Yet another exploration of not-so-well-thought-out user interfaces…

Here’s a screenshot from the installer for Prassi’s PrimoCD CD-burning software. (I’ve seen this interface used in several other places as well, so I’m supposing this program is a component of some sort of InstallShield-esque kit.)

Now, a quick quiz: What button do you click to install PrimoCD? The one on the right looks like a good choice; it seems to suggest “continue”. Indeed, that’s the button I clicked the first time I used such an installer interface. And the program exited. Restarting the setup program and holding the mouse pointer over the right-hand icon, I noted that, in fact, its tooltip read “Exit the browser”!

That’s right: the icon with the CD, arrow, and hard disk is the correct icon to start the installation process.

And incidentally, while on the subject of ambiguous icons, I thought at first that the left-hand icon would launch Prassi’s website or somesuch. Turns out that it changes the language in which the installer text is presented. But even once we’ve figured that one out, we’re not without problems: If you don’t speak English, how exactly will you identify your native language in this dialogue box?

I just got a copy of Ulead’s Cool 3D for $10 at Best Buy. The catch? It’s version 2.0, whereas the most current version is 3.5.

Not that it matters much, though. Why? Eh, just click here and you’ll see. I’m an absolutely horrible artist, and I animated this little clip myself in a matter of minutes, so this should tell you something about the program’s usability.

OK, I know, you’re all wondering: What’d I get for Christmas?

Well, the “main” presents, if you want to call them that, were a Nintendo GameCube (w00t!) with Luigi’s Mansion and Pikmin included to keep me entertained, and a USB CD burner for my laptop. Yes, I have been playing with the ‘Cube for most of the day; ’tis quite addictive. Unfortunately, I’ll now have little flower-headed aliens and green-clad Italian plumbers invading my dreams, gah.
Let’s see: I also got a few pairs of jeans and some shirts; a little electronic mind-bender game that’s actually pretty fun; the 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said desk calendar (which is extremely entertaining, I might add); the Imponderables anthology book, and some gift certificates ($25 for Amazon.com, $80 for MediaPlay.com). Probably use those gift certificates to get some books, CDs, and at least one more game for the ‘Cube, natch…

LOL. Just when I thought I was done making fun of the horrible proofreading of those guys at HostRocket, I find an even more amusing typographical goof-up on their page.

Check out this link to HostRocket’s corporate information page [it's since been fixed; see screenshot below] and read it carefully. Methinks somebody forgot to actually edit the template. How this actually went unnoticed, however, is totally beyond my comprehension. But then again, if you can’t find the time to look up the spelling of the word “tomorrow”, I guess this is what you end up with…

(And again, if this is corrected some time in the future, I’ve once again captured a screenshot for posterity.)

Well, I had my wisdom teeth removed today. Why do they call them “wisdom teeth” anyway? Eh, let me check the etymology in Webster’s Third…yes, I know I’m a geek…hm, apparently the term is actually a direct translation of the Latin name for those molars (dentes sapientiae), so named because they generally appear during the late teens, an age associated (well, at least back in that era, though I’m not so sure it applies today, heh) with wisdom. Eh, makes sense, but I was looking for some deeper, more mystic origin, meh.

Anyway, back to the original subject: ‘Twasn’t as bad as I was expecting it was going to be, especially after the Novocain had worn off and I could actually feel my mouth and speak semi-intelligibly (or at least as intelligibly as I normally speak, which still isn’t very much so <g>). Still, though, I rather dislike not being able to eat anything that’s actually got any substance to it for a number of days (especially inconvenient with Christmas coming up only this Tuesday).

Why do I mention all this? Because– well, honestly, I don’t know; in fact, nobody probably cares about this. I just felt like having a good rant because it’s still a bit easier to type than to speak.

Now, on the other hand, here’s something that is worth pointing out: I got a 4.0 GPA on my report card for my first semester at university… Woohoo. And this despite the insane amount of procrastination that went into writing most of the final essays, at that. Guess I shouldn’t have stressed out so much after all. And besides, I’m taking fewer hours next semester, so it won’t be as stressful.

Ah well, hopefully my teeth won’t be aching like mad tomorrow…

Angry that NBC took the Headlines section off of Jay Leno’s official website? Well, here’s an unofficial archive that more than makes up for it.

“A Kalashnikov bullet travels at 800 meters per second. A mujahed has the forehead of a Russian in his sights 3,200 meters away. How many seconds will it take the bullet to hit the Russian’s forehead?” … “A group of mujahedin kill 178 out of 3,560 enemy soldiers in battle. What percentage of the enemy have they killed?” No, these aren’t gags–they’re actual lessons from a fourth grade textbook still in use in Afghanistan. - Where J is for Jihad [MSNBC]

This is unbelievable. I mean, I’ve long realized the extent to which the restrictions imposed by the Taliban government have reached, and how far that government has gone to instill its “values” in the collective mind of the Afghan people– yet nonetheless, this article is still unnerving.

Came across this link while aimlessly surfing the net today. The moral? Never try to actually have a meaningful discussion in a public AOL chat room, of course… [Dave Barry fans may recognize the author of this column, incidentally, as one of Dave's close friends.]

     Britney Spears (washingtonpost.com)

Oh, and how could I forget to mention: It’s my nineteenth birthday today! Funny, as usual, I don’t really feel any older…

Those of you who know the basics of French will probably enjoy Mots D’Heures: Gousses, Rames. Read each poem carefully, and you’ll notice that they all sound vaguely familiar…