independent and unofficial
Prince fan community site
Prince fan community site
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Printable version (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)Rorywan said: Anxiety said: This note just came our way:
We understand that several people have had issues with the site, and we're working diligently to address them all as quickly as possible. With the great amount of traffic that we've received there have been some issues getting the large amount of content in the site out to everyone simultaneously. We're currently doubling the size of our server farm in order to make sure that fans can get all of the albums and videos they desire. To accommodate our friends overseas we've relaxed some of the normal security checks put in place by American banks. Since the vault has 3D and video, which is pushing the boundary of the web and current technology, only newer machines can adequately handle it. If fans are experiencing choppy videos in the vault, they should click the fullscreen button on the video and it should improve their experience. Thanks to everyone for their patience while we scale up LotusFlow3r.com to accommodate the great response from Prince fans all over the world. Thanks so much, Scott Oh my god, could he be anymore condescending? Exactly. This guy has a pair o' globes on him. Purple Fact #542: Prince can make a Weeble™ fall down. | |
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i feel really bad for prince because i like his music more than anyone could imagine but this has been a disaster for me also.
floi | |
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We are the angry mob
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ShadeoViolet said: I just feel, as a graphic design minor, I might have at least a tiny bit of insight on this issue...
When designing anything, we were always taught that FUNCTIONALITY comes before everything else. (Yes, even aesthetics.) The site has to work and work effortlessly. Period. If it doesn't do that, then all of the artistic flourishes are ignored and put to waste due to user frustration.. (Here's an analogy:: Imagine walking into an art gallery, and before you could view any of the beautiful pieces, you had to complete a successful round of Sudoku just to properly view any kind of drawing or painting.. That's just frustrating, isn't it?) I don't know about everyone else, but when I want to visit a Prince website, I just want the music and videos. I don't want to play a game. Heck, that's why we have video game counsels. They are BUILT solely for that purpose. Trying to make a website into some elaborate "Myst" experience is just a very poor idea on its face. Why? Because it all goes back to functionality. Websites are built for this and for accessing information first and foremost. If they aren't doing that very well, then there needs to be a redesign. It really is that simple. Plus, why would you want to alienate a large portion of your fan base who happen to be running PC's with lower specs? If anyone has ever wondered why the "Diablo" video game series has been so ridiculously popular after all these years, I speculate that a large part of its success might have to do with the fact that ANYONE with ANY kind of computer can smoothly run the game. (PC or Mac) This increases your potential market share greatly and ends up benefiting everyone involved.. Basically, it comes down to this:: Make the website leaner, faster, and more straightforward. I say this even as a Graphic Design minor and Art major. There's a time and place for clever Flash tricks.. and this certainly isn't it. See, THIS is why HQ was far better then any Official Prince site. People may vent on Aaron, the mods and all that, but HQ was first and foremost the perfect tool for a prince-fan to get info. And back in the day, to see video, pictures etc. Unless Lotusflower starts providing a substantial amount of interesting unavailable items (these do NOT include candles and insence), I'll be spending some money on music elsewhere and will settle for the cd-set when it hits the stores. The HQ-er formerly known as krokostimpy. | |
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zobilamouche said: ShadeoViolet said: I just feel, as a graphic design minor, I might have at least a tiny bit of insight on this issue...
