MAAM website Free Page

[Guest graaant]

'Morning all:The lead-in sentence in the AVSIM announcement for the latest MAAM-Sim add-ons to me, at least, says it all: "With the addition today of three new files, there are now 202 FREE downloads on the FREE STUFF page." This is a wonderful number of add-ons for very fine products, the page jam-packed with goodies. But am I the only one who finds it the page an unnecessary challenge?Having 202 downloads on a single page, with B-25 and R4D/DC-3/C47 models together wtih repaints, panels, manuals, scenery, etc. makes it something of a grab-bag. The latest add-ons are to be found "at the end of the Table of Contents" -- but just finding that end can be a chore. It could be my settings, but, with black text on a dark blue background, even when I get somewhere I'm not always sure what it is I've found. And then --for some good reasons, I use a 800 x 600 screen resolution -- I have to scroll around to read (most websites accommodate all resolutions.)When the site's next upgraded, it'd be great if the Free Stuff page could be made more boringly conventional, and user-friendly, with separate things on separate pages, one for the B25, another for the R4D/DC-3/C47, separate ones for new add-ons, repaints, panels, maybe thumbnails, etc., and so on.Thanks ...Best regards,Grant

[rambow 0]

Hi Grant,You have some good points, and I agree that the Free Stuff page has certainly grown beyond the bounds of a single page!But black text on a dark blue background? It's white on dark blue. I was not aware that the web page's color and font settings could be overridden by local settings on a computer or browser! Can they? If so, how?On the resolution, yes, it was designed for 1024 and above. I find quite a few sites, including some major FS sites, that also let the horizontal sliders creep in at 800 - including this very forum page! But in the case of the FREE STUFF page it's only a few oversized pictures and the title itself that are beyond the 800 boundary - not any of the text, which wraps. Never-the-less, when I do get around to re-organizing the page I'll see about those items, since it may be a fairly simple fix. Having said that, I think you will have to admit that the vast majority of flight simmers run higher resolutions than 8x6. But speaking as a guy who has had three eye surgeries in the past 10 months and still has one bum eyeball to show for it, I can certainly empathize with people using a large res.Thanks for the input, and as soon as I can tear myself away from the redesign of the main MAAM website I'll give Free Stuff a good house-cleaning. Bear with me, please.Bill RambowMAAM-SIM http://www.fssupport.com/maam/maamsim_neon.gif

[Guest graaant]

Hi Bill:Thanks much for the prompt and full reply -- I hesitated (for weeks, actually!) before commenting, knowing how busy you chaps are ...The colours are a bit of a mystery. Using Mozilla Firebird, the only ones I've selected have been for unvisited links, but that's a lighter blue than appears on my browser on your site, and I've also had checked the "use visited site colours." So, haven't a clue. As for the resolution, sorry to hear about the surgical hangover ... may it clear up before too long. In my case, it's probably laziness as much as anything, just unwilling to go through changing font and icon sizes and so on. Yes, there's no question my settings are pretty prehistoric, and probably, as you say, in a small minority, so I'll just sit with it.Good luck with the changes ... maybe without paying too much attention to the eccentrics ...!Thanks again,Regards,Grant

[rambow 0]

No sweat, Grant. I have realized for some time that page needed a makeover. Your message is just a good pull of the prop to get me started. Ed's experience on loading time is another clue.Bill RambowMAAM-SIM http://www.fssupport.com/maam/maamsim_neon.gif

[rambow 0]

Disregard this for the moment. I've had to put the old version BillHey Grant and Ed. I have begun a revamp of the Free Stuff page. As a first step, all the pictures have been run through Photoshop to optimize them and sized to no more than 700 pixels wide, so everything will now display at 800x600 resolution without a lateral slider. With over 200 pictures, loading time is still going to take a while, but it should be considerably better. Ed, please let me know if you notice a performance difference, since I don't have a dialup here for comparison - not complaining, mind you!I have made a good start on separating the DC-3 and B-25 pages, as well as categorizing the files. I think the real solution is to thumbnail everything, but that will take some more work because you can not thumbnail pictures with links, and of course all of them are linked to their respective downloads. So I'll be changing that, but it will take some time.Bill RambowMAAM-SIM http://www.fssupport.com/maam/maamsim_neon.gif

[rambow 0]

OK guys, it took about eight hours of work, and I have no doubt their will be some goofed up links hiding among those 200 plus files, but hopefully the FREE STUFF pages (plural!) will now be much more user friendly. Take a look and let me know how it works for you.Bill RambowMAAM-SIM http://www.fssupport.com/maam/maamsim_neon.gif

[Guest graaant]

Slick, smooth, far easier to access and read, in my opinion a 110% improvement. Thanks, Bill, for such a strong response to this supplicant's request (if GM could come even close, I'd have a yard full of SUVs, the house razed to the ground, me living in one of them ... well, maybe ... !)Cheers,Grant

[rambow 0]

Thanks, Grant. I really appreciate the positive feedback. Makes the effort worthwhile.:-))Bill RambowMAAM-SIM http://www.fssupport.com/maam/maamsim_neon.gif

[Guest Edd1]

Thanks, Bill Rambow, You did it again. The changes you made are outstanding and a work of art. For my part the new site works perfectly. I really appreciate your hard work, making it easier forme and the "die-hard" dial-up group, which reminds me of my Dad when he didn't want to give up the "manual choke" on his Ford, but we'll get there. Thanks again.Ed WorkmanOhio