Comments on: Yet Another Something we created but never released - AJAX Installer

By: My TECH Lists » AJAX Installer - why hasn't anyone done this?

My TECH Lists » AJAX Installer - why hasn't anyone done this? — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:44:32 +0000

[...] files when a web-based system can do it for you. And we already trust companies with our passwordread more | digg [...]

By: Ahmed

Ahmed — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 21:25:53 +0000

I’ve updated the post. Hopefully it helps elucidate the ‘improve the user experience’ part and lets you see past the ‘catch all’ AJAX-use I’m being accused of.

By: Hagrin

Hagrin — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 20:10:30 +0000

Where exactly is the AJAX in this implementation?

AJAX shouldn’t be some “catch all” phrase used to describe efforts to “improve the user experience”.

By: Ahmed

Ahmed — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 17:16:46 +0000

Thanks - fixed.

By: 2fuf

2fuf — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 16:59:34 +0000

…that only applies to people that no nonsensical words…

*no = know ?

By: Ahmed

Ahmed — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 16:14:59 +0000

Paul - that may be, but that is idealized thinking.

Plus if you look at his comment, he even states that he makes his own CMS software because others have holes. Those holes are the by-product of not understanding internet security. If he cannot even trust those other CMSes, how does he expect a layperson to understand the internet?

Would I *like* people to be more knowledgeable about the internet? Damn straight - less worms, less ‘help me Ahmed’ phone calls, ability to do more interesting things - it would be great. But it just ain’t gonna happen.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 16:05:24 +0000

@Ahmed

Clearly Bill didn’t think the internet was confusing to you. All he was saying is, if the “layperson” would just try to learn something instead of passing that job off to someone else we would have a lot less people thinking the internet only exists through the portal that is IE.

That said, i’m sure there’s a place for your product in the market, but what good is a comment section that has everyone praising the idea?

By: aju

aju — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 15:58:41 +0000

Techies like Bill, make the internet confusing. I work on robots, they are not confusing to me, but I know that they would be to most people. If I have to explain something to someone who does not know robots, I don’t assume they are stupid, and at the same time I don’t use techy kind of words to discribe my work. Every time I have ask an internet type question, I have to look up a lot of words in the answer, that makes the internet confusing. When you give instructions to us, speak in english, run the answer by a nontech kind of person, not a 14 year old, they grew up with this stuff, but an older person.

By: Ahmed

Ahmed — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 15:50:21 +0000

@Oli - The point is to make it a seamless transaction. Ie when uploading 10 megs through FTP - imagine traditional way (just ftp with no real indication of status) vs AJAX (inform X of Y files have been uploaded). Its about the user experience, simple.

@Bill -

I never stated the internet is confusing to me. But to a layperson even mentioning ‘FTP’ will result in the classic glazed-eye look. Throw in chmod etc, and it *is* confusing. Just because you know what it means doesn’t mean everyone else does.

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 15:44:10 +0000

I usually don’t post on these things, but I couldn’t help myself. The title of this blog is “techsoapbox” yet you open an article with,

“FTP. MySQL. HTTP. LOCALHOST. The internet is confusing. For all the talk about how easy WordPress (and others) are easy to install, that only applies to people that no nonsensical words such as FTP and MySQL.”

The internet is NOT confusing, CHMOD is easily defined with a simple google query, and you shouldn’t spread such misleading information. I develop my own content management systems (using third party scripts leaves security holes), and when a client of mine insisted on Wordpress, the entire install/setup took less than ten minutes and seemed easy enough for my 14 year old sister, too.

People like you are the reason the majority of my clients still believe Internet Explorer’s famous blue “e” icon is the gatekeeper of the inf0w3bs!1!one!