V3

I'm not getting PDF links via email now... did I change something or did this also happen with the V3 rollout?

What happened to the Vocabulary tab? It was unlocked to basic subscribers by accident over the weekend I assume? I thought it was a new feature of the new version of the website, but now it says I must upgrade my account. How about another free 7-days for us old time users, since apparently things have changed a lot. Seeing how some of these new areas work is making me curious what I'm missing by not upgrading....

Personally I don't think one can blame Chinesepod to try to draw as many people in as they possibly can to become paying subscribers. I think that for a new user the website is actually not that confusing. The home page is clean and basically there is just one message: Get started or learn more... The get started option wants you to register and there is nothing wrong with that, it is free and you have to do it on millions of other websites, the learn more gives you extra info on the CP method. There are 2 other elements on the home page:

(1) The flashplayer loaded with the latest lesson + the link to the latest newbie lesson. So you get a chance to listen straight away to a lesson, to see what it is all about;

(2) A search box to look for a lesson on a subject that may interest you + "Or, browse the 483 lessons by levels" with levels in bold underlined typeface, which should make it hard to miss. This link takes you straigth to the archive...Personally I think it may be better to use the entire phrase as link rather than just the word 'levels' but it is there, on the first page. So a new user can find things easily.

The problem is probably bigger for us, because we have to become used to new ways of working. Mind you, I think there are still a lot of problems that have to be sorted out, but there are some changes there that are not bugs but features. Take scheduling the podcasts...it is actually very easy to do. Yes, if you schedule lessons in the future they will only show up when the date you have scheduled them come up, but you can still access them from the calendar and past due lessons remain available until you change their status to 'studied'. If you want all your older lessons to show up on your lesson list, just drag them to yesterday on your calendar.

I decided it would probably be best to start with a clean slate, so I asked ChinesePod to delete my old lesson list. If you mail them they can do it straight away.

Scheduling is something that I definitely like. The way you can add vocab now in one go, by using the tick boxes is a great improvement. Also I appreciate that the extra vocab can be added in the same way. Labelling vocab is possible, but the way it is implemented the feature is as good as unusable. The flashcard program is ok, but scoring seems to be a bit erratic, it is easy to lose points, harder to win them back, so I wonder if the algorithm is correct. Also, I think it should be possible to randomize the wordlist and to limit the exercise to a number of words. Now the flashcard program always starts at the top of the list, so I never get to the bottom due to lack of time.

The soundbites that come with the words still don't work, but that is a known issue and I expect that it will be solved shortly.

The exercises are greatly improved. I actually enjoy them now. It took me a while to figure out how to connect two words. In the previous flash version it was enough to click the little circles in each column to make the connection appear. Now you have to click and drag. Which is better anyway.

This is all for now. Keep up the good work.

I really miss a list of the topic and functions tags or the possibilty for a wildcard in the advanced search field. In the advanced search I can't search for lessons just by topic or function. I have to enter a keyword. This is not very helpful.

Yes, I am completely baffled by this new version, and on the verge of giving up. All I want is a list of the lessons I'll be studying. That's all. I bookmarked a bunch of lessons, but they don't show up on my list, unless I add them to the schedule--and those only show up on those particular days. I'm also upse that the numbering of the lessons (I'm a Newbie) has been eliminated. To be frank, this is all extremely frustrating. (And this is my fourth attempt at adding a comment.)

"Finding anything as a real newbie is like the Easter egg hunt from hell."

Hahaha! My whole weekend was such a CP v3 Easter egg hunt....

I spent maybe 45 minutes writing a review of the usability of V3 as a newbie and the whole thing was blown away when I hit the back button to grab something from the previous page and it kicked me to an error screen saying you must be logged in to access this page. Hey, I was logged in! When I re-logged in all my comments were gone! So now rather than regather all my thoughts and rewrite the whole thing I'll just be blunt for whatever it's worth. I think this site will be frustrating for new users and is significantly less friendly than the previous version. Web 101 - never force users to register or sign up before they even know what the site has to offer. Finding anything as a real newbie is like the Easter egg hunt from hell. If you're going to make it that difficult then at least add a site map so once the newcomer gets hopelessly frustrated they can at least browse every link from one page. The rest I'll leave to others to comment on over time but from a discovery and usability perspective I think you've unfortunately missed the mark (maybe not for the AuntieSue's and Bazzas who live and breathe CPod but certainly for newbies).

Got to post that V3 is NOT Internet Explorer friendly (but then again, I'm less and less Microsoft friendly...): every time I push the "Add Comment" for the discussions it just sits there saying "Waiting" in the button and the little Windows flag doesn't move. I tried this on two different computers running different version of Windows and IE and both did the same thing... sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't... Anyone else got this here problem?

I'd would like to just use FireFox, but sometimes I'm often using a friend's computer or one at my school.

Still praying for the day posting at CP will be as easy as emails,

Rich

Just realised my last page will 150, so forget that. I'll just have to wait until I've tagged them all.

