please empty your brain below
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Yes, fixing things that do not need a fix.
My mobile telephone did an automatic update "fix" to its system on Wednesday night and whilst I was out Thursday I had a negative screen, I have found out how to correct this "feature" back to normal today.
As for web sites unfortunately we get these changes thrust upon us. I think just slight improvements and changes to existing home pages are better than a complete major change. I suppose as Flickr is free we should be pleased to have it.
John | 28.03.14 - 7:15 a.m. | #
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the new gmaps is awful. so slow its virtually unusable on my mac
dave | 28.03.14 - 8:13 a.m. | #
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After the major changes to Flickr last year I opened and account at Ipernity an made all of my Flickr photos private.
I found Ipernity very, very quiet compared to Flickr, it felt like the staff there missed an opportunity with the Flickr exodus.
I started using Flickr again but after the latest 'improvement' yesterday I don't know where to go.
Why do these website makers insist on 'improving the experience' when everything is fine as it is?
Surely if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Tetramesh | Homepage | 28.03.14 - 8:55 a.m. | #
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Like you with Flickr, I seem to have lost the Google maps I created (My Maps?), unless they're there and I just haven't located where yet.
Hate Google maps now! That bloody great search box slap bang in the middle of the map etc... Grrrrrrr! Really great idea to put all the functions on top of what you're trying to look at!
CornishCockney | 28.03.14 - 8:59 a.m. | #
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There must be something in the air - yesterday I was offered the option to switch to the new BBC News site and surprise surprise...it's awful! It's clearly been designed for mobile screens and is a huge step backwards on desktop requiring enormous amounts of scrolling to see the same amount of content as previously. It's currently in 'beta', so hopefully unlike TFL they'll get it into a decent state before forcing the switch.
dave | 28.03.14 - 9:19 a.m. | #
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How much do you pay a month to Flickr?
Messiah | 28.03.14 - 10:12 a.m. | #
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I don't mind the new google maps, if anything it shows more map. Though some of it is hidden behind the search box, you woulnd't have seen that part of the map previously. Unless I'm missing something.
John | 28.03.14 - 10:15 a.m. | #
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And the cretins behind the new Google Maps STILL HAVEN'T TAKEN ON BOARD that we here in the UK like out motorways blue. -> BLUE in colour, please Google. The way that it's always been and matches the colours the the Department of Transport here use for Motorway signs. It's a no-brainer isn't it? Cretins.
geofftech | Homepage | 28.03.14 - 10:29 a.m. | #
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I can't be bothered to get cross any more about Flickr's nonsensical updates. I'll simply cancel my subscription at the due time and probably withdraw all of my photos. Why should I pay money and make the effort for something so hopeless? My rate of uploading photos has slowed considerably despite having thousands of old photos to scan and share.
And when my photos do disappear it'll wreck a fair few of DG's articles as he's been kind enough to link to some of my snaps over the years. Just remember that it's Flickr's fault for providing something useless that I don't wish to use.
As for Google Maps - well I use that less too since the redesign. If the Beeb is going "dumb" then that means less use too. Given the BBC have apps for smartphone use I fail to see why the website needs a redesign.
PC | 28.03.14 - 10:29 a.m. | #
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A couple years ago, London City Airport redesigned its website. From a great site to crap, making it hard to find out the info required. It seems they have redesigned again after taking some harsh criticism.
Most redesigns are for mobile device compatibility - it seems.
Running Correspondent | 28.03.14 - 10:33 a.m. | #
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Talking of which, I think your blog could do with a redesign.
John | 28.03.14 - 11:04 a.m. | #
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Our university has gradually forced departments onto yet another cretinous template which owes more to a Fischer Price activity toy for cots than any manual on ergonomic web design. I now have to spend four times as long re-entering data onto a different system which previously used to generate web pages automatically so everyone had one and everyone's was laid out the same.
You've missed the big one, though, which isn't strictly 'web' but is computers; Windows 8. Apparently we all have the prerequisite knowledge that to gain access to the search tool or volume control you have to do a finger-bolero on the right hand edge of the mouse pad or touch screen.
And I've now given up on Flickr, I don't do Facebook or Twitter, I've left Blogger... The interwebs is just ruined for me now. I couldn't even comment on BBC's The Big Questions as I didn't have Facebook or Twitter, and they don't do email or SMS anymore. Bit bad that they only offer commercial interactivity rather than open standards.
Audrey | 28.03.14 - 11:19 a.m. | #
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Oh god - Not the BBC again? Yikes - http://m.bbc.co.uk/news - ACRES of whitespace :(
43% of their traffic is from mobiles, so they need to think "mobile first", apparently. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/internet/posts/News-responsive-design-in-beta
Great.
Have they learned from the reaction to their previous redesign in 2010 (and in 2008, and 2007, and ...)? http://www.theguardian.com/media/pda/2010/jul/22/website-bbc-news-redesign-grief
No doubt people complain every time, so they can just ignore that, right?
Andrew | 28.03.14 - 12:12 p.m. | #
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If it all so bad then perhaps one could all switch off the computer(s)/laptop(s)/tablet(s)/smartphones(s)for a day, week, month, year or longer. Life "off the grid" can be the solution, but doubt many of us could do it for any given length of time.
