Phishing is the practice of conning an unsuspecting victim into giving away sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and banking details usually via fake e-mails. Phishing has gotten so bad that Robert Mueller, former head of the FBI, was nearly phished himself. The problem with phishing is that with a cursory glance the message and links provided look perfectly legitimate, which is exactly what the attacker relies on.

The headaches come from trying to sort out the legitimate messages from the fraudulent ones, and as Capital One’s email alert system demonstrates it’s not as easy as it looks. I received this notice [presumably] from Capital One yesterday evening, and while it’s not the first time I’ve gotten one of these from them it is the first time I’ve taken serious issue with it. The image below is the original with some personal details blurred out.

At first this looks pretty innocuous. Until, that is, you look at Capital One’s own guidelines for detecting a phishing scam. When you compare their own mailing to their guidelines, the message is fraught with problems.

Going through the characteristics of a phishing scam listed on the website, it becomes apparent that Capital One is not only hypocritical, but encouraging their customers to trust emails without a second thought. From Capital One’s website:

1. Sender’s e-mail address. To give you a false sense of security, the “From” line may include an official-looking e-mail address that may actually be copied from a genuine one. E-mail addresses can easily be spoofed, so just because it looks like it’s from someone you trust, you can’t always be sure.

At face value this is helpful information. In practice it is absolutely useless. Zero information is provided as to what a valid e-mail address from Capital One looks like. Is capitalone@email.capitalone.com a valid e-mail address, or is it from a phisher? How is anyone supposed to know? To compound the issue the reply-to address is a comically long string of characters followed by the same domain. Do you feel more comfortable e-mailing an address that looks like this:

uhfughga8968632jbbadbfjakjgy@email.capitalone.com

or this?

abuse@capitalone.com

My guess is most people would opt for the latter.

2. Attachments. Similar to fake links, attachments can be used in fraudulent e-mails. Never click on or open an attachment. It could cause you to download spyware or a virus. Capital One will never e-mail you an attachment or a software update to install on your computer. In general, never open unexpected attachments from anyone.

I viewed the mailing using Mac OS X’s built-in Mail client which is capable of showing HTML messages. However, some clients either do not have the capability or the user has them turned off, conditions under which the HTML would appear as an attachment. In addition to this, sending out an HTML-encoded e-mail seems unnecessary. If your goal is to simply inform me that my online statement is ready, you don’t need HTML or any other markup to get the message across.

3. Generic greeting. A typical fraudulent e-mail will have a generic greeting, such as “Dear Account Holder.”

The message did include a personalized greeting with my name and even the last four digits of my account number in the body of the e-mail. I’d give them credit for not violating #3 on their list, except that names are fairly easy to come by these days. My name is literally in more databases on the web than I can count, and the last four digits of the account number? At first glance I didn’t even notice it, and even if I had it would have taken me a second to verify if it was correct or not. How many people think to themselves, “Oh good- my account indeed ends in 8371 so this e-mail must be real.” when they probably have multiple credit cards, bank accounts, or other personal identification numbers to remember as well?

The generic subject line is suspect also, although this one I’m not as annoyed about because it’s hard to personalize a subject line informing someone their statement is ready to view. “Your statement is ready” is hardly any better than the following selection from my GMail spam box:

Immediate payment notification
Specialized account Offer
Pending Payment Authorization
Your input requested

4. False sense of urgency. Most fraudulent e-mails threaten to close your account or assess some penalty if you don’t respond right away. An e-mail that urgently requests you to supply sensitive personal information is typically fraudulent.

5. Typos and grammatical mistakes. Such mistakes are a dead giveaway in fake e-mails.

#4 and #5 are not evident in the message, thankfully. These indeed are common ways that phishers try to trick you.

6. Fake links. Many fraudulent e-mails have a link that looks valid, but sends you to a fake site that may or may not have an URL different from the link. Always check where a link is going before you click. Move your mouse over the URL in the e-mail and look at the URL in the browser. As always, if it looks suspicious, don’t click it. Open a new browser window, and type http://www.capitalone.com.

This is, in my opinion, the worst offender of them all. The e-mail includes a direct link to a site where you can provide your login credentials, presumably out of convenience. Too bad that’s exactly what a phisher would do also, and how many people would really notice whether or not you are connecting to an http: (common) or https: (secure) website?

To make things worse, even if you did want to check if it’s a valid web address you need to take an extra step (if your browser displays HTML) to see where the HTML-marked-up hyperlinks are leading to. How many people know how to actually do this? How many of those will actually do it?

Assuming a user gets as far as viewing the message as plain text, all of the addresses are formatted much like the reply-to email; for example

http://email.capitalone.com/123a9795elayfiusubezmygaaaaaabtxm5tkanfsnhiyaaaaa

We’re left with the same problem we had back up at #1- how do we tell if email.capitalone.com/abunchofrandomcharacters is legitimate or fraudulent? Why even bother masking the true destination this address points to in the first place other than to make your message seem less legitimate than it actually is?

