OSNews: http://www.osnews.com/story/19235/At_Long_Last_A_New_Look_for_OSNews Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:50:24 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif OSNews.com http://www.osnews.com Looks awesome!! http://osnews.com/thread?298293 http://osnews.com/thread?298293 You guys did a great job! Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (DittoBox) Comments less ugly http://osnews.com/thread?298294 http://osnews.com/thread?298294 Well the logo is still ugly, but better, and the bubble things at the top (like KDE has) are ugly too, IMHO. It is nicer to look at though. I like the gray.

*Edit*

Bring back themes please. :-)Edited 2008-01-30 00:33 UTC Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mikesum32) Comments hugs http://osnews.com/thread?298295 http://osnews.com/thread?298295 /me hugs the new design. I love it!

One thing though... Why was it code-named brittny...? ;) Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:34:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom_Holwerda) Comments Great job! http://osnews.com/thread?298297 http://osnews.com/thread?298297 But I don't like it.
How do I get the old design back? There's no option in the preferences...Edited 2008-01-30 00:37 UTC Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Crono) Comments Replies to a particular post? http://osnews.com/thread?298299 http://osnews.com/thread?298299 The new look is nice .. not that there was anything wrong with the old look though. ;)

I miss the feature of looking at message and having all replies to it available. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:39:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (wannabe geek) Comments RE: hugs http://osnews.com/thread?298300 http://osnews.com/thread?298300 Name of one of the designers that worked on it. It wasn't a code name, but rather a workspace we made for her. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:40:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (David) Comments First impression http://osnews.com/thread?298301 http://osnews.com/thread?298301 Too much contrast between the large white background area and everything else. Kills the eyeballs.

Meanwhile the story blocks are undifferentiated from each other, and the x comments text contrasts too little with the white background.

Gray header, white background, puke green side headers, and orange user header at the top. Strange and incongruent color choices to say the least.

(Already fixed) Black text on dark gray comment headers in the comment section -> little contrast between the two. The black text on dark gray comment header is not consistent with the main site header where it is white / light gray text on dark gray background.

Self-comments have drastically different header text color than other comments, which weirds me out a bit.

No search button by the search dialog on the front page; it is a worthwhile convention and there is ample room for it.

The My Account button has mouseover dead space at the top and bottom of it. This is inconsistent with the menu it provides, in which all implied button area provides clickable action.Edited 2008-01-30 00:51 UTC Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:40:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Luminair) Comments Better http://osnews.com/thread?298302 http://osnews.com/thread?298302 I definitely prefer this to the original version 4 look. But I still prefer version 3 to this. I think that I *could* get to like this as well or better. But the main thing bothering me is that it still looks so *bright*. All that white background is harder on the eyes. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sbergman27) Comments RE: Better http://osnews.com/thread?298303 http://osnews.com/thread?298303 I think a slightly gray background (similar to the old site but maybe a bit lighter) will be coming back Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (David) Comments RE: Replies to a particular post? http://osnews.com/thread?298304 http://osnews.com/thread?298304 That's back as of today too. Click on the title of any post. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adam S) Comments Well done. http://osnews.com/thread?298306 http://osnews.com/thread?298306 Well done. One thing I'm not particularly fond of is the Featured box. I see from the Conversations that I'm not alone. With the Recent Original Stories on the right, I don't think the big box is needed.

Also, the logo is fine, but it might be fun to have a contest to see what people can come up with. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:46:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (brewin) Comments The green background http://osnews.com/thread?298307 http://osnews.com/thread?298307 The green background of the headlines on the right side looks a little off with the rest of the page using greyish colors...

That's my quick first impression.
Otherwise I like it. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:46:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (RandomGuy) Comments On comment responses ... http://osnews.com/thread?298308 http://osnews.com/thread?298308 With the old design, I used to be able to look at someone's comment and see if anyone has replied to it. Does this feature not exist in the new design, or am I just blind ? ;)

EDIT: It's nice that you can click on the link title of a comment and read the replies, but is there no longer a way to tell at a glance whether there are any replies to a particular comment, as there used to be?Edited 2008-01-30 00:51 UTC Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:49:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (WorknMan) Comments Nice effort, but... http://osnews.com/thread?298309 http://osnews.com/thread?298309 Hey I applaud the effort, but there are some usability issues. The gray left-to-right gradients make text difficult to read. True it's most noticeable under the timestamp (not vital), but if you make that unreadable, why have that at all?

