How do you like the front page of NTCompatible? (Content)

[Philipp 6]

Strange, I can't reproduce this issue here :x

 

Anyone else have this problem?

[Relic 0]

No, but I have a similar problem on other sites, one site opens with large fonts, I hit refresh, and then it's back to normal.

 

Gremlins.

[American Zombie 0]

Ever since the site upgrade my post count and join date are missing.

 

Anyone else have this problem?

[Philipp 6]

There is an upper/lower character problem with the current templates. In your case you registered the username "American Zombie" but logged in with "american zombie".

 

The update to the new version of the CMS system will fix this problem, but it will still take a few weeks until the new version is ready.

[American Zombie 0]

Tried logging out and back in using American Zombie but with the same result.

 

Will wait and see in a few weeks how the fix goes.

 

Thanks

[Philipp 6]

Only new posts under the "American Zombie" username would be recognized. I just changed your username to "american zombie". I think this is the easiest workaround for this problem

[American Zombie 0]

I would prefer to have American Zombie so could you change it back.

 

I will just remember to log in that way.

[packman 0]

For me, the new layout of NT Compatible seems to be a backward step. I use a 20" monitor, with fixed 1600 X 1200 resolution and whereas before your webpages nicely filled my screen, all I get now is a narrow strip down the middle. It's just wasting screen space and causing me to have to scroll more. The background colours are somewhat depressing.

 

Whilst the website perhaps did perhaps need revamping, you've now fallen into the trap that so many other websites have, namely designing the webpages to suit small screens only. Think again, because the biggest uptake in new screens these days is for 19".

 

[Philipp 6]

Originally posted by American Zombie:

Quote:

I would prefer to have American Zombie so could you change it back.

Done

 

Originally posted by packman:

Quote:

Whilst the website perhaps did perhaps need revamping, you've now fallen into the trap that so many other websites have, namely designing the webpages to suit small screens only. Think again, because the biggest uptake in new screens these days is for 19".

Unfortunately, there are already slight problems with the current layout and some browsers. Changing the whole layout to fill the screen may even cause more rendering glitches, but I will look into it.

[packman 0]

Philipp,

 

It's not that I'm asking you to do anything different. Before, your pages quite naturally filled my screen, so your coding was therefore optimum for that. You've now moved away from that.

 

One other thing that has bugged me about certain browsers and certain websites (but not yours, really) is the use of small, light fonts (eg. Arial). Whilst Arial is universal and is appropriate in many cases, what most webpage designers don't seem to realise is that Arial becomes almost invisible on 20" screens (unless you've got 20-20 vision). In other words, it appears very thin and wirey with resolutions of, say, 1600 X 1200. That said, NT Compatible (as was)was customisable, in conjunction with my Firefox browser, to a different basic font, one which though contains a lot of serifs, is much easier to read. That seems to be retained in the latest incarnation, thank goodness.

 

I know this isn't always easy to do and can risk monotony, but I would advocate the use of Arial Bold (yes, Bold) wherever possible, at not less than 13-point.

[American Zombie 0]

Originally posted by American Zombie:

Quote:

I would prefer to have American Zombie so could you change it back.

Originally posted by Philipp:

Quote:

Done

 

Thank you

[packman 0]

Philipp,

 

Just to repeat what I contributed earlier: your webpages are now just a 6" strip in the middle of my screen (20" screen, 1600 X 1200 native resolution). Not only do I find this now a gross waste of screen real estate but it's terribly annoying, as I now have to scroll all the time to see anything. Before, your webpages nicely filled my browser window.

 

I normally use Firefox but, annoyingly, the Mozilla webpages people refuse to use Arial Bold, so some time ago I had to customise my Firefox with a more easily readable font, one that's a Heavy or Bold type. It's far from perfect, though, and I often get parts of the webpages obscured.

 

As for ntcompatible now, well, in Internet Explorer, it's still a 6" strip of course. Not sure what the default font is you're using now but it's okay, except that, again, on a screen like mine, it's difficult to see because there's so little contrast with the background and surroundings. As I said before, it really needs a Bold font instead, not necessarily a completely different font but just the Bold version. Okay, that'd use up a bit more space proportionately, but not that much.

 

I'm sorry to say that I think what you've done with the website has, for the most part, been a backward step. I hope you'll reconsider and make some changes for the better.

[Philipp 6]

Packman,

 

I know and will look into it. As posted before it is not easy to make a change like this because the current layout is using XHTML/CSS.

 

The fonts are looking fine here. I am using an Apple 23" HD Cinema Display at 1920 x 1200 resolution. What type of display are you actually using? LCD or CRT? Did you enabled ClearType font rendering (Windows XP and higher) under display settings? Also please provide a screenshot how NT Compatible look like in your browser.

[Philipp 6]

I just tested a few things on my test setup. Making changes to support all resolutions in full screen needs a complete redesign of the main templates. However, changing the layout to a fixed higher resolution could be easily done.

 

Should I update the layout to 1280 x 1024?

 

[Relic 0]

I'm @ 1024X768 on a 17" monitor(CRT), everything is bonus, looks great.

[packman 0]

Phiipp,

 

I'm using a 20" LCD display with a native DVI-D resolution of 1600 X 1200. Pitch is 0.25mm. I cannot come down from that resolution, unless I recable and quit DVI digital mode, which would be stupid to do.

 

I can't alter Cleartype rendering, as I use Win2K and there's no such facility in that.

 

I can make a screenshot but if it's of my entire display size, it'll be a big file. You'd need to tell me how to place the file into an ntcompatible forum contribution like this, as well.

 

1280 X 1024 might be better, but it'll be a case of you doing it and then me seeing the result.

 

Bear in mind that my screenshot will show the special font I've chosen to get around the Firefox font problem.

[Philipp 6]

Send the screenshot to philipp (-at-) ntcompatible (-dot-) com

 

Btw have you tried Opera? If I remember correctly, Opera have a few options to customize the fonts and the stylesheets.

[Philipp 6]

I think I found a solution in the meantime. Expect another layout update in the next couple of days.

[packman 0]

That's good news. I hope you're right, Philipp. Designing webpages that suit everyone is not an easy task.

[Down8 0]

The misalignment problem has gone away for me.

 

Looks good Philip.

 

-bZj

[packman 0]

Philipp,

 

The new layout is still a 6-inch strip, on my screen.

[Philipp 6]

I still work on the updated layout. This will take some time.

[packman 0]

Ok. Thanks, Philipp.

[Philipp 6]

I am testing now an alternative stylesheet with bold fonts. To switch to the alternative stylesheet: Appearance => Bold. You find this option on the frontpage in the left menu.

 

Are the fonts better readable?

[felix 0]

Hell yes.

I like it like this. Far better on my 21' trinitron.