Is there a quick to view vocab that you've just added or just do you have go through them all until you get to the end? That takes a while if you have about 1500 entries. An option to view all untagged entries would help however that would probably still be over 1000 at the moment for me.

My feed is working fine now. It even picks up in the PDFs in itunes, although they won't seem to open from there. I like how the dialogue shows up in the podcast description now, so I can read it whilst I listen on my 4th gen ipod. :)

Is there an easy way to download previous lessons? With the older format, the RSS feeds contained links to all previous lesson for, for example, Newbies, and so on.

Good eyes Rash-

Hmm, looks like the Spanish culture and Chinese culture are hooked at the hip. Seems to me V3 is more of a business management choice rather then a learning enhancement move.

AuntySue,

Do you know about ChinesePera-Kun?

The "Comments Policy" at the bottom of this page reads: Comments Policy

Allowed comments do not necessarily represent the views of SpanishSense.com....

Perahaps this should be updated to say "ChinesePod.com"

Bazza, I have managed to get the personal feed working. I don't think I did anything particularly special. It was a couple of hours ago now, but from memory I:

* Subscribed to my feed in iTunes. Nothing showed up.

* Scheduled some lessons for tomorrow.

* Waited a bit and then they appeared in iTunes.

This scheduling idea seems nice, but I have just thought of a potential problem. I'm heading off to Dublin for a week and could well be without internet access. If lessons are only downloaded the day/day before they are scheduled then I may have to schedule all the lessons for the day before I leave. I like version 3 but am starting to get the feeling that it has been designed with the underlying assumption that we can manage all our learning online. I'd regard myself as a well connected geek (WiFi phone etc etc) but I still find it essential to have access to my lessons, vocab, flashcards etc when there is no internet access around as these are generally the times when I'd most like to study.

I know internet connectivity is becoming increasingly pervasive, but I do hope that the folks at ChinesePod aren't forgetting that we can't be connected all the time.

where is the pinyin chart?

And where are the torrents?? I still need to download lessons 300-400.

and what has happened to my nickname??

I feel this site is somewhat unwelcoming to free users...

in the old verison, which i found easier to use, I had made loists of lessons such as:

- intermediate completed

- intermediate to review

- advanced completed. etc. etc.

Having lost these, I can't keep track of where I am since I had a particular plan based onthese lists. Can I still access tem or the equlivalent. Now i see some lessons are book-marked, but I think its any one I had put in any of my lists.

If I understand correctly all I can do now, is mark them as 'finished'. I miss these functions of making lists of lessons.

TRIC,

There's a new link at the bottom of the new PDF that will take you to a text-only version of the file. No colors or graphics and very printer and copy-and-paste friendly. Ping me if you have any issues using/finding it.

I don't like that when I follow the link to the mp3 for a lesson that it no longer opens a new window. I like to explore the other parts of the lesson (pdf, blog, etc.) while I listen to the dialog. In v3 it is more complicated to do this.

很抱歉抱怨。

马克

It seems like some of the things I do frequently take more clicks to get to. I don't know if that's true or I just haven't found the shortcuts, yet.

What lessons have been posted in the last few days?

Where did the poll go?

How to I get to a lesson and its pdf?

How do I see if there is a reply to a blog entry I was interested in?

I hope they add a dialog only option to the personal feed as well.

Has anyone else setup a personal feed? I'm currently having problems getting itunes to pick it up.

The icons with the paper and pencil indicate a lesson conversation and those without the pencil are just general topics and user created conversations.

The dialog only option is indeed great for review purposes, especially with the lower levels where I love to get a quick vocab reminder but don't need the full explanation.

A question: under "All Conversations" (is this the same as recent postings?), some of icons have just a piece of paper, and others have a pencil with the paper. What does this mean? It doesn't seem to indicate how recent the post is, or how popular it is, or whether or nor I've posted there. Not a big deal but it's nagging at me!

So far so good! I, too, am loving the ability to listen to the dialog alone. This has been on my wish list for a long time! Thanks Chinesepod!

Hmm, well I like that this site kinda gives you more of a reason to create a profile, I'm a long time listener, but since I dont subscribe or go to the forum I never had reason to make an account. Seems more community based then before.

I'm still very confused, and have been since I came into the page and wondered what happened. I think I'll get used to it.

I found the previous lesson lists!!! :-) Yaaay!

Hey, guys, you might want to update the comments policy to say ChinesePod.com... "Comments Policy

Allowed comments do not necessarily represent the views of SpanishSense.com. We also reserve the right to reject personal attacks, false/unsubstantiated allegations, and comments that include vulgar language or libelous statements."

i only stumbled across this site from a google search tonight, and have since become completely addicted to it. tne new interface has been navigation much easier than the previous hybrid of v2 pages with v3 graphics. perhaps you could incorporate a links site to other useful china language websites (eg online dictionaries) and in the future collaborate with a school or university to take classes in person. also in terms of marketing, having a prominent "15 day free" subscription would be useful for new sign ups on the front page.

the site is really well done, congratulations on such a fantastic idea which is so motivating for us learners!