When designing anything, we were always taught that FUNCTIONALITY comes before everything else. (Yes, even aesthetics.) The site has to work and work effortlessly. Period. If it doesn't do that, then all of the artistic flourishes are ignored and put to waste due to user frustration.. (Here's an analogy:: Imagine walking into an art gallery, and before you could view any of the beautiful pieces, you had to complete a successful round of Sudoku just to properly view any kind of drawing or painting.. That's just frustrating, isn't it?) I don't know about everyone else, but when I want to visit a Prince website, I just want the music and videos. I don't want to play a game. Heck, that's why we have video game counsels. They are BUILT solely for that purpose. Trying to make a website into some elaborate "Myst" experience is just a very poor idea on its face. Why? Because it all goes back to functionality. Websites are built for this and for accessing information first and foremost. If they aren't doing that very well, then there needs to be a redesign. It really is that simple. Plus, why would you want to alienate a large portion of your fan base who happen to be running PC's with lower specs? If anyone has ever wondered why the "Diablo" video game series has been so ridiculously popular after all these years, I speculate that a large part of its success might have to do with the fact that ANYONE with ANY kind of computer can smoothly run the game. (PC or Mac) This increases your potential market share greatly and ends up benefiting everyone involved.. Basically, it comes down to this:: Make the website leaner, faster, and more straightforward. I say this even as a Graphic Design minor and Art major. There's a time and place for clever Flash tricks.. and this certainly isn't it. See, THIS is why HQ was far better then any Official Prince site. People may vent on Aaron, the mods and all that, but HQ was first and foremost the perfect tool for a prince-fan to get info. And back in the day, to see video, pictures etc. Unless Lotusflower starts providing a substantial amount of interesting unavailable items (these do NOT include candles and insence), I'll be spending some money on music elsewhere and will settle for the cd-set when it hits the stores. ^^Strange But True  | |
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I just got 2 emails about my membership and was charge TWICE, I want my $77 back. I ONLY wanted 1 membership! I have sent a few emails now with no reponce. If ANYONE has the correct email AND phone number for problems please let me know . free yo mind! | |
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realm said: We are the angry mob
We read the papers everyday day We like who like We hate who we hate But we're also easily swayed  they had their chance to play with Prince but said no ?....love this track .. Da, Da, Da....Emancipation....Free..don't think I ain't..! London 21 Nights...Clap your hands...you know the rest..
James Brown & Michael Jackson RIP, your music still lives with us! | |
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FYI, here is an e-mail I just sent to the lotuslow3r support:
 | |
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BartVanHemelen said: Scott said: We understand that several people have had issues with the site, and we're working diligently to address them all as quickly as possible. With the great amount of traffic that we've received there have been some issues getting the large amount of content in the site out to everyone simultaneously.
No, the main issue is that it's a pathetic interface. Until you address that, there's nothing you can do that would solve anything. Make this a BASIC website, easy to navigate. Make sure usernames and CERTAINLY passwords can contain more than 10 characters and also characters other than letters and numbers. That is a BASIC SECURITY requirement. Oh, and don't send passwords in plain text via mail. Implement a system where users can RESET their passwords. Bullcrap; You've made a bloated Flash-site, that's what the problem is. Nobody forced you to make it this way, and if somebody did you should have refused to. This is NOT cutting edge at all, I've seen similar pretentious navigation years ago on sites designed by people who want to show off their Flash skills. Scott said: If fans are experiencing choppy videos in the vault, they should click the fullscreen button on the video and it should improve their experience.
Oh for crying out loud. It's choppy because a) you don't have the bandwidth and b) EVERYTHING is filtered through ONE PHP script. I never thought the day would come where I agree with Bart on a Prince-related issue, but I do. This is not an open-access website we're talking about, people PAY for it, so they deserve a proper meal being served! Well, if they CAN pay, since the system still does not accept European credit cards. All of this is amateurish, and if I was Prince, I certainly would sack the guys who are responsible for the site. | |
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Anxiety said: This note just came our way:
We understand that several people have had issues with the site, and we're working diligently to address them all as quickly as possible. With the great amount of traffic that we've received there have been some issues getting the large amount of content in the site out to everyone simultaneously. We're currently doubling the size of our server farm in order to make sure that fans can get all of the albums and videos they desire. To accommodate our friends overseas we've relaxed some of the normal security checks put in place by American banks. Since the vault has 3D and video, which is pushing the boundary of the web and current technology, only newer machines can adequately handle it. If fans are experiencing choppy videos in the vault, they should click the fullscreen button on the video and it should improve their experience. Thanks to everyone for their patience while we scale up LotusFlow3r.com to accommodate the great response from Prince fans all over the world. Thanks so much, Scott The site is a failure Scott. I can definitely see Prince asking for what you produced here, the Myst concept, wherein the interface is the content. It's our job as web professionals to listen to our clients, and translate their wishes into real world applications that can be used