E | 28.03.14 - 12:29 p.m. | #
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I can still see your sets on a map, which is handy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgeezer/sets/72157600626504757/map/
Hackney cyclist | 28.03.14 - 12:29 p.m. | #
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I also don't like the flickr re-design but I can also appreciate that sometimes it's needed. I used to use a photo sharing website called fotopic (www.fotopic.net). It was in my opinion the best at the time but the problem was it never really updated at all and had become rather slow and clunky. Although free you had to pay for more space beyond a certain amount, which I did do. But because it had started to look dated people started to move away from it until they went best and all my photos went offline.
Flickr do have to do a re-design to some extent because parts of the old site use Flash. Flash is not available on Apple Ios, so won't work on IPads and IPhones. Similarly browser manufactures are going away from using plugins (which Flash is) hence if you've tried recently to use a Java applet on a website you'll see all the prompts you have to accept. So they have to re-design to some extent to get away from Flash.
Jon Combe | 28.03.14 - 12:36 p.m. | #
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I am glad to see these critical comments; it validates my own feelings on these matters which I wasn't so confident were valid. I've disliked the new googlemaps for the three weeks since they forced it on me. I sympathize with those of you dealing with the forced Flicker changes, too. The post yesterday about the new, problem-ridden, bus website started me thinking that people even more familiar with and dependent on computers than me are starting to feel some of the frustration and anxiety I've had for quite a while now.
When is enough enough. And why fix something that wasn't broken?
thrown olives | 28.03.14 - 12:51 p.m. | #
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The old Google Maps always opened where I live. The new one always opens with USA.
On the small question mark icon in the bottom right corner, you can revert to the old map.
Greg | 28.03.14 - 1:18 p.m. | #
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Flickr: Pity about the map stuff, but I much prefer the new photo page to the interim new one launched just over a year ago.
TfL: The site is missing lots of stuff, but it needed the shot in the arm, and is much better than before for it.
Google Maps: I don't hate it as much as some do, but I do think the search box/route planning needs a UX consultant to get involved.
Kirk | 28.03.14 - 1:26 p.m. | #
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Thank you Greg!! I now have google maps, and My Places back to how I like it, at least until they remove that option totally because "no one uses it"!
CornishCockney | 28.03.14 - 1:53 p.m. | #
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John at 10:15am,
you might not have known that (in old google maps) after the google map page loads, and the left half of screen is white, right half is maps, do this: click on the little triangle arrow in the white, left portion of the screen and the map will expand to fill your whole screen.
| 28.03.14 - 2:11 p.m. | #
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Have you DG decided who will take your place on the Orbit , If so can I go I have never been to the Olympic park before.
Luke Treherne | 28.03.14 - 4:14 p.m. | #
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@ Jon Combe - I do not see people disputing the need to update websites. Updates are a perfectly rational and sensible activity for businesses to do.
What is not acceptable is ignoring feedback from a long standing, dedicated user base as with Flickr. Losing a mass of functions and features and destroying people's user experience is plain daft. Launching incomplete, bug ridden websites and expecting your users to tell you where you've gone wrong is unforgiveable. Designing replacement websites with completely different urls wrecks the work that a lot of people have done to optimise their usage of sites and to draw down data for analysis. The final insult is then to ask for feedback after the event and to then not bother listening to it - and yes Flickr that means you!
Implementing designs for technology used by only a proportion of your user base, which ruins the user experience for the remainder of your users, is also highly questionable. There are no guarantees as to what form of device and interface people will use in 2 years time never mind 10 so why all the investment into "touch" when boring old keyboards have been in place for much longer? It cannot be beyond the wit of these companies to cover a range of user interfaces and to do it *properly*.
The very best companies do engage, listen, present a proposition, get it assessed and reviewed and then aim to deliver the best upgrade / product possible. They're also not afraid to "fess up" and change things if they make a mistake. The absence of accepting there have been errors is a key feature of the firms DG has referred to. The "all is wonderful and we love it so you must too" mantra spouted in their press releases is simply vomit inducing.
PC | 28.03.14 - 6:21 p.m. | #
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It seems to be the season for redesigns. TfL, Flickr, BBC, and today my Facebook has been completely altered for something like the fifteenth time. Even the normally unchanging Wikipedia has some design changes coming up next week (although very minor compared to those other sites) http://www.fastcodesign.com/3028366/wikipedia-to-redesign-across-more-than-32-million-pages
the wub | Homepage | 28.03.14 - 6:28 p.m. | #
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Google maps is very slow for me too, and I have an i7 processor! I wish when transport, or 'transit' is highlighted it would not only put tube lines in bold. National rail lines should be too. They are a shade of grey making them very difficult to spot.
The new guardian site is terrible. Everything is enlarged so hardly any text or info is on screen at a time requiring constant scrolling. Sounds like the BBC one is the same.
I access sites on phones, ipad and desktop. Before sites would automatically adjust to the device, so desktop would show lots of info and the ipad page less, given the smaller screen. That's fine. Now they are forcing the mobile sites on desktops.
SJ | 29.03.14 - 5:38 p.m. | #
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If you hold down Ctrl and use the + or - keys you should be able to make the page larger or smaller if you find it too large one your desktop screen, as it is optimized for small screen mobile use.
John | 31.03.14 - 8:24 a.m. | #
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