Automatic page refreshes are so 1998

Dear CNN.com, MNspeak, and the internet at large, I don't know if you are aware, but automatically refreshing the web page I'm reading is extraordinarily annoying and completely unnecessary. There was once a time many years ago where automatically refreshing a news site or any number of other types of pages was useful. These days, however, I believe it actually drags down your reader's experience on your site. If I want to see the latest version of your page, I will click the Reload button in my web browser, thank you very much. I do not care to be in the middle of reading something then have the page suddenly reload itself. Now I have to hunt down what I was reading and pick up where I left off, assuming the item I was reading wasn't old enough to be archived off of the front page. And God forbid it's a longer item, and I have to go through this process multiple times before I finish.

To eliminate any confusion, the type of page refresh I'm talking about includes those in <meta ...> tags and javascript setTimeout() and setInterval() calls that unceremoniously reload the entire page you are viewing. Why in this day and age of RSS, AJAX, Flash, and hell, even iframes would you still use auto-refreshes? I will concede that there might continued value for mobile versions of websites where timely delivery of information is key (think live sports scores and stock prices), as there are still a great number of mobile devices that do not support Flash (iPhone anyone?). But taking away a reader's choice in the age of Web 2.0 and ubiquitous connectivity tells me that you just don't get it.

Jeremy to Microsoft Live "quality" bot: you're doing it wrong

I don't recall exactly how long ago it was, perhaps a few weeks or months ago, but I started noticing a few odd referrals in the traffic stats for one of my other blogs. At the time, this was happening at least a couple times a day. I would see one-word searches coming from search.live.com. It took me a few days to realize that this was some sort of Microsoft search bot. Since it only hit my site a couple of times a day, I didn't think much of it. But this morning I checked my stats, and out of 128 unique visitors for the day up to that point, 18 of those visits were from the live.com bots. That comes to 14% of my traffic. I did a search and learned that these are "quality control" bots of some sort. Really, Microsoft? What is so special about your search engine that you have to skew everyone's traffic statistics? I have not once had a human referred to my site by the live.com search engine, so I have no qualms over hiding my site from their bots entirely, or generating completely bogus content specifically for them. Either way, I've set up my web stat software so that range of IP addresses is filtered. Surely Microsoft can find a better method of controlling their quality. Wait, look who I'm talking about. Never mind.

XBStore and XBStore.com

Lately when doing my semi-regular searches for HDTV models I've noticed a new "store" consistently popping up with the lowest prices on televisions, cameras, and other products. XBStore.com. Their prices are significantly and suspiciously lower than everyone else. For a while, I couldn't find a single word about them online. Well, it turns out there's a good reason why. A WHOIS lookup of xbstore.com reveals the domain was just registered just a couple of weeks ago to someone overseas (Spain?). And finally tonight I found this thread. The site only takes wire transfers. How. Very. Suspicious. Now I have no proof, no firsthand experience with this site, and it is within the realm of possibility that they are legit. However, my personal opinion is that all signs point to XBStore and XBStore.com being a slapdash scam site. So buyer beware. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Registrant:

XBStore Company
Calle Mayor, 40
Zaragoza, NA 50001
ES

Domain name: XBSTORE.COM

Administrative Contact:
Melendez, Rodrigo contact@xbstore.com
Calle Mayor, 40
Zaragoza, NA 50001
ES
+34.942940116 Fax: +34.942940116

Technical Contact:
Melendez, Rodrigo contact@xbstore.com
Calle Mayor, 40
Zaragoza, NA 50001
ES
+34.942940116 Fax: +34.942940116



Registrar of Record: TUCOWS, INC.
Record last updated on 20-Jan-2007.
Record expires on 18-Jan-2008.
Record created on 18-Jan-2007.

Domain servers in listed order:
NS7.IXWEBHOSTING.COM 71.18.255.99
NS8.IXWEBHOSTING.COM 71.18.216.3


Domain status: clientTransferProhibited
clientUpdateProhibited

Extended warranties--sometimes it's worth it

Usually I poo poo the whole extended warranty thing, but in the rare cases I've caved to the extended warranty pitch, I seem to have had the strangest luck with picking the right products. When I bought a brand new NordicTrack Summit 4500X treadmill from Sears a little over 4 years ago, I didn't balk at the extended warranty because unless you think you'll use it a few times then hang laundry from it, that is the exact sort of product that seems like a prime candidate for shelling out for added coverage. If it's a decent brand, they'll usually cover the motor for the life of the product, but there are so many other potential mechanical and electronic failure points on treadmills. The display and controls, the incline motor, the belt rollers, on and on. Now take about 200+ pounds of a slab of pasty beef like me slamming against it for 5+ miles a day several months out of the year, and that treadmill is getting some serious use and abuse.

I figure in the time I've owned my treadmill, I have easily run close to 2,500 miles on it, if not more. So color me impressed that the thing didn't need a warranty repair until about a year ago when the belt started slipping to the point I couldn't tighten it. They came to my house and fixed it, no hassle, no fuss. A little over a month ago, the belt slippage situation happened again. This time the technician informed me he would have to replace the entire belt deck. Yikes! It took a few weeks for the parts to arrive, then a week or two more before he could show up again to make the repair. But he fixed it, and it now works like a champ.

Last Thursday, the day after my last repair appointment, the technician called me to essentially say, "Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you that I noticed your treadmill's frame is cracked. That is not a repairable defect, so I emailed the company, and they will be in touch with you about giving you a new treadmill." Nice!

Tuesday I arrived home to find an UPS express letter from Icon Fitness propped against my front door. It contained the form I would need to request my replacement and a letter explaining that I needed to go to their website, pick a new treadmill from any of their brands, and call them to check the stock before mailing in the form. Ugh...seems very 20th century, but whatever. I was given a budget of 1,499.99 (and I won't be charged tax or shipping and handling), as that is evidently what I paid for the first treadmill (I don't recall paying that much, but I wasn't about to argue).

Since the tread I own is a NordicTrack, and I was quite pleased with it, I decided to go with a another of their models. I went to the website, and they had suggested retail prices and "web only" prices. I wasn't sure which price was going to count against my 1,499.99, so I called the warranty company and left a message (it's nearly impossible to get through to a live operator, even waiting on hold). Last night one of them called me back, and fortunately, it sounds like I can go by the web only price. He also told me that when I picked something out, give him a call, and he'd give his honest opinion on the product. Boosting his credibility, he told me straight out, "Don't bother getting any of the models with a flat panel tv built in. We've had a lot of problems with those." A tv wasn't going to be a selling point, but that was good to know.

Right now, I plan on getting NordicTrack Elite 2900. Retail is $1999, and the web only price is $1499. Perfect! I left a message yesterday for the very helpful Icon Fitness support rep, and he called me back, gave it his thumbs up, and said they have it in stock. I faxed them the form last night and will follow up with a phone call Monday (I faxed them the form via a web to fax service I've never used before, so I want to make sure they got it).