SmokingPipes Site Redesign

[Snook]

I agree that this redesign was unnecessary and just made things worse than they already were. I will support them for the principal of the thing, not because I like their website layout.

Also, while we're at it: include review ratings when searching for blends and provide some better filter options, for crying out loud.

 

[fireground_piper]

Yes but I miss the little logos

(I need something to complain about so I feel like I fit in with the codgers)

 

[woodsroad]

A completely unnecessary (they always are) "upgrade" to something that didn't need changing in the first place.

What else is new?

No, upgrades are often necessary, but they seldom fix the real problems. Too often things are changed because a 20-something web designer thinks it’s kewl, dude.

This happens with the Adobe UI’s all the time. The workflow for processing my photos is a bit complicated, but I breeze through it because I’ve memorized the keystroke shortcuts and buttons. Sometimes I’m looking at thousands of photos, distilling them down to hundreds, then looking at each one individually and making adjustments. Then Adobe goes and dumps a big-assed can of Clunk to the mix and suddenly it takes twice as long to get my work done, with little to no improvement in the final result. Argh!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

This happens with the Adobe UI’s all the time.

I've been running Photoshop 7 for 25 years now. They keep telling me that it won't run on the next Windows upgrade, but it still does. Every now and then I will compare my 7 to whatever a friend of mine has recently bought, and it does the same things, just rearranged the flow. Plus, I still have the disk. It's mine, and not just some app.

 

[Servant King]

No, upgrades are often necessary, but they seldom fix the real problems. Too often things are changed because a 20-something web designer thinks it’s kewl, dude.

I know they are, that's why I put it in quotes. From what I can see, upgrades masquerade as an improvement, but they really just bog the interface down with superfluous, flashy bullshit that looks and feels clunky, and slows the website down. Really just makes the whole experience user-unfriendly, that's the main takeaway in my opinion. The code behind it can be as complex as you please, but the user interface should be as simple and stripped down as possible.

Agree on that last part, in spades! These web designers are just looking for the next guinea pig to operate on, to justify their salaries I guess.

All this makes me long for the days of Windows 95.

You have no idea how comforting this sound is to a geriatric millennial...

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

Yeah I’m not liking it on mobile. I haven’t perused the site on my desktop yet. Wish they left it as it. What was so broken they had to make a change? Probably like most companies, just making a change so they did something.

 

[woodsroad]

I've been running Photoshop 7 for 25 years now. They keep telling me that it won't run on the next Windows upgrade, but it still does. Every now and then I will compare my 7 to whatever a friend of mine has recently bought, and it does the same things, just rearranged the flow. Plus, I still have the disk. It's mine, and not just some app.

Unfortunately, that isn’t true for me. There have been some essential elements added to ACR that make huge quality and problem-solving improvements. It’s just a pisser that they keep moving shit around for no good reason.

 

[LeafErikson]

I’m not a huge fan of what I’m seeing on the mobile site. You can’t see nearly as many fresh arrivals from the various pipe brands without scrolling left and right through a cumbersome menu.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I know they are, that's why I put it in quotes. From what I can see, upgrades masquerade as an improvement, but they really just bog the interface down with superfluous, flashy bullshit that looks and feels clunky, and slows the website down. Really just makes the whole experience user-unfriendly, that's the main takeaway in my opinion. The code behind it can be as complex as you please, but the user interface should be as simple and stripped down as possible.

Agree on that last part, in spades! These web designers are just looking for the next guinea pig to operate on, to justify their salaries I guess.

All this makes me long for the days of Windows 95.

You have no idea how comforting this sound is to a geriatric millennial...

As a fan of Ambient music, you probably know that the Windows 95 Startup sound was done by Brian Eno.

The odd story of how Brian Eno composed the Windows 95 startup sound

He made it on a Mac, too.

themusicnetwork.com

 

[LeafErikson]

Yes but I miss the little logos

(I need something to complain about so I feel like I fit in with the codgers)

This is great practice for when all the codgers die out in the next 10-15 years. We 80s and 90s-born pipe smokers need to maintain the venerable tradition of complaining about literally everything!

 

[brian64]

I'm kind of ambivalent about the "redesign", but I will say I don't think Yellow Cake is a particularly good name for a cigar.

Also the Nording Bobblehead has me thinking we really should have some forum bobbleheads.

 

[Servant King]

I don't think Yellow Cake is a particularly good name for a cigar.

I'm with you on that, but how else are we to honor Saddam Hussein's memory?

That's a rhetorical question, of course...no need to answer it.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I don't think Yellow Cake

There were several new cigars that came out recently that seemed to have food names, but when I read up on them, they were not aromatic. Weird.

 

[brian64]

There were several new cigars that came out recently that seemed to have food names, but when I read up on them, they were not aromatic. Weird.

Well, if they start promoting the Yellow Cake sales with free Geiger counters it might be cause for concern.

 

[Swiss Army Knife]

Well, if they start promoting the Yellow Cake sales with free Geiger counters it might be cause for concern.

I could absolutely see a cigar called "The Elephant's Foot".

 

[brian64]

I could absolutely see a cigar called "The Elephant's Foot".

Could be an entire line named Corium.

 

[brooklynpiper]

Not a fan. It’s not as bad on mobile but on desktop this is no good.

 

[litup]

I'll get used to the site redesign, but my first gripe about an aspect I don't think I'll get used to: when the new pipes hit the site like they did today, I can scroll through the carousel. It's annoying but I can do it. I can then click on a pipe brand to look at the new pipes. When I'm done, I go back. My gripe is that it returns me to the start of the carousel and I need to scroll from the beginning again instead of returning me to my place in the arlready annoying carousel. I used to be able to see all the new brands at a glance and I could go right to the pipes that interested me. The redesign makes the customer work much harder to notice pipes they might like. If the goal is to increase time on the platform, they nailed it. If the goal is to make you more likely to buy a pipe, they failed.

First world problem for sure but that's not going to stop me from being annoyed by it.

 

[Briarcutter]

I don't think Yellow Cake is a particularly good name for a cigar.

I have to agree, I scratch my head at some of the new,newer cigar brands. For one...Acid????

 

[Briarcutter]

I like the old site.