Most overlooked WWDC ’05 news

I’m listening/watching the stream from the Apple WWDC ’05 and my ears perked up when Steve Jobs started talking about Podcasting.

Everyone’s talking about the Intel bomb — my take: don’t worry about it. OS X will be OS X no matter what architecture it’s running on. Plus cross-platform/Web developers should be happy about the (unsupported) possibility of dual-booting.

But what caught my attention was Jobs’ mention that there’d be a **Podcast directory** in the iTunes Music Store.

Now, this is an innocuous start, but I wonder how soon we’ll see some way for Podcasters to make money through the iTMS.

I doubt most folks would pay per-download for Podcasts, but a small, optional, subscription charge could supplement/supplant the PayPal dropslot.

Or imagine if Apple offers to insert brief ads in their podcasts automatically, and cut them in on a percentage of the buy.

Ideally, for both parties, there should be a way to set up affiliate links to the iTMS for any songs in your Podcast that are also in the store.

I’m not sure what it’ll be, but with Podcasts sitting inside a proven micro-payment application, something interesting is sure to happen.

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del.icio.us has a new look

If you haven’t [del.icio.us’d](http://del.icio.us) anything yet today, check out their new interface:

del.icio.us' new look

It’s got a shiny coat of Javascript-powered tag usability added on!

Posted in Programming, Web design | Comments Off on del.icio.us has a new look

Amazon’s crummy messages

[Erica](http://www.ericaendicott.com) and I were looking to [switch cell phones and providers](http://heisel.org/blog/2005/05/24/cell-phone-suggestions/), so we decided to go with the [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com) [Razr deal I mentioned](http://heisel.org/blog/2005/05/24/cell-phone-suggestions/).

Thus started a descent into madness.

Maybe I’m being a bit harsh, but given how well Amazon usually designs their systems, the process of ordering a cell phone with service can be a bit daunting.

Not long after we placed our order, we got this note from Amazon:

> There has been a delay in processing your wireless order. We apologize for
> this inconvenience. We are waiting for a final determination of service
> eligibility from the carrier. Unfortunately, Amazon.com is unable to
> process a wireless order until we receive approval from the carrier.
>
> At this point, you do not need to take any action. Routine delays of a day
> or two are not uncommon if carriers are experiencing high volume or system
> issues. …

And that’s where I stopped reading the note. After all, like most people, I scan my e-mail looking for the important info. I closed the note knowing this:

1. My order with Amazon is delayed
2. Because they’re awaiting final approval from Cingular
3. Cingular has to do a credit check (this is mentioned prominently while doing the order)
4. I don’t need to do anything

Great, I’m a lazy American — I’m good at not doing anything!

Apparently I should have taken that more to heart. A few days later, I checked the status of my order on Amazon’s Web site.

This is what I saw:

Amazon's crummy alert text

You can click the link to read the full message. But what it says is:

1. I haven’t been approved
2. I need to cancel my order
3. “We cannot proceed without some action on your part.”
4. In five days, if I don’t do anything, they’ll cancel my order.

That, my friends, is one of the worst error messages I’ve ever seen.

Let me get this straight… I need to cancel my order, Amazon can’t proceed without action on my part. **But**, if I don’t take any action, they’ll cancel my order.

Being a bear of very little brain, I canceled my order like I thought Amazon wanted me to.

Then, a few days later, figuring I’m going to have find another phone/plan/provider I re-read my e-mail from Amazon a little more closely. And I discover this nugget of wisdom (emphasis mine):

> Until this is resolved, it is possible that the information in the
> “Your Account” section of the Amazon site will **incorrectly** indicate that
> this order requires your attention and may **direct you to cancel** – please
> disregard this until we get more information.

A jigga-what?

So I reordered my phone/plan. Got the same note, got the same error message, did nothing. Now my phone is on its way.

Amazon,
what the fuss? (iTunes)

In an effort to be constructive might I suggest the following changes?

The first and most [defensive thing](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/073571410X/37signals/103-2259896-2064613) would be to not have a message saying I need to cancel my order, when I **don’t**.

Absent that, your initial note should say this:

> 1. There has been a delay in processing your wireless order.
> 2. We are waiting on your carrier to complete a credit check
> 3. **Do not** take any action
> 4. If you check your order status on the site it may prompt you
to cancel. **Do not** cancel your order.
> 5. If your credit check is declined we will inform you and cancel
your order
> 6. If you have any questions you can contact our Cell Phones
> Specialists at 1-800-201-7575, Monday through Friday 10am to 7pm EST.

A six-point e-mail is much easier to skim/read and digest than a six *paragraph* message with nearly *300 words*.

Finally change your “error message” to accurately reflect the status of my order!

Posted in Business, Web design | 1 Comment

MORE

MORE

Really interesting way of navigating a small site…

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10 Signs You May Have Webular Standarditis

10 Signs You May Have Webular Standarditis

An alt-less spacer.gif indeed… hilarious!

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