I realize that Capital One and probably many other banks only mean well by providing a convenient means to access one’s account when they have an existing balance, but this is just ridiculous. While I believe the above email is real (and yes, I’ve e-mailed abuse@capitalone.com with a more direct version of this post), the scary thing is that phishing scams look real as well. Sadly even those consumers trying to protect their account information by actually following up on security guidelines are stonewalled by corporate hypocrisy.

If you take anything away from this post, use caution when asked for login or account information online, no matter how legitimate the source might seem.

I’m curious if any other credit cards or major banks send similar notices with similar problems. If you have a glaring example (or even a minor one), feel free to leave a comment. If you want to have an example posted here, send me an e-mail and we can work out the details. Also if you receive an email with similar problems from your bank, I’d urge you to contact their fraud department and cite the issues above.

What was the last concert you attended? If you haven’t gone, why not? Do you like classical music to begin with? Leave a note in the comments.

1. Backpacks

Yes- the old fashioned one or two-pocketed, two-strapped bag that you put around BOTH shoulders to take items from point A to point B. Backpacks seem to be losing popularity to messenger bags, purses, and the latest one-strap bookbags- but I can’t understand why (at least in the cases of messenger bags and one-strap bookbags). You can almost always fit more stuff in a backpack, they last forever, and they’re more comfortable to carry.

2. Handwriting

There’s a scene in the “Business School” of The Office in which Michael tells the class to write something down, and the camera turns to an auditorium full of business students tapping away some useless anecdote on their laptops. I think we’ve become much too reliable on our electronic lifestyles to appreciate the value of pen and paper. My reasoning is similar to some of my arguments for paper books vs. ebooks- pen and paper is cheap, reliable, and no company is ever going to take it away from you unexpectedly. My friends will attest that I am a big fan of handwritten letters- it’s always fun to get real mail these days. Handwriting a letter or your class notes connects you with your words on a level that typing them cannot. Typing takes speed, writing takes thought.

3. Local Business

There’s something to be said about the proliferation of big business in America and the explosion of commerce that the internet has made possible. On one hand it generally means lower prices, greater availability, and the convenience of being able to shop from one’s home. That’s fine- but chances are you live close to a local bookstore, eatery, grocery store, or other commercial center that is independently owned. Local businesses are reeling from the 1-2 punch of large “everything” stores (Amazon, Wal-mart) and the current recession. While they probably cannot compete with the prices you’ll find online, they trounce the larger vendors in the service department. Need a real person to recommend a book? Your local bookstore owner should have plenty. Want to taste a local delicacy? Don’t go to Applebee’s. You get the picture.

4. Non-electronic entertainment

Similar to the handwriting argument, I think we plug ourselves in too much when trying to entertain ourselves. I am speaking quite hypocritically here; I waste time on the internet just as much as anyone else in my free time, but I don’t forget that there are some things you can’t do with electronics. Since it’s the height of summer (at least in the northern hemisphere), get out and play a game of Ultimate. Attend a concert at your local or regional symphony orchestra. Spend a few hours and play a board game. You won’t regret it!

5. Walking

Driving has become an everyday necessity, but walking hasn’t lost its place in our lives. It’s good exercise, gives you a breath of fresh air, and offers a welcome change of pace from the otherwise busy day.

6. Film photography

I’ll be the first to admit that I think digital photography is one of the greatest mass consumer technological movements ever. The technology has advanced to the point where just a few hundred dollars buys you virtually unlimited photos provided you have the storage space. Of course the spread of digital photography has led to the dilution of the craft and the incorrect notion that “more is better.” People don’t realize that owning a DSLR means nothing if you don’t know how to use it. Film photography forces one to either spend a lot of money or gain a more intimate understanding of the variables involved in taking a memorable shot. It emphasizes quality over quantity instead of the opposite. Plus, film pictures still look better in a picture frame than digital, and film prints still hold a huge advantage in resolution over digital prints.

7. Real food

Restaurant chains, pre-packaged food, and the misconception that eating well takes more time than you have to offer are contributing to the death of “real” food. Instead of buying foods artificially enhanced with whatever nutrients or vitamins, why not just eat some broccoli? For some reason the perception is that there is no place for fresh produce in the kitchen or the restaurant. Food companies are not better than nature.

Agree/disagree? Argue with me in the comments.

Technorati Tags: backpack, handwriting, local, board game, internet, walks, cook, film, photography, computer, electronics, book, paper

That being said, I had been thinking about setting up a store page for a while, just so everything I cover is in one place.  A link has been added at the top of the sidebar to your left, or you can visit here.  When M365 continues I’ll be sure to add the recordings to the store.

Once again, thanks for your support!