Cpod- thanks for all the hard work!

I so love the ability to just listen to the dialogue alone. You could like revise all the newbie lessons again in about a hour. :)

Can someone tell me where to get to the archive and if I can still see a listing based on level (newbie, elementary, etc.)? TRic said he found it, but I guess I'm either less adept or just less patient... probably both. Hehe!

Thanks for the help!

Hi 13035, I am - same as apparently you - located in China (Shanghai).

And there is another problem I have:

I copy the text of the pdf file to a word file, increase the font a bit, collect the new vocabulary I need and print the file. And this one I glue into a small notebook that I carry with me when travelling, in the taxi etc (basically the only time of the day when I am free to 'study' a bit). I realy need this working. Will be gratefull if this can be fixed or someone can tell me, how I can fix my end.

Cheers, Thomas

All fine until today. When I copy the chinese font from the pdf file to the clipboard, it looks already weird (I guess new type of font or encoding??)

Dont know about user 18997's location but after a bit of investigation it seems my download problem may be a chinese firewall problem

After a bit (or a bit more) of confusion I found my way to the archive with the newbie lessons (took me only 15 minutes or so...) to discuver that the mp3 file I wanted to download seems to be an htm(?) file, and I think it's very well discribed by 13035 as a page of rubbish.

Probably a small step for the administrator....

I hope you can fix quickly, and I hope I get accostumed to the new layout, cheers, Thomas

Ah, I'm using IE version 7sthg

what browser are you using? If you can be more specific, we can troubleshoot for you.

Could some one explain why my husband can download the full mp3 and dialogue mp3 for Head shoulders knees....in UK whilst all I get in China is a page of rubbish. I've given up, more rewarding watching Gansu TV .

But must say I like the layout of the pdf, the dialogue, vocab (especially the additional vocab)expansion and exercises. You've done a good job here.

Sorry for last question.
I didn't recignize skype in french.

Lots of new things today on this website !

It's look nice but I have a little box in the top right of the screen that say "? je ne dis rien". What's that ?

Hi all, Ken started a Bug hunt thread on his blog. It's probably the right place for publishing found bugs and asking questions: Bug hunt". It's easier for all, if we share more ore less one place for problems. Kudos can go anywhere though :-)

BTW you can separate lines using the < br > tag.

The watchlist conversation list appears to duplicate conversations. It seems to be bring up an error if there's no comments on a conversation as well.
My personal conversation list is still blank as well.

FYI,

Almost 5,000 visitors to the site since we uploaded just over 2 hours ago. Hey!

Anne,

The pin yin chart (new and improved) will be up and running in a few days. Please bear with us.

Will there be an option in the future to delete entire sets of vocab all at once in the (near) future? It used to be simple but now it seems I will have to delete all my archived vocab one by one. That's going to take me a long time... :)

So also for the lessons that I had kept in several lists in v2. Now they all show up on the right of my schedule, even though I have no intention of learning them again just yet. Will there be an option to get rid of them all at once or mark them all as studied? That will save me from having to visit each and every page and mark them as studied or removed.

Am I right, that the Pinyin chart isn't functional yet?

Oh right, it's a Skype thing.

The option to quote, edit or delete comments would be nice.

Hi Bazza,

To get your on-line status working just visit this link.

http://www.skype.com/share/buttons/status.html

I'm going to stick my neck out and say I don't mind not having Chinese characters in the user names, in fact, I like it this way.

A lot of students can't read Chinese characters, and some have no intention of learning them, while others know quite a few but still can't read the names easily. It's a hell of a lot more friendly to present with a name that people can perceive and remember. There's a bunch of people I talk to on the Forum who use Chinese names, and I can only remember them by their English taglines (quotes or sayings added to each message) or their avatar. If those ever change, I won't ever recognise the people again, and that effectively nameless friend will be lost for ever.

Is the online status feature not active yet? It always says 'I'm not telling'

My conversations says no posts now.

Nice job. :)

You've convinced me to subscribe for another half a year of premium subscription, but yeah, I second the suggestion to allow Chinese characters in our user names.

Regards,

looks really great, especially like the schedule, good work

user29320. I just saw that the "Media-bug" is already fixed.

Congratulations! You made it!

user29320,

the Media-access seems to be a bug. I already reported that and I was probably not the first one...

Humbug! I liked the old interface better. The only improvement I can see is that the advanced lessons are integrated with the rest. As a basic user, I now seem to have lost access to the media lessons. I reserve the right to change my opinion as I become aware of other improvements you might have made, but as of now I say, don't do me any more favors.

It's really looking good... We made it, Ken! WE MADE IT!

Excellent, I like it.

I notice we don't seem to be able to use Chinese characters in our usernames though.

Very positive impression so far! It was really worth the wait.

Congratulations on a job very well done!