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Geek Trivia wish list

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by Jay Garmon

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While I'm out working on site improvements, I'd love to hear from the Geek Trivia faithful regarding what they like, dislike, want more of, and want rid of in their TechRepublic content. Post your suggestions below, and I'll shake the corporate ladder on your behalf.

43 replies

by maxwell edison

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The My Discussions link used to show the discussions in which I've participated, listed in an order starting from the most current. I suppose I'd like that back. Now it shows some very old and obsolete discussions.

I'd like the print option back when reviewing all the discussion comments. Even though I never printed them, it did open up the whole discussion for viewing.

by oz_media

Do you not see the Print option?

It's still there for me. I think you are talking about hitting Print so that all the threads are opened for review without clicking the various links and going through the discussion post by post.

by maxwell edison

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Yes, what you stated is what I mean.

I see the following:

Post a Reply - Subscribe - Previous|Next

Print used to be between Subscribe and Previous|Next

by the_biochemist

You could stand to attract more readers by offering a free xml web service of titles and links to CURRENT discussions allowing other web developer to create dynamic links to your site based on your users activity - e.g. top ten discussions.

your e-mails do have this but they are generally out of date by the time readers get them!

by mrafrohead

If it makes you feel any better, all of my discussions are gone... Just missing...

Except the two I posted to yesterday... ;(

Makes me sad, as a few of them I still monitored for changes.

Mrafrohead

by oz_media

You guys should cut and paste from the other discussions we've had on this same issue.

Anyway, Change the names or move your links.
With the Discussion link being above the Technical Q&A link, people constantly post questions in Discussions, pretty annoying when discussions are buried that way, especially when the discussion tracking and subscriptions no longer work.

I suggest a enw name for Technical Q&A, which sounds link a site support link or FAQ's link.

Maybe "Get Help" or "Find Solutions" or anything other than Technical Q&A.

'Edit' feature for posts would stop a LOT of flaming and also provide a way for us poor typists to ensure our posts read correctly. This is a standard feature for most forums now.

Site consistency, well yo9u guys ervamped the home page, whether for the better or not, it still doesn't match the rest of the site which makes it very hard for new memn=bers to foolow the site links, navigation must be consistently placed.

The navigation layout itself needs much work, a top NAV bar (Home>CIO>IT Manager etc) and a side bar of LARGE text links is really poor layout, I'm sure you guys cvan incorporate it a little better and more effectively to retain visitors by offering faster, simpler navigation.

I feel like I'm flogging a dead horse here, this same question has been raised four times that I can remember since the 'new site' was being built.

FIX THE DISCUSSIONS!!

Subscriptions don't remain more than a few hours.
Most recently visited Discussions show OLD articles not recent posts. I have already been told that your tech supoprt team has been working on this issue since August, although it worked fine until this April so I can assume that is the main problem. Perhaps update the clocks at TR :-)

OM

by cactus pete

I am sure others will point out everything I care about already, but I would like to stress that the extra space in posted links really annoys me. Both that I have to take the time to fix it, and also that other people who don't know better accuse me of posting bad links.

by Jay Garmon

I can't say too much about the site fix issues right now, but believe me, the editorial staff feels your pain. We're banging our heads against the same wall, along with our painfully overtaxed development staff.

We WILL fix the discussion subsciptions. We will fix Tech Q&A. We will fix the article pages, including navigation. These changes are already in the pipeline, even if the pipe appears clogged at the moment.

As for the My Favorites being erased, I can personally guarantee you that this feature is being championed by a LOT of people. I'm going to the mat on this one, and so are several others.

That said, I'd like to get past the "usual suspects" of site fixes and move onto a broader wishlist.

What NEW features do you want to see? What are we not doing that you want? If you could rebuild TR from the ground up, what would it look like?

We have some ideas of our own, and I'll share those later. Right now, I want to hear from you folks. We're very seriously considering a major revamp of our entire product offering. What direction would you like to see us move in?

--Jay

by oz_media

Well if this is really a wish list of what I want from TR, it is obviously gonna be free stuff.

