CBCNews app redesign FAIL

CBCNews.ca redesign feedback update - Canada - CBC News


It has been a few days now since we relaunched CBCNews.ca and launched the CBC News mobile app. We've been using the time to gather and review your feedback and investigate — and fix — issues that have arisen.

Our technical team did very extensive testing ahead of this launch, but no matter how much testing is done, it is common with a change of this size to come across issues once a site is actually live and is being used by a large number of people.

Rachel Nixon, director of Digital Media, CBC News.
I'd like to give you an update on some of the questions and themes that have emerged from your feedback over the past few days and outline what action we are taking.

I'll start with the website and move on to the mobile app.


There were several main themes relating to the font size we use in our secondary headlines, the colour of the headlines, as well as how to change text size onscreen.

Headline colour: Accessibility was a focus throughout the redesign of CBCNews.ca. As part of our development process, key pages of the site, including the homepage, were extensively reviewed by a user who is visually impaired, using a screen reader. We also ensured that visual elements of the site were reviewed for accessibility. We verified the link colour contrast on the site with an accessibility tool called a colour contrast analyzer, provided by WebAim. The link colour used at launch (#275d89) does comply with universally accepted accessibility standards based on Web Content Accessibility Guide (WCAG 2.0). However, we have slightly increased the contrast to improve visibility and we are now using #115278 as a link colour.

CBC TV iOS App - SOLUTION:

PROBLEM:

For some months, presumably since some update or other, I have been unable to get CBC Player to play videos: they appear to load but never actually start running. I have been through ALL the troubleshooting suggestions on the CBC and Adobe Flash Player websites, with no luck. A Google search shows that many other people cannot get CBC player to work either, but I haven't seen any solution to the problem posted. I have no trouble with the video players on the CTV and TVO sites, which also use Flash Player.

So what is different about CBC player? Of course it's impossible to get any technical help from the CBC, which is ridiculous enough in itself. Does anyone know the secret to getting this thing to work??? 

SOLUTION:

CBC updated their player a few months ago to block ad blocker add-ons, you have to disable it in order to watch the videos. Its design that if you want to watch their videos, you'll have to watch their ads first. Don't be surprise that CTV or Global updating their site with this feature in the near future. 

CBC Video Player solution

Here's a solution I stumbled on that has, so far, worked well.

First, I'm running Firefox 6.0.2 with the AdBlock Plus add-on. My solution may not work for other browsers or Firefox versions.

I'm also managing my hosts file with the free utility HostsMan, available for download here. It enables easy deactivation of the hosts file.

Once you've installed HostsMan, run it before you try to use the CBC Player. Then click on the H button to disable host files while you're at the CBC site. It will change from green to red.

Also, click on the AdBlock Plus (ABP) icon/menu item and disable it for the CBC page where you want to use CBC Player. Still in ABP, go to Options, then make sure "synch AdBlock Plus settings" is not checked.

Go to the page where the CBC Player will be running and reload that page.

And that's all it took for streaming audio and video to start working again on CBC sites ... after more than a year of not being able to listen to or view them.

CBC updated their player

Would you believe I've been trying for nearly two years to find an answer to this very question? All other web video sites work with ease on all my machines — except CBC's. This is the first suggestion that seems as though it may work.

Clearly, with this peculiar ad blocker policy, CBC is targeting the least computer-savvy users as their audience. And they're flaunting their indifference to a taxpayer funded service supposedly intended to benefit all taxpayers. 

Good bye CBC

I have been trying to fix this glitch for several days. 18 hours to be exact. 
I have had it with the CBC and their stupid changes. From uninstalling to installing- changing firefox browsers - adobe this and that. Nothing on the CBC is worth this much aggravation. I will never understand why people fix things that are not broken. If you are intentionally trying to lose viewers you could not have done a better job. Am I angry? ope just even. To hell with online CBC.:(