1 décembre
Initial Thoughts on MSN Spaces
I am sure that the Space guys will get plenty of feedback very quickly (that's the beauty of developing a blogging tool).
Tony has already posted a list of few good/bad features, that I add to:
- The lack of HTML editing is a problem b/c of the limitations of the WYSIWYG editor. Typepad has the same, but since you can fix the HMTL, at least there is a work around.
- The MSN centered nature of MSN Space is understandable, but I want to easily refer to books and music on Amazon, Photos on Buzznet, etc. Having to reload everything on MSN properties or linking by hand is cumbersome. The Music widget limiting to a Media Player playlist, or a list of songs is particularly annoying.
- There are a few issues with the Profile widget, especially after adding a picture that does not get resized or cropped.
- The blogroll has to be created by hand (unless I have not found the automatic way). I have tried to drag and drop a link onto the gadget on the home page, or on the edit page. Nada - besides being able to drop a URL in the URL field.
- It does not seem to be possible to alter the order to items placed in a list.
- Even though I deleted it, a "My Blog Photos" album keeps on reappearing. I'll use it as a default. Also, the fact that the photo caption is only available in the photo viewer is a bit surprising. I would have at least displayed it as a floating label when the mouse is on the photo.
- The overall lack of HTML support in the list, profile,... is irritating. I appreciate that this must be to keep tight control on what is done by users, but it might be useful to offer a switch (Beginner/Expert so of thing) where "Expert" can add HTML statements (even limited ones) in visual elements.
- Maybe it is me or my template, but I can't see a visual representation of hyperlinks in the text of my posts. You should make sure that chosen color combinations don't create that effect.
Not bad for an "out of the oven" product (especially from Microsoft :-). I'll be interested to know how they will try to position themselves on the tools market: as the easy to use journal for their community, or as a player in the "real" blogging tools market.
I'll keep on using it for Jeff's Space, just to check how quickly new features get released (and a few bugs get fixed).