The CC website-mobile has been chugging along slower and slower, threatening to stop (or not start) altogether. Yes, I’m notorious for delaying preventive maintenance. But help has arrived, in the form of CC’er stembre (Ed Stembridge), who has kindly offered us a full professional tune-up. New plugs (plug-in updates) and a full rebuild on the clattering old WP motor. And we may ditch the slide show, or find a way to make it less of a horsepower-hog. Kind of like swapping in a manual to replace the slush box. And more serious changes are being mulled over (engine transplant? New paint job?). We did have a hiccup this morning, and our new webmaster apologizes for that, but the site is already loading up quicker. But we’ve only just begun, and with Ed’s help, the old buggy should be scooting along a lot brisker soon.
On a less technical note, Executive Editor Tom Klockau will be easing back into a genuine job starting next week. That means we’ll be divvying up duties behind the wheel, and as his job eventually becomes full-time, we’re either going to be an early adopter of google’s autonomous car technology, or we’ll find another willing victim. Or I will do what needs to be done, driving with one hand on the wheel and the other on…
We’re always looking for folks who have adequate mastery of the language to join the ever-growing CCCC (CC Contributor Corps). If you’re a Cohort poster, and want to step up into the big league, drop me a line at the Contact form. Any other suggestions, while the hood is open?
Well, that why I couldn’t bring it up earlier this morning (0900-ish). Seems to be working fine, now.
Maybe swap in a Nailhead while we’re at it? 😛
I always thought the slide show was pretty demanding on the site, although my bias was likely based on the fact that my contributions didn’t seem to come up in the slide show…
(I kid, I kid…)
Like going from a Powerglide to a Turbohydramatic? Or like a 250 6 cyl. to a 427 (Chevy, of course)? Yeah!
Or going from a Chevy to a New Yorker 🙂
Increased performance from not wasting power by lowering the rear side windows?
Yeah, it had always been my impression that the slide show was a memory hog. I’ve dealt with it by always clicking directly to the article I want to read, rather than opening it in a new window or tab as I do with most sites. One easy thing to do with it would be to put a “stop” button, but I don’t actually know if that’s easy to do from a coding standpoint.
Paul – I sent you a submission last week. Did you get it? I sent it to the gmail address.
I don’t use that one anymore, generally. Got it now. I’ll send you me main e-mail. Thanks for the heads up; it doesn’t forward to mine like it should.
Yes, it’s loading faster now. And I do enjoy the slideshow feature…
Great on speeding up the website, Ed and Paul. I do like the slideshow feature, but if it takes up too much memory, then I can see the need to simplify it somehow. Congrats Tom also on landing a full-time job!
“Any other suggestions, while the hood is open?”
How about a mobile optimized version of the site, tested on IOS, Android, and Blackberry?
Optimize the mobile layout for small screen sizes and slow connections, and include an easy to use text zoom feature.
On the “to-do” list… but only after we repair the cracked frame, burned wiring, dropped valves, etc. (c:
I’m a Mac/iOS guy, and once we get to that point, maybe we can solicit some folks to test on other mobile platforms.
Thank You!!
I am typing this on an iPad, but I could help by testing with Android and Blackberry as well if you like.
Congrats Tom!
That didn’t take too long.
Yes, congrats, Tom! Thanks for all your efforts here and good luck with your new gig.