[LINK] Design by Macs for Macs

[Ivan Trundle]

Hmmm

The site looks like it has been designed by Windows users, actually...
(especially given that it is plugging a Windows box, and Windows
software)

However, I see two very different views, depending upon which operating
system I use to view it (modern equipment or not).

The main problem is the lack of valid html code: short and simple. It
might be black on grey in Firefox, but in Safari it is black on white.

http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hip-e.com%2F tells
it all.

Any self-respecting Macintosh designer would know that there is no such
thing as a 'height' attribute for tables (unless they live in a pure
Microsoft world), and in any event, would at least check out how the
design would look in the browser that intended visitors would use
(unlike many Windows designers, who make grander assumptions about what
visitors might actually use and see).

.cfm files, capitalisation in URL paths, wrong doctype declaration,
heavy javascript usage, and enough warnings in the css code, indicate
that the designer is not an expert, no matter which platform was used to
create the site.

The product that hip-e is trying to sell looks like it was designed by
a non-Macintosh user, too. No-one else would try to copy the iMac and do
it so badly.

iT

>>> <jeff.evans at iird.vic.gov.au> - 17/12/04 10:19 AM >>>
Having had (limited) exposure to graphic designers' fascination for
believing everyone uses a Mac, I'm annoyed to see it in evidence on the
web
- especially on a site that's attempting to sell something..

In this case it's <http://www.hip-e.com/> (the URL alone should give
you a
clue... )

I'm not going to talk about the product "digitally hip: this totally
new
designed-for-teens-by-teens computer is da bomb" or the fact that it's
a
mostly Flash site, but rather the "Mac designer" penchant for using
tiny
fonts against dark backgrounds that don't work for PC users.

I'm using a reasonably good quality HP flatscreen monitor, and the PC
has
an Intel 82865G graphics controller - in other words, it's a fairly
modern
setup - but there's no way I can read the text on this site unless I
drag
over the text to select it.

I thought dark backgrounds were "so 2001"...

Regards

Jeff Evans
Manager, Business Channel
Department of Innovation, Industry & Regional Development (DIIRD)
Victoria, Australia
Ph 03 9651 9590 Fax 03 9651 9725
Email jeff.evans at iird.vic.gov.au
http://www.business.channel.vic.gov.au
http://www.business.vic.gov.au
http://www.export.vic.gov.au
http://www.ecommerce.vic.gov.au



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