shadowspar

Coffee machine UX fail

2014-02-24T04:29:48Z

So my inlaws have this coffee machine.

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Thanks fer comin' out, LJ

2011-10-27T21:02:29Z

Checked in on LiveJournal just now on account of their latest security fail, and elected to delete my account there rather than keep it hanging around. I don't use it any more, so it doesn't represent anything more than a potential liability anyway.

I'd considered doing so (and really should have done) a while back when it was pointed out to me that they'd started running really obnoxious ads, like full-page / interstitial ones, or banners with scantily-clad imvu anime icons. No, I don't see that stuff myself (I've not touched the site in the past 18 months, and I run NoScript anyway, which means most of the crap doesn't load), but it still bothers me when they put stuff like that next to my smiling face and the words I wrote. I still like the people on LiveJournal, but the antics and long history of fail of LJ Corporate, not so much.

Thanks for coming out, LJ.

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LinkedIn's Underhanded Privacy Fail

2011-08-12T01:46:53Z

(Cross-posted from my "professional" DW.)

As you may or may not have already heard, LinkedIn recently added a new "feature" that allows them to use your name and image in their advertising. It is turned on by default, with no direct notification to the user that it has been added and activated.

This is an abuse of your trust. It is wrong.

You have authorized LinkedIn to do a certain set of things with your data, but they have gone and done something else with it; something to which you haven't consented. It is as though someone had asked to borrow your car to go grocery shopping but then took it bar-hopping instead.

It would be bad enough for any website to do this, but LinkedIn isn't just any social networking site -- it's a professional networking forum. Your presence on it is a living résumé. LinkedIn is the custodian of your professional reputation. Shouldn't they be handling it a little more respectfully than this?

What they should have done is to ask first, with the default being 'no'. Presumably, they knew that most people would either answer no if presented with this choice, or not answer at all -- thus removing the majority of their user base from this program and largely eliminating the additional ad revenue it would bring. This is a move that smacks of desperation; of a company that is ruthlessly trying to wring every possible cent of ad revenue out of its subscriber base.

I'm participating in one event that's using LinkedIn to organize, but after it's done, so is my LinkedIn account.

Thanks for coming out, LinkedIn.

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Everything you ever needed to know about dudebro characterization

2010-12-22T05:08:22Z

...conveniently summed up in this single video created by EA!

I imagine the conversation went something like this...

Dudebro 1: Hey, we've got this woman in Red Alert who's tough as nails, sarcastic as hell, and kicks a lot of ass. How are we going to expand on her character in Red Alert 2?
Dudebro 2: She's not very hot. Let's sex her up!
Dudebro 1: What a great idea!
Dudebro 3: You know what would be even more awesome? In Red Alert 3, we should have her played by Jenny fuckin' McCarthy!

(The Crown rests. FFS.)

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Thanks fer comin' out, Facebook

2010-12-16T03:46:44Z

Celebrated Zuck getting TIME's "Person of the Year" award by deleting my almost-completely-disused Facebook account. Every person on there whom I'm at all close to, I interact with via some other medium. The only function it was serving was for freaky exes from my past to find me, and I've had quite enough of that, thank you very much.

Wanna hear the best part? When you go to deactivate your account (which is different to deleting it permanently) it shows you the profile pics of a few of your friends (probably the ones you interact with the most) and says "Are you sure you want to deactivate your account? $FRIENDNAME1 will miss you. $FRIENDNAME2 will miss you."...etc.

*delete*

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