Digital Workshop

Hi Ray,
I see the same thing you do with the splash screen.
cheers
Paul

Thanks Paul. That's a pity because I now have to try and find a solution.

Try to change the format of your graphic from .png to jpg. This may correct this issue.

Cheers mate
German

Thanks German, but I had tried that, and it didn't work!

However, I will post here what Robin said in some email correspondence on related issues. Others might find it useful:

I tried to go to your URL using Firefox. I received a plugin message, attempted to download it but no success. It really should be more automated like what happens in IE. Just thought you might want to know.

The Firefox plugin finder is basically broken (it only supports Flash, Director and Java). They are allegedly working on improving it but it's not high on their list of priorities I'm afraid since those three pretty much cover the needs of most users.
Until such time as the plugin finder is opened up to all developers you need to download the web player installer from our website and install it yourself.

If I can have the url for this download, I'll post a notice about Firefox on my home page.

Hi Ray, hope you are well?

I switched to Firefox while it was still a 0.x release ...never wanted to go back to IE since, and I'm seeing Firefox increasingly used in the business environment, especially since v1 was released.

As you know I have an ADSL 'net connection, so time and cost is not an issue - but I still don't think I would bother with the hassle (and perceived security risk) of a download.

So, I just tried revisiting your site with IE 6 ...it went off and found the IO plugin fine, but after download I simply got a 'failed' message.

I know you'll already be asking yourself this, but do you really need to place extra obstacles in the way of potential customers?

Back to the problematic graphic - on IE I get a black box under the image while it downloads, but on Firefox I get a white space with frame border. The way it displays reminds me of the early days of websites, when we had to wait for a tiny GIF image to build itself on screen - ah, progress, dontcha loveit! Pass me the stone and chisel please.

Rob (finding reasons to avoid doing a VAT return)
www.visibleform.co.uk

Hi Rob



I too did this because I'm not a lover of things Microsoft. I had so much trouble with Firefos (and I think Thunderbird) that I had to drop them. Interesting, isn't it?



For years I wrestled with whether or not to make a website using Opus. I can make basic sites in HTML, but nothing like what I needed. That was what drove me to the iO Plugin -- for better or for worse. The cost of getting someone to do what I couldn't exceeded the potential income for years to come!



I had a mail yesterday from Fred who also uses Firefox. I sent Fred's story to Robin and received an interesting reply which I will add for you at the bottom of this email.



This is what put me off the plugin for so long. I might have to revert to HTML or FrontPage, but I'm not hopeful. What I need will require a lot of work in PHP or Java, and I'm just too old to get enthusiastic about going down those paths. Even my youngest son who is a senior systems programmer and an expert in these extras advised me against attempting it.




Robin identified the cause as being related to the fact that my first page is not resource heavy and because of this, the page/graphic is gone before a downloading timer appears. This is one for the books -- fancy being penalised because one doen't use a lot of resources.

Another good thing was that Robin had no trouble accessing my site with all the DW test machines. Yes, I know that they have a modicum of experience in this, which most normal users won't have.

=================

Here is Robin's reply to this:



I've omitted Robin's suggestions as to how Fred might test his Firefox. If you would like them, please let me know.

BTW - things are going well here. We are going into what passes for winter here.

Rather than try all of Robin's great advice, I just copied your URL, then opened my Windows Internet Explorer, and pasted it into the Address Line. It worked perfect. It took about 11 seconds to download the Plug In. Your site looks great!

Apparently AOL has so much security now, that it doesn't want to allow anything which is "different" to run through it. You might want to add that info to your opening Page, before someone with AOL tries to press Enter and gets a blank screen.

Hi Fred

I'm glad it worked out for you. It's a bit of a bummer when your favourite browser lets you down. I installed Firefox in a very early version and had so much trouble that I had to go back to IE6.

Thanks for the comment about the site. I was very very reluctant to do it in Opus. It took me 4 years to dip my toe in the waterd. I tried html but what I wanted to do (overlays, etc.) required more than my miniscule knowledge of pHP, etc.

I know some people won't want to install the plugin, but there's nothing I can do about that, except live with it. I don't expect to sell many of these products, so I won't lose anything.

My NVidia driver seems to give strange results, especially in 2D speed tests, but I get your page perfectly.

I shall try to attach what I see on my screen - 1280 x 1024

It's not coming, sorry.....

Neil

Thanks for your comments.

I junked that small Opus-generated website not too long after I uploaded it. It just wasn't reliable enough.

For the past 12 months I've been using a fully operational fully featured e-commerce site generated completely external to Opus.

IMHO, Opus does not produce a satisfactory result for what I wanted.

I'm sure some Opus experts will dispute that. If they have an e-commerce website built within Opus I am happy for them, but there is no incentive for me to every attempt a replacement site using Opus.