billso.com

This article first appeared on my old blog at

I do like using Google, because their user interface is clean, their service is reliable, and they seem to understand information security.

Google does not use popup windows on its sites. I really hate popup windows in Web browsers, especially when the window contains an advertisement or a large media download. Sometimes I’m using a narrowband connection, and msot of the time, I just don’t want to see the ads.

One of the reasons I am not using WebCT this term is that the university’s version can generate a blizzard of popup windows. That’s just what a new WebCT user needs to see, right?

I use a Firefox extension called CustomizeGoogle to turn off the ads in Gmail and other Google sites. It’s not an official Google product, and Google staff have actually claimed that the extension does not work properly. The extension was written by a third party and has been translated into mor than 50 languages.

But it’s brilliant, it works, it’s free, and their programmers update the extension regularly as Google changes and adds services and features.

While the Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s online team should be commended for recommending Firefox to their users, I really wish that StarBulletin.com would rethink its policy on popup advertisement windows. I have a popup blocker set up in Firefox on most of my computers, but if I use Safari or Internet Explorer, I’ll get the Star’s silly windows.

Frankly, the Star-Bulletin needs to review their banner advertisments too. They’ve been showing the same iTunes “Single of the Week” banner for months now. The hyperlink expired long ago.

Perhaps the StarBulletin.com staff could learn a few things from Google’s “list of ten”.