obso1337.org

Often enough, people who are color blind get overlooked when testing a design for accessibility. Today at work, I read up on color blindness and how it effects web design. In the process, I discovered a neat website called Vischeck which will simulate the different kinds of colorblindness (to some extent).

Another issue I had previously disregarded was the labeling of links within a paragraph or similar content area. Sometimes (actually, most of the time) a color indicator isnt enough to set a link apart from the rest of the text. FEMA is certainly guilty of this, and several of you as well.

Ill give Eli a break since the underline appears when the mouse is focused on the content which takes up most of the document space (although if you navigate using a keyboard, focus is not given to the space and the underline does not appear). Brian, Im sorry, but your website gives me a headache to think about (think of this as getting off easy). My design has its own flaws, but being able to identify problems is a step closer to the solution.

Dont mind me for picking, its just an interesting new thing I picked up at work.

seele :: Jan.31.2005 :: General, Usability, Work :: 6 Comments »

Today I finished my third book for the year: Automated Alice. To tell you the truth, I wasnt very impressed. Jeff Noon is also the author of Vurt which I had previously read and enjoyed. It was an extremely light read and I finished it in two days. Im still shooting for my goal of 25/25, but I may make it with time to spare.

New Books: 2/25
Old Books: 1/25

1. The Difference Engine - William Gibson, Bruce Sterling (05/01/14 New)
2. Burning Chrome - William Gibson (05/01/24 Old)
3. Automated Alice - Jeff Noon (05/01/25 New)

seele :: Jan.25.2005 :: Books, General :: 1 Comment »

No thanks to the Metro this morning, I managed to finish my second book. Like I said before, I will probably be able to do 25/25.

New Books: 1/25
Old Books: 1/25

1. The Difference Engine - William Gibson, Bruce Sterling (05/01/14 New)
2. Burning Chrome - William Gibson (05/01/24 Old)

seele :: Jan.24.2005 :: Books, General :: 1 Comment »

Since the wake of the December 26th tsunami in the Indian Ocean, FEMA has been criticized about its Tsunami Game; both for its existance and unavailability.

This news story was published today after the game had been taken down after the tsunami after a Scottish reporter insisted it was insensitive, then republished on the site after several teachers had requested it for use in their classrooms, and again taken down after more complaints about sensitivity issues.

Come on people, do you really think this game was developed to poke fun at tsunami victims? After all of the media of videos and photographs of the aftermath of the tsunami, do you really think this little game (which is *educational*) is going to desensitize the situation even more? Where are all the people complaining about Fox New’s photo collage that had run for hours all day? You have to admit the excitement of the disaster wore off quickly because of all the f!@cking media. Yes, you were desensitized. And it wasnt because of FEMA’s game.

seele :: Jan.21.2005 :: General, Work :: 1 Comment »

About a week ago, Elwing posted about the “Fifty Fifty Book Challenge”, which is a challenge to read fifty new books and fifty old books in one year.

Continue Reading »

seele :: Jan.15.2005 :: Books, General, Life :: 3 Comments »