Monthly Archives: February 2008

If you build it (right), they will come (on any old platform, even a phone)

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I’m rather enamoured of OpenID, the really neat, decentralised way to log in to any OpenID-supporting web site with one username/password. Simultaneously, I’ve had a Vox account since I was invited to try the beta pre-launch. It was moderately interesting as a community-based approach to blogging, but as I already have this blog I never used it for that purpose.

At some point (I forget when), Vox became an OpenID provider. “Great,” I thought, “I’ll use it as my OpenID.” All was well until a few days ago, when I tried to sign in to Vox using Opera Mini on my Sony Ericsson K800i. Here’s a screenshot of the sign-in form:

The orange “Sign in” button is a button — right? Wrong. It’s made up of the following markup:

<a class="command-submit orange-button button"><b>Sign In</b><s></s></a>
<input type="submit" class="invisible-button" />

So, they’ve got a “real” submit button there, which probably attends to an imagined screen reader scenario–CSS and JavaScript off; but because Opera Mini usually behaves — for all intents and purposes — like a desktop browser, it attempts to render the fancy orange button but doesn’t quite have the nous to interpret whatever JavaScript event binding code Six Apart are using to make the orange button submit the form.

I emailed Vox support:

The sign-in button isn’t a ‘real’ html button and therefore I can’t sign in using Opera Mini.

They replied:

We’re sorry you’re having problems signing in to Vox. We would like to suggest that you try using Internet Explorer or Firefox when signing in to Vox. We fully support these browsers and you’ll find that you can use all of Vox’s functions when using them.

For more information about what Vox needs in order to work, check out our Requirements for using Vox article. (emphasis mine)

I replied to them, for what it’s worth:

OK – that’s fine. I would say something about “just use normal HTML and it works anywhere!” but I guess I’ll just find another OpenID provider.

So that’s what I did. I signed up with MyOpenId, who seemingly know how to use normal HTML elements for their intended purpose, rendering the service usable on Opera Mini.

If ever there was a lesson in keeping things simple and using Progressive Enhancement, there it is. For no extra effort, more people can use your service in more places and using more devices and platforms. What’s not to like?

Upsizing our car

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Renault Scenic

Originally uploaded by CokeeOrg

Our Christmas trip to Basingstoke (hello, glamorous life!) took place before Abigail arrived; nonetheless, the sheer amount of stuff we took with us and brought back (presents, kids’ toys etc.) rather emphasised how small our little Honda Jazz is. Its small size but generous interior space is one of the reasons we bought it in the first place and its boot is one of the largest in its class, but now we have two kids we’re starting to consider upsizing to a larger car.

At first, I wanted to stick with Honda; the Accord seemed like a good step up, with plentiful supply in our price range (under £4000). Having driven one on Sunday, though, I soon went off the idea. The example in question was a bit older (2000/W), cheaper (£2750) and more untidy, but the low-down driving position and low ceiling common to most saloons & hatchbacks really put me off the idea of any Accord.

The Jazz, while short, is quite tall. It’s not as tall as some full-on MPVs, but it’s got a nice amount of headroom (less important for me at 5’6″ but Kathy, at 5’10″, appreciates it). Consequently, the move to a regular saloon or hatchback just feels…wrong.

Kathy’s dad suggested looking at the Citroën Xsara Picasso or the Renault Scenic (which Kathy’s uncle has). So I did:

The newer Scenic has better reviews than the facelifted original, but is a rarer find in our price range. The older one is more common and is the definitive mini MPV but is older technology. Argh! What to decide?

Big Dave has owned both the Scenic and the Picasso and says he prefers the Picasso overall, but admits the Scenic looks better.

And then, using Parkers’ “also consider” feature, I stumbled upon the Vauxhall Zafira:

The older model is, again, more plentiful, but I’ve found an 2006/06 1.6 Life in red for under £4000 on Auto Trader. Is it too good to be true? I’ve emailed the advertiser; watch this space…

UPDATE

We bought a 2002 52 reg Citroën Xsara Picasso 2.0 HDI Exclusive in metallic mauve. Phoebe calls it “our purple car” though it’s not that purple.