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http://www.macnn.com/articles/01/10/12/macnn.updates/

MacNN Updates Site Design

updated 01:00 am EDT, Fri October 12, 2001

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(We've temporarily reverted back as we work with some design and technical issues behind the scenes. We'll be using your comments/suggestions to improve the layout/design. Look for the new design sometime this weekend. --The MacNN Staff

This week is a week of big changes for MacNN. Our redesigned Team MacNN site was the first, our new forum server was the second, and our new page design is the third. We've tried to keep the best elements of our classic layout while trying to make the design cleaner and the page more accessible and friendly. Read on for some more details.

News story highlights are listed down the left column, while "opinion" stories -- forum threads or news stories with many comments -- are listed on the right side. While our new layout offers a new news style (with headlines listed with each blurb), we understand that certain users may like our "Classic" layout or our "Headlines" layout, and options for switching to those layouts are available as well.

The main parts of the Macintosh News Network are listed as tabs along the top, while site-specific services such as Feedback forms, Advertising information, or News Archives are available as well. Our traditional Apple stock quote is unaltered, but it assumes a new position under our fresh new logo.

While we've worked long and hard with our most avid readers to gauge their opinions on our new design, we realize that we can't suit everyone's needs. If you have any suggestions, comments, or feedback about our new design, please feel free to use our Feedback form or post in our Suggestions and Comments forum (preferrred) to contact us. Our Mac OS X section, osx.macnn.com, will be updated with a similar new design featuring a smooth Aqua variation, in the next few weeks.

We hope you continue to enjoy our services, and as always: Read Me First. ;-)

-- MacNN News and Forum Staff

by MacNN Staff

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10/12, 01:15am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Not bad!

I actually like the design but I think the title header and divider color is tooo fade. Maybe making it darker so I can see the difference between two news. Cuz being on TiG4 with LCD, the color isn't sharp like on CRT.

Keep up the good job :)

brahmservo

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10/12, 01:38am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Change the lime

I really like the layout, but the lime green section headings have got to go. They throw off the entire color scheme. Perhaps a different shade of one of the existing hues would work better.

valentinedwv

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10/12, 01:58am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Microfonts

Can we do something about the micro font size in Netscpe 6 ;)

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10/12, 01:58am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Looks Good

I remember not too long ago the change was really dramatic, and it looked--in my opinion--poorly designed. I like the new look introduced this evening. I was surprised to see it when I went to check the forums. It looks a lot better, especially in OmniWeb. I used to think that the anti-aliased text as viewed in OmniWeb was a bit large. Now it looks really sharp.

One suggestion, I used to like being able to click on the Mac OS X General Discussion link on the left and being transported directly to that forum, as it's the only one I frequent here. With the new forum setup, I haven't been able to do that. If it's still possible to implement that, it would be appreciated. Other than that, the site definitely has been changed for the better.

Neo.cmg

que_ball
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2000

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10/12, 02:13am | report spam | close Reply |
Headlines need to be big

The headlines need to be a touch larger than the font of the body of the stories and possibly in a higher contrast. It's kind of hard to scan down the page for items of interest the way it is.

Warrenpeace
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Oct 2001

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10/12, 03:03am | report spam | close Reply |
I LOVE IT!

Its beautiful and classy. Not too flashy and easy on the eyes. Good work!

Durandalus
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jan 2001

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10/12, 03:20am | report spam | close Reply |
Nice but...

the body fonts appear a bit small. Of course I can manually make them bigger in IE or OmniWeb, but that will also make hedlines and other text larger.

wlonh
Professional Poster

Joined: Mar 1999

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10/12, 03:31am | report spam | close Reply |
Bauhaus

Less is more and simple is beautiful and form follows function, rarely does anyone/anything hit the target... QED.