ON a more serious note, the offering here are good, my ONLY uses for this site are:

a) Being able to find answers from the most helpful bunch of experts I have found online.

b) Discussions that get me away from the IT frame of mind and give me a break from it for a while.

c) Helping others as much as i can in Tech. Q&A

Other than that, I really don't use TR for any other purpose. So given my USE of the site, you are providing exactly what I wish to see, except the previously mentioned issues that effect how I use it efficiently.

From what I understand, Tech Republic as the name suggests is designed as a resource for people in the IT industry to collectively exchange ideas, discuss topics amongst ourselves and help one another to resolve our daily issues.

In which case the OLD TR has been fine with the exception of user interface problems.

Are you looking to achieve something new? TR Games Domain or TR peepshows or something?

TR is a valued Technical resource by many and a good one at that when things work properly.

I have never been one to say "if it aint broke don't fix it" as I always feel business can be improved on. In this case, just fix what's broken, the rest is great.

What I don't use?

TPGuild, Whitepapers that always pertain to MS products, the entire upper nav bar, CIO etc. which I just find is a redundancy that allows segregation of peer groups, Products and Services link, I just visited it and it does nothing for me, there's enough product information sent to my inbox daily that I do not have a problems finding vendors. Perr directoty and contact that is no longer working, although I didn't appreciate it before either.
Corporate sales of TPGuild memberships ?
Books & CD's, although I know SOME people have ordered books, then returned them.

So with all these links that aren't commonly used, that I am aware of, why not just simplify the entire navigation system and incorporate a single navigation instead of an upper and side bar system?

You could offer a TR store for those who want books, subscriptions etc. and provide a single shoppin gcart link instead of multiple nav links.

One more thing, you have an ad for TR CD's at the top of the page, another below the left nav bar. Each has animation and small text on it.

Why not a single source/ad for all your CD's and books? It would simplify the pages look and feel while removing the animations and still provide a resource for you to generate income from members.

And where the hell is my coffee mug?

by jkaras

I love the top and new discussions on the discussion home page. What could make it better? A top ten list for both rather than the top three. It would allow more viewings for participation to the new threads and the growing interested ones. Basically new threads bump the existing threads in minutes forcing your threads into obscurity.

I like the newsletters idea for information, but I dont find them technically superior information. I see them as basic common sense and rather vague than specific and highly informative.

A nice sample test cert for all certifications on the website to practice the basics when attempting to achieve a cert.

A random lottery for members who participate in a classic posting that shed light on technical questions. The reward is a simple t-shirt or mug monthly. Even through your advertisers coupons for deals on latest technology to buy neat gadgets such as mp3 players, palm pilots, cool mice, or even discount coupons for certifications from leading test centers to stimulate more people seeking certifications.

Reviews of cutting edge technology to consider that is unbiased like a consumer reports or debunker articles concerning outrageous claims by manufacturers.

Another site called the techzone has picture postings for fun and insight to what each other looks like and avatars. Its not necessary but fun none the less.

Lastly a better body window that keeps your paragraph spacings and format rather than having to copy and paste fom word to look "professional".

I must say that I really enjoy coming to your site learning more than just about computers. Your free reign allowance makes this site by far the best. After some improved maitenance on some issues then go for perks. Once again thanks for a great site that cares about its members wants, needs, and desires, you guys and gals rock!

by oz_media

You had a similar problem with the box ad that kept recurring too, others (including me) HAD seen it but it was not all the time.

I see the Print icon on all the discussion screens though so I don't know why it wouldn't be showing up for you if the pages are served from the same source?!?

Sorry man, that one's got me stumped.

by joseph moore

Max:
Check the html source (do a View Source if you use IE) and see if "print.gif" is there. That is the image used for the print option.

by perseus

This is what I am wishing for a long time but have given up on.

1. Support for Opera. They say its there but hasn't worked for me yet.
2. Getting the Favourites Back.
3. Subscribe does not at all work!! No notification! Is it just me or anyone have this problem ?

by perseus

OZMedia,

You have raised a very valid point. That Top Nav bar can be reorganised. The basic premise seems that a memeber of one community say Net Admin or consultant will not visit other sections.

