cshen.ca

Having spent two weeks navigating the slow and cumbersome goSFU system in search of courses to take next semester, I’m now entirely frustrated at the system for being inexcusably slow and hard to navigate, as well as lacking in basic functions which make registering that much easier. Since I have some free time on my hands, I decided to experiment a bit and see if I can design something that’s more workable, and while I’m at it, make it look as if it belonged in 2009.

I should mention right off the bat that this is an experiment only, and does not represent a viable design for goSFU. There are several noticeable oversights that reflect the quick-and-dirty nature of the design, which I didn’t bother fixing because well, it’s just an experiment.

Note: If you only want to see the design and don’t feel like reading the explanations, skip to the very end.

Just upgraded to WordPress 2.7 and took the chance to make a new theme. This time going for a clean, minimal look and emphasizing text as the center of focus. No more sidebar: tag, category, and monthly lists are on their own pages now. This theme, like the last one, is served as XHTML or XML. Internet Explorer still gets an XML error, but it molests this design so much that even the XML error page is a better visual experience.

Today I stumbled by chance across a Facebook flaw, which will show you all the guests of an event, even if the event creator unchecked “Show the guest list.”

It’s pretty simple, actually. To use a random example, I’ll demonstrate with the “University Relations Officer” event.

As you can see, the guest list for this event is hidden.

But that doesn’t stop us from seeing the guest list. Just click “Invite People to Come”.

Use the drop-down box at the top to show guests which might be attending, not attending, and have not yet replied.

Try it yourself!

Apparently SFU is running its own experimental blogging service, complete with an SFU theme. According to the description (and later verified by myself), it’s using the same software that WordPress.com uses to host multiple users, and can apparently disappear at any time. Also according to descriptions, there’s supposed to be a university-wide blogging service in the making. How come I never heard of any of this before? The service.

We all know that Facebook has not had the best track record in the privacy department, with employees viewing profiles for fun, showing your profile to an employer, and having reserved the right to use your information at will. But apparently a new feature goes beyond all that, and actually collects information about your activity on other websites.

The new feature is the Facebook Beacon, you may have noticed it on your feed, something of the form “Jane Doe has played Pacman at Retroarcade”. If you have played a game at any website that uses the Beacon, you would have seen a Facebook-style pop-up at the bottom right corner of the screen, telling you that it is sending the information [of what your playing] to your Facebook profile. As with most Facebook features, there is, of course, a privacy option on it.

But that, apparently, isn’t enough.