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GeekNights 080324 - The IT Helpdesk

RymRym
edited March 2008 in Technology
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss the IT Helpdesk. In the news, Google draws the unjustified ire of retailers, the XM-Sirius merger is approved, and Pakistan broke the Internet.

Scott's Thing - Mozilla Prism
Rym's Thing - donotreply.com

Comments

  • HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
    It looks like Google is moving more towards being a Portal than just a search engine. I can understand the ire of webstores in that if Google provides extended search for some e-tailers a potential customer might click on a competitors ad rather than go to the site being searched.

    Another good point brought up is why buy ads on a site when you can just buy ads on Google? I can see this becoming more of a problem for comparison shopping sites. If Google decided to focus more on that end of the business model they would clean up.
  • DkongDkong
    edited March 2008
    Guys, don't get too cocky talking about shitty searches. Your site has a pretty bad search box. Sometimes you find what you're looking for, sometimes you get a complete mess.

    For example, say I'm looking for the favorites week. I type in "favourite". The first hit is a supersoaker episode. Sure, I understand how it came up, since the word "Favourite" is in the podcast description, but why doesn't the episode "favorite sports" (or anything from favorites week) show up as the first hit, seeing as they have the word I searched for directly in their title?

    Another example is searching "college". Obviously, the ones I'm most likely looking for are "how to not suck at college" and episodes like that. But what do you get? You get a ton of hits, 95% (made up number) don't have college in their title and about half don't have college (seemingly) anywhere in the post (maybe it searches in comments, too?).


    Now, searching within descriptions is cool and all, but wouldn't it make more sense [and be more helpful to users] if it displayed results that matched within the title first?
    Post edited by Dkong on
  • CorbinCorbin
    edited March 2008
    Just so you know, the ipod touch and the iphone both do exactly what you want to do for "on demand radio" Scott. It has iTunes built in and wifi as well, so go to a spot with wifi click the itunes button and bam, podcasts.

    iTunes wifi music store

    [edit] with further research it looks like podcasts are not yet available on the wifi store, but I bet it'll come eventually.
    Post edited by Corbin on
  • AprecheApreche
    [edit] with further research it looks like podcasts are not yet available on the wifi store, but I bet it'll come eventually.
    Maybe you didn't notice when we said "If the iPhone has that feature, we will run out and buy it today". We're still waiting. Maybe someone will write an iPhone app that does it.
  • AprecheApreche
    Now, searching within descriptions is cool and all, but wouldn't it make more sense [and be more helpful to users] if it displayed results that matched within the title first?
    The search on our site is the standard WordPress search. It's basically a MySQL FULLTEXT search. It's not that great. I'm putting it on my todo list to replace that search box with a box that lets you search our site with Google.
  • RymRym
    Guys, don't get too cocky talking about shitty searches. Your site has a pretty bad search box.
    We're well aware of that. When have we ever said we had a good search tool? ;^)

    Just use Google to search our site. ^_~
  • PaulathonPaulathon
    You know, it seems a little unfair for Scott to, you know, bag Rym for repeating certain phrases like, you know, "suffice to say," as he has a few unintentional verbal catchphrases of his own...
  • ......
    You know, it seems a little unfair for Scott to, you know, bag Rym for repeating certain phrases like, you know, "suffice to say," as he has a few unintentional verbal catchphrases of his own...
    Like?
  • RymRym
    Like?
    You know...
  • AprecheApreche
    Now, searching within descriptions is cool and all, but wouldn't it make more sense [and be more helpful to users] if it displayed results that matched within the title first?
    The search on our site is the standard WordPress search. It's basically a MySQL FULLTEXT search. It's not that great. I'm putting it on my todo list to replace that search box with a box that lets you search our site with Google.
    Ok, I changed the search on our site to Google search. Did you know that if you make a custom Google search you can connect it to an AdSense account? I could have set it up where every time you use that search on our site and click an ad, we get money. I didn't, though.

    Also, the search isn't super great. It searches the forums in addition to the site, and there was no way I could find to prevent that. Also, the newest episodes aren't indexed yet.
  • VigaViga
    Like?
    You know...
    True, but "suffice to say" is more noticeable because I never hear anyone say that. "Like" and "you know" are very commonplace so I never notice.
  • ZeehatZeehat
    Scott says ¨right¨ after alot of sentences. Usually rhectorical ones.
  • DkongDkong
    edited March 2008
    Now, searching within descriptions is cool and all, but wouldn't it make more sense [and be more helpful to users] if it displayed results that matched within the title first?
    The search on our site is the standard WordPress search. It's basically a MySQL FULLTEXT search. It's not that great. I'm putting it on my todo list to replace that search box with a box that lets you search our site with Google.
    Ok, I changed the search on our site to Google search. Did you know that if you make a custom Google search you can connect it to an AdSense account? I could have set it up where every time you use that search on our site and click an ad, we get money. I didn't, though.