Angoville-au-Plain- A small church in an even smaller town (population: 46) a few miles from Utah beach housed a makeshift hospital run by Airborne medics Bob Wright and Ken Moore. Dedicated to St. Cosmas and St. Damien, the patron saints of Doctors and Physicians, only 2 soldiers died in the church and out of 80 that were treated. Many of the stain glass windows (replaced after the war) honor this impressive humanitarian achievement of these two medics.

St. Mere-Eglise- The first town liberated by US Paratroopers on D-Day. Featured in many scenes in the movie The Longest Day.

Hedgerows- the hedgerows these days are much tamer than they must have been in 1944 after 2 years of neglect. We drove down several hedgerows converted into narrow roads, and even after being trimmed by Norman farmers you couldn’t see through them. All the stories you read about the bocage are true- it’s almost impossible to imagine how the Allies advanced field by field through such strong (pseudo-) natural barriers in the face of expert Nazi defense.

Utah Beach- By far the “easiest” beach on D-Day, Utah is the beach where almost everything went as planned. We were able to visit at low tide at both Utah and Omaha, and thus were able to get a better idea of what the beach looked like to the troops that were landing. The red-roofed house you see in the picture was used as a landmark by the Allied landing forces (indeed it’s pretty much the only distinguishing feature for a mile or two in either direction).

Pointe du Hoc- site of a German gun battery, Pointe du Hoc is located at the far western edge of Omaha beach. On D-Day, a company of Rangers was assigned to scale the 100-ft cliffs to neutralize the guns. You can’t really get a great view of the cliffs from on top of them, but you do get to walk around the impressive amount of craters from the massive Allied bombing effort. In addition, you really realize how strong the German gun emplacements were- one of the concrete bunkers has a huge crater right next to it where a bomb scored almost a direct hit and it’s not even scratched. Another has the corner chipped off of it courtesy of a shell from the USS Arkansas, but again the damage is extremely minor compared to the size of the entire thing. It was also pretty amazing to stand on maybe a half-kilometer stretch of land realizing that it took over two days of fighting to secure it.

Omaha Beach, Dog Green sector- This was the bloodiest sector of the bloodiest beach on D-Day. Arriving at low tide, you’re immediately struck by the tall bluffs that rise sharply from the beach. Then you notice little holes in the side of the bluffs where the Nazis mounted their machine guns. When we were there it was low tide, but was not at the minimum tide for the year. It was still a good 500 meters or so to the water, and when you think about how the landing craft couldn’t go right up to the waterline the distance is even more impressive. The beach itself is gorgeous- smooth, soft sand and a gentle curve. Knowing the history that took place there puts a much darker twist on it.

American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer- Rows and rows of white marble crosses and Stars of David mark the resting places of over 9000 American servicemen and women from the Normandy campaign. The faces bearing the names of the fallen face west across the sea towards the United States, while the eastern faces of the gravestones only contain a service number to symbolize the equality of every man and woman who served. The wall of the missing contains the names of over 1,500 servicemen and women whose remains have not been found. The cemetery is fastidiously maintained, and standing amongst row upon row of geometrically placed gravestones is very moving.

If you’re at all interested in WWII history I highly recommend a trip to Normandy. We took day tours on both Battlebus and Overlord Tours and were generally pleased with both (although Battlebus was better). You get a really great sense of what happened and, at least for me, a much greater appreciation of what WWII veterans had to go through to get to where we are today. Hope everyone in the States has a safe and pleasant Memorial Day.

Technorati Tags: Normandy, D Day, Memorial Day, June 6, Nazi, Allies, Paratrooper, Omaha, Utah, airborne, invasion, WWII, World War II, battlefield, Battlebus, Overlord Tours, Bayeux, France, Cemetery, American cemetery, Colleville, St Mere Eglise, Angoville, United States, army, navy

Politics

Science

The fearmongers were hard at work in the fall of ‘08…

Apparently the dead of winter is the wrong time to be crying about global warming. Also… everyone likes the summer.

Economy

These were a little depressing, but not surprising I guess.

Entertainment

Newsflash to the RIAA: Your strategy isn’t working.

This one was a little puzzling; why are Brahms and Beethoven less popular in the summer? There’s hardly a better hour to be spent than listening to Beethoven’s Ninth under the sun…

Miscellaneous

I thought these two would be different than they actually are:

Conclusion: if we are serious about increasing fuel efficiency, jack up the price of gas.

=*=

Have you found any interesting or funny trends in Google Trends? Leave them in the comments!

Technorati Tags: google, trends, obama, clinton, global warming, beethoven, brahms, black hole, CERN, climate change, gas mileage, fuel efficiency, iraq, pirate bay, prius, toyota, recession, RIAA, save money, unemployment, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, president

My stance on Why the Paper Book Is Still Relevant has not changed, and the introduction of the Kindle DX raises new issues to go along with the old.