Whoa the timestamp went from black text to gray... that's fast service. ;) Edited 2008-01-30 00:52 UTC Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:50:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (gtada) Comments RE: On comment responses ... http://osnews.com/thread?298311 http://osnews.com/thread?298311
With the old design, I used to be able to look at someone's comment and see if anyone has replied to it. Does this feature not exist in the new design, or am I just blind ? ;)


That hasn't existed since v3. Now the default view is threaded. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:53:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adam S) Comments Looks slick! http://osnews.com/thread?298312 http://osnews.com/thread?298312 Great job. FWIW, I like the logo ;) Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (rayiner) Comments RE: Nice effort, but... http://osnews.com/thread?298314 http://osnews.com/thread?298314 I just noticed the timestamps are always UTC even though I have it set to CST. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:56:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (brewin) Comments RE: Well done. http://osnews.com/thread?298315 http://osnews.com/thread?298315 My Account > Preferences > Hide Featured Box Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:57:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adam S) Comments Comment by zizban http://osnews.com/thread?298316 http://osnews.com/thread?298316 This is really ugly.

New stories in a 2/3 column, below a huge banner with ads.

To right in a column are boxes, Lots of them. Distracting.

I am not a huge fan of this design. Take something simple and utterly butcher it. Yuck. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:02:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (zizban) Comments RE: Nice effort, but... http://osnews.com/thread?298317 http://osnews.com/thread?298317
Hey I applaud the effort, but there are some usability issues. The gray left-to-right gradients make text difficult to read. True it's most noticeable under the timestamp (not vital), but if you make that unreadable, why have that at all?

Whoa the timestamp went from black text to gray... that's fast service. ;)


Please decrease the gradients, and push the user box a few pixels down.

Other than that, the new look is very nice. Good work! Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:08:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sukru) Comments Doesn't display properly... http://osnews.com/thread?298319 http://osnews.com/thread?298319 Um...This top menu bar is wrapped on my WIDESCREEN monitor. Why do people design sites like this? I use FF; didn't anyone check this in FF before going to production? Sheesh. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (chimby) Comments Nope http://osnews.com/thread?298320 http://osnews.com/thread?298320 Nope, I don't like it... but it's not my site anyway ;) .

The contrast is too strong for me... maybe a light gray instead of white for the main background would help.

I don't come here for the design anyway, so whatever you guys like is fine. Even green on a magenta background wouldn't stop me from... Ok, maybe green on magenta would stop me ;) . Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (intangible) Comments RE[2]: Replies to a particular post? http://osnews.com/thread?298321 http://osnews.com/thread?298321 That's nice of course, but I still miss being able to see at a glance whether any posts (particularly egregiously false ones) already have any replies. Then coming back later whether there are any more.

The current way has all the functionality of course, just that one has to click something now, then press back when done in order to check another post. Basically it would be nice to see the number of replies a post has before clicking on the title. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:17:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (MamiyaOtaru) Comments Advertisement area... http://osnews.com/thread?298324 http://osnews.com/thread?298324 ...looks really stupid when you run an ad blocker. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Ben Jao Ming) Comments Very Nice http://osnews.com/thread?298325 http://osnews.com/thread?298325 I love the new look and what I especially like is that you didn't so drastically change the layout that I have to relearn everything. I hate when web sites do that! Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:24:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (thegrifman) Comments I Like It! http://osnews.com/thread?298326 http://osnews.com/thread?298326 On balance, this is a good design. I like the look of the site, and the modularity of it. I like that I can change things to suit my taste. I like the way the new mechanism to mod comments works (the + & - disappear once you've made your mod). Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Jon Dough) Comments Thanks, but no thanks. http://osnews.com/thread?298327 http://osnews.com/thread?298327 v4 made me kind of sick. It is too "web-2.0"-ish. I mainly only read OSNews through a feed reader now. It just seems too heavyweight and javascript filled.

This is a HUGE improvement over v4.0, but still isn't that great. Personal opinion only. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (SEJeff) Comments Nice http://osnews.com/thread?298331 http://osnews.com/thread?298331 I like this theme. The only problem that I see is the tight spacing of the top menu items; you may want to find a way to space them out a bit more. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (koki) Comments Well, I don't like it... http://osnews.com/thread?298332 http://osnews.com/thread?298332 I'm using a 22" LCD, and the spacing of everything seems so tight in the middle of my screen it's ugly. And that white background is hard on the eyes.

Sorry to say, I liked more the old way.

Check out neowin.net or anandtech.com or some other site that are able to use all the space. The flow and presentation is just better. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (truckweb) Comments Stuff http://osnews.com/thread?298336 http://osnews.com/thread?298336 Could you please bring back the 'Replies' link at the bottom of comments.

I liked being able to isolate a subset of comments away from the rest.

Also, please disable the 'post comment' link when a user is not logged on. I have now accidentally clicked this a couple of times when not logged on, typed a huge comment and then clicked submit. It informs you that you can't post anonymously, and wipes your comment. Very annoying.

Other than these gripes though, the site is definitely improved. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:56:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (HappyGod) Comments What a surprise http://osnews.com/thread?298337 http://osnews.com/thread?298337 I had finally got used to version 4.0. I guess I will get used to this, but first impression is I like the 4.0 look much better.