Oh, and fonts and Netscape? You mean that god-awful ruminant of a browser (ruminant: characteristically having a bloated stomach divided into four compartments [too many] and chewing a cud consisting of regurgitated, partially digested HTML heh heh) has not keeled over yet? Pity. Maybe someday. One can hope.

dlindsay17
Forum Regular

Joined: Dec 1999

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10/12, 03:36am | report spam | close Reply |
cool

cool beans!!!

dmcknigh
Junior Member

Joined: Apr 2001

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10/12, 03:40am | report spam | close Reply |
Good job....

Looks great, but I agree with the above poster, that green is fugly. Other than that great job!

ParkgatePete
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Oct 2001

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10/12, 03:45am | report spam | close Reply |
Headlines

Please, please, please, embolden the headlines, or make the font larger or something.

With the central frame awash with pale greys and greens, the headlines need to stand out much more. A colour contrast is not necessary, but do not foget those of your readers with a visual impairment. Small fonts and pale colours are not very user friendly.

MacOS761
Senior User

Joined: Mar 2000

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10/12, 03:59am | report spam | close Reply |
Verruh noice

I like it quite a lot, but I agree with what most have said - lose the green, make the story headings larger. I can take or leave the grey bars on the headings. I also thought it would be worth pointing out that the yellow bar which is part of the main MacNN logo in the top left and part of the tabs at the top is not rendered correctly in OmniWeb 4.0.5 (don't know about others). It does not continue from the logo to the News tab. I'd try to figure out how to fix that for you, but I have a paper to write. :D Keep up the good work!

mugwump
Junior Member

Joined: Feb 2000

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10/12, 04:02am | report spam | close Reply |
wow, but...

Love the new MacNN "sunrise" graphic...

...but the front page news now resembles the comments layout. In fact, jumping back from the "comments" section, I blow past the front page by mistake because they look the same.

Soooo, the top looks great, the left side is fine, now the news body section needs some pleasant refinement.

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10/12, 04:29am | report spam | close Reply | delete
suggestions

lime green contrasts really poorly with the rest of the site.

you should test it out on a PC, it doesnt look too good. The fonts are smaller (which seems odd), and the "headlines" arent bold. I do think maybe you should make the grey table behind each headline a little darker.

You should really consider using style sheets rather than <font size=-2> or whatever, so it looks the same on all browsers that support CSS, which is basically all of them (at least for font size and face).

Overall not bad, but it doesnt add any functionality, which is more important IMHO.

\0

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10/12, 05:37am | report spam | close Reply | delete
BRING BACK THE OLD STUFF!

For god's sake, have you guys not learnt from the last re-design? I'm surprised though to see that there quite a few people here who actually like it. I think it's terrible. I want the old, REALLY clean and convenient layout back. f*** progress!

derbs
Senior User

Joined: May 2001

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10/12, 05:54am | report spam | close Reply |
woah!

woah! i'm shocked! i'm stunned!

i like it!

derbs
Senior User

Joined: May 2001

0

10/12, 05:57am | report spam | close Reply |
suggestion

can u make the macnn logo in the top left a link to return to the homepage? it took a while for me to figure out how to return.

also, i agree with the style sheet suggestion. It would be better to use a px measurement so it's totally cross-platform

dsmithmacnn

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10/12, 07:38am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Type too small

This is the worst mistake when print designers get their hands on css... they think they are designing a cutting-edge magazine!

Here's a clue you morons: different browsers and monitor resolutions make your work look like sh*t.

Make the type legible at least, or you will blow off a significant portion of your market. This is no improvement over the 'old' design, in fact it is quite the opposite.

'Nuff said.

Immortal K-Mart Employee
Mac Elite

Joined: Sep 2001

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10/12, 07:46am | report spam | close Reply |
Ah!

Scroll, Scroll, Scroll, Scroll, Scroll, Scroll, Scroll.

dsmithmacnn

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10/12, 07:47am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Omigod

You _didn't_ use css but got that design-ey illegible look with plain html. Quite an achievement.

