 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
  |
 |
 |
 |
Review
Page: Anavrin's Nirvana page
Reviewer: Robert
Brooks
Date: Feb. 17, 1999
IntroductionFrom time to time we come across a page that is full of things: multimedia, lyrics, information. The main question is if this stuff that are found on these types of pages are actually useful to you. Ideally, you will leave the page knowing something more or getting more out of it.
Graphics
The graphics on this page are good. There is nothing seriously wrong with the graphics. However for those of you who do not like frames, this page has it. Indeed, frames are good in case you have a long list of contents (in which this page does) that would take too large for an image map to download. Then again, there could be many ways to combine sections to make them smaller, or you could use Java to make the sections by clicking on them.
Well, what is on the main page exactly? If your coming through the Grunger's Corner address, you will have to click on an image that simply says, "Nirvana." On the main page, you have a left pane frame, including an image that is above the frame that is also on the left side. Both backgrounds are black. As from the images in the frame, they are white, and when you move your cursor over them (in IE) it seems to fade a bit. I would suggest that it would do the opposite. In the main pane, you have a neatly done table that I think is well done. The table gives you updates, what is coming to the site and what is new to the site.
Browser and Resolution
The resolution seems to do well with 800x600 pixels and True Color 32-bit. Internet Explorer seems to be the ideal browser. Not only because of the way the images change when you move your cursor over them, but because it actually works. What do I mean? Well, using Netscape Navigator v. 4.1, the page did not even load up fully. I even tried again to be sure, and it still would not work.
Multimedia
Scrolling through the frames, I have found that there were a lot more infomative-related sections than there were Multimedia.
Movies - Since these movies are from Geffen, you can expect them the be at least 30 seconds in length. However the variety and the way they are categorized is excellent. The videos are divided up by albums. These are all the videos that you will see on MTV, so to speak. Except for the Live! Tonight! Sold Out! section.
Downloads - Two main sections: Computer stuff and Nirvana stuff. In the computer stuff, you can download two programs: WinZip and WinAmp. As for the Nirvana downloads, you have the fonts, caculators, and skins for WinAmp.
Sounds - The Wav., Real Audio, and MP3 files are under construction at the moment. For those of you who love MIDI, you can download nearly any song. Keep in mind that a lot of these songs are divided up into two to four files. They are also divided up by albums, although that is not very noticeable.
Pictures - A lot of sections here. Here's a table:
Section # of Pictures Kurt Cobain Under Construction Dave Grohl Not available (broken link) Krist Novoselic Not available (broken link) Group pictures 36 Courtney Love Under Construction CDs Not available (broken link) Bootlegs Not available (broken link) Kurt's guitars Under Construction Miscellaneous Not available (broken link) Clip art Not available (broken link) Total 36 As we can see from the pictures, there a not a whole lot. Most of them are broken links. We can draw two conclusions here: one, they are also under construction or two, there is a problem with the links. Hopefully that will improve in the near future.
Information
Alas, we come to yet another part of the page, information. There seems to be, as I mentioned earlier, a lot more informative sections than there are Multimedia sections.
Dictionary - aka Nirvana Songs Dictionary. This contains all [or most] Nirvana songs and their meaning. It also gives information about when it was first recorded.
Lyrics - Includes all of the albums, except Wishkah. Two additions is the Hormoaning LP and rare songs. Clicking on a section will show you a page with the cover of the album, the tracklist (which you can click on, leading the that song), and the lyrics. Very neat and organized. It would need a "Top" botton, IMO.
Tabs - Broken links for all of the albums.
Links - Contains three different sections. The first one is called Site Ratings. This lists 10 different sites and gives a link to each one. The second section, the banner links, did not work. The same applies to the text links section.
Discography, Facts and Info., Song List, Liner Notes, - Under Construction.
Fan's ICQ - Goes to another page. At that page, it lists the fan's name, their ICQ nickname and their UIN number.
Polls - A list of things you can vote in, and their results.
Krist's Posts - Self-exclamatory. You'll find his posts from alt.music.nirvana
Signs on In Utero - Ever wonder what those signs mean on the back of In Utero? Find out.
Other
As for those other sections that couldn't fit anywhere else, here they are:
Memorial - Containing: Poems, Fan Art, "What were you doing?," Favorite Pics, and a section called 1967-1994.
Kurt's Death - Lists 6 reasons why he was murdered and 5 reasons why he took his own life.
Message Board - You can post your own topics and respond to others.
Guest book - Sign or view.
Other - Find out about the author of the page, add a banner from that page, find out about the author's band, and...well, there's a cute section called 'Ha ha ha.' What this does is open up your default browser simentaneously, thus opening dozens of them, causing your system to crash.
Connection
About the test:
Both browsers were closed before the test.
Internet Explorer was opened and tested, Netscape was tested after.
Address for the main page, or page that consists of contents, or the page that was viewed in the screenshot was pasted in the testing browser.
Time was ended when the icon in the top right hand corner stopped.
Internet Explorer - 103 sec.
Netscape Navigator - failedThe connection test was done on a 56k Winmodem connected at 44,000 bps. Remember download times will vary depending on your modem speed, browser, server of the page, telephone line activity, and your internet service provide (ISP). This will not guarantee that the page will download at the same rate on your computer as it does mine, this is just an estimate.
Conclusion
A good start for a fairly new page. I feel I reviewed this page a little to early. Mainly because a lot of its sections were under construction or not available. Yet I think the page is good in a sense that it can improve and the information/multimedia it provided. My hope is that this page will fix those errors, and hopefully add newer stuff.
Anavrin's Nirvana page is owned by niRv@NirvanaFan.com and is hosted by Fortunecity Services
Nirvana In Nirvana © 1998-1999