My only concrete criticism is the white background is too bright and is hard on the eyes, makes reading difficult to read. As has been the case for many versions, the text size is too small. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:03:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (bhhenry) Comments Great!! http://osnews.com/thread?298339 http://osnews.com/thread?298339 I love the new look. It is more generic (read less distinct and unique) than v3, but oh well, it looks really good. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:08:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (thebackwash) Comments Holy crap bad! http://osnews.com/thread?298340 http://osnews.com/thread?298340 When the last changed happened the only thing that kept me sane was the fact that I could switch to the not quite horrible classic theme. Now... this.

Quality had gone down anyway, but now I can't even read the damn thing.

Goodbye, osnews. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:09:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sorpigal) Comments Good job http://osnews.com/thread?298341 http://osnews.com/thread?298341 To be honest I hated v4.0 (though it didn't stop me from browsing) so I'm greatly pleased to see this update.

God job guys. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Laurence) Comments better http://osnews.com/thread?298342 http://osnews.com/thread?298342 better than that greenish theme Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:25:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Mellin) Comments Congratulations! http://osnews.com/thread?298343 http://osnews.com/thread?298343 Congrats for the new theme. To be honest, I never liked the previous one and I kept using osnews classic until it was removed a few weeks ago.

Anyway, I have a single suggestion: would it be possible to disable the sidebar completely? If not, at least reduce its width.

Thanks! Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:26:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (pureza) Comments RE: Great job! http://osnews.com/thread?298345 http://osnews.com/thread?298345 I agree. I think it looks horrible. I really dislike this design change. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:37:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (flanque) Comments RE: Advertisement area... http://osnews.com/thread?298346 http://osnews.com/thread?298346 You can add the ad background image to the filter list. There empty space looks better but I wish I could move "Logged in as..." box higher.

Anyway, I like the new look a lot. I miss "Lefty" theme though. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (miscz) Comments Argh argh argh my feng shui http://osnews.com/thread?298347 http://osnews.com/thread?298347 1: The extreme-left justification makes me want to violate Godwin's law. Make an option to put the sidebar on the left like normal people, or at least tab the left area in a little.

2: WTF fixed width. I use 1024x [strikethrough]at work[/strikethrough] sometimes (there is a good reason for this), and always have to resize my browser window to fit the page. This new version is much wider than 1024, making it now impossible to get rid of the bottom scroll bar.

3: The last version looked better, and the version before that was actually aesthetically pleasing.

4: The 'latest comic' thing is well-implemented, but the page it links to could use a forward/back browser.

5: Something that's bothering me for a while is that some things don't work the way one expects them to.

The first example of this is low-rated comments - they start shaded, and you can unroll them by clicking the titles. So clicking again should re-shade them -- which isn't really useful functionality, but makes sense. Instead, it takes you to (I think) a permalink page.

The second is, on a reply post, clicking the name of the post to which is is replying. It takes you to that post's permalink page, when one would expect it to take me to that post in the normal comment view. This is much faster when the posts are on the same page and allows you to continue browsing normally.

EDIT: This has been changed recently so that it now links to a page containing the conversation thread. This is better, but I perfer my way -- it would still allow one to navigate backward through a conversation, using the reply to links, and forward again with the forward button.

Basicly these are unrequested context switches (there is a usability term to describe this, but I don't know what it is), and are to be avoided. Permalinks should be accessed via a link that includes the work 'permalink'.

EDIT: 6: Yeah, the gray-on-white comment text is literally painful.Edited 2008-01-30 02:56 UTC Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (6c1452) Comments RE: Well, I don't like it... http://osnews.com/thread?298348 http://osnews.com/thread?298348 Got to agree, the white is hard on the eyes !! The rest i dont mind though ! Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:48:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Cass) Comments This is a prank, right? http://osnews.com/thread?298349 http://osnews.com/thread?298349 I mean, I used www4 for so long just because we were told it's how the site was going to be controlled; and now not even a month after being 'official', I have to go relearn positions for accessing all the controls?

And you're still using fixed-width columns? @_@ T_T Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:49:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Almafeta) Comments RE: Thanks, but no thanks. http://osnews.com/thread?298350 http://osnews.com/thread?298350 Meh. When we were on v3, I got email every week from people complaining that moderation required another page load and that the site wasn't valid and that the site used weird HTML. Now we move to valid XHTML and Javascript and people complain.

You can't make everyone happy. We really do hate to lose you, I know you participated quite a bit, but alas... no matter what we do, there's always a vocal group who hates it. That's what happens when you have a website with lots of readers. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:51:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adam S) Comments RE[2]: Thanks, but no thanks. http://osnews.com/thread?298353 http://osnews.com/thread?298353 Nice attitude. I saw a lot of constructive criticism that maybe, maybe might improve your site. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 03:07:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (zizban) Comments New look, hmmmm.... http://osnews.com/thread?298354 http://osnews.com/thread?298354 Over all, the new look is ok. However, I have the following objections:

1. There is a big grey empty box at the top. It is distracting and look odd.
2. I think this is a theme issue, but the text is crowding the left had side of the browser. It really should have some sort of left hand margin.

