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Usability experts vs. Mac vs. PC
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Love Calm Quiet
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: CO
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Aug 21, 2007, 11:27 AM
 
So I'm enjoying learning about web page viewing habits of users - and reading Jakob Nielsen's recent article on Banner Blindness: www.useit.com/alertbox/banner-blindness.html

He has two videos to choose from to view how eyes move on a web page, both in Windows Media format.

Clicking starts my Windows Media (for Mac) v.9. I am told that the content is in a Codec not suppoted by this Windows Media app. Checking for the updates to WMV (from WMV help menu), the site gives me several options to download recent *Windows* editions of WMV. But the most recent edition for OS X is... v.9 (which I'm using).

Not surprising that MS updates software for windows more often than for Mac.

MORE surprising that a "usability expert" uses ~cutting-edge~ (?) editions of an app to encode his video. [But maybe it's actually someone else's video: i didn't get to see it. ]

Anybody got a work-around? A rant?
TOMBSTONE: "He's trashed his last preferences"
     
Naplander
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: Londinium
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Aug 21, 2007, 11:30 AM
 
wmv component for QuickTime

Windows Media� Components for QuickTime

It's free and allows you to play WMV files through QuickTime
KEEPING THE PEACE - WITH FORCE
     
Love Calm Quiet  (op)
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Aug 21, 2007, 12:29 PM
 
Thanks, Naplander,
That Flip4Mac component seems to work great.
Unfortunately, for the Nielsen wmv it just showed me a blank QT-in-Safari display.
Probably not what Nielsen had in mind.
Can you tell me if the wmv on the page I linked before works in YOUR Safari with that WM component?
thanks
TOMBSTONE: "He's trashed his last preferences"
     
Laminar
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
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Aug 21, 2007, 12:46 PM
 
Neither video works for me, even if I download the file and try and play it with QT or VLC.
     
Love Calm Quiet  (op)
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Aug 21, 2007, 02:52 PM
 
Thanks, Laminar,
I found email for Nielsen and gave a heads-up.

Glad I don't have teh irony of being a "usability guru"
TOMBSTONE: "He's trashed his last preferences"
     
   
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