[giantmike]

Here are my first impressions of the new MacNN Look. Very hard to read and follow, hard to navigate, VERY ugly, a HUGE step backwards from the previous design. I always felt MacNN provided the most useful information, but with this new format, I may entirely give up on them (like I did MacAddict.com), because it is so terribly designed.

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Giantmike's Website - Where Macintosh is THE Rule.

[pead]

Originally posted by giantmike:
Here are my first impressions of the new MacNN Look. Very hard to read and follow, hard to navigate, VERY ugly, a HUGE step backwards from the previous design. I always felt MacNN provided the most useful information, but with this new format, I may entirely give up on them (like I did MacAddict.com), because it is so terribly designed.

Its unanimous then, Giant Mike and I both say it sucks!

[zigzag]

I hate to complain about something that's free, but I agree - the new layout sucks. I started using MacNN in the first place because it had the best-looking, most readable home page. Like a Mac, it was a pleasure to look at. Now it's a visual hodge-podge, like every other badly designed site. Too bad.

[mkbhatia]

try this:
http://macnn.com/macnn.phtml

[Zwilnik]

Nope, still has the ad banners and button frame down the right hand size, squeezing my news into a single column on my iBook. The forum button bar is nice, but the whole banners down the right thing is really obtrusive.
BTW. Anyone else notice the sneaky advertising of PC only products (the Xircom 6000 PDA by Mac Zone) ? There'll be a big DELL ad banner at the top next

[drfrank]

I must agree 100% with the initial post. The new MNN look and layout is terrible! For a news and information site the layout is a design nightmare. I used to go to MNN first but now I will find another site that is readable.

I'm going to have to agree with giantmike on this one. The previous layout was, by far, more legible, more pleasant to look at, and so on.

If MacNN really wanted to get a new format following their buyout, I wish they had consulted the readers for suggestions. Just one off of the top of my head - SlashCode (what www.slashdot.org is based off of). The basic SlashCode design is much better than this, and it can be customized for specific user preferences!

My suggestion for now is: go back to the old MacNN format, and if you *really* want a new design, take a look at SlashCode.

[tooki]

Today is a sad day. We mourn the passing of the Real MacNN.

Monish, I love MacNN, but the only thing I can say about the new layout is "eww!"

The dual, visually unseparated columns are both ugly and confusing. Margins exist for a reason, and the new design pushes the information to the very far edge of the window. Not good.

The new design moves important information (news links) off screen. You used to be able to scan the top of the page and see highlights. Now you must scroll down and scan one huge long column. Instead, we have static links (the forums) on the top (which people who use them often bookmark anyway). All the important links should be in the first screenful. Many usability studies have shown that many users ignore anything off-screen. Not good.

Using that large size Verdana for body text makes it look like a Windows new site (Gee I wonder why!?!). Not good. (Use Geneva instead! It's a Mac site after all!)

I see that the new layout is identical to the NewsFactor layout. When MacNN was absorbed, you said you'd continue to provide "the same comprehensive news coverage from the same team that has been delivering MacNN for the past number of years." That may be so. But as a Mac user, you should also realize that Mac users are extremely picky about presentation, fit-and-finish, and being Mac-like. The new layout is inferior in all those respects. Not good.

This seems to me a case of the Aqua engineering team mentality: new is better. Well, there's another saying: If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Just because the old design was old does not in any way mean it was inferior. It was like Mac OS 9 (compared to Aqua): refined with age, like a fine balsamic vinegar. The new design is like the cheap white vinegar for $1.99 a gallon -- crude, tasteless, and acidic. Not good.

I strongly suggest you consider either reverting to the old layout, using the layout at http://mwny.macnn.com/newdesign/ , or using the one mocked-up at http://homepage.mac.com/macnnfoobars/macnn.jpg .

See also my comments here, and see also the other big thread on the new design.

tooki

[Danni]

I totally agree with the comments above that say this new design is absolutely horrible! MacNN is going to be losing readers starting with me if they don't do something about this design and fast! Although I just recently registered, I have been reading MacNN for several years and really appreciated the cleaniness of the design. I stopped visiting another Mac news site because of their redeisgn and I will be doing the same here soon. I hope that the people who really value their readers inform the powers that be that a news site with no visitors serves no purpose at all!

[PookJP]

For all those who want to return to a simpler, cleaner, more manageable MacNN, it is time to take action! We must boycott this site for a week so as to significantly decrease its traffic. Do not visit this site for the following business week (Mon-Fri)! This will send a clear message that we want a change so badly we are willing to abandon MacNN to make it happen.

See http://forums.macnn.com/cgi-bin/Foru...ML/002934.html for more

The MacNN Boycott begins Monday! Who's in?

[giantmike]

Originally posted by mkbhatia:
try this:
http://macnn.com/macnn.phtml

A step in the right direction...

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Giantmike's Website - Where Macintosh is THE Rule.

It is right-side heavy. There is no getting away from that. The text layout is indeed cleaner, but does not seem to have been thought completly through.

