Comments for craigk http://www.craigk.org/blog Just another WordPress weblog Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:29:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 Comment on Broken me thinks by Jonathan http://www.craigk.org/blog/2010/02/24/broken-me-thinks/#comment-1231 Jonathan Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:54:57 +0000 http://www.craigk.org/blog/?p=261#comment-1231 Good luck bitching with connection speeds like that. Maybe you should move from the arse end of nowhere... I'm impressed you get Virgin at all. Good luck bitching with connection speeds like that. Maybe you should move from the arse end of nowhere… I’m impressed you get Virgin at all.

]]> Comment on Not Banking on it by Craig http://www.craigk.org/blog/2010/01/27/not-banking-on-it/#comment-1187 Craig Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:34:12 +0000 http://www.craigk.org/blog/?p=258#comment-1187 I see your point, however (to make a change :P ) I respectfully disagree. In these fairly tough belt tightening times the margins between banks is pretty slim so there is not much in who you go with. In such times what they need is something to push them up and over their competition. Relatively speaking developing that kind of feature set and interface is cheap. I don't expect this to happen any time soon, but I actually think there could well be money to be made in making life easier for customers. I think I showed you this talk some time ago (or maybe you showed it to me) where an ad man talks about changing the interface to change the behaviour. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_an_ad_man.html He then goes on to talk about making a big button to allow people to save. This in my opinion is that big button. A big button that sends more people your way and keeps them putting more money in your system because the benefits can be seen clearly. I see your point, however (to make a change :P ) I respectfully disagree. In these fairly tough belt tightening times the margins between banks is pretty slim so there is not much in who you go with. In such times what they need is something to push them up and over their competition. Relatively speaking developing that kind of feature set and interface is cheap.

I don’t expect this to happen any time soon, but I actually think there could well be money to be made in making life easier for customers.

I think I showed you this talk some time ago (or maybe you showed it to me) where an ad man talks about changing the interface to change the behaviour.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_an_ad_man.html

He then goes on to talk about making a big button to allow people to save. This in my opinion is that big button. A big button that sends more people your way and keeps them putting more money in your system because the benefits can be seen clearly.

]]> Comment on Not Banking on it by pewterfish http://www.craigk.org/blog/2010/01/27/not-banking-on-it/#comment-1186 pewterfish Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:11:31 +0000 http://www.craigk.org/blog/?p=258#comment-1186 Show me the money. No, really. Natwest isn't much better than Nationwide for this sort of thing, and I have to admit, I like the idea of what you propose. However, it's development with no financial comeback, so why should a finance-house, of all people, bother with it? ...I don't mean to be confrontational there, I may have been possessed by the spirit of a banker for a moment, but you see my point, I think. Giving your details to an online service like that is a Dumb Idea, you're right. Something like a secure OpenID (PGP key or equivalent) appears to be indicated, so that we can allow partial access to said service. The in-house solution is, of course, better, but remains unlikely to my mind. Much blather. I think the root problem is the perceived inherent insecurity of the HTTP/HTML platform, coupled with the cost of developing pretty, featureful interfaces and The Authentication Problem. I'd love to see the interfaces you describe, but I don't expect to in the immediate future. Show me the money.

No, really. Natwest isn’t much better than Nationwide for this sort of thing, and I have to admit, I like the idea of what you propose. However, it’s development with no financial comeback, so why should a finance-house, of all people, bother with it?

…I don’t mean to be confrontational there, I may have been possessed by the spirit of a banker for a moment, but you see my point, I think.

Giving your details to an online service like that is a Dumb Idea, you’re right. Something like a secure OpenID (PGP key or equivalent) appears to be indicated, so that we can allow partial access to said service. The in-house solution is, of course, better, but remains unlikely to my mind.

Much blather. I think the root problem is the perceived inherent insecurity of the HTTP/HTML platform, coupled with the cost of developing pretty, featureful interfaces and The Authentication Problem. I’d love to see the interfaces you describe, but I don’t expect to in the immediate future.

]]> Comment on Make do and Mend by Craig http://www.craigk.org/blog/2010/01/25/make-do-and-mend/#comment-1185 Craig Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:09:48 +0000 http://www.craigk.org/blog/?p=257#comment-1185 Perhaps if you had seen Dan (my old housemate) sitting on his bed mending something you would understand how such a task could in fact be very manly. Although I will of course have to admit that me sitting at a sewing machine does not counjour up quite the same image... Perhaps if you had seen Dan (my old housemate) sitting on his bed mending something you would understand how such a task could in fact be very manly. Although I will of course have to admit that me sitting at a sewing machine does not counjour up quite the same image…

]]> Comment on Make do and Mend by Jonathan http://www.craigk.org/blog/2010/01/25/make-do-and-mend/#comment-1184 Jonathan Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:42:51 +0000 http://www.craigk.org/blog/?p=257#comment-1184 I will say I meant sowing seeds but I didn't... I'm sorry but fixing clothes is not and never will be a manly pursuit. I will say I meant sowing seeds but I didn’t…

I’m sorry but fixing clothes is not and never will be a manly pursuit.

