myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Hi Guys

Yes, your comments don't surprise me and I can only apologise that you are not going to be able to get the best out of the site.

Website design is always a compromise. For a variety of technical and aesthetic reasons that I won't bore you with, I decided to design the site to a fixed width so that the photos and drop-down menus could be laid out properly and clearly. I opted for 1024x768 pixel resolution because our log statistics show that a over 80% of our readers use 1024x768 or greater. Added to that, the figure for lower resolutions is dropping at a rate of about 1% per month. This is about 10% higher than the commonly reported figures, but reflects the type of user/readership of our site (i.e. the sort of reader who can afford a Caribbean holiday normally has a newer, higher spec computer). I simply couldn't include all the menus and easy access to the site with a design that catered for 800x600 resolution. Sorry!

Stephen, you don't say what browser you are using. The menus work fine with all the major browsers that I've tested it with. Are you sure you haven't got JavaScript turned off?

I'm having the same trouble as others have mentioned in that I can't view a whole page at once. I don't think of my computer as that old -- it's an Imac power PC G4. I got it about 2.5 years ago. It has that flat screen that tilts, and I've encountered this problem with only a very few other websites.

Or could the problem be a PC vs. Mac thing?

Hi Steve,

Sorry to hear that it isn't possible to accommodate older (but still perfectly serviceable) machines!

I guess for some (many?) of us it's a choice between the holiday in Tobago or the updated computer - and the holiday wins every time!

I have a feeling that my arrow keys are going to get very well used in the future.

Jane

I'm having the same trouble as others have mentioned in that I can't view a whole page at once. I don't think of my computer as that old -- it's an Imac power PC G4. I got it about 2.5 years ago. It has that flat screen that tilts, and I've encountered this problem with only a very few other websites.

Or could the problem be a PC vs. Mac thing?

I just solved my problem with viewing the new site. I changed the resolution to the number recommended by Steve. The type was a bit small. So rather than go through AOL (my ISP), I reached the site via Internet Explorer. There's a view function that let's you boost the type size. I boosted mine to 120%, and now I'm back in business. I hope this helps someone else. I'm klutzy with computers.

Have had the computer nerdies in all day setting up my supposed home intranet so I can work from home - nah spend all day on My Tobago site really - so when I eventually got rid of the guy (very nice, but why do these people have to speak in totally incomprehensible compu speak?) and clicked on for my 'fix' thought the nerd had done something terrible and then .... I looked further - WOW GREAT STUFF KEEP IT COMING!!!

Apologies to all of you who do the techno speak, but honestly???? head's reeling with wireless thissies, ISPies, inertneties, intRanetties - give us a Carib for chirst sake!!!!

really top class redesign. Nice use of CSS and works great on a mac.

The best just got better.

Steve,
Well I thought the old myTobago site what excellent but this is just fantastic.

Keep up the excellent work and all the best for 2005.
B

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the suggestion to change preference setting in profile to "small screen". It helps a lot - I can now see forum messages in their entirety without having to use arrow keys for each line. Still have to centre text once - but that's nothing like as frustrating!

Now I can get on with enjoying the whizzy new site!!

Jane

OK you guys - don't say I don't do anything for you.

I've added a third option to the 'Board Style' available through the Profile link at the top of the page. The StandAlone style detaches the forum from the main navigation structure and allows it to run independently in its own resizable window. Basically exactly like the old forum.

Hi Steve,

Did we ever suggest that you didn't look after all of us myTobago fans?!!!

Standalone works BRILLIANTLY! No tabbing backwards and forwards every time.

THANKS

Jane

PS Maybe one day I'll be able to get a new laptop - but for now I'll cope with this and look forward to jetting off to Tobago in April!

Love the new site Steve - Well done.

We've been waiting a while for this now since you first told us of the new site. Well it probably isn't that long, but when you visit here daily (like most people) it's seems to have been forever, but it was certainly worth the wait. Thanks.

BTW. I'm feeling extremely fortunate, I have a new laptop (with wide screen) and I have room to spare on my pages !!

