Review
Page:  The Laundry Room
Date:  July 07, 1999 / August 20, 1999

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Introduction

Not much has tremendously changed since the last update, but I decided to check it out again out of a request. :)  The page seems to be experimenting a bit, let's see how it is doing thus far.

Connectivity Test

• Modem:  US Robotics 56K Winmodem

• Connected at 44k bps

Netscape Navigator* downloaded the page completely in about 26 seconds, while Internet Explorer downloaded the page completely in about 40+ seconds.  
*Netscape Navigator was viewed with this page once before the initial test.  

As far as the image download concept goes, the page has improved tremendously.  The page once had 19 images, on the new test the 14.4k modem's speed downloads even faster than the 56k did in the original test.

Interface

The Laundry Room has thus been experimenting with designs.  It has gotten better, but it still has flaws...considerable ones.  The page seems to scroll in a friction like manner, I don't have a 14.4k modem and a 25 Mhz computer anymore. ;)  The page has a few frames, and that is where I think the problem lies.  It's an effort that is to be commended, however, the top frame is done nicely as well as the left hand, which doesn't necessarily work (or highlight) like it's supposed to.

My Suggestions:  In my humble opinion, the frames are not totally necessary.  There are plenty of other options than frames.  It's pretty understandable that this site has been up only a week when this page was reviewed.  Try using tables.  Tables can be in my shapes and sizes, and people tend to like them better since they don't get stuck in frames.  Just be careful about a table though, many folks tend to add a lot of stuff to tables and it can increase the download time tremendously.

The Site's Content

It is a theory that the less variety of content a site has, the more original it actually is.  Although that theory has not been proven yet, would this site help support that theory?

• Band:  Here you will find (by looking intensively) the Nirvana Discography.  My suggestion[s]: Add more content, preferably original ones.  You could start off by adding some of the band's history (an article written by yourself).  You can also do something like a "Where Are They Now?" report.  

• Guitar tabs and lyrics:  Although the guitar tabs may not be as complex as Jimi Hendrix's, there are still some things that we could all work on.  The guitar tabs are available in all of the officially released albums by Geffen and Sub Pop. All of the lyrics are available for download.

• Multimedia:  Contains pictures and movies.  A very original idea for the pictures, although not totally:  there is a frame for the pictures in thumbnail, by clicking on the thumbnail, in the larger pane, the picture uploads.  There's a decent amount of video clips from Sup Pop and Geffen alike.  

• News/Articles:  Under construction at the moment.

• FAQ:  Nice information on the band (this should be in the Band Section instead.)  It has some background on the band, who played what and for how long, a short version of the timeline, and all of the known songs.  The section would be much cooler if the songs had a link to a sound file of that particular song beside it.

• Miscellaneous:  This section has the clip of Courtney of reading Kurt's suicide note in public, information surrounding the suicide, and Kurt's equipment FAQ.  

• Pictures - An original thought, cramming all of the pictures into a frame as thumbnails while keeping a larger pane open for a larger viewing.  Totaling to 31 pictures.

Conclusion

To conclude, a line in Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" goes: 

"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on."

Visit:  The Laundry Room

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