Arbitrary Musings

If you know anything about me, you know I love Firefox. I’ve used it since the days of Phoenix 0.1, I wear a Firefox t-shirt (though not around the office), and most recently I’ve been alpha testing Gran Paradiso. (Side note: a number of Microsoft employees have complemented me on my Gran Paradiso wallpaper, not noticing the “Firefox 3″ banner being pulled by the airplane). It seems there’s nothing out on the web that I can’t browse with Firefox. Consequently, I was quite surprised when I clicked the link to register at mytravelers.com to pay my renters insurance and received this dialog:

Really? You don’t support a (superior) browser that now holds about 25% market share? What’s the dealio? Not content with that, I checked the FAQ and read this tidbit:

What browsers work best on your website?
For optimal performance we recommend you use one of the following browsers when viewing the site.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0
• Macintosh Safari 2.0
• Firefox 1.0.7

Firefox 1.0.7? You’re shitting me, right? Well, I checked the source code of the front page, and apparently I am not being shitted. (Is that the right phrase?) I’m no JavaScript expert, but check out this crap code:

else if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Firefox")!=-1)
{
  //Do logon or registration if using 'Firefox1.0.7' or 'Firefox1.5'
  var vers=navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Firefox")+8
  var versionextension=navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Firefox")+10
  var versionindex=navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Firefox")+12
  if ((parseInt(navigator.userAgent.charAt(vers))==1)
	&& (parseInt(navigator.userAgent.charAt(versionindex))==7))

I’ll break it down if you don’t want to read all of that. Any Firefox version other than 1.0.7 or 1.5 will get the “unsupported browser” dialog. Apparently the site hasn’t been touched after October 23rd, 2006, since Firefox 2.0 was released the following day.

I know I’m complaining about this a lot, but the fact of the matter is that most users of the web don’t know what a user-agent string is, much less how to change it. Some users may read the FAQ and choose an alternate browser; others may not read the FAQ at all. (I’m sure I’m in a very small segment of users who check out the source code). Regardless, it gives the impression that Firefox isn’t as compatible as other browsers out on the market, all because a web developer wasn’t very forward thinking when writing code.

I’ve tried to do the right thing and have e-mailed the webmaster; hopefully this issue will be resolved shortly, and there will be one less website where Windows users have to rely on Internet Explorer.

While I don’t usually make small posts that link to another web site, this time warrants for an exception. Yesterday, while listening to Talk of the Nation on NPR, who should be on but Neil Gaiman, my absolute favorite author. Listening to him speak is simply delightful. (And come on, how many times have I used the phrase “simply delightful” on this blog? I’ve used the word “delightful” before, but not with the “s” word in front of it, so that should tell you something right there.)

If you’ve got about 17 minutes, go ahead and take a listen. And, of course, right around 10 minutes in, you know who is mentioned. Sadly, the tree scene isn’t in the film. Regardless, I’m definitely seeing Stardust this weekend!

I’ve been starting to use the built-in camera on my cell phone to capture scenes that are bizarre, humorous, or stimulate my mind. So, in the first of what I hope to be multiple installments, I thought I’d share a few of those photos and some commentary.

First off, let’s take a trip to Starbucks. I don’t know what the situation is in other areas of the country, but many of the stores here now have flat panel screens on the walls:

I thought this was a great way of integrating technology into a coffee shop without being too obtrusive. It’s obvious that the reason these have been installed is so that Starbucks can sell more of their featured music in the stores. However, there isn’t a downside for users like me, who have no intention of purchasing. I still get to know information that I otherwise wouldn’t know without asking the barrista, the displays aren’t in your face, and the interface is well designed and has a minimalism that’s quite appealing.

On to the next picture. After a meeting in Bellevue, a whole bunch of employees, including myself, took a shuttle back to campus. I spied these boxes above the driver, and the one on the right perked my interest:

Everyone has those small first aid kits, but I wondered to myself, “What’s in a body fluid cleanup kit?” I suppose there are some cloths, chemicals, etc. Are there instructions for particular types of fluids? And what fluids does the kit cover, anyways? Let’s say I was leaking some bile…can this kit help me out?

Last one. I snapped this photo at the company store:

Someone must have obviously tried opening up a box; otherwise, why would they need the sign? To whoever you are: enjoy sharing your music with…oh wait, who else owns one? On a small tangent, I was glad to see that the DRM has been cracked. Down with DRM!’

I think that’s enough for the installment. I hope you enjoyed, and we’ll see you all again for the next round of pics.