I suppose anyone can type , but only you had the balls to actually to do it for body text.

Let me guess, you drive your monitors at 640x480? You read with a loupe? What's your secret?

dsmithmacnn

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10/12, 07:50am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Omigod

You _didn't_ use css but got that design-ey illegible look with plain html. Quite an achievement.

I suppose anyone can type --font size="1"--, but only you had the balls to actually to do it for body text.

Let me guess, you drive your monitors at 640x480? You read with a loupe? What's your secret?

Iowa Boy
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Dec 2000

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10/12, 08:00am | report spam | close Reply |
Wow!

It's excellent. Although minor, I do have to agree with getting rid of the lime green. Other than that, the page rocks! I actually find it more functional. I would love a faster way to get to the forums that I read, but it's still great. I have long thought that a layout with headlines would be a plus for your site -- excellent job!

Iowa Boy
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Dec 2000

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10/12, 08:02am | report spam | close Reply |
Another note...

It's becoming more and more standard to make your logo a link back to the home page. As I post this note, the logo in the upper right isn't clickable. Oh, by the way, the logo is great!

Iowa Boy
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Dec 2000

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10/12, 08:06am | report spam | close Reply |
Accordion design

Soapbox: Since I'm busy posting this morning, I want to commend you on using an accordion design (the flexible width design that fills the browser window no matter what the width). The accordion design is difficult to do, because all of the standard layout tools such as Dreamweaver, GoLive, etc... don't support such a layout. So, it's obvious that you coded it by hand, which is a long and painstaking process, but by the looks of the comments so far, it's well worth it! Thanks!

\0

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10/12, 08:13am | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: accordion design?!

"The accordion design is difficult to do, because all of the standard layout tools such as Dreamweaver, GoLive, etc... don't support such a layout."

your talking out of your arse!

and macnn, please, go back to the old layout.

\0

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10/12, 08:17am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Suggestions!

The news type is too small. Why don't you guys start using CSS? The page used to be very easy to read, and now it's a bunch of tiny text inside confusing bars of blue and lime.

And I would move those folder tabs on the top over closer to the MacNN logo -- they get lost over there.

\0

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10/12, 08:18am | report spam | close Reply | delete
One more thing...

...make the MacNN logo a hyperlink back to the_root page. It would really help.

\0

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10/12, 08:36am | report spam | close Reply | delete
The green is ugly

And the headlines above each news item reminds me of MacMinute.com.

basharar
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Sep 2001

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10/12, 08:45am | report spam | close Reply |
I cant see

THE FONTs are SOOOO SMALLLLLLLLLLL

\0

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10/12, 09:03am | report spam | close Reply | delete
maybeeeeeeeeee

you should get some glassessssssss, or a bigger monitorrrrrrrrrrr, asssssholeeeeeeee

pcp_ip
Forum Regular

Joined: May 2000

0

10/12, 09:05am | report spam | close Reply |
strategy?

just checking- do you guys do usability testing or focus grouping of your target audience before you go live on a new design?

scotty321
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Nov 1999

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10/12, 09:08am | report spam | close Reply |
Fonts are too small

Looks nice, but the fonts are way too small to read.

\0

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10/12, 09:19am | report spam | close Reply | delete
fonts

Using a 1024x768 resolution on OSX the fonts are fine. IF they are too small, it still doesn't call for the Macnn team to be called Moron's and Idiots. Some people just have no life. Probably unable to stand up for themselves in real life, and get pushed around all day at work, being able to log onto these forums to throw insults is the only taste of aggression in these sad gits' little lives.

A job well done Macnn, don't listen to the petty insults, they probably just got their lunch money stolen and wanted to take it out on someone...

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10/12, 09:23am | report spam | close Reply | delete
My eyes!

Can you bump the size of the font by 1? It's too small - smaller than the text here in the comments section!