]]> Comment on Make do and Mend by Craig http://www.craigk.org/blog/2010/01/25/make-do-and-mend/#comment-1183 Craig Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:05:20 +0000 http://www.craigk.org/blog/?p=257#comment-1183 To break, fix, repair, build, knock down are all manly pursuits. It does not just have to be building some big with nails in a Clarkson kinda of way. Making clothes from scratch, now that is girly, fixing something that is broken, that is manly. The manly sense of achievement does not coming because of what you are fixing or how you are fixing it, it comes from knowing you could have thrown it away, but instead you took out your brain and your tools and you fixed it. I am just as happy from fixing a computer, or a door or a lock as I am a pair of trousers. Also, wrong "sow"... To break, fix, repair, build, knock down are all manly pursuits. It does not just have to be building some big with nails in a Clarkson kinda of way. Making clothes from scratch, now that is girly, fixing something that is broken, that is manly.

The manly sense of achievement does not coming because of what you are fixing or how you are fixing it, it comes from knowing you could have thrown it away, but instead you took out your brain and your tools and you fixed it. I am just as happy from fixing a computer, or a door or a lock as I am a pair of trousers.

Also, wrong “sow”…

]]> Comment on Make do and Mend by Jonathan http://www.craigk.org/blog/2010/01/25/make-do-and-mend/#comment-1182 Jonathan Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:33:33 +0000 http://www.craigk.org/blog/?p=257#comment-1182 I agree with Thomas about DIY, repairing or building something is manly. If you don't do it then you are a shallow husk of a being... alternatively you could sow I suppose. I agree with Thomas about DIY, repairing or building something is manly. If you don’t do it then you are a shallow husk of a being… alternatively you could sow I suppose.

]]> Comment on Make do and Mend by Jonathan http://www.craigk.org/blog/2010/01/25/make-do-and-mend/#comment-1181 Jonathan Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:32:01 +0000 http://www.craigk.org/blog/?p=257#comment-1181 "general public at large" Well slightly over half the population anyway... ie women “general public at large”

Well slightly over half the population anyway… ie women

]]> Comment on Housewarming (the event that wasn’t) by Jonathan http://www.craigk.org/blog/2010/01/25/housewarming-the-event-that-wasnt/#comment-1180 Jonathan Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:55:15 +0000 http://www.craigk.org/blog/?p=256#comment-1180 Dang a left over table of food I would have been in heaven... thankfully I was one of the immediate dropouts with sound reason. Me and Beth are looking forward to visiting in April. Also, when did you get a wii? Dang a left over table of food I would have been in heaven… thankfully I was one of the immediate dropouts with sound reason.

Me and Beth are looking forward to visiting in April.

Also, when did you get a wii?

]]> Comment on Make do and Mend by Thomas http://www.craigk.org/blog/2010/01/25/make-do-and-mend/#comment-1179 Thomas Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:03:26 +0000 http://www.craigk.org/blog/?p=257#comment-1179 Since my skill at sewing is pretty much nonexistant I'm unlikely to mend clothes, but I'll certainly do simple (and not-so-simple) bits of DIY to repair stuff. A recent example is my speakers. Most people would have just binned them, but a) they're actually quite good for what they are and b) I know my electronics. A minute with a soldering iron and they're as good as new. On computers, I've only thrown out two x86-based systems: an ancient 386 (from which I kept the keyboard, and still use that today) and there's a 10-year-old Duron-based system with leaky capacitors that's waiting for a trip to the skip. And even then I intend to desolder anything worth keeping from the motherboard before binning it. Since my skill at sewing is pretty much nonexistant I’m unlikely to mend clothes, but I’ll certainly do simple (and not-so-simple) bits of DIY to repair stuff. A recent example is my speakers. Most people would have just binned them, but a) they’re actually quite good for what they are and b) I know my electronics. A minute with a soldering iron and they’re as good as new.

On computers, I’ve only thrown out two x86-based systems: an ancient 386 (from which I kept the keyboard, and still use that today) and there’s a 10-year-old Duron-based system with leaky capacitors that’s waiting for a trip to the skip. And even then I intend to desolder anything worth keeping from the motherboard before binning it.

]]>