The first is obviously price.  At $489 for the reader, it makes it that much harder to make up the difference.  Of particular curiosity to me is what the pricing structure for textbooks is going to be, since the DX is aimed at the newspaper and educational markets.  For those of us that have been through the trauma of buying textbooks in recent years, the Kindle DX is too little, too late.  But if the discounts are significant enough I could see the DX being a very attractive option for college students in certain disciplines.

The textbook issue brings me to my next problem; where’s the color screen? While a lot of disciplines don’t require the use of color graphics to get the point across, it sure is nice to have a page broken up with a picture or graphic explaining what’s going on.  Some disciplines (art, for example) depend on it.  Maybe in the Kindle 3?  How is the DX going to handle PDFs with color?

Third; for $489, you could just buy a netbook. Sure, the problems with netbooks are well documented in the blogosphere and in the reviews on numerous online shopping sites- poor build quality, small keyboard, etc.  But at least netbooks actually do something, and they do it in color.

Fourth, why announce this so soon after the release of the Kindle 2? This reminds me of when Apple dropped the price on the original iPhone 2 months after it was released and millions of iPhone users accused Apple of price gouging.  Anyways, two major releases in such a short time is puzzling for many reasons.  How many Kindle 2 users are angry because they could have bought a large-screen version, had they known it was coming when they bought it?  Why is Amazon diversifying their product line when they don’t even have a good feel for such a young industry in the first place?

And lastly (for now) on the newspaper issue; while I wouldn’t miss reading a newspaper without getting newsprint all over my hands and smelling that altogether unpleasant ink smell, newspapers are great in that you can pick one up on the street or in an airport for a dollar, scan over entire pages quickly, then throw it away when you’re done.  I don’t know how much text a DX will show, but I’d imagine that you won’t be able to scan over two entire pages of text and choose which articles you want to read.  You’ll probably have to select from a list using buttons.  That’s annoying.  “It’s not that much of a big deal” you say- and you’re right, it’s not a big deal.  The problem is that it’s an issue at all.  Until eBooks, eTexts, and eNewspapers become as second nature as scanning a printed page, they’re not going to start replacing them in quantity.

What do you think of the Kindle DX?  Are you a recent Kindle 2 buyer who wants to upgrade?  Does anyone else share my admittedly biased and ancient stance on the value of paper vs. plastic?  Leave a comment!

PS: If you’re from Amazon and want to send me a Kindle of any kind to test drive, I’ll be happy to write an honest review

Technorati Tags: Kindle, Amazon, Kindle DX, ebook, textbook, college, newspaper, paper, screen, eInk, iPhone, Apple, pdf, auto rotate, netbook

I wrote about Why the Paper Book is Still Relevant a while back, and I don’t think anything is changed with the introduction of a larger Kindle. While I could see Newspapers being OK on a grayscale display, I can’t help but wonder if magazines will make the transition as easily. Many magazines splurge on their colorful pages to draw a reader into a story, and some more popular titles like National Geographic can’t possibly be considering a major push towards Kindle readers due to the photographic (read: color) nature of their magazine.

What do you think? Would you convert to a [larger] Kindle for newspapers and magazines?

Technorati Tags: Kindle, New York Times, magazine, National Geographic, grayscale, ebook

Morse is credited with inventing the single-wire telegraph and the associated means of using it which became known as Morse Code.

Technorati Tags: Google, Morse, Morse Code, telegraph, birthday, April 27

I’m sure nobody mistook me for a local, but I was frankly amazed at how blatantly some foreigners stick out against the normal tourist backdrop. I consider myself a relatively experienced traveler having journeyed through Europe and Asia, so I thought that I would offer a few tips on how to blend in. A lot of this might seem like common sense, but if that was the case I wouldn’t see these things being done time and time again.

1. Try to learn the language- Being a tourist, it’s obvious nobody is expecting you to be able to do even simple things like ordering something off the menu smoothly, but little things like the basic “hello”, “goodbye”, and “thank you” go a long way in at least making it look like you’re trying. Instead of immediately resorting to a translation of a menu item, try pronouncing it in the original language (if you can read the alphabet). I’ve never met anyone who was annoyed by my butchering of the Italian, French, German, (English), Japanese, or Korean- usually I get either a puzzled look followed by recognition when the person battles through my pronunciation or worst case scenario I have to point to a map or menu. It’s fun and shows you care enough about the culture you’re experiencing to try the language.

2. Pack light- Too often I see tourists lugging around backpacks, enormous water bottles, and enough snacks to tackle Mont Blanc for just a city tour. Do yourself a favor and just pack what you need for the day. Walking around Rome all I really brought with me was around 30 euro in my pocket, one of my credit cards, and my camera (also in a pocket or my girlfriend’s purse which she was gracious enough to tote around). Especially when it’s hot, you’ll really appreciate walking around without a huge load on your back.

