Capital One’s accessibility fail

Posted on 19 January 2010 | by Aaron Traffas, CAI, ATS, CES | 11 comments
CapitalOne Customer Relations Center
Image by taberandrew via Flickr

The current website and interface for financial institution Capital One suffers from some accessibility issues. While its source code suffers a little from divitis and classitis (using the DIV and CLASS (X)HTML elements excessively for layout purposes), by far the most annoying problem is that the site requires users to enable JavaScript to login to view their accounts. It’s as if accessing your Capital One account gave you a paper cut. It’s annoying, but it may be worth a little blood and a Band-Aid® to turn on JavaScript and see your transactions.

This morning, however, Capital One sent an email to its credit card customers announcing that they were moving from an accessibility paper cut to full-on, get-it-over-with-quick amputation.

Starting January 24, 2010, your online statements will be available in PDF format only. HTML access will be discontinued.

If you don’t already have Adobe Reader(R), which is a PDF file viewer program that can open and interact with your online statements, you can download the latest version for free. Please visit [junk link obscured by HTML tracking gibberish].

Remember, your current statement as well as statements from the previous 18 months are always available for you online. Simply log in to Online Banking and select the Statements tab. If you need to, you can even download and print PDF copies, which are identical to your paper statement. Please visit [junk link obscured by HTML tracking gibberish].

If you have signed up for paperless statements and can’t download Adobe Reader(R), click here to learn how to start receiving paper statements again. Please visit [junk link obscured by HTML tracking gibberish].

Their current system is quickly and easily accessible by anyone who can use JavaScript. This user base includes nearly all browsers and mobile devices. It’s pretty fast and allows users to easily and effectively access transaction history. Capital One is turning it off.

In place of their current, working system, they’re leaving us with a head-fake towards functionality by saying we can still download our transactions in PDF format. While it’s true that PDF is an accepted standard, making it the only way to access our data poses the following problems.

  1. Now the users must launch a separate program to view their transactions. This program takes time to launch. Even users with Chrome’s PDF plugin, which renders the PDF in the browser using Google, are removed from the carefully-crafted user experience offered by the website.
  2. Screen readers and mobile devices will have a harder time accessing the site, if they can access it at all.
  3. Third party sites like Mint may no longer be able to access the information. It’s too soon to tell if Mint will be effected, but such a significant change is bound to affect any automated system that logs in to access transactional data.

To make matters worse, they’re recommending the Adobe Reader(R) software, by far the most bloated and malware-like PDF reader on the market. If the user isn’t careful, simply attempting to download Adobe Reader installs a package called Adobe Download Manager. We’re not making this stuff up. If you have Adobe Reader, check your installed programs list. Did you ever wake up and say, “Gee, I wish I could find a product from Adobe that I could install to make it easier to download other Adobe products.” Bet not. It was installed because you didn’t read carefully when you installed Reader. We call it malware when a product installs something you didn’t know about, and Adobe does it with their Download Manager. Uninstall it, you don’t need it and you never did – Acrobat Reader can be downloaded just fine without allowing extra crap on your system. For more information about the proper use of PDF, view the transcript or listen to the episode from Auction Podcast Episode 5 – PDF.

Now don’t read this article and think that we’re saying that PDF should never be used. PDF is a fine format, and the ability to view transactions as a PDF would have been a nice feature to add to Capital One’s existing offering. Providing customers with the ability to print their statements in a way that is formatted like the statements sent in the mail is a very laudable goal. The problem is that they’re moving exclusively to this new format, at the expense of the usability, accessibility and speed by disabling their existing system.

Imagine if we auctioneers said that the only way to get information about an auction, property, or other item was with PDF. Think of how our users would feel when they could no longer simply read the content in their browsers but instead had to launch a completely separate program and enter a different user experience. Sure, we’ve mentioned this topic here before, but Capital One’s accessibility failure announced today gives us a concrete example of why this entrapment of content is bad for users.

Posted in services, websites | Tagged , , , , |

New Minnesota Auctioneer Champion

Posted on 18 January 2010 | by Aaron Traffas, CAI, ATS, CES | Leave a comment

Matthew Schultz is the new MSAA champion

Matthew Schultz is the new MSAA champion auctioneer

Duluth, MN – A Stillwater man is the 2010 Minnesota State Champion Auctioneer. At the 22nd annual auctioneer championship held in Duluth, Matthew Schultz won the competition in which 27 auctioneers competed.

The contest was held last night during the Minnesota State Auctioneers Association Conference and Show. Schultz has been part of the auction profession for almost half of his life. He is a graduate of World Wide College of Auctioneering and prior to this contest won the 2002 Minnesota Rookie Auctioneer Contest. He currently sits on the Young Professional Auctioneers Advisory Committee for the National Auctioneers Association and is actively involved in both the Minnesota and National Auctioneers Association.

Schultz will now have his entry paid into the International Auctioneers Championship to be held in Greensboro, North Carolina this July. Asked to describe how he felt with one word, Schultz said, “Awesome!”

The contestants were judged on presentation, chant/voice, effective auctioneering and an interview conducted on stage. This year’s Reserve Champion was Austin Bachman of Ottertail, Minnesota. Rounding out the top five were Kurt Johnson of White Bear Lake, Theresa Ann Larson from Aitkin and Bryce Hansen of Prairie Farm, Wisconsin.

The MSAA celebrated their 60th anniversary at this year’s conference and show, which concluded Saturday night in Duluth. The association is an organization of licensed auctioneers who work to promote the auction profession. As the new champion, Matthew Schultz will serve as a goodwill ambassador for Minnesota Auctioneers throughout 2010.