The margin issue really bugs me. I can deal with the empty grey box, but I really would like to see perhaps a 1m or a 2m margin on the left hand side. Otherwise it looks pretty good. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 03:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (ncc4100) Comments RE: New look, hmmmm.... http://osnews.com/thread?298356 http://osnews.com/thread?298356 Big empty box? Are you using adblock? If so, that's your right, but we really shouldn't have to accommodate you in that case.

I try very hard to do non-intrusive and relevant advertising precisely so people won't be forced to adblock. I have adblock installed too, but I only enable it site by site to punish sites that attack me with aggressive ads. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 03:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (David) Comments Account info? http://osnews.com/thread?298357 http://osnews.com/thread?298357 I can't for the life of me seem to find links to the various administration pages. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 03:46:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (i3X171UM) Comments WHOA! http://osnews.com/thread?298358 http://osnews.com/thread?298358 you can't see the comments link! white-on-light-green is not the easiest to read, but the reverse is nearly invisible. Otherwise, this new design is quite pleasing. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:02:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (jadeshade) Comments what was wrong with the original theme? http://osnews.com/thread?298360 http://osnews.com/thread?298360 what was wrong with the original theme?

it was:
* clean
* very easy on the eye
* not confusing
* easy to navigate, logical structure
* sufficiently functional
* had no adverts in between posts and entries Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:06:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (project_2501) Comments RE: Account info? http://osnews.com/thread?298361 http://osnews.com/thread?298361 ...seriously, what's going on? Where did user administration go? Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:06:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (i3X171UM) Comments Love it! http://osnews.com/thread?298364 http://osnews.com/thread?298364 I absolutely love the new theme. I didn't like the v4.0 version very much, but you're really turned that into something nice. I love everything about it... the matte colors... the color choices... It's really nice.

I would change only this: the stories that don't have a grey background, make them a different color from the page background. Otherwise the bar which is the separator (which I like, thanks for adding it) looks like it's just floating in space rather than acting as a bounds for the story.

Great design! Thanks for the hard work! Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (jrronimo) Comments This is disgusting.. http://osnews.com/thread?298365 http://osnews.com/thread?298365 What the f**k is this? It's ugly.. and why was the option of using the classic theme removed?

You're pissing us off OSNews adminstrators... cease and decist.

(Or post your complete mailing addresses...) Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:29:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (BSDfan) Comments Comment by elsewhere http://osnews.com/thread?298366 http://osnews.com/thread?298366 I'm kind of torn, there are elements I like about this new look but it doesn't seem quite as clean as either the old look or the less-old look (v4). I can certainly live with it, and since I hit this site every day, I'm simply happy to have variety... ;)

However, two gripes that are purely subjective and stylistic.

a) Layout: The menu bar should not be wrapping, and the "Submit News", RSS, and top of the right-side layout boxes are all at varying heights. It just looks very frontpage-ish. Though I'm using Konqueror as my browser, so it could be I'm not rendering properly, though I'd be surprised. OSNews is one of the sites that seems to be the most accomodating for browsers be they desktop or mobile.

b) The "banner" bar at the top. The site is centered in the browser, which is nice and clean, but the gray "header" bar (for lack of a better word) containing the logo, menu bar etc. stretches across the width of the browser. It should be one way or the other. If you're going to center the page, then don't extend the banner across, it just doesn't look right, though that could also be a result of the contrast between the gray and the white. I seem to recall v4 had less of a contrast.

Anyways, I'll tip my hat and applaud the effort that went into redesigning the site. I know it's not an easy thing and you're certainly not going to please everyone.

Just offering my two pennies... Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (elsewhere) Comments RE[3]: Thanks, but no thanks. http://osnews.com/thread?298367 http://osnews.com/thread?298367 No attitude. I'm just telling you the facts. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:35:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adam S) Comments blech! http://osnews.com/thread?298368 http://osnews.com/thread?298368 Some good changes but some awful ones too. I hate having the bar on the right, is there any way to change it to the left side? The menubar (Home Originals, Conversations, etc.)at the top doesn't fit on one line in epiphany and using midori the login text boxes overlap with the element above. I do like the theme better than the last one though and the functional changes that have been made to the comment system since the switch from V3 have been excellent also.Edited 2008-01-30 04:45 UTC Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:40:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (abraxas) Comments Nice job http://osnews.com/thread?298370 http://osnews.com/thread?298370 The new look is great. I like it much better than the themes of yore. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:00:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (nswenson) Comments RE[2]: Thanks, but no thanks. http://osnews.com/thread?298376 http://osnews.com/thread?298376 Well remember when I emailed David and asked if the big "advertisement" showing the featured article could be removed since I was a subscriber? Your compromise was to set a cookie that removed it for 4 days if memory serves. Since v4 went live, that is not possible. In the dropdown where we can choose things, why can't you add a "blank" option? That is what drives me NUTS.

