[thelist] win yourself some Amazon vouchers

[aardvark]

> From: ALBIE ATTIAS <ALBIE at eurosimm.com>
> 
> home page URL:  http://www.accurum.net/estores/eurosimm.nsf/master

IE5.5/win2k

well, it uses frames, which presents some problems for some 
users... for example, at 640x480, not only is there a horizontal 
scroll bar, but the 'Search' link is cut off, and not retrievable since 
you have disabled scrollbars in that frame...

other general issues with frames: 
http://evolt.org/article/list/22/293/index.html

maximize your window, preferrably above 10214x768.... the green 
textured bg under the text links in the top frame stops tiling at 
some point, making it look pretty silly... i'd suggest changing up 
how you call the image, perhaps using some CSS as detailed in 
http://evolt.org/article/list/20/15177/index.html ... otherwise, those 
white text links disappear, and the login link is nearly invisible...

no DTDs anywhere... makes it impossible to validate...

page weight is up there... takes a while to load everything... that 
image in the top bar especially, making those links invisible for a 
while...

your product list uses buttons to move the user back and forth 
through the pages (where text links might be more appropriate, 
since there's no form there), but uses text links to add products to 
the cart (where buttons would be more appropriate, since it *is* a 
form)...

i like the appearance of the checkout link in the left when you add 
something, but it's so far down at high res that i don't see it...  
instead, when i add something to the cart, i need to be told 
something has been added, otherwise i'll keep adding it, waiting for 
confirmation (which i did)...

the orange on green in the left nac is a little hard on the eyes... the 
all-caps in some sections doesn't help...

when i finally worked my way down to SCSI drives, the left nav 
(which reloads every time, negating its value to the user) doesn't 
highlight the section i'm in, forcing me to scroll up to see what it 
says at the top of the content page, something i shouldn't have to 
rely on...

the cart needs a lot of work... it's a table of items, make it look like 
one... and use buttons, not text links, to move around the cart... 
moving me out of the frames makes me wonder where i am as i 
proceed into the cart... there is no logo or identity of any kind... 
confidence falters, and usability just falls...

i got through your JS validation by filling every field with 'sdf'... and i 
hope you account for non-JS-enabled browsers (like mine, usually) 
for the shipping-billing as the same address...

the news page was a disappointment... i wanted news of the 
company (specials, firings, etc.), not the same global news feeds 
every other site has... i don't go to your site for world or industry 
news, so i don't expect to have to download all that chaff...

for a connection as fast as mine, this site is really slow... the 
background images and constant frame reloads doesn't help that 
perception...

your configure page throws JS errors... so does the quote page... 
oh yeah, and sell to us... 'elements' is null or not an object...

fun stuff is cute, if i wanted to download SHockwave 8.5 and then a 
1.5 meg game... if you're going to keep it, at least keep the 
branding, which you only seem to achieve via the frames...

Anna looks squished on your help page, which, by the way, has 
the same side nav as the about page.... oh, and so does nearly 
every other section...

the tools page is nice, although a brief description beyond the .gif 
text would be nice...

your policies page has nav embedded in the content... i'd expect 
that to appear in the left nav... the links off the hard drive picture do 
not appear to be links -- they look like all the other .gif text... use 
plain text or at least highlight them in some way to indicate i'm 
supposed to click...

do i have to use the back button to get out of one of those?  why 
not have links to all four?  or perhaps, as i suggested, put the four 
links in the left nav for the section...

why does Contact Us have an american flag? oh, wait, i get it... i'm 
supposed to click on it...

what's with the table border around the search options?

and what is that icon next to account login in the header frame?

a couple times i clicked on EuroSimm in the header frame to go to 
the home page... it took me to the Accurum home page... you 
should definitely change that, since i get pulled out of the entire 
site as a result...

ok, that's all i have time for now.... sorry, no code critique...

oh, hitting 'next' on the product pages in N6 loads the resultant 
page outside of the frames... more reason to lose the frames...

wow, hell of a time viewing products in NN4.x... keeps throwing JS 
errors...

your frame alignment is messed up in Opera 5.x... and hitting 'next' 
on the product page results in -- nothing!  it just sits there...

ok, now i'm really done...