(I like the green!)

mr100percent
Forum Regular

Joined: Dec 1999

0

10/12, 09:24am | report spam | close Reply |
Recent news

And where can I find the recent news again?

Will my name show up next to my post yet?

Is the site search function fixed?

What is the difference between "Classic" and "Standard"?

Nice layout though, not as bad as the newsfactor one before.

Fran441
Junior Member

Joined: Jan 2000

0

10/12, 09:39am | report spam | close Reply |
What happened?

Did you guys pull back the new layout? I'm only seeing 'Classic' MacNN. I did see the new layout this morning.

Fran441
Junior Member

Joined: Jan 2000

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10/12, 09:40am | report spam | close Reply |
What happened?

Did you guys pull back the new layout? I'm only seeing 'Classic' MacNN. I did see the new layout this morning.

\0

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10/12, 09:41am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Looks the same to me...

I take it you've changed your mind about the new design...?

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10/12, 09:48am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Am I getting old??

I know as one gets older the eye sight diminishes. But hey, I just got a new pair of glasses as well as a 17" Apple Studio Display and this is requiring alot of focus.

And by the way , your maybeeeeeeee post was not necessary.

RedWind
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2000

0

10/12, 09:56am | report spam | close Reply |
Keep the old design

I really like the old design. I agree with everyone that says the fonts are way too small - really makes it hard to read. Stick with the tried & true.

Kool
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jul 2007

0

10/12, 10:10am | report spam | close Reply |
Love it!

I like the new design! Only the quoted text was a bit large in comparison with other text. (I guess I'm the first to "complain") about big fonts here... Keep on the good work!!

Xeo
Moderator Emeritus

Joined: Mar 2001

0

10/12, 10:38am | report spam | close Reply |
The news article was upda

You added a blurb at the top of the article to mention the reverting of the layout for now.

It starts with a ( but doesn't end w/ one.

Just thought I'd mention that.

jodeo

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10/12, 11:52am | report spam | close Reply | delete
If it ain't broke,

Don't fix it. Keep the old design. It's easier to read.

dsmithmacnn

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10/12, 01:00pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Oh yes

That's much better, I agree with the above, don't redesign for it's own sake. Let your bored designers redesign their own resumes.

OwlBoy
Addicted to MacNN

Joined: Nov 1999

0

10/12, 08:08pm | report spam | close Reply |
Looks great!

From what I saw it is really cleaned up (^v^).

AND its not MacNFN (thats a huge plus :P)

-Owl

Big Mac
Clinically Insane

Joined: Oct 2000

0

10/12, 08:14pm | report spam | close Reply |
Mostly Positive Reaction

I had a mostly positive reaction to the site redesign, yet I believe I currently prefer the time tested style.

I don't particularly like the content on the left and right sides, and I agree that the forum links should be restored. Unfortunately, the page loads much more slowly under Netscape 4.78, which is a discouraging sign for those of us who like to view the page multiple times a day.

I do like the new news content format, which looks more professional. On the other hand, I definitely believe there should be additional space between each story - the current tight spacing is a bit difficult on the eyes. I eagerly look forward to viewing the design changes currently being implemented.

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MacNN Updates Site Design

updated 01:00 am EDT, Fri October 12, 2001

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Not bad!

Change the lime

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Headlines need to be big

I LOVE IT!

Nice but...

Bauhaus

cool

Good job....

Headlines

Verruh noice

wow, but...

suggestions

BRING BACK THE OLD STUFF!

woah!

suggestion

Type too small

Ah!

Omigod

Omigod

Wow!

Another note...

Accordion design

re: accordion design?!

Suggestions!

One more thing...

The green is ugly

I cant see

maybeeeeeeeeee

strategy?

Fonts are too small

fonts

My eyes!

Recent news

What happened?

What happened?

Looks the same to me...

Am I getting old??

Keep the old design

Love it!

The news article was upda

If it ain't broke,

Oh yes

Looks great!

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