3. Don’t take a picture of everything- If you’re one of those people that comes back from a day trip with 600 pictures, you’re taking too many. There’s a time and place for pictures and there’s a time and place for actually enjoying yourself. Naturally there are certainly places that warrant the series of photos, it just seems that some like to substitute quantity for quality.

4. Minimize looking at your map/guidebook- Assuming you have a map of the place you are visiting, try not to look at it every two seconds. You should be able to plan your route enough that you can walk a few blocks without having to look where to turn next. Read about your destination beforehand so you won’t look like a walking advertisement for Frommer’s.

5. Avoid large groups- If you are part of a tour group this is probably unavoidable, but if you have time by yourself consider going out in a small group of 2-4 and exploring on your own. A huge herd of people surrounding a small flag is a sure sign that a tour group is bearing down on you.

6. Speak softly- Speaking loudly in the non-native tongue is not only a sure sign that you’re a foreigner, it’s also annoying for other people to listen to. There’s nothing worse than walking past a gaggle of people complaining about how hot it is, how they’re bored, or how the location they’re visiting is different from home. Especially avoid bemoaning a particular aspect of the native culture in a public setting.

7. Avoid main thoroughfares if possible- walk down less crowded side streets. Not only will they be less noisy, they’ll be less populated by tourists. Walking down the Via dei Fori Imperiali in Rome we practically had to slalom through a series of tour groups accompanied by ever-present traffic sounds.

8. Walk slowly if you have time- Make your travel a liesurely stroll instead of a race from point A to B.

9. Order local specialities- Save the McDonald’s for when you go back home. Food is one of the most direct ways you experience a different culture. Make it memorable.

While all of these tips might seem superfluous, they do have their practical purposes too. In high-crime areas, lowering your profile makes you a less attractive target for thieves. Avoiding less tourist-populated areas; popular bus and metro lines, major roads, and areas surrounding major attractions also reduces risk of theft. By only carrying with you things that you need, you won’t lose as much if you do get pickpocketed. Other things to avoid are fanny packs, baseball caps (in European cities, at least), and huge DSLRs hung from one’s neck.

Do you have any suggestions on how to blend in while traveling abroad? I’m always interested in other people’s travel advice since it’s one of the more interesting things I do from time to time. Leave a tip in the comments!

Technorati Tags: travel, lifestyle, tourism, DSLR, Rome, Florence, cuisine, language, pictures, photography, theft, pickpockets, tourists, travel advice

Why?

• They give me something to read and respond to when I’m bored at work (which is often).
• It gives you an opportunity to point out my factual or subjective errors in reasoning (who doesn’t love that?).
• It’s easy to do. As long as you provide “a” name, “an” email address, and something that isn’t blatantly spam (i.e. no comments of “HUAHhfjsssjsjjjkioOUYATSID”) you can leave one.
• If you have a blog, you can put your website into the field and I will in turn look at it and comment on your posts. More comments mean more people are likely to read the comments, which in turn leads to greater exposure for everyone. Win-win-win!
• You can now edit your comments thanks to the WP Ajax Edit Comments plugin.  I’m investigating some other plugins, but it will take some fiddling with the CSS to make them compatible.  Any suggestions?

As usual, thanks for visiting.  Leave a comment

What follows is a list of things from a stylistic standpoint of the shortcomings of the new Facebook layout. I tried very hard to avoid attacking all of the useless new “features,” but in some cases I discuss them if they have relevance to the site’s design.

1. Inconsistent Rounded Corners- Upon login, the most noticeable element of the page are the pictures of your friends that accompany their items in the news feed. I actually like the rounded corners; if only because it’s a fresh look. My problem is that the application of these corners is wildly inconsistent.

Here’s a list of places where rounded corners have been implemented:

• Profile pictures in the main News Feed, Walls, the “Friends” box on the Profile page
• Highlighting the “News Feed” and networks links in the left side bar.
• The blue “Facebook” banner on the top of the page.
• The “Share” button.
• Selections on the Wall- “[User] + Friends” , “Just [user]“, “Just Friends”, and “Settings.”
• The rollover image that appears when you “Remove” items from the Wall or “Hide” items from the News feed.
• The “What’s on your mind?” and “Write something…” boxes.

There might be more, but those are the ones I notice fairly immediately. Now let’s look at where they’re not found.

• Profile pictures in the Inbox, your own picture on your Profile page, Search results.
• Images in the “Highlights” column.
• Images that appear in the News Feed (for example, when friends create Photo Albums).
• Tabs in your Account Settings. Buttons and “Network” boxes in Account Settings.
• Drop down/Pop up menus (Settings, Notifications, Chat, “Hiding” items from the News Feed, live Search results, Friends, Inbox).
• Tabs on the Profile Page (“Wall”, “Info”, etc.).
• The “Applications” menu at the bottom of the page.
• Comment boxes.
• “Delete” and “Cancel” buttons when removing an item from the Wall, “Poke” and “Cancel” buttons in the Poke pop-up.
• The Search entry field/icon.
• Text popups when you rollover “Notifications” and “Chat.”

