOMG YOU SUCK" brands to pop out at me .

♥ -

[Lauren.|0 likes] [|reply]


I'm currently able to fully modify the taskbar via CSS. xD I think the taskbar should be fully modifiable (eventually), just like the visualisation is - have the option of a black taskbar, grey, white, purple, green, blue, red, orange, and so on. xD

[lithium layouts.Star|0 likes] [|reply]


And, I've used a variety of laptops (IBM, Dell, Acer) and never encountered problems - probably because I don't use them for long enough before we sell them/give them away. xD

[lithium layouts.Star|0 likes] [|reply]

Sony's are a pain in the ass.

[Jenna bean....Star|0 likes] [|reply]


Everyone hereeee hates Acers. It's kind of weird because I have had two Acers since I started using laptops and the only problems I've had were either caused by me (spilling water on it for example), or powercord/battery problems. : ) : ) : )

.jessa♥

[immortalized artisteStar|0 likes] [|reply]

My toshiba laptop sucks! We spent a decent amount of money on it and it broke down within the first few months of buying. It took forever to get it fixed and when I got it back the sound no longer worked. I should have sent it back at that point but I was being stubborn and didn't want to be without it again.

I have an HP and have had awesome luck with it. We have an HP desktop too which we had for a good couple of years before anything went out on it. We are currently needing a new power supply for it. My laptop broke down on me. I called them up where they trouble-shooted me through the phone. We were on the phone for about an hour before they decided the laptop needed to be sent in. The shipped me a box that had all the packaging materials I needed including tape to seal the box shut and shipping labels. I received the box on monday, sent the box out to them on the same day. They received my laptop on wednesday, fixed it, and shipped it back out the same day. I got the laptop back on friday. Their customer service is amazing and I couldn't have asked for anything better.

I have never had a dell buthave never heard a bad thing about them either.

[Comment Whore™Star|0 likes] [|reply]

for the record, YES, Dell sucks when it comes to power jack problems. I have gotten two replacement cords in addition the cord the computer came with, and my laptop still randomly goes from battery power to charging because there is not a good connection. I have never known anyone else to have these issues with anything other than a Dell.

[stars may collide|0 likes] [|reply]

The problem is more likely with the internal power jack than it is with the adapter itself. There are so many connections in the little jack that they get bent / wear out.

[SteveStar|0 likes] [|reply]

change is good, people will adapt!

[JailNurse|0 likes] [|reply]

supporting blooopers withdisabilities...just make sure the devisualise button doesn't get lost in some drop down menu.... I have trouble finding it as it is

[an empty frame.|0 likes] [|reply]

The devisualise button right now is on the taskbar, if you have it enabled....

[SteveStar|0 likes] [|reply]

...Oh, wow, it is too!!!! And there's an IM feature? And a search bar there too? Wtf, have I NEVER looked at the right hand side of the task bar? Heh...

[an empty frame.|0 likes] [|reply]

also i agree with estella, the top tool bar blinking/flashing when you scroll up or down drives me nuts too. once again if you are wanting to improve accessibility that may help. Or add a button to the front page that devisualises ALL the pages on the site. ...ok that's enough from me being anal about visualisation lol

[an empty frame.|0 likes] [|reply]

Is not Compaq and HP the same thing now? I thought Compaq bought out HP back in '01.

And ya forgot Alienware.

But yep.... Dell power jacks are shit.

[Dr. Hannibal LecterStar|0 likes] [|reply]

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