by actual real people. On this most basic of premisses you failed to deliver. You listened to Prince and made a visually interesting tech demo, but forgot to make a functional website. Let's look at some lowpoints: * You are sending your customer's credit card details completely in the clear over the wire. You say you relaxed security requirements somewhat, but to basically guarantee that a percentage of your customers will have their CC details hijacked by Russian teens is taking it a bit far. I saw no other option but to subscribe, wait for the transaction to go through and immediately after cancel the card. * The interface gets in the way of the content. Nowhere else is this more clear than in that 3d thingie with the vids and pictures. No normal-people's PC is able to play these video's without the audio breaking up and the video stuttering. The fact that you are suggesting that users play the video full screen shows the scale of this failure ... hey, i made a UI that actually breaks access to the content, so now I'm asking users to click some button that hides the UI so some CPU cycles get freed up so the actual content can play. Form over function to the extreme. * The actual content is a rush job. All video's have been wrongly encoded. Without exception they are wrongly deinterlaced (possibly not at all), often aspect ratio's are incorrect, volume levels haven't been equalized resulting in the user continually adjusting sound levels and the overall shit experience of having sudden really loud noises coming from the UI while you are trying to watch some low low volume video. Then there's the zip files that you can download, which are in some cases actually rar files, that contain a zip file, that contains the files you want, plus lots of MaxOSX files that no one needs. Last but not least there are serious file corruption issues. At least one of the zip archives is corrupted, and this corruption extends to pictures and video in the 3d media thingie as well. "this especially prepared potato is called pomme de terre" | |
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About creditcard:
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im glad they aknowledged that fect, that not only do you have to pay 77 to get in...but you must buy a new system to make viewing possible.
be the change you wish to see in the world.....ghandi. 
vi  | |
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udo said: About creditcard:
I was able to pay succesfully with my ING/postbank card (yes, the bankrupt bank) with just the CVC on the back as extra info. No SecureCode check or anything. This is a Dutch card so I would not know why a German card wouldn't work. And yes: The SecureCode is awful. I think it was the CVC they were talking about at my credit card company (btw, it's Barclaycard). However, it cannot be our job to figure out how they get that damn system at lotuslow3rcom to actually work. The funny thing is that I purchased my tickets for the O2 concerts in 2007 with that credit card...  | |
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Cuddles said: whats the 3D part
? The 3d is the globe vault. It is done with a technique called flash paper. I have designed some flash paper pages, and they are pretty memory extensive. For the content amount and bandwidth issues, it actually works pretty smoothly. It's difficult for me to tell what sort of math the three albums are resting on out in space, it could be a variety of things. Most sites are moving away from the Flash heavy design side because of the issues, but Flash does present in the most interactive ways. I think a low bandwidth version of the site would be the best solution for those who have slower machines and internet connections. (yes, some people are still playing on 56k out there.) and this 2, shall pass. | |
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kbarso said: The reason the videos are so choppy is that there are too high of a quality. Lower the quality and then the buffer will fill up faster than the play speed. Same for the audio MP3's. 320kps is over kill is you have the WAV versions. 193 kb s is more than enough if you put them on a portable player. I have a 3.2G machine and 4G memory and get choppy video. We all need a T3 connection. Anyone try the site on their company network?
This is the first time I have ever seen someone complain that the bitrate for an audio file is "too high of a quality". People have been pushing for years to get mp3s distributed at this quality, and now that someone is listening and doing it you complain that it's too much! | |
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I'm gonna pitch the company I work for to them.
damn it! I had a great quote from george washington but it doesn't fit here. | |
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badmofo said: This is why he needs Warner Bros!
LOL WUT? The work. Let me show you it. | |
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I'm just curious if anybody can tell me... since there were problems with downloading the albums, when I read the terms and conditions, it said that you can only download each album once... after that, you can't. Are they going to allow us to try to download them again once everything is fixed? or is the attempt the first time going to keep us from trying again? Anybody? | |
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Purpracer2 said: I'm just curious if anybody can tell me... since there were problems with downloading the albums, when I read the terms and conditions, it said that you can only download each album once... after that, you can't. Are they going to allow us to try to download them again once everything is fixed? or is the attempt the first time going to keep us from trying again? Anybody?
I downloaded MPLsound a dozen of times. | |
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Thus the reason why I have not joined, like i said because they still need to work out the gliches, I knew this was going to happen. Although I like that Scott is addressing the issues fairly quickly, I disagree with his comment to view the videos full screen, that does not take care of choppy videos, it not the viewers issue its the feed the website is presenting that is no good. For the price that is being paid, the website should have HD crystal clear video streams available, for all members to upload.