This does not hold true. For Ex I am a Consultant who does Net Admin for Fun. So navigating across these sections is a pain for me. I don't even recall when I last used that bar.

Same goes for the Left Nav Bar. Why is it always static irrespective of the sub section in which you are moving. May be TR should take a leaf out of Sister CNet's book and make it sensetive to the subsections...

As to the Shopping Cart is concerned, it seems to come out only in certain Sections like White papers. You might as well make it a permanant feature as suggested by Ozmedia.

by coachrick

Dear Trivia Geek,
I particularly like those items in which there is a reference to some historical fact, figure and/or event to current technology. Much like the one I just read about the relationship of the names of the space shuttle crafts. One of my favorite programs on PBS was James Burke's "Connections" in which he took seemingly unrelated events from history and shows how they led to some current technology. A most interesting series of programs.

Thanks!
Rick

by gthornton

The naming of the Enterprise actually goes back to
US warships. The first was the USS Enterprise in the War of 1812. The last 2 have been carriers.

by lyon_bleu

Actually, the first Enterprise was taken from the British in 1755,
re-named and re-fitted as a gunship, deployed on Lake
Champlain, and then scuttled to avoid capture in 1777.

by lynn_beeler

I enjoy Geek Trivia as it is. Please keep the same format and the general mix of scientific, business, and computer questions that you have been using.

ComplexLake

by sysdev1

I believe that the Enterprise (from Star Trek) WAS named for a real naval ship. The carrier Enterprise was in World War II.

by efrahm

as favorable as that explaination may be to us geeks, the name of the first vessel of many models has been the 'enterprise'. presumeably the Gene himself honored this tradition by the naming of the Star Trek Enterprise. I believe the first nuclear sub was an 'enterprise', the first of our current class of carriers was an 'enterprise'... there is fun trivia here also. who was the first captian aboard a US ship named enterprise?

by alchemist-joat

http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/enterprise.html

The above url points to a page that says in part:

Enterprise, the first Space Shuttle Orbiter, was originally to be named Constitution (in honor of the U.S. Constitution's Bicentennial). However, viewers of the popular TV Science Fiction show Star Trek started a write-in campaign urging the White House to select the name Enterprise. Designated, OV-101, the vehicle was rolled out of Rockwell's Air Force Plant 42, Site 1 Palmdale California assembly facility on Sept. 17, 1976. On Jan. 31, 1977, it was transported 36 miles overland from Rockwell's assembly facility to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards Air Force Base for the approach and landing test program.

by mlayton

Hot topics and new discussions sometimes give an inaccurate view of what this site is all about by consisting of the offtopic threads. While I know, if you go through the different categories within discussions you will (accurately) get the opinion that this is a worthy technical site - if you go by the cover of the book or first impression if you are a first time visitor, including off topic discussions in the hot topics gives the impression we are not a serious technical site, and the first-time visitor may take one look at those and run the other way, never to return. Us regulars know to click around in miscellaneous to see if those off-topics interest us, so I would prefer us to make sure the impression we give to the newbie is more positive, and let them find out about those off-topic discussions (and how hot and heavy they can get) when they are more comfortable with the site!

by the_dog

You know, I do not have any complaints. I enjoy receiving and reading the "Geek Trivia" posts.

Keep up the good work!

by wordworker

When the site launched there was a vague promise that someday members would be able to redeem TechPoints for....something...anything. While it's a nice bargaining tool when you need to attract people to your question in TechQ&A, it'd be nice if a decision were made about it.

Also, I recommend losing that horrible "View entire article" approach to generating clicks. What a crock!!!

by tristanchipchase

Ages ago you used to have the answer to last weeks question on the end of the the current question. I really liked it that way.
Also, there used to be less advertising. Now i have to ignore over half of the email before i get to the interesting part.
I quite like the quibble of the week. There's nothing quite like geeks arguing about trivial tid-bits.

by wordworker

Gosh you know I love 99.9% of what Shawn Morton designs, but those tiny black-font-on-dark-background TechPoint icons are impossible to read. Come on and fix them already!

by maxwell edison

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Change the tech point icons so they're readable, and make more of them.

