Trying the Wired video again. If you can’t see the above, or if it doesn’t work, do me a favor and tell me what OS and browser you’re using.
(And you can always check out the YouTube version.)
Originally this was going to be the Alt Text, uh, text as well, but I came up with the Iron Man thing and decided to strike while, uh…anyhow. If I had to do it over I’d probably do the Iron Man bit as video as well, maybe save the May Day bit for next year. But hey, you get twice as much material.
1:13 pm, April 30, 2008 -- 49 comments
It’s not working for me. I’m using Firefox 3 beta 5 under Windows XP, although to be fair, I do have a crapload of extensions installed. I don’t think any of them are messing with it, but you never know.
This was wonderful. Glad to see you do a “complete and utter nonsense” Alt Text. Keeps viewers on their toes.
I do wish the video edition was called something other than “Alt Text Video”. It’s confusing, especially since the Wired RSS feed for both is just “Alt Text”. I realize this is all probably in the control of your overlords.
Nice visual gags; Air Newton…
I noticed some of Jeph Jacques’ handiwork on your monitor. I thik it would be kinda cool to play “Recognize That Webcomic In The Background.” After the first viewing, I get to come back again for even more enjoyment!
I see the Wired video widget, but pushing pay does nuffink.
Flock on Ubuntu 8.04 (so it doesn’t really surprise me. Still youtube works, so it’s POSSIBLE…)
@nyquildotorg
Same problem as Jer above, using Safari 3.1.1 on OS X 10.5.2.
And using Firefox 3.0b5, I get a little iframe in place of the playing, inside which I see: ” To view the Wired Video , you must have browser Cookies enabled, Macromedia Flash Player, and a supported Browser/Operating System/Media Player configuration.
For help and additional details on system requirements, click here.”
I have cookies enabled, but not “3rd party” cookies. I could be having problems with Firefox because the flash video isn’t coming from your domain.
Your comments of April 9 seem to suggest to want the views of these videos to be tallied so you can convince the Wired honchos that it’s all going well. I haven’t been able to figure out why embedded YouTube views wouldn’t be tallied in the same way as actual YT page visits, and also why Wired.com page visits wouldn’t be more desirable than YouTube visits. Can you share some thoughts about that? FWIW, I prefer an embedded YT video along with a hyperlink to the video page, so that my iPhone can get to it easily. But ultimately, I’d prefer to do whatever convinces the Wired honchos to keep the train running.
Windows XP and web browser Firefox . . .
Same problem as Jer and Ian, Firefox 3 Beta 5 on Ubuntu 8.04.
ditto the additional link for phone usage. I wish embedded videos would always include additional links for those of us that are either Flash-impaired or Flash-ophobes.
Firefox 2.0.0.14 on Windows XP. I see the video screen, but hitting Play does nothing.
I imagine the reason the Wired Video version is preferred has to do with advertising income, but nobody’s explained it to me.
It all works fine for me (firefox 2.0.0.14/xp) but I prefer watching the youtube one, simply because I sit back from my screen a bit, and like to view videos fullscreen. If the wired player could do fullscreen (or if it does and I just don’t know about it) that would be tops.
It’s a bit weird looking at something on your page that has a Honda ad embedded in it, too. But as Ian Wallace says, anything that keeps the train running.
“by several orders of gratitude”
SO. GOOD.
Well, you’re better at this than Dave Barry is, but it’s still not a great routine.
The Wired video is failing for me, same problem as Ian Wallace describes (and same browser).
On an unrelated note, do you do these in a group and only dole them out to us one at a time, or have you actually been looking at the same QC strip for a whole week?
Firefox 2.0.0.14 under Windows XP, same result as Ian Wallace.
I’m in the same boat as Svenn Diagram – who has an awesome name.
-Heinyken-
No go for me with FF 2.0.0.14 on XP Pro. I tried turning off Flashblock and Adblock but to no avail, I still just got blackness after clicking pay. IE 7 just made things worse as that produced the “no cookies/flash” message. YT worked dandily with both browsers.
@jer@nyquil.org, get yourself some flashblock goodness for Firefox. I can’t stand using a computer without it anymore. Any flash object is just a little F icon, and it doesn’t load until you click the F.
On topic, I had to pause and squint, but it was worth it for the back of the card. The end joke made me want to watch Red Dwarf again (Why May Day? It’s only a bank holiday?)
Not seeing it on Firefox 2.0.14/Windows XP.
Couldn’t see it on XP w/ Firefox 2.0.0.14
But I could see it on YouTube, where it was good. Interesting diversion from the usual stuff, I think.
I can see it (Seamonkey on Windows 2003 on a laptop, yeah I’m weird). But the position slider is cranky – moving it causes the video to freeze for a good 10 seconds before resuming. (And switching to low band video during the Alt Text forces me to rewatch the ad. Not your problem I know, but kind of annoying.)
