I know I said I'd stay away from web design, but...

1995. The internet. Everybody wants to be there but nobody can figure out why (cough...twitter...), and every web site is an adventure in metaphorical nagivation: "Come, take a trip through our virtual office! You can even stop at the water fountain and drink some virtual water! It's the future!"

Then sites like Amazon and eBay prove that the internet can be used for more than cutesy tricks and the "virtual office" becomes a thing of the past. Right?

Brill Publications proves that there are still some misguided web designers out there who haven't upgraded from Internet 0.5. It's sad, but it makes you wonder how long it will be before vintage internet goes into style and people start deliberately designing Geocities-era web content.

Anyway, at least it's better than Havenworks...

via webpagesthatsuck

Dell Commander Adama.

I wanted to try and avoid blogging on web design (that's a whole other kettle of whale) but I was so frustrated by the Flashy product page for the new Dell Adamo that I had to comment.

Dell's Adamo is designed to compete directly with Apple's snazzilicious MacBook Air. In order to do this, their web site has eschewed all information and functionality in favor of beautiful models francing around in formal wear.




It's a miracle they even tell you the name of the product ("Adamo"? Pretty damn close to Adama ... are they trying to jump on the Battlestar Galactica nerdwagon?)


Is the Adamo itself any good? Maybe. Who knows? I can't even find product specifications. All I see on their web page is a heading with four ambiguous options:
Encounter (what, like an animal in the wild?)
Discover (isn't that just a synonym for encounter?)
Admire (well that's a bit narcissistic)
Commit (wait ... if I click it, have I bought one? I don't even know what I'm buying! Maybe I should 'admire' it a little more ... hey, what's up with this weird flickr photoset?)

You've missed the boat, Dell. Nobody wants your laptops anymore.