Rounded corners may or may not be an integral part of Facebook’s “new look”- but unfortunately with the seemingly haphazard way they’re applied nobody can tell. Not only have they not been applied consistently from page to page, they haven’t even been applied consistently from element to element (i.e. Profile pictures).

2. Information overload- As with the previous version of Facebook, the information in the newsfeed is arranged in such a terrible manner that it is not meaningful. There’s just too much text and too many images in too small of a space, and looks more or less like a Twitter feed gone wrong.

3. Text is not a uniform size- Consider the News feed again. The first entry has a user comment in a small font next to an image. Contrast that with the much larger “What’s on your mind” posts next to each person’s name and profile picture. This wouldn’t be so visually unappealing if at least everything was the same size, but on every other page (besides your Wall) the smaller font size remains from the old incarnation of Facebook. The larger font manages to make the News Feed in particular even more confusing because now there isn’t as much contrast between the hyperlinked friend names and their status, err… “Shared” text.

4. Open sections in the left sidebar in Profile- I used to think this was because the page was designed to end at the edge of these sections, but that was because I had the window too small. I find this very distracting, although just a quick glance and your eye doesn’t notice that the right border is not mirrored on the left side.

5. Highlight Bar- Originally I had this under “Overly Complex”, but decided this deserved its own category. What is this thing, other than an abbreviated version of what I get in my News Feed? Why am I being given the same information twice, side by side? Is there even an option to get rid of this? I searched through the Settings but didn’t see an option to do so. In any case, this seems redundant and even more poorly implemented than the News Feed. It just serves as a distraction from what little the News Feed can offer.

6. Image borders- Profile pictures and images associated with events serve as links to whatever page they are representing and do not have borders. However, when someone posts pictures, a couple of them show up in the News Feed with a white space (sort of like a matte board you’d find in a real picture frame) and then a thin border which darkens on rollover. The borderless approach looks a lot better in my opinion, but would it be too much to ask for some consistency in the formatting of images that serve as links?

7. Check boxes in the Inbox- pretty much everything else in Facebook that you interact with has a fancy, styled button (like the “Hide” that appears when you hover over a News Feed entry). I guess the inbox was not deserving of such luxury treatment, as the system default checkboxes remain as a highly inconvenient way of mass-managing your messages.

8. The “Reply” option is gone from the Wall- Now you have to “See Wall-to-Wall” or actually load someone’s profile page to get to a reply box.

9. “Hide” vs. “Remove”- on your Profile page you can “Remove” an item from your Wall. In the News Feed, you “Hide” it. What’s the difference? Why can’t these be the same?

10. Rollover behavior for links- Partially related to the image border issue, rollover behavior for links is also very inconsistent. For some links, like a friend’s name, it’s underlined. For others, like items in the top banner, the background changes color. For still others, nothing happens, like when you hover over over something like “Settings” on your Wall.

11. “Write something about yourself” vs. “What’s on your mind?”- What’s the difference?

vs

12. Nitpicky things- In the profile page, the horizontal line under “Edit My Profile” doesn’t line up with the line under the Wall view options. The comments underneath an individual’s item in the news feed leave a relatively large empty space to the immediate right, especially if there are a lot of comments. Speaking of comments, why are there 2 different comment icons (One can be found in the “Highlights” column, another in the “Notifications” popup menu) ? At least the application icons seem to be fairly uniform, but sometimes they’re links (in the bottom toolbar) and sometimes they’re not (in the “Highlights” column).

While these design shortcomings aren’t a reason to start huge protest groups, run to the media, or delete your account, the seemingly sloppy and piecemeal way in which Facebook implemented their latest revisions to their site layout is not what I want to see from a company that manages terabytes of personal information.

Facebook always seems to polarize the crowd into the “It’s great!” or “It’s creepy!” crowd. What do you think about the design? Are there things I missed?

Technorati Tags: Facebook, design, network, social network, media, friends, connect, CSS, rollover, rounded corners, style, profile picture, News feed, Twitter, Highlights, Applications, Wall, comments

With the recent release of Amazon’s second generation Kindle, I’ve heard a lot of buzz about how paper books are looking more and more dated with each new electronic innovation. While I will concede that electronic print is becoming more and more of a viable alternative to traditional print media, I find this talk of the death of paper to be extremely premature. Keep in mind that this is not a comparison between the pros and cons of a paper book and an eBook/eReader, although I will occasionally use the comparison simply because it better illustrates my point. If anything I will bring up the deficiencies of the eBook/reader because there is an issue that must be addressed before it can truly be called a viable replacement. I realize that eBooks offer a lot of advantages that hard copies don’t; physical space advantage and ease of distribution to name a couple, but that’s for a future post.

So, here is a short list of 8 reasons that the paper book is not yet ready to roll over and die.

