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.

It seems the developers are working to correct the issues.

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

trust4u said:

i'm not surprised. this is a big opportunity for the people who are designing and running the site, so they're going to want to work hard to make not only prince but the fans/members happy.

trust4u said:

i'm not surprised. this is a big opportunity for the people who are designing and running the site, so they're going to want to work hard to make not only prince but the fans/members happy.

Anxiety said:

I'll check in again when I get home and I'm looking forward to it.
The complaints have been legitimate, but it's obvious they're working hard to correct them as quickly as they can. We've seen fix after fix in direct response to the problems pointed out. All within less than 48 hours of the site opening. I DO think these things should have been tested before the launch, but I'm very pleased with the response so far with the Prince-y peeps involved.

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...

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.

Thus the reason why I have not joined, like i said because they still need to work out the gliches,

Anxiety said:

This guy is great!!! I e-mailed him with some concerns a couple of days ago, and I received a response back within less than 24 hours. I know someone mentioned earlier that they e-mailed the support and had not received a return e-mail back yet, but the thing to keep in mind is that the site is new. And as it is with any thing new (especially something such as this) there is no way to completly know (before hand) every conceivable glitch there might be. I think the support team got the message loud and clear as to how people felt about the riddle. The thing is, even though it was a little frustrating,....actually, it was very frustrating...nevertheless, over all, I am pleased, and very much excited about the site, and it is reassuring to know that there is a real live on-hand IT department to help out with the rough spots.

Sunkissedbrotha (what up Scott...Maurice Page here)

- no one made a test dowmload of the music files before it went online???

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.

EmancipationLover said:

i guess not. i just got word back about my question regarding the playtime
of the track "boom"

it's 03:19 on the download and yet the runningtime on the site says it is
actually 04:54.

people on here kept saying it was meant to be like that and how great it
segues into "the morning after" (which is doesn't).

staff now reported back that they will look into it since the file might
have been corrupted after all.





Last night an enormous amount of people hit the site. That may have messed up the download. Please try again, after this first explosion of humans.

wait. what? so the people logging in are once again to blame?

these guys are too much, really.

Millions of users entering Credit Card info

trust4u said:

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.

It seems the developers are working to correct the issues.

it's all good here, my sign-up and download process went smoothly on the first try.

yeah it is odd how several of the tracks start off with the ending of the previous track.....

the main reason i am happy i paid my money is that i love the video section and am looking forward to being able to play the videos without the choppy parts

some of the music i downloaded is some of the best stuff prince has done in ten years - and i am really enjoying it

it seems clear to me that this website was set up for the fans - so we should be patient

i mean, if prince really needed the money - don't you think that the site would be error free and a lot better than it is? you bet it would be

think of all all the buzz this site could have created and gotten new members to join.....instead most people think the site kinda sucks so far

but i love it

trust4u said:

The ssl was already functional in their servers yesterday.
It was just not implemented in the site.
The video's are a bit smoother but not yet perfect. (yes, ADSL that is fast enough, plenty of cores and plenty of RAM and plenty of innovation in the OS)

Strange that the downloads (music) are faster than the `streamed` videos?

japanrocks said:

I would agree if the website was open access, but if you pay for it, you have every right to expect things running smoothly.

Would you go to a restaurant, get a shitty meal, have the waiter saying "sorry, but give us a few days, maybe we'll make it an enjoyable dish in the meantime" and still be satisfied?

Purpracer2 said:

You don't even need an account to DL anything from the site. There is ZERO security. If someone were to post the URL of a zip or a video, anyone could download it.

BartVanHemelen said:

If that is true, why do we pay?
Why does P make a scene about his (C)opyrights?
This is very contrary his normal pose. (!!)

At least for us we would expect that content is not accessible to non-members (because we paid).

squirrelgrease said:

really? i thought it was a very professional, very nicely worded message.

maybe i just get off on being condescended to.

EmancipationLover said:

well...if I went to the resturant on OPENING day...I probably would cut them some slack, and return again in a few days or weeks to see if it had improved.