Thanks Adam, I know you truly care. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (SEJeff) Comments Much improved http://osnews.com/thread?298377 http://osnews.com/thread?298377 This comment about the right side wanting it back on the left is ergonomically retarded.

Having the right column be closest to the scrollbar makes sense.

Site is definitely much improved. You could work on a theme view where one can change the colors and perhaps the background colors between the two columns to offset them [make it easier for people contrast sensitive], but it's definitely an improved presentation. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:38:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tyrione) Comments Couple of comments... http://osnews.com/thread?298381 http://osnews.com/thread?298381 I don't mind the overall theme, but have two suggestions:
1) The text in the main stories is hard to read. "Loyal OSNews readers, I'd like to thank you for your patience as we've made a bumpy transition to a new back-end and an even bumpier rollout..." I need glasses to read that on the main page. The problem is either the font color and the bright white background and/or the font size.

2) I liked the old logo better. ;) Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:46:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Bobthearch) Comments RE[2]: New look, hmmmm.... http://osnews.com/thread?298395 http://osnews.com/thread?298395 I use Adblock and and Filterset.G in Firefox and by default it blocks ads also on OSNews.

So when I for some reason reinstall Firefox from the ground up, like when I reinstalled my work-machine recently, Firefox will adblock ads also on OSNews. Then I turn it of, since the ads are not of the disturbing kind.

This morning I turned off adblock on OSNews as I used to, but I soon turned it on again. The OSNews staff have been quite clever in not showing ads that move around to much. I like that, since I hate those moving ads that draws attension from the things one wants to read.
Well, they don't anymore. Now there was an ad with a lightning and text that pop up, just to draw attension. Should not be there if you ask me.
I've been noticing the tendency for a while, but it's getting worse.

Ah, well, I've always got Adblock!

But it's a pitty really, isn't it?

Sorry for any bad spelling - I've just reinstalled and haven't had time to install English language pack for spell checking yet.

Nalle Berg
./nalle. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:26:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Nalle) Comments Well ... http://osnews.com/thread?298399 http://osnews.com/thread?298399 I really prefer the old style (3.0) the news were easier to read and, honestly the design was better for me. ;-P

This new design makes things floating around without some frame that help the eyes. It seems it's missing some CSS part.

As other guy asked:

"How do I get the old design back? There's no option in the preferences..."
 Wed, 30 Jan 2008 07:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Mikaku) Comments I like it http://osnews.com/thread?298400 http://osnews.com/thread?298400 Much better than the previous one(s) Wed, 30 Jan 2008 07:23:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (edmnc) Comments RE[3]: New look, hmmmm.... http://osnews.com/thread?298404 http://osnews.com/thread?298404 Out of curiosity, do ads actually pay for views any more, or just clicks?

I don't mind ads as long as they're low-key - such as google ads - and/or well made, such as the MS SQL server ad I see in the right pane and an ad for a service called "Free Report" banner at top. Any sort of flash, animated GIF, etc. and I won't feel even slightly guilty about adblocking.

Of course, it helps a lot if you don't use flash and disable GIF animation - sites seem to detect your brower capabilities, and serve ads accordingly. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 07:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (6c1452) Comments Not bad http://osnews.com/thread?298406 http://osnews.com/thread?298406 Not bad: simple, consistent and stylish. The dark grey chosen may look a bit too heavy, dull and gloomy as it is now? Maybe it could be a bit lighter and/or not so heavy dark grey only? But even it is rather ok and has a certain techie feeling to it which suits OSnews fine. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 07:47:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (irbis) Comments Looks fine to me :) http://osnews.com/thread?298407 http://osnews.com/thread?298407 I like the new logo ;) Wed, 30 Jan 2008 07:58:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Ultimatebadass) Comments RE[2]: Account info? http://osnews.com/thread?298408 http://osnews.com/thread?298408 It's there. But you need Javascript enabled to see it, as it's now a popup window. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 07:59:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Eugenia) Comments Goodbye pricegrabber... http://osnews.com/thread?298416 http://osnews.com/thread?298416 Yay... The laughably out of date pricegrabber is finally gone!
No more looking at prices for "cutting edge" technology such as the iPod Mini, Pentium 4 and GeForce 6600 GT!

What I would like to know though, is why on earth did that thing last so long? Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mallard) Comments A few issues http://osnews.com/thread?298421 http://osnews.com/thread?298421 Most of these seem to have been covered, but just in case:

a) The high contract grey & white design is hard on my eyes. The orange and green thrown in are hard on my stomach.
b) I'm using 1024x768 and the navigation bar at the top of the page has wrapped, so "Contact" has dropped off down below the rest.
c) The main column is not wide enough and the right hand column is far, far too wide.
d) Right-sided navigation just upsets me. I liked the themes option in V4.0: at least I could go back to a sane layout with the navigation on the left!