1. Reliability- A book printed a hundred years ago (and kept in relatively good condition) is basically the same as a book printed yesterday. A book’s display (decidedly analog!) never fails due to faulty electronics. You don’t have to worry about battery life, wireless signal strength or a corrupted file. Page turning is as fast as you want it to be, and you don’t have to worry about the page merely “looking like real paper.” You’ll also never have to send in your book to be fixed, and the fonts are guaranteed to render accurately.

2. Simplicity- Books take a bare minimum of knowledge to use. A child just learning to read is far better off with a paper version, both for reasons of ease of use and so they don’t ruin a several hundred dollar reader. For academic and research purposes, it’s easier to stick a post-it note on a page or to write a note in the margin than it is to use electronic notes with a keyboard input. There is no distracting e-mail, web browsing, or any of the other features included with today’s eReaders.

3. Familiarity- For an activity as personal as reading, the familiar interface goes a long way towards relaxation and actually getting something out of the experience that the eBook cannot provide. Books are a comfort item; they’re an age-old tradition, something that eReaders really can’t compete with. A worn, well-read book can be much more than just a collection of words on paper (for example, a family Bible).

4. Availability- Books are available all over the world in every size, shape, color, purpose, and language. It is extremely easy to get books, and odds are that if you live in an area where it is a challenge to get books, it will be a challenge to get eBooks as well. The financial barriers to entry into the market are much lower for print books than eBooks. A cheap mass market paperback retails for around $8.

5. Shareability- Unlike their electronic counterparts, books can be shared freely in places called libraries for no cost and no fear of legal action. Libraries are the ultimate open source repository. Loaning a book to your friend is not against the law, and the publishing industry hasn’t had to resort to scare tactics in order to stay in the green.

6. Durability- My books put up with a lot of abuse. From being thrown (literally) into backpacks, being chewed and clawed at by my cats, to spilling coffee on more than a couple of my pulp-laden friends, my books have seen it all. The first thing I do when I get a new hardcover is remove the paper cover and either toss it or put it in a place where I forget about it for months. I already know it’s not going to survive if it stays on the book. The point is that short of exposing a paper book to open flame, it’s really hard to render a book unreadable. In fact, since airflow is so poor due to the compactness of the pages inside, books even take a fair amount of time to burn all the way through.

7. Disposability- Despite the durability argument above, we all know books can be ruined or lost. Sure, it’s not pleasant to replace a $20 book that you left on the subway, but replacing a $300+ eReader containing your entire library is worse.

8. Aesthetics- Admittedly this is by no means an objective argument, but let’s all just admit to ourselves that a row of well-kept books gives the surroundings a certain ambience that simply cannot be replicated with electronics. A well-stocked bookshelf still imparts an air of sophistication to its surroundings.

Again, I understand that eBooks and eReaders have much to offer. I am not saying they don’t. The argument is only that print books are not (yet) in danger of being replaced by their electronic counterparts.

What are your thoughts? Are paper books breathing their dying breath? Or are they going to be around for quite a long time? Discuss in the comments.

Update: Amazon tells me that Kindle referrals are now available!  If you are planning to buy a Kindle, consider supporting BHSM and buying one following this link.  Thanks

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1. Apple bruises- I’m a pretty big fan of apples. Gala, Pink Lady, even the venerable Granny Smith… all delicious. Refreshingly sweet and healthy, I almost always have a couple in the refrigerator awaiting consumption. However, apple bruises take all of the joy out of eating one. These soft spots not only taste like something is amiss, but they have a spongy, unsatisfying texture coupled with a sickly brown pall. A surprising (to me, anyway) amount of research has gone into the cause and characterization of apple bruises. For example, according to a study done in the Tree Fruit Postharvest Journal, the average number of bruises per fruit were caused by:

Picking (2.6)
Bin hauling (2.2)
Packing line (5.4)
Bagging (2.7)
Distribution (.34-1.45)

Apple bruises have also been characterized by their electrical impedance in a study by the University of Budapest, although sadly I am not able to access the paper without paying. I’m sure it sent shockwaves through the industry when it was first published. No matter how you want to study or classify these defects of nature, the bottom line is that apple bruises suck, big time.

2. Toll Booths- Anyone that has driven with me on a thruway can attest that I never fail to pick the wrong toll lane. Inevitably the driver in front of me drops their quarter, has to fumble through her purse to find her ticket, or the attendant has to go to the next booth over (Frogger style) to get a roll of dimes. I thought Fastlane would solve this problem, but now I just get stuck behind the obedient drivers that actually slow down to 5 miles per hour to go through the scanner. Come on people, I could read the bytes aloud faster at that pace. I’ve gone through those lanes upwards of 40 mph and never had a problem. And what are tolls actually used for? Please don’t tell me “road maintenance”- at least not on the NYS Thruway or Massachusetts Turnpike. Especially in New York it is painfully obvious that tolls absolutely do not go towards maintenance.