For example:

5,000 - 10,000 = Light Red

10,001 - 50,000 = Light Blue

50,001 - 100,000 = Light Green

100,001 - 250,000 = Light Gold

250,001 and more = Platinum (of course).

Add some more, change the colors to suit, but I think you get the idea.

by wordworker

How about a TechRepublic store where you could buy (or exchange TechPoints for) a cool TR polo shirt, sweatshirt, T-shirt, coffee mug, mouse pad, pen-pencil set or U-drive or hat or book bag or.....

by gary.peace

HMS Endeavour was a britsh ship and had its name spelled accordingly.
Also 'the HMS Challenger' translates to 'the Her Majesty's Ship Challenger' - just 'HMS Challenger' would do nicely.

by gary.peace

You state that 'Columbia is the namesake of the first American vessel to circumnavigate
the globe, which it did under Capt. Robert Gray in 1793.' Not quite. Columbia WAS the first American vessel to circumnavigate the globe and Capt. Robert Gray WAS the first American to do so, BUT they did not do the entire trip together; for the first part of the trip Columbia was captained by Kendrick, while Gray was on the Lady Washington, and the two then swapped ships. So the best you can say is that the circumnavigation by Columbia was COMPLETED under Capt. Robert Gray.

by smr

Your column never fails to satisfy. As a busy person I would appreciate your having the trivia answers follow the questions. Makes for a faster read!

by ejk

I would much rather get one newsletter with content customized to my interests. Currently I get dozens of newsletters -- often with repeated content (e.g. "BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND", or "NEW AT TECHREPUBLIC"). This is particularly annoying when the content is not relevant to the newsletter (e.g., Linux tips in a Windows newsletter or vice versa).

My inbox is full enough already, shrinking it would be a major feature for me.

by dalicoder

...include the answers to the previous week's question in the following week's e-mail. That way, I didn't have to go to the site to see them. Sometimes it's not convenient for me to go to the site to see the answer.

Thanks for asking!

--Dave

by gillettdavid

I recognize that there's probably a marketing purpose to the newsletter, to drive traffic to the website. But I download my email to read off-line often enough that that can't happen, and never seeing the answers AT ALL just makes me cranky and resentful.

by devans00

I like topics that have some sort of social or cultural impact. For instance, something about the connection between devices that save time that had a ripple effect through society. I think to find a connection between something like the marketing of efficient paper cups for coffee to go means less time people spend at home and more time commuting longer distances. So something like morning coffee drinking that used to be a private bonding session among family is now a multi-task item shared with total strangers.

by the_biochemist

Posted this in the middle of a different thread... forgot to click on the root!!! sorry!

You could stand to attract more readers by offering a free xml web service of titles and links to CURRENT discussions allowing other web developer to create dynamic links to your site based on your users activity - e.g. top ten discussions.

your e-mails do have this but they are generally out of date by the time readers get them!

by noonespecial

I like geek trivia, because it covers bases I normally don't have time to look in on my own. I especially liked the one just issued because I always wanted to find out why there was no TV Channel 1.

Keep up the good work

by jetconsys

From your June 2 reprint, "deoxyribose nucleic acid" seems to also be referenced by the early results from Google, but it is still wrong

by alchemist-joat

Over the years, the spelling of DNA has changed. The title of the paper written by Warson and Crick is "A structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid". Look in the link below:

http://biocrs.biomed.brown.edu/Books/Chapters/Ch%208/DH-Paper.html

Also, it was spelled as seen in this older definition:

desoxyribonucleic acid - (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information; "DNA is the king of molecules"

by mitchellson

The method you refered to is actually called radio crystalography and uses xray defraction to give clues to the properties of a minute material, it's a far cry from the scanning tunneling microscopes and electron microscopes that are common place today.the idea of the double helix debated how there could possibly be so much information in a single base and the spiral of the dna gives it enourmous storage capacity without danger of cross linkage throughout the ladder

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