I wasn't a huge fan of v4.0, but I could at least get it into some sort of usable shape. V4.1 seems to be a step backwards. Sorry Adam. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:40:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Vanders) Comments Can't stomach font size change http://osnews.com/thread?298425 http://osnews.com/thread?298425 It probably has been reported before, but I haven't read the thread. If you increase the font size (which I need to do, default font size is too small on 1280x1024) the page breaks. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:58:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (B. Janssen) Comments really like it http://osnews.com/thread?298441 http://osnews.com/thread?298441 that particular green is my favourite color at all and i also like the dark background at the top, it kinda remembers me the front page of the first ever design of osnews ;)
http://web.archive.org/web/19980625180147/http://www.osnews.com/ Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mart) Comments Thanks for OSNews! http://osnews.com/thread?298442 http://osnews.com/thread?298442 I'm really glad OSNews is run for our free viewing pleasure. I think Thom and the other staff have done well in building up the community. But I must say, I far preferred v4.0 rather than this one or the old one. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (PlatformAgnostic) Comments RE[2]: Better http://osnews.com/thread?298443 http://osnews.com/thread?298443 Yes, please... Try to be nice on everybody's eyes and change the white background to some light-mid-gray (and make sure that comment's font color is black). Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:04:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (BiPolar) Comments RE: A few issues http://osnews.com/thread?298444 http://osnews.com/thread?298444
I wasn't a huge fan of v4.0, but I could at least get it into some sort of usable shape. V4.1 seems to be a step backwards. Sorry Adam.


I didn't design the site, I just implemented it. But you should know, we ALWAYS respond to feedback and incorporate it, so the next few are likely to see several changes. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:08:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adam S) Comments Made my day http://osnews.com/thread?298454 http://osnews.com/thread?298454 Seeing the ugly immediate theme replaced by some much prettier theme, was some really sweet surprise. Thanks alot! Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (taschenorakel) Comments I like it! http://osnews.com/thread?298456 http://osnews.com/thread?298456 As many already pointed out, the biggest flaw that I see with this theme is that it contrasts way too much with all that white on the background. It definitely would benefit of having a light gray background or something along these lines.

And maybe a border or frame around the comments would improve readability a little bit. Oh! And make that right hand column thinner. Right now it takes way too much screen state...

Other than that, I like it and think that this is definitely an improvement over the v4.0 theme. If you address these issues I think that you will have a keeper. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:18:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (DeadFishMan) Comments RE[2]: Well done. http://osnews.com/thread?298463 http://osnews.com/thread?298463 Does not work, at least for my account. I select "Hide Feature Box", click "Save Preferences" and the preference page reloads - with the Feature Box option helpfully reset to "Show Feature Box." Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:03:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (BTrey) Comments RE[3]: Well done. http://osnews.com/thread?298464 http://osnews.com/thread?298464 Mmm, I just tested it and it works fine for me. I'm sure Adam'll look into it today. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:07:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom_Holwerda) Comments RE[2]: New look, hmmmm.... http://osnews.com/thread?298465 http://osnews.com/thread?298465 Yes I do use adblock. With adblock turned on, it isn't obvious that the space is used for ads. My apologies regarding the empty box. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:23:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (ncc4100) Comments Not bad http://osnews.com/thread?298466 http://osnews.com/thread?298466 But honestly, I very much liked the old theme. It's one of my all-time favorites. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:27:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (TrevorB) Comments Side bar on left please... http://osnews.com/thread?298469 http://osnews.com/thread?298469 Overall I like it, however, I really do prefer having the sidebar on the left-hand side. The v4 let me set an option to do this, and that seemed to have gotten removed for v4.1. I'd very much appreciate it if you at least enabled that option again.

Otherwise, I don't really have any issue - though the white is a bit hard on the eyes as another reader said.

Overall - good job. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:31:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (TemporalBeing) Comments love the look but http://osnews.com/thread?298485 http://osnews.com/thread?298485 Love the new look but how come for as long as i can remember OSnews never rendered correctly for me. all the information is in the middle of the screen while the left and right edges never have content. Its like viewing a movie on an HDTV thats not in widescreen. I can't switch to 1024 res on a laptop or its ugly as sin but 1024 is all that works on my desktop machine. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:21:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (uproot) Comments RE[2]: Great job! http://osnews.com/thread?298486 http://osnews.com/thread?298486 Are you going to say its ugly, or are you going to provide some constructive criticism? Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:27:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (DittoBox) Comments css issues? http://osnews.com/thread?298489 http://osnews.com/thread?298489 I really think this design needs to be tested better. This site lacks the flexibility of balancing content and space in regards to the size of the monitor(window). I don't see any response to the complaints of the way the site behaves with a wide-screen or a larger font. These are real issues. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:34:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (chimby) Comments Much better than yesterday :) http://osnews.com/thread?298496 http://osnews.com/thread?298496 I like todays (4.1) version more than yesterdays 4.0. It is almost readable - I mean I can read comments without seeing their "captions". Honestly said, I couldn't read single conversation since switching to 4.0 version ;)

If possible, could you experiment with Reply/Permalink/Bookmark/Score row text colors? Set it to some lighter (and/or greenish) shade of gray - currently it somewhat interferes with comment content flow. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (DonQ) Comments Liquid layout http://osnews.com/thread?298503 http://osnews.com/thread?298503 Just two words: liquid layout.