3. Cold spots in the Microwave- Lately I’ve been trying to eat more leftovers and generally decrease the amount of food that I waste. I am happy to report that so far it is going reasonably well. As a result, my tupperware sees a lot of use, mostly for saving meal-sized portions in the refrigerator and then heating them up in the microwave. The microwave should work just fine- it has the rotating plate in the middle and several power settings (but who uses anything but “High” in the first place?), but without fail my food always has a cold spot. For some things this isn’t terribly noticeable (although Popcorn is a different story since you end up with a cup of unpopped kernels covered in the salt/butter substitute), but for others…yeah, not so great. I guess nuclear war would be worse, but a close second is taking a big bite of leftover mashed potatoes and having the bottom half burn your tongue while the upper half gives you a cold headache.

4. Turning lanes- Having lived and worked in the Boston metro area and in Geneva, Switzerland, going from one place to the other is a breeze as far as knowing which lane is the turning lane. The trick? Just give up trying immediately. The concept of a turning lane is very simple; on a two lane road, occasionally expand into 3 lanes at an intersection where the center lane is the left-turn lane. Is that too much to ask? I can’t even count the number of times I’ve almost died swerving back into the through-traffic lane on Commonwealth Avenue because of this travesty of logic. Pair this with the universal experience of catching every red light between points A and B and you begin to understand why I hate driving.

5. Things jingling in your bag with each step- I have the type of job where I can bring a backpack to work and not look like a nerd (what’s a nerd in the middle of 2000 other nerds? “Normal.”) Backpacks, let me just say, are awesome. They distribute weight evenly and can hold a lot of stuff. Unfortunately I usually manage to toss my keys or loose change into the outer pocket in such a way that whenever I take a step I sound like Santa is on final approach. Even more annoying is when things only jingle on one step, or you stop to rearrange things, put your bag back on, and it persists.

6. Coins rejected by vending machines- I do not buy things from vending machines very often, mainly because I don’t particularly like anything in them or I can get the same thing cheaper in the grocery store. But in a pinch, vending machines are great for satisfying that late-afternoon craving. What is not great are those quarters that, no matter how many times you run them through, always come right back out the coin return tray. It also seems like vending machine makers purposely build it out of the loudest material possible. Each time the coin hits the tray, the annoying “ding” mocks you and informs everybody in the immediate vicinity that you are being bested by an inanimate food dispenser. And don’t even get me started on the paper-bill slot.

7. Flickering lights- To be honest, I usually don’t know if this is due to my eyes twitching or the lights flickering. The room will momentarily darken, but when I look at the light fixture in question not only do I hurt my eyes but I can never actually observe it flickering. A watched pot never boils, as they say (which actually isn’t true). Naturally this only happens when I am trying to concentrate on a piece of code or if I’m trying to read. I am suddenly alerted that something is amiss and the thought process starts- are my eyes merely twitching again? Should I be worried? Is there a power surge? Are spirits gathering for an attack from the ether?

8. Flathead (slotted) screws- Someone please explain to me the advantage of flathead screws other than being simple to manufacture. The screwdriver always slips out of the slot, they can’t be used by machines, and there are far better options out there that are just as cheap and don’t cam out. Since you’re forced to replace the head of the screwdriver back in the stupid slot, it takes longer to fasten a slotted screw than a comparable [any type] screw. Flathead screwdrivers are a different story, however, as they can actually be used with several different screwheads. I personally have loosened the following types of screws with a flathead screwdriver on various occasions: Slotted, Philips, Pozidriv, Allen, Torx, Clutch, and Spline drive.

9. Online Banking computer verification pages- A great example of a good concept ruined by bad execution, online banks usually ask you to verify the computer you are logging in from by clicking a link in an e-mail they send you. In theory this helps combat identity theft by linking your online banking with a specific computer or small set of computers that you use on a regular basis. Why then do I have to verify my laptop on average of once every 3 logins? Yes, I’ve counted. All I want to do is view my depressingly small balance from the comfort of my home, not be told that I’ve never logged in from my computer before. I imagine that other banks might have a better system or framework behind this process, but Citizen’s Bank/Bank of America apparently haven’t quite figured it out.

10. Viscous substances that take forever to reach the opening of a container- You know what I’m talking about: hopping into the shower only to discover you only have enough shampoo for one more hair-washing before you need to buy more. You open the cap and turn the bottle upside-down, only to start watching the gel flow to the bottom at a pace that is only slightly above glacial. The substance starts flowing down the sides, except for that little bit that gathers in the center of the container and drizzles towards the nozzle. When you were a kid this was fun to induce because you could make cool patterns on the sides of the bottle by rotating it every which way, but now that you’ve grown up it’s just really, really, annoying. This also happens with honey, molasses, and dish soap, and occurs most often when you are under some sort of time pressure.

What annoys the crap out of you? Leave a comment!

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