Dilbert's Gone All Web 2.0
April 17, 2008
Here's the message that I just submitted to the maintainers of the Dilbert web site via their "Contact Us" page (presumably because providing a simple email link allowing one to use their normal email client wouldn't be Web 2.0 enough):
I visited the Dilbert website today, and I noticed the new "beta" tag on the site, as well as the new Flash-based way of viewing the strips. My question is this: How can I access the old, non-beta version of the web site? You know, the one that doesn't require a Flash widget just to display a simple comic strip?I'm not necessarily expecting a response, but engaging in some healthy righteous indignation can be a satisfying way to spend an evening.
I ask because a "beta" tag generally refers to a piece of software that is in pre-release form. That is, one that is not ready for prime time. And as such, when a company releases a beta version of their product, the previous release version is usually still available. The "beta" version does not supersede the previous release until it has been tested enough to be stripped of its "beta" moniker. Surely no software publishing entity would be unpretentious enough to recognize the dubious quality of their latest work and thus label it as "beta", while simultaneously being arrogant enough to foist this beta product onto the public with no way for them to revert to the last stable version, right?
So, if you could point me to the URL for the version of the Dilbert web site that displays the current and past strips as a simple image, rather than using Flash or some other third party plug-in which is cleary overkill for the mere purpose of displaying a comic strip which is, in all fairness, nothing more than a static image, I would be most grateful.