I'm one of a few web users left that resize their browser to be in portrait mode, not full screen landscape mode.

This site doesn't even try to accommodate to different window sizes...

M.

ps. but really...there's nothing that can't be fixed with a few css tricks. Firefox + Stylish plugin +

@-moz-document domain("osnews.com") {
#header, #side, #footer { display: none !important; }
#main { width: 100% !important ; }
#content { width: 90% !important; margin: auto !important; }
#commenttopbar, .comment_title { background-image: none !important; background-color: #444 !important; }
}

and I'm happy until I need to enter login again (but then I can temporarily disable Stylish ;) ). Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:03:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Messere) Comments RE[3]: Great job! http://osnews.com/thread?298510 http://osnews.com/thread?298510 This site's comment system isn't about constructive criticism. Having said that, there's an implication that my 'constructive criticism' is to have the old design back. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:38:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (flanque) Comments RE[2]: On comment responses ... http://osnews.com/thread?298519 http://osnews.com/thread?298519
That hasn't existed since v3.


Yeah I know that ;) I just never bothered to comment on it until I saw this article about the new layout. I hope that feature comes back. As another poster said, it's just cool to be able to tell *at a glance* whether or not a particular comment has replies.

BTW: I noticed that when I go to 'comments' under My Account, that feature is there, so obviously the infrastructure for this already exists.Edited 2008-01-30 19:11 UTC Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (WorknMan) Comments RE: Looks awesome!! http://osnews.com/thread?298528 http://osnews.com/thread?298528 I like the new look. White space is a bit distracting on large screens but I tend to keep my browser window smallish so that doesn't tend to be too bad. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (vimh) Comments Simple is beautiful http://osnews.com/thread?298537 http://osnews.com/thread?298537 I prefer the simplicity and clean design of the previous design. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:30:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tankist) Comments RE[4]: Great job! http://osnews.com/thread?298544 http://osnews.com/thread?298544
This site's comment system isn't about constructive criticism. Having said that, there's an implication that my 'constructive criticism' is to have the old design back.


Actually, your comment just expresses a dislike for this design change. It doesn't compare or contrast what you liked or disliked about the prior design and whether you even liked the prior design.

In short, it wasn't a constructive criticism. It was just a short rant. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tyrione) Comments RE[5]: Great job! http://osnews.com/thread?298557 http://osnews.com/thread?298557 I disagree. I said I don't like the new design. There's an implication that I liked the old design. Just because I don't break it down element by element, doesn't make it a rant. It's still constructive. The old design to me was better. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (flanque) Comments RE: Simple is beautiful http://osnews.com/thread?298568 http://osnews.com/thread?298568 I agree. A day later and I'm a bit repulsed! Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:50:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Luminair) Comments Much better than the temporary v4 theme http://osnews.com/thread?298573 http://osnews.com/thread?298573 This looks pretty good, more professional, too. I think Thom will have to wear a tie from now on. ;-) Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:21:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (archiesteel) Comments Lost soul http://osnews.com/thread?298615 http://osnews.com/thread?298615 For me this is quite simple:
The previous design was unique and had style. It looked a tad retro and fitted nicely with the "OS" spirit. It also looked very videogame-ish in my opinion, which was very cool.
This new design is just another run-of-the-mill boring look that lost all its personality.
But then again, these days people don't even know why they want to change things anymore... It's like there is a constant need for change, all under the umbrella of "evolution"...
When is it going to stop?
I still like my beer the way it was made 100 year ago... Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:30:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (stereotype) Comments I don't like it either http://osnews.com/thread?298624 http://osnews.com/thread?298624 I don't like the new design either. It's boring, uninspired, and everything seems to just run together.

Also, fixed width layouts are evil. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:00:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mikeurbandz) Comments RE: I don't like it either http://osnews.com/thread?298625 http://osnews.com/thread?298625
Also, fixed width layouts are evil.


Try being an editor or a publisher for a while, than come back and see if you still spout the same nonsense.

As an editor, I NEED a fixed width content column, or else I have no idea how my articles, text, and images are going to look. Having a fixed width in pixels allows me to properly format articles, and that's why articles on OSNews look good, while on many other websites, they look like ass. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:06:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom_Holwerda) Comments RE[2]: I don't like it either http://osnews.com/thread?298654 http://osnews.com/thread?298654 > Try being an editor or a publisher for a while,
> than come back and see if you still spout the
> same nonsense.

I have been an editor and Web publisher for 14 years, thank you very much.

