Website Updates (2/17/11)

[Tbone]

I've made a lot of changes to the website this past week, so I thought I'd make sure everyone was aware of them.

-The Toolbar: Based on feedback from the last meeting, I kept the toolbar in, but eliminated most of the features that required a social website login (like Facebook). I've also added a "##Follow the Signal..." link that opens up our challenge right from the toolbar! Check it out! Other toolbar features include a like button, RSS feed of TOR news, YouTube player, Facebook fan page viewer, announcements, and a scroll up button.

-Home Page: The home page has undergone a lot of changes. I've taken away the Order quotes (the Orders are now on a different page), and replaced them with a graphical link to the new Orders page. I've also updated our TOR news feed on the home page to the same one as our toolbar.

-Orders Page: New Orders page where you can get a much more detailed description of the Orders, who is in charge of them, how many slots are left, and can view the video of each one. The videos load right on the page without redirecting (in HD 640x480). New banner is at the top. This can be seen by both members and non-members.

-Holovids Page: The "footage" page is now the "Holovids" page. The Order videos have been added. There is a new banner at the top. Videos load on the page in HD 1280x740.

-Research Page: New banner is at the top. Also, if you haven't seen it in a while, I've organized the info a bit and created a graphical menu to look at the MxO links.

-//Menu: Gear link was removed (until we get updated graphics on our stuff). "Footage" is now "Holovids". "Orders" now points to the new Orders Page.

There might be more that I'm missing at the moment. Let me know what you think. I'll continue updating the site as I find things to tweak!

[Lithium]

-Home Page: The home page has undergone a lot of changes. I've taken away the Order quotes (the Orders are now on a different page), and replaced them with a graphical link to the new Orders page. I've also updated our TOR news feed on the home page to the same one as our toolbar.

-Orders Page: New Orders page where you can get a much more detailed description of the Orders, who is in charge of them, how many slots are left, and can view the video of each one. The videos load right on the page without redirecting (in HD 640x480). New banner is at the top. This can be seen by both members and non-members.

-Holovids Page: The "footage" page is now the "Holovids" page. The Order videos have been added. There is a new banner at the top. Videos load on the page in HD 1280x740.

-Research Page: New banner is at the top. Also, if you haven't seen it in a while, I've organized the info a bit and created a graphical menu to look at the MxO links.

-//Menu: Gear link was removed (until we get updated graphics on our stuff). "Footage" is now "Holovids". "Orders" now points to the new Orders Page.

There might be more that I'm missing at the moment. Let me know what you think. I'll continue updating the site as I find things to tweak!

Most excellent.

-The Toolbar: Based on feedback from the last meeting, I kept the toolbar in, but eliminated most of the features that required a social website login (like Facebook). I've also added a "##Follow the Signal..." link that opens up our challenge right from the toolbar! Check it out! Other toolbar features include a like button, RSS feed of TOR news, YouTube player, Facebook fan page viewer, announcements, and a scroll up button.

It's kind of like the healthcare bill. Most people didn't want it. It was forceful and intrusive. It didn't do much of anything that it should have. But yet, it's still there!

[Tbone]

It's kind of like the healthcare bill. Most people didn't want it. It was forceful and intrusive. It didn't do much of anything that it should have. But yet, it's still there!

TbonaBar!

[Venlar]

ROFL... Didn't realize that the toolbar was actually from the website. I've been so paranoid that my computer had malware that I couldn't get rid of since you implemented it. lol

[Fuse]

It's kind of like the healthcare bill. Most people didn't want it. It was forceful and intrusive. It didn't do much of anything that it should have. But yet, it's still there!

I chuckled.

[Avzeke (Khr0n1k)]

I am going to assume that the part on my bar that is always loading is the RSS feed. The box between the "like" and the ##Follow the signal... always plays a loading animation on mine and then when it eventually stops, it is just a blank box. I am running Chrome 9 if that matters.

[Tinzzak]

Not to be the voice of dissent but I find the toolbar helpful.  I didn't like having to log in with Facebook to chat or use the book marks but the quick links to the videos and the pop up announcements are quite handy to some of us newer folks who haven't got a clue where to find anything.

[Tbone]

I am going to assume that the part on my bar that is always loading is the RSS feed. The box between the "like" and the ##Follow the signal... always plays a loading animation on mine and then when it eventually stops, it is just a blank box. I am running Chrome 9 if that matters.

It was having trouble loading earlier tonight but fixed itself already. No clue what that's about.

[Tbone]

I'm in the process of updating all of our MxO movies to HD so that YouTube plays them correctly. Check it out:

BEFORE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHG1DwvsbPk

AFTER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsSWrcOdKGQ&hd=1

Halloween:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4myvUN9SL4&hd=1

[Manic Velocity]

AFTER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsSWrcOdKGQ&hd=1

Blocked due to copyright.

[Tbone]

AFTER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsSWrcOdKGQ&hd=1

Blocked due to copyright.

Works just fine for me.

[Broin]

Blocked due to copyright for me

[Tbone]

Ok, I think I fixed it...at least for now. Working on the other videos, but it's taking close to 45 min to export each version, and I keep adjusting things to keep the quality.

[Tbone]

Well, this is turning into more of a hassle then I wanted it to be. If I convert it to H.264, the resolution turns out right, but the quality gets a little blocky. If I keep it in .wmv format, I can retain the quality, but the resolution won't stay the same when uploading to YouTube.

Edit: Looks like I've got it working:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NH2bi1h1AA&hd=1

[Tbone]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L9awnxXyJ4&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOviKJ2aVek&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwmBP7BtZQk&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NH2bi1h1AA&hd=1

I just have "All Good Things..." left. It's exporting now. Hopefully this will fix the audio bug that YouTube was giving it!