Oh: “Completey”. Typo?
Firefox 3b5, Hardy.
And beyond that, why would we need to celebrate International Workers Day when we have Labor Day. All the Union-supporting nonsense, none of the pagan traditions.
Worked fine for me. FireFox 2.0.0.4, on Vista.
I learned about May Poles and May Day from an episode of Davey and Goliath. It may as well have been from another country.
Preinstalled Laptop Windows Vista Home Premium version before SP1 with Mozilla Firefox (Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-US; rv:1.8.1.14) Gecko/20080404 Firefox/2.0.0.14) qorks just fine.
Dracula.
I groaned at the first Frozen Food Awareness Month reference, because that’s such a tired old joke. But you redeemed yourself by running with the joke instead of using it as just a clunky one-liner.
Nice. Always make sure you prioritize your activities by degrees of importance when plummeting.
Also, I swear on a stack of Korans that I own that tie.
Huh. I thought it was something about commies. Or at the very least, wobblies.
Lore, you better oughtta refocus the whole scope of these Alltext Videos to mine this rich vein of edutainment. You could devote chapter after chapter to setting the rest of us straight on all those half-remembered facts from back when our schools steered us all wrong.
Do it. The world needs.
Firefox 2.0.0.14, Win XP, and no wired video has ever worked for me.
I can’t see it out of my Google Reader page, I have to click through to blog itself to see it. This is all in IE7
Weird. It didn’t work so I came here to read the comments. Then when I hit back the video fired up and ran fine.
XP w/ Firefox 2.0.0.14
Hmm. I’m having no problems at all, using Firefox 2.0.0.14 under XP.
I win.
Great work, as usual, and the rapid-fire punchlines are a nice change of pace. Particularly nice illustrations as well.
BTW – enjoying your tweets very much, though it’s a bit of an effort to not follow up on every PoN with my own riff on the subject. Goes against my conditioning from all those years working with a sketch/improv comedy troupe.
Working fine, Firefox 3 beta 5, Win XP
Maybe peoples’ work networks are blocking it?
Not working for me – Firefox 2.0.0.7 (omgancient) on Linux, Flash version 9.0 r124. The widget shows up just fine but pushing play doesn’t do anything. I don’t have any work firewalls or anything to contend with, either, so that’s not it.
Maybe it’s got something to do with being behind a NAT?
Everything you said about May Day is completely factual. I looked it up on Wiki.
If it’s not there when you go to check it out, be sure and update the Wiki to reflect Lore’s version.
I get the widget, but the play button doesn’t make any magic happen. Windows XP, Firefox 2.0.0.14.
Oh, wait, I see what was wrong with my attempt. I had Adblock plus enabled. Turned it off, and the widget seems to work.
As a history major and a new member of the SCA (yes, yes, uber non-tech nerd, I know) I find this entirely too amusing. Unfortunately I have to miss this year’s Beltaine event because my fiance’s parents are visiting for the weekend. But I’m getting a nice dinner and brunch out of the arrangement, so it might balance out …
This… wow. This may be your best one yet, and that’s saying something, considering the review of optical illusions caused my head to explode twice. Every other line was quotable, and the entire thing ended up hilarious.
The video worked fine for me, but the content left me a little flat this time. I think too many history courses ruins this sort of thing for a person.
I just watched it (Safari 3.1.1, OSX 10.5.2). I especially liked the pole-dancing joke(s).
Worked gloriously: Opera 9.27, Windows Vista. I particularly liked the last line, because ‘plummetting’ is a good word to go out on.
Do you plan on having the same Questionable Content strip for all your Alt Text videos?
It worked for me with Windows XP and Opera, both reasonably frequently updated I guess. This is just the browse-the-web computer…
However, it didn’t play the ad the first time. That’s gonna make someone totally mad. Not me, though.
(Also: An unfortunate typo slipped somehow into the title screen. Completey is missing an l.)
linux ubuntu 8.04 firefox 3 beta 5 no movie.
Works for me (Mac OS X.5, Safari), but I’m getting a weird artifact: there’s this 15-second video glitch at the beginning that seems to be urging me to buy a particular brand of car.
No problems viewing here (OSX 10.3, Firefox) but I thought the audio was a little tinny. Can’t tell if it’s the mike or the acoustics. How long did it take you to research this one?
Doesn’t work for me – using Vista/IE.
Sort of worked in Opera 9.23 running on Windows XP. I saw a long loading screen, a car commercial, and then part of the video, which was then cut off in mid-sentence with a gray screen thanking me for watching.
After that I watched it on YouTube and damned near died laughing. Not your usual style at all, but it was hilarious.
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