[mythtv-users] Sell mythtv "set-top" boxes

[Mark Cooper]

Ray Olszewski wrote:
> (Background: I've viewing the database on a Win2K host running Netscape 
> 4.something. I normally operate it with ALL "advanced" features -- Java, 
> Javascript, cookies -- disabled, for privacy reasons. The database I am 
> viewing is the one that the MythTV HowTo's hardware section links to.)
> 
> 1. Warn the user that the database display expects Javascript to be 
> enabled. With Javascript disabled, my browser still displays the data, 
> but in an almost unreadable format. With Javascript on, the format is 
> merely hard to read (see next item).
> 
> 2. Hard to read elements in the Javascript view:
> 
>         A. The display has some text at the very top that is white print 
> on light gray. I cannot read what it says.
> 
>         B. The bluish-gray "header" boxes to not match the text ... some 
> of the text bleeds off the right side, and the boxes bleed down into the 
> first row of data.
> 
>         C. Header and data boxes/text bleed over to the Login and other 
> sections on the right.
> 
>         D. The print is very small. (Side gripe: why do so many Web 
> sites insist on preventing the user from adjusting the type size? Are 
> they all written by young people with good eyesight, who don't realize 
> the problem that older folks with failing vision have?)

Most of the above comes down to the CMS I choose to use - Tiki ( 
http://tikiwiki.sf.net/ ). I've been actively bug hunting and submitting 
patches to their project, so I'll bear all the above in mind :)


> 3. Entries often show up in the wrong field. A common problem is that 
> the "Rating" number appears in the "Audio" column (this probably happens 
> most because it is the rightmost pair of fields, so all errors propagate 
> to it). I'm guessing from this that either the database itself or the 
> Javascript display manager does not handle empty fields properly, since 
> the errors all seem to be shifts to the left. (The presence of separate 
> fields for "CPU" and "CPU type" seems to occasion a lot of omitted data 
> ... understandably to my eye, since I can't figure out the difference 
> between the two.)

Hmm, not seen or come across this. Bear in mind that alot of the entries 
come from the old database that had far less fields and so have been 
left blank.


> 4. Although early entries (page 1) in the database take me to displays 
> of the complete entry, similar clicking on later entries (page 16) 404 
> with:
> 
>         Bad Request
> 
>         Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
> 
>         The request line contained invalid characters following the 
> protocol string.
> 
> (An actual URL that generates this result is
>         http://pvrhw.goldfish.org/tiki-view_pvrent.php?systemid=Gabe 
> Ghearing&PHPSESSID=643a9757786fff46c0e052859aa20ae9  ).

Works fine for me. Not sure what that is.


> 5. Ben suggested a lot of things the absence of which hurts usability. I 
> suggest these in addition:
> 
>         A. Date the entry was made (helps identify recommendations made 
> obsolete due to slipstreaming).

This *IS* included in every entry, although entries moved over from the 
old database will not have it.


>         B. Display (even just monitor vs. TV would help.)

OK, good point.


> 6. Your responses to Ben refer to a "comments" section. I'm not seeing 
> this displayed (not even as an empty field), either on the database 
> "grid" page or (for the early ones I can access) on the individual-entry 
> page. Where should I be finding this?

The Comments section is below the software settings fields and before 
the last modified field.


> 7. More generally, I think you rely excessively on the comments section 
> to remedy gaps in the specific questions. Ben covered the specifics of 
> this pretty well, so I won't repeat them here.

As I tried to explain to Ben, its a case of where do you draw the line? 
The database was initially designed to allow people to compare hardware 
setups, as the software set-up comes down to your level of experience 
with GNU/Linux.


> 8. Navigation: the only way I saw to read through the database is page 
> by page, starting at page 1 (which I'm guessing is the oldest entries). 
> At a minimum, I'd like to see a "jump to last page" option ... the most 
> recent entries are, in my opinion, likely to be the most useful.

OK, good point.


> OK. Those comments are based on reading the database. Now I tried to 
> enter my data.
> 
> 9. First, I pressed "Add entry" and was told I could not post ne because 
> I was not logged in.
> 
> 10. I registered, and was told I'd receive an e-mail with instructions. 
> It came about 10 minutes later. Following the link it provided, I tried 
> to log in twice. Both times, I was returned to the login page with no 
> explanation, and when I tried to enter data, I was told I am not logged 
> in. (This may have been a cookies problem ... if it is, the response 
> page really should say so ... but after the first failure, I turned on 
> cookies to the originating server.) The third time I tried -- going back 
> to the URL in the e-mail message -- I got this message: "Invalid 
> username or password Return to home page".  At that point, I gave up.

Again, Tiki issues. Tiki is Open Source, anyone can submit patches, 
improvements. I'll look into it.


> Oh well ... at least you know why my data are not in the database.
> 
> Hope these comments help you in your effort to make the database more 
> useful. Good luck.

Thanks for the feedback.

-- 

Mark Cooper
http://netmangler.sourceforge.net - Network Management with Attitude
http://pvrhw.goldfish.org - Open Source PVR Hardware Database