Posted in announcements, bid calling | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Auction Video Podcast Episode 5 – Justin Clark from realtimebid.com

Posted on 13 January 2010 | by Aaron Traffas, CAI, ATS, CES | Leave a comment

Justin Clark shows off his ruggedized, waterproof camera with custom auction functionality and explains what realtimebid.com is and does for auctioneers. This video was recorded in July, 2009, at the 60th International Auctioneers Conference and Show in Overland Park, Kansas.

PlayPlay

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted in Podcasts | Tagged , , |

AuctioneerTech adds new features to suggest and subscribe

Posted on 28 December 2009 | by Aaron Traffas, CAI, ATS, CES | Leave a comment
Image representing Skribit as depicted in Crun...
Image via CrunchBase

For those of you who have followed us from the beginning, you’ll recall that the first version of the site included a subscription feature that allowed users to receive short, plain-text email updates each time we posted new articles. Well, somewhere between our initial home at Lunarpages, our subsequent moves to Slicehost and then GoDaddy and now our final home here at (mt), that functionality was misplaced. Now it’s back and available in a sidebar widget as well as on the revamped subscribe page. You won’t get spam and your address won’t be compromised. You’re authorizing us and only us to send you a short, plain-text notification when we post new articles.

The second new, shiny widget you’ll notice below the subscription form is from Skribit. It’s a new service that provides a very fast and anonymous way for anyone to suggest topics for future articles, podcasts or interviews. It’s faster and easier than using the feedback form, and it also makes your suggestions public so that other readers can quickly and easily ditto the suggestion. If you want to see an article – or more articles – about the buyer’s premium, Internet bidding, auction calendars, tech rumors or skepticism, type it in and submit it so we can get on it.

CrunchBase Information on Skribit
Skribit
Information provided by CrunchBase

Posted in services, announcements | Tagged , , , , , , , |

The AuctioneerTech guide to Dimdim presentations

Posted on 28 December 2009 | by Aaron Traffas, CAI, ATS, CES | 5 comments

You’re sold. You’ve read something or heard something that tipped you off to the fact that netcasts and virtual meetings don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. You’ve created your Dimdim account and are preparing for your first presentation. What do you need? What should you do?

Login early and install the screencaster plugin
Dimdim has a special browser plugin that’s needed to show your screen. If your presentation involves more than just a slide show, you’d better account for the quick and easy installation of the plugin so you’re not surprised by it during the presentation.

DimDim testing
Image by theother66 via Flickr

Test your webcam and Flash version
It’s really easy to login to Dimdim and make sure that your webcam is working properly. Create a test presentation with just yourself and be sure that you’re prompted for camera access. If you approve it and can see yourself on your screen, everything is working great. Don’t wait until the day of your presentation to test your hardware, and while you’re at it be sure you’re using the most up-to-date version of Flash. Secunia is a great tool to be sure all your plugins are updated.

Use wired broadband
Dimdim does a good job accounting for limited bandwidth, but if your presentation is important in any way, you need to get serious about it. Find a hard-line broadband connection that is connected by cable or DSL. If you’re in a bind and you’re wanting to show something to your coworkers, then you can probably get away with using your computer’s wireless adapter or even Sprint or Verizon mobile broadband. If, however, it’s important that your presentation doesn’t experience dropouts or, worse, disconnections, then find a real Internet connection.

Bose Headset X Photo Shoot
Image by Sarahnaut via Flickr

Get a headset. Really.
While Dimdim can rely on a bridge line, Dimdim is much better when you use the computer audio with one caveat: that you have a headset. If a single person with a microphone in a presentation doesn’t have a headset and is instead relying on the computer speakers and the mic that is built-in to the computer, problems are eminent.  The sound coming out of the speakers is picked up by the microphone and creates an echo for all in attendance. If you don’t have a headset mic, and can’t run to Walmart or Best Buy and get one, you should postpone your presentation until you have one for the sake of everyone.

Get a second computer
Your presentation is most likely going to be a PowerPoint presentation, a screencast, or a combination of the two. In any case, you’re most likely not going to be able to view the chat or your video while you’re presenting. It’s always good to be able to monitor what’s going on, so it’s in your best interests to set up another computer right next to the one from which you’re using to present. It doesn’t take much – borrow a friend’s netbook if you don’t have one – but it’s quite worth the piece of mind to have a monitor so you can see your presentation through the eyes of the audience.

The current logo of Microsoft Windows, the com...
Image via Wikipedia

Get Firefox on Windows
You have a Mac. You’re cool. Now use it as your second computer from which you can monitor your presentation that you’re giving from Firefox on Windows. Dimdim is awesome in that it’s cross-platform and works on many different environments, but a public presentation is no time to risk things going wrong simply to demonstrate that you paid more for your computer than everyone watching. Linux users, this rule goes for you, too. Grab a Windows computer and launch Firefox to give your presentation.

Best practices
Any presentation should be a two-way communication. Dimdim’s chat tool is a very obvious way to watch the reaction from the audience. Having a speakerphone connected to Dimdim’s bridge line is another way to be sure the audience can ask a question or make a comment about what you’re doing. Be sure, of course, that the phone isn’t loud enough to be picked up by the microphone on your headset.

Dimdim is a fantastically simple and reliable product, but it’s pretty easy to overlook any of the points listed above and end up with problems ranging from minutes lost doing troubleshooting to entire presentations that aren’t viable or aren’t recorded. Good luck.

Posted in community, services | Tagged , , , |