And no, you DO NOT NEED fixed width content columns to write decent Web pages. If you think you do, you need to find a new field of work that does not involve publishing online Web content.

Now, try telling it to the guy looking at OSNews on a palmtop computer, or the OLPC who has to horizontal scroll because your site requires a minimum width of 1024 pixels. Nothing will stop a user from coming back to your site faster than forcing them to horizontal scroll.

Like I said, I've been writing Web content and doing Web page design for 14 years. Don't tell you NEED fixed width pages. You don't. Claiming that you do need fixed with is nonsense. And the trend of people thinking you do is just because good Web site design has become a lost art.

Hint: Making assumptions about the capability of the browser or hardware that your user has is BAD.

Also, OsNews fails accessibility testing because of bad design.Edited 2008-01-31 13:57 UTC Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:52:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mikeurbandz) Comments RE[3]: I don't like it either http://osnews.com/thread?298656 http://osnews.com/thread?298656
Now, try telling it to the guy looking at OSNews on a palmtop computer, or the OLPC who has to horizontal scroll because your site requires a minimum width of 1024 pixels. Nothing will stop a user from coming back to your site faster than forcing them to horizontal scroll.


We have better mobile support than ANY other website out there. People looking at OSN on a PDA don't get the normal version, but a proper mobile version. If there is ONE website out there that scales well beyond normal computers, it's OSNews.

Claiming that you do need fixed with is nonsense.


OSNews makes heavy use of images in articles, and regularly, I make them at full width (max. 600pix). I need to be sure that whatever a user does, that fixed width content column looks the same to prevent the image in the content area from overlapping with other parts of the website, or images dropping onto the next row, resulting in a document that does NOT look like how I intended them to look. Additionally, I NEED at least 600pix in width for keeping images readable. And no, making thumbnails is not the answer. Making a thumbnail for a schematic of some sort is just utter bogus, and only requires more clicks.

Additionally, paragraphs consist of a certain amount of rows, and when I press the preview button in the backend, I want to see EXACTLY how it appears on the frontpage.

Publishing an article requires more than just text in 2008.

Also, OsNews fails accessibility testing because of bad design.


Ah, the infamous accessibility remark, without anything to back it up. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:08:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom_Holwerda) Comments RE[4]: I don't like it either http://osnews.com/thread?298665 http://osnews.com/thread?298665
We have better mobile support than ANY other website out there. People looking at OSN on a PDA


On OLPC you for example, you won't get the PDA version. You will get the normal version. and with color, it will require horizontal scrolling.

OSNews makes heavy use of images in articles, and regularly, I make them at full width (max. 600pix). I need to be sure that whatever a user does, that fixed width content column looks the same to prevent the image in the content area from overlapping with other parts of the website, or images dropping onto the next row, resulting in a document that does NOT look like how I intended them to look.


Your document doesn't look like you intended to do no matter what you to do it. Thats the problem with your school of thought when it comes to Web design. Nothing you as a designer can do will make sure your document looks like you want it to look when I view it. OSNews proves that already. The site does not look the same in Firefox as it does in IE. And some of is badly broken in IE. For example the search dialog overlaps the login box.

Additionally, paragraphs consist of a certain amount of rows, and when I press the preview button in the backend, I want to see EXACTLY how it appears on the frontpage.


Again, you CAN'T. Period. You simply can't. What if I have vision problems and have overridden your font settings to have huge fonts? The paragraph as I see it is going to take up a lot more rows than you intended.

Publishing an article requires more than just text in 2008.


I was publishing articles with images in 1995. And I did not need to use fixed width. I still don't.

Ah, the infamous accessibility remark, without anything to back it up.


You can easily find accessibility testers on Google (like Web lint that validates HTML, except these validate acessibility). Go ahead and run it through some. It fails the tests. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mikeurbandz) Comments RE[4]: I don't like it either http://osnews.com/thread?298709 http://osnews.com/thread?298709 Tell me, Thom. Are you still *forcing* the PDA version of the web site even on PDA users with a high=res screen and proper web browser?

I'm not at home, so I can't check on my Nokia 770 myself, but that type of practice was SOP in the past here, and it's about as user-UNfriendly as a web site can get.

Comments? Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:59:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (rcsteiner) Comments RE: Goodbye pricegrabber... http://osnews.com/thread?298886 http://osnews.com/thread?298886 Laziness. Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:23:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (David) Comments RE[4]: New look, hmmmm.... http://osnews.com/thread?299168 http://osnews.com/thread?299168 All of the banner ads we run pay by the view. The google ads pay by the click. Sun, 03 Feb 2008 20:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (David) Comments RE[3]: New look, hmmmm.... http://osnews.com/thread?299169 http://osnews.com/thread?299169 I don't allow ads that have flashing or vibrating images or anything like that, so if you ever see one, please let me know immediately, and I'll have it banned. I try really hard to respect the readers, so they won't feel the need to use Adblock. Sun, 03 Feb 2008 20:35:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (David) Comments