    Also, the search isn't super great. It searches the forums in addition to the site, and there was no way I could find to prevent that. Also, the newest episodes aren't indexed yet.
    Yeah, true, I noticed that most of the hits are forum hits if you just do site:frontrowcrew.com. The way I prevented that was putting "-forums" at the end of my search terms.....I dunno if you could work that into your search box or not, though.


    As for the catchphrases...Yeah, all in all I think it's ok if you let Rym have just that one, especialy since it's really not that bad.
    Post edited by Dkong on
  • AprecheApreche
    Yeah, true, I noticed that most of the hits are forum hits if you just do site:frontrowcrew.com. The way I prevented that was putting "-forums" at the end of my search terms.....I dunno if you could work that into your search box or not, though.
    I think I fixed it. It seems like the search engine can find any episode up until Monday. Let me know if you guys like this more or less than the old search.
  • NeitoNeito
    The old search was pretty lame. You had to be really exact in your search terms.
  • AprecheApreche
    The old search was pretty lame. You had to be really exact in your search terms.
    I take that as a vote for yes?
  • NeitoNeito
    The old search was pretty lame. You had to be really exact in your search terms.
    I take that as a vote for yes?
    Sorry, yes it is a yes vote.
  • DkongDkong
    Yeah, I like the new search better. It's still not perfect, but it's a step ahead.
  • ColdguyColdguy
    edited March 2008
    Well speaking of helpdesk....



    It's an old one but so on the point on some of the "lessons" of the helpdesk. Also about your idea on a Radio recorder...someone made it already.

    http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/radioshark2

    I can not tell you how temped I was to record those A-Z marathons....
    Post edited by Coldguy on
  • sK0pesK0pe
    Regarding the dentistry -
    (I'm a Veterinarian so I may not be exactly in line with human Dentists).
    If you have tartar (what is wrong with you!!) it is usually removed mechanically, tartar is cracked and removed.
    Plaque is usually removed with a hypersonic scaler, it can also be used to clear up the minor tartar left over, this is what makes the teeth look really clean.
    The polisher is used to massage the gum line and do the final polish with something similar to toothpaste, this bit looks like an electric toothbrush head but is mostly rubber.

    I clean my teeth before going to the dentist, because I have to deal with really bad breath from some of my patients.
  • sK0pesK0pe
    edited March 2008
    Double Post, can't find the delete post option from my PDA phone.
    Post edited by sK0pe on
  • spotdartspotdart
    As ornery as these retailers get, they really can't go against Google. Google has better brand-association than most of these outlets besides, especially online.
  • whatarewhatare
    So I installed Prism and I think it is working pretty well. I have Google Docs running in it as well as the Geek Nights forum. Anybody else using it? I am curious to know how it is working for others.
  • DkongDkong
    So I installed Prism and I think it is working pretty well. I have Google Docs running in it as well as the Geek Nights forum. Anybody else using it? I am curious to know how it is working for others.
    I downloaded it, then made a meebo app with it. It worked fine, then I uninstalled it all since I really won't use it since I just use Pidgin anyways.

    All in all, my opinions on it are that it's great, but it's pointless for me. There's just not enough stuff that I need to have open all the time to make this worthwhile.
  • lackofcheeselackofcheese
    By the way, on the topic of that entire e-mail issue,
    Read here:-

    http://questioncopyright.org/cease_and_desist_censorship
    A US court has found that copyright law can cover "cease-and-desist letters", that is, letters sent by copyright holders telling someone to stop distributing copyrighted content.
  • jccjcc
    edited March 2008
    We've had on-demand radio for decades. It's called a trip to the record store, and going to clubs and buying CDs from the bands that you like. ;)

    The problem with de-centralized entertainment is that most people only vaguely know what they want, wouldn't have a clue how to get it to save their life, and don't consider it important enough to spend the time needed to sift through all the stuff out there anyhow. What radio originally did (and to a lesser extent TV) was find someone willing to do all that for you. It was only later when the industry realized they had a more or less captive audience that they started resting on their laurels.

    Now that this is no longer the case, things are getting shaken up, but I don't think they'll disappear because the demand for a middleman is still as strong as ever.

    Also, "fizzlebottom your Mom" - definitely the new "suffice it to say". :)
    Post edited by jcc on
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