Jill

Steve,

Haven't been to mytobago for a while - it began to depresses me to hear from the lucky few who are just days away from two weeks of sun-kissed, rum-tinted, bliss. But, hooray, booked flights for March with Golden Caribbean so now I can browse the most informative site on the web with emotional impunity.

I haven't had much time to look around the new site but it looks fantastic so far. However! Have you abandoned those of us who are denied access to the wonders of broadband? I have an ISDN connection(64k) which is the best we can get in my rural corner of Cornwal but the new site is very slow. So much so that I was prompted to run an unscheduled virus/spyware check. Having said that my second favourite site - the BBC - is running with its usual celerity. Perhaps I am doing something stoopid - let me know if there is a simple solution.

Keep up the good work

Barry

Hi Barry

Welcome back and I'm delighted that you will be returning to Tobago.

Without doubt the new site will be slower than the old one. It is entirely database driven and so it has a lot more work to do before presenting each page. However, I have to tell you that the entire site was designed and built while I too was operating with a simple ISDN line. The development site was built back around April-May last year and has been in constant use since then. I hoped that I'd achieved a welcome balance between page download speed and functionality.

My first question would be who are you using for your ISDN service. Like all ISPs, there are good and there are bad. An awful lot of the mass market ISPs hit horrendous peaks of traffic in the evenings, in particular, and this can slow down even the cleanest ISDN or 56k line. To be honest I was constantly changing my ISDN line provider until I changed to Pipex.net.

Sorry there's nothing much I can say in comfort. Sadly, the more information you provide, the heavier the load on the system. The reduced number/size of photos on the old site speeded up pages considerably, but times have moved on. Once again I have to confess that while not wishing to ignore any readers, I have designed the site for the future - hopefully a basis for the next five years. Even within another 18 months the vast majority of our readers will be on broadband (even I managed to get it two weeks ago).

in five years....
you must be joking...
I can get a cup of coffee or fry myself some eggs until a next page is built up... but we can not be the messurement, since we live here in the pc stoneage. to really enjoy surfing we have to go to scarborough and surf in the cafe with DSL. but what a joy that is....

by the way! great job steve. did not have time (so many coffees and fried eggs) to have a look at the whole thing, but the accomodation list alone is great. watching the rest piece by piece or in scarborough...on a rainy day...

I am currently running on ISDN and use 64 bps and I have not really noticed any difference in the speed ... maybe it could be milli-seconds.

Switching to broadband later this week although I have my doubts that this will give me any improvements on the mytobago site ... the speed is quite adequate for me ... always has been.

Brian's point is relevant, I understand that most (if not all) are on 28 bps in Tobago ... that could well be quite slow. I wonder if the lines are expected to improve in the near future in Tobago?

Regards

Hi Brian/Steph

Is it appreciably slower than the old site for you? The major accommodation listings might be - but how do they compare with the old A-Z listing of accommodation, which was particularly slow. During the testing (and right up to publication), I did have users on Tobago testing the site for me. Nobody reported it slower than the old site. However, I do appreciate what a problem Internet connection is in Tobago. The best speed I've ever seen in 33.6kbps.

Just make sure you've got a good supply of coffee and eggs

Well I thought the old site was impressive, but now I'm even more impressed. Thanks,very much Steve for all your hard work. You deserve a holiday!
Did I read correctly that you're Tobago bound very shortly? Can you tell us how long you're going for and where you're staying? Or is that all very secret?

Hi Julia

Thanks!

I'll be on this Thursday's Excel flight (so anybody on the same flight, don't be shy - say hi). We'll be there for eight weeks and will be staying at a total of 12 properties. I'm afraid we're not divulging our itinerary for security reasons. I'm afraid that is one of the handicaps of running myTobago and criticising local businesses (some elements of the Tobago dive scene, in particular, play very rough). We're always VERY keen to get the views of other visitors when staying at properties, so if anybody spots us, make sure to share your views.

Wow 12 properties in eight weeks - fun but hard work, just with all the packing and unpacking!
I hope you have a great time - I'm sure you will.