"I don't look at tabloids, I hate tabloids, I think we should have a tabloid burning, just make mountians out of them, and just burn it all. People should be more aware that it's completely not the truth, it's ignorance." ~Michael Jackson | |
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udo said: Purpracer2 said: I'm just curious if anybody can tell me... since there were problems with downloading the albums, when I read the terms and conditions, it said that you can only download each album once... after that, you can't. Are they going to allow us to try to download them again once everything is fixed? or is the attempt the first time going to keep us from trying again? Anybody?
I downloaded MPLsound a dozen of times. were you able to get the music downloaded to your computer or did it show invalid? I downloaded 2 of the albums twice now, and they won't play... says invalid or nothing on the files... | |
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I think the website has great potential...when it gets fixed. I love the graphics and interactive parts... and I can be patient until I can download the music.. I'll just listen 2 it on my computer until... | |
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Anxiety said: This note just came our way:
We understand that several people have had issues with the site, and we're working diligently to address them all as quickly as possible. With the great amount of traffic that we've received there have been some issues getting the large amount of content in the site out to everyone simultaneously. We're currently doubling the size of our server farm in order to make sure that fans can get all of the albums and videos they desire. To accommodate our friends overseas we've relaxed some of the normal security checks put in place by American banks. Since the vault has 3D and video, which is pushing the boundary of the web and current technology, only newer machines can adequately handle it. If fans are experiencing choppy videos in the vault, they should click the fullscreen button on the video and it should improve their experience. Thanks to everyone for their patience while we scale up LotusFlow3r.com to accommodate the great response from Prince fans all over the world. Thanks so much, Scott It's cool that they're reacting that fast. Now isn't it odd that they'll use the org as a plat4m 4 communicating with the fans after all the efforts by Prince & his lawyers 2 close this website & others (RIP housequake.com)? [Edited 3/26/09 6:53am] | |
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Shorty said: I'm gonna pitch the company I work for to them.
HEY SCOTT!!!! Check out SeaChange International. We are the world leader in VOD and IPTV and all kinds of good stuff like that. We specialize in Digital media storage and delivery. We have fault tolerant servers with patented technology. We deliver On demand content to whole cities, I'm sure we can do it for Prince's fans
and I'm not even in sales.  www.schange.com ohh..did I just bump my own post?  damn it! I had a great quote from george washington but it doesn't fit here. | |
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Oh one more thing, I can go to numerous internet sites, and watch crystal clear HD videos, one being youtube, without paying a dime. So why would I want to pay for poor quality videos, do the math it. "I don't look at tabloids, I hate tabloids, I think we should have a tabloid burning, just make mountians out of them, and just burn it all. People should be more aware that it's completely not the truth, it's ignorance." ~Michael Jackson | |
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since the "3D" portion of the site is not really 3D at all and the
i was born with the wrong sign, in the wrong house, with the wrong ascendancy | |
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squirrelgrease said: Rorywan said: Oh my god, could he be anymore condescending? Exactly. This guy has a pair o' globes on him. really? i thought it was a very professional, very nicely worded message. maybe i just get off on being condescended to.  | |
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danzakairos said: Oh one more thing, I can go to numerous internet sites, and watch crystal clear HD videos, one being youtube, without paying a dime. So why would I want to pay for poor quality videos, do the math it.
 and why not simply have a you-tube like lay out where you can watch ALL his past video's including a few unseen ones. there's handfull of "official" videos and a bit of live material and then there's the sacrifice of victor video. this doesn't look like the prince vault it looks like a mislabeled folder on my old pc where i would store some videos as i stumbled onto them here or there. the lay out is glitchy, there's pictures from the 21 nights book all between them. it's just a nightmare in regards to lay out. what are they thinking? besides, the content is bafflingly small and the quality of the vids is overall quite poor. i was born with the wrong sign, in the wrong house, with the wrong ascendancy | |
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I checked Lotus early this morning it seems they have added security certificates to the site (note the pad lock in bottom right corner of your browser) and the streaming video is running smoothly in both regular and full screen modes.
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