Firefox 4.0...

Unbelievable. Firefox release 4.0 replaces the menu bar, a tool that works incredibly well and has been ingrained in computer users' minds for 25 (25!) years with a box you must click to get a dropdown menu, from which you must choose an option to get a sideways-expanding menu, from which you must chose your final option.

Yes, the menu bar itself is an unnatural construct, and only seems intuitive to us now because of its ubiquity. But to take this proven bit of near-universal design and toss it is just mental. WTF, Firefox?! This is as annoying as when Micrsoft decided to the same with Office, with those interminable "ribbons"! The more-is-more school of software design.

I'm sticking with Firefox 3.6.8 until I absolutely have to switch.

Infantalization, part 4

The Star reports today on an iphone app developed by the LCBO. It lets you send a pre-recorded message to a friend to warn them about the perils of drinking and driving.

Sez the LCBO marketing boffin:

Customer research suggests the toughest thing for many hosts is approaching guests on the issue of drinking and driving, hence the arm’s length approach to an issue that is often the elephant in room.

Well, okay, but why is no one talking about the other elephant in the room, the fact that more and more of our social interactions are being mediated through technology, taking away our ability or desire to actually communicate directly with others? High tech meets passive aggressiveness, and to no one's surprise, it's like they were meant for each other.

I give full marks to the LCBO for attempting an education campaign, but few marks to the end result, and even fewer marks to the final users who are happy to abdicate responsibility by pressing a button on a screen. It will be interesting to see how use of this app might be used as a legal defense "I sent the drunk guy who drove, crashed, and crippled himself a message in someone else's voice telling him how concerned I was about him driving that night, what else could I have done?" "My client pushed the send button, Your Honour; we have the data records to prove it."

Review: Doodle

Sometimes something comes along that makes life a bit simpler. That this something is free makes it that much better.

If you need to get consensus on anything, head over to doodle.com. Once you sign up, this site lets you quickly set up events and polls. Add the Email addresses of the people you wish to participate (you can import contacts from Gmail), press send, and wait for the results.

Doodle is far, far, simpler than compiling Email responses and trying to remember who has yet to reply. Even if you use Outlook for your Email at work, this site-based polling is easier than the Outlook's "radio button" voting option.

As well as being able to track the results online, you can export the final poll to an Excel sheet or a PDF file. Doodle also makes everyone accountable for their choices. You can even hide all the responses from an invitee save their own to curtail strategic voting. Doodle is a terrific tool.