For instance, the colors of the links and the headers probably should match the header color. Instead they clash and cause the eye to look twice.

End marks should be consistent. If they are present at all, they need to be present at the end of every article, not just certain ones. Again, this leads a viewer to wonder "why is this article any different than one that does not have an end mark."

The choice of color for the body copy is very nice. The comments link color is a bit too light, as on some monitors that have poor contrast, it comes out too light and hard to read. This is especially true with Mac users, specifically designers, as their gamma settings are generally higher, yielding darker areas to appear lighter.

The banners on the right side are an expected, as something has to pay for a non-subscription based medium. But, there are obvious problems with the way that they are placed within the layout. First and foremost, When the eye is used to seeing body copy (news), it has a hard time jumping over an advertisement area, just to get to more body copy (listing of new itmes). If the news items list is deemed important, then it should stand beside the news column. This will allow for much better eye flow. One quick idea would be to throw the news items over on the left side of the screen. That will help to center the news, which is the most important portion of the page, and also actually help carry the weight of the ads on the right. Otherwise, the news bar actually will lessen the impact of the ads.

All in all, I understand the ramifications of trying to solidify branding and look across all of the NF sites, but you also have to look at how the viewer can read and absorb all of the information you post. It is a start, what you have done before. Continue to refine and you can make this layout approvable by both NF and most of your readers. Good luck!

[WinsOBoogi]

I'm a web designer in my spare time..I must say the design, while "pleasing to the eye"...is not functional. It doesn't matter how asthetically pleasing a site is, it needs to have function first. The new MacNN site clearly doesn't have this.

The ads are intrusive. The right side (half of the site) is invaluable. I don't need the headline links. I can find them myself by scrolling down. The red is horrible, I don't need the nasdaq price quotes. I want the old site back.

MacNN, if you think this merging with NewsFactor is beneficial to your viewers, I think you've made a terrible mistake.

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"I want my 'book!"

[scaught]

im going to post here just cause its the proper forum for it even though ive posted in the lounge too.

the new look sucks. those ads going down the middle of the page are very annoying. i understand theyre your bread and butter, and ive clicked my fair share of them to help macnn out, but its very detracting from the design. hopefully the content wont go down in quality, only time will tell as far as that goes.

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you're going to have my foot at your lip in a minute, young man.

scott

[neoguri]

I was Shocked!

My first reaction was: ouch! And yes- people resist change. The old layout was very pleasing and this isn't.
I've seen other favorites change and sometimes, over time, I've come to see that it's for the best. But I'm very skeptical whether this redesign is. And at the moment all I can say is: I'm less likely to visit MacNN because it hurts my eyes. I'm sorry but that's the truth.

[neoguri]

But on the upside:
I enjoy Macnn a lot for its content-
My compliments for that!

On the downside:
But content must be poured into a
pleasing design to become legible.

So:
Please Macnn-team: make Macnn
legible once again.

[Just Me]

Originally posted by neoguri:
make Macnn
legible once again.

By me, the entire new design is showing up as much cleaner and easier to follow than the old one.

I am curious if you can somehow post a screen shot of how the page is displaying by you.

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____________________
Life is but a dream.

[neoguri]

re- >>make Macnn legible once again<<

It probably shows up exactly the same way as on your screen, Just Me. With >>not legible<< I don't mean that there's no text or the text is distorted but the fact that my attention is diffused by an unclear design. I want to read the topics in the left column but my eye wanders over the screen because of lack of contrast and the absence of visually guiding information.

I agree. Not easy to read, hard to find a topic. Looks more like amazon.com or some other site selling something instead of informing. I depended on this site for computer news, not sensationalistic type design.

The Chicago Tribune made a similar mistake redesigning their format, but this one is terrible.

[Bogartte]

Originally posted by mkbhatia:
try this: http://macnn.com/macnn.phtml

Yes, yes, sooo much better than the new one. If there has to be a new layout, at least go with this alternative, which is much easier to read. macnn always had a lot of information right there, right away... it's major asset. The new design blows it and loses it!

Quick questions: who selected the companies that appear in "Market Watch" on the main page (Apple and Micro$oft) and why?. Are we meant to cheer when AAPL has a green 'up arrow'? Boo when MSFT does?

It almost looks as if MacNN wants us to promote an attitude of "Apple vs Microsoft at any cost" (OK, so we all do, we just don't admit it all the time).

IMHO, it seems a little childish to list ONLY those two companies, good-guy and bad-guy fashion. I feel it would look just as silly to any non- Mac-head stumbling into the site for the first time.

Sorry to have wasted your electrons.

[genevish]

Well, it seems from the posts that there was a different look to the site on Saturday than there is now. I can't comment on that, but I think the current look is very nice. One of my main complaints (pretty much my only complaint really) has been the lack of unity between sites. I only hope the other sites (OSX, Reviews, etc.) begin to mirror this look. That way users would get a strong sense of one unified site with all the information they need about the Mac.

Nice job!

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Scott Genevish
[email protected]
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[Fyzycyst]

Didn't read the site over the weekend... WHAT A SHOCK!!! MacNN has gone from the very best site for quickly scanning Mac news to the absolute worst! My first reaction, like someone else, was EWWWWWWWW!! The columns of stuff wouldn't be so bad, I can ignore them, but the text is WAY too big and spread out, with headlines that are WAY too big. Used to be I could just come in on a Monday morning and catch up with the whole weekend's news in about a minute. The old layout had a nice density to it that lent itself to skimming over. I could easily skip past all the articles on graphics crud I have no interest in and find the technical stuff I *am* interested in. Please change back!!!

[Bogartte]

Hopefully, the page as suggested by mkbhatia (see below) will be what they settle on, since it's much easier to access the news. All the idiot links on the right-hand side should also be gotten rid of, because they're just redundant.

Also, if one goes into Newsfactor Network, there are no obvious links back to MacNN... there's nothing in the "All Newsfactor Sites" explore button (top right).
One can use the browser back button, etc., but there should be an obvious link somewhere.

AND: please leave the forum as it is. It works just fine.

Originally posted by mkbhatia:
try this: http://macnn.com/macnn.phtml

[This message has been edited by Bogartte (edited 05-21-2001).]

Originally posted by mkbhatia:
try this: http://macnn.com/macnn.phtml

The news without headlines is the way to go. This link should be the new MacNN.

From now on Iam turning to macsurfer.com , MACNN had died, it SUCKS, its ALL PC NOW

[Krak]

Originally posted by giantmike:
Here are my first impressions of the new MacNN Look. Very hard to read and follow, hard to navigate, VERY ugly, a HUGE step backwards from the previous design. I always felt MacNN provided the most useful information, but with this new format, I may entirely give up on them (like I did MacAddict.com), because it is so terribly designed.

Agreed. The new look sucks the sweat off a dead man's balls...

Well, plenty of people have said it, I'll just make sure my vote is counted.

Site: Sucks. Make it go away.

With the new URL that was posted so I can actually see some _CONTENT_ being updated (Good idea, make it so that the old URL doesn't show updates at all...good idea...), I'll give MacNN some time to shake out the uglies. But guys. please fix it, or you'll be going to the lower tier of my site list.

[krafix]

The new look is so useless... I modestly tried to find a way to enhance it. Hope they get to see it and find something useful in it. Anyway, something needs to be done fast or we're out of here.
http://homepage.mac.com/krafix/macnn/newdesign.html

[Krak]

Originally posted by krafix:
The new look is so useless... I modestly tried to find a way to enhance it. Hope they get to see it and find something useful in it. Anyway, something needs to be done fast or we're out of here.
http://homepage.mac.com/krafix/macnn/newdesign.html

Damn...nice work for something very quick....much more pleasing to the eye and much more functional! I give it 2 snaps up (for those that remember that silly sketch) Good work bro

K

[krafix]

Thanks Krak.

Whatever they decide, hope they choose to make some changes fast enough so that we dont lose MacNN because of no more trafic.

[bstone]

Just weighing in on the alreay unanimous issue-

the new MacNN is horrible! Just simply horrible and awful. I will not continue to use MacNN unless the old format is put back up! At the very least give us some warning!!

[JudyM]

Originally posted by mkbhatia:
try this:
http://macnn.com/macnn.phtml

This is, indeed, MUCH easier to read!

However, it's almost 11:30 AM eastern time and there's still no news today (nothing since after 8 PM yesterday. NOT a good way to run a NEWS site.

Please get us some content! Please...

Sure it LOOKS good, but the ads are HUGE now!
Also, where did the comments go? I wish somebody would bring those back.

And when are the other MacNN pages (MacNN X, MacDesktops, etc.) going to be updated?

[todrain]

I remember MacNN from the old white screen days... They were always quick to post and always had the best content.

Not anymore. I find myself spending much more time elsewhere now. Apparently MacNN no longer cares about what the users think.

No more ad-clicking here for me!

[gorgonzola]

Please read the following: http://forums.macnn.com/cgi-bin/Foru...ML/003076.html

The "Classic Look" is now an option at MacNN. It's not MacNN as it used to be, but it's better. We're all working to improve MacNN as much as it can be improved.

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the oddball newsletter
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it's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything

[JudyM]

Originally posted by gorgonzola:
Please read the following: http://forums.macnn.com/cgi-bin/Foru...ML/003076.html

The "Classic Look" is now an option at MacNN. It's not MacNN as it used to be, but it's better. We're all working to improve MacNN as much as it can be improved.

Thanks for the "Classic Look" option! And I'm delighted to see an early morning update.

Keep up the improvements. We might just get back to where we used to be...


[This message has been edited by JudyM (edited 05-23-2001).]

Hey now, check it out. that http://www.macnn.com/macnn.phtml site takes you to the NewsFactor MacNN, while macnn.com takes you to the regular site!!