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

This is a poll to discuss content of the front page of NTCompatible. Not the layout.

Personally, the various utilities catch my eye occasionally but I really don't care about 'em. The actual News is what catches my eye which is why I read Slashdot alot. I also think it would make the comment system alot more usefull if the main page primarily focused on news related items instead of tons of little utilities.

I'm Kinda wondering?
This is an interesting poll, but, how come I'm seeing a poll about NT Compatible , when I am viewing Linux Compatible? Is there something wrong with my machine or is this just an oddball occurance that the post made its way to this forum?

Justbill

heh. Nah, NT and Linux Compatible share Feedback forums since both forums share the same layout it makes sense.

Should have put Linux Compatible in the poll too...lemme see....

I tried multiple layouts over the last couple of months, but the current one (all daily news on a single page) seems to be the most preferred.

I guess the only way to make everyone happy is to add the ability to customize the layout. Something like that may be possible with the next version of the CMS system, but not with the current one.

I like the layout.

Yeah, customization would be nice. I just hate to see the comment system go to waste. I see sites like slashdot\Ars Technica\warp2Search\any other site where the comment system is used to great effect...then you go to NT\LinuxCompatible and the front page changes so rapidly that there isn't much of a chance to comment.

It also invites people to discuss things, whereas the current system people just read through the page real fast (or use RSS...mabye), and then go to the links...

I'm sorry but the front page is a ugly mess, it's too long, there are no clearly defined sections, aside from the compatibilty section and the links to other parts. Someone really needs to sit down and redesign it or take it back to what it was. I get bored scrolling through trying to find what I need, sometimes posted twice, and it is dominated by Phillip and Bob, noone else can get a look in. if you take a look at techconnect or web2search you'll get an idea of how to present an attractive easy to use and informative site. Sorry but I'm setting my home page to something else....
ChrisC

Actually, a complete redesign is coming in the next few days. I am very close to finish the new templates.

Although I voted "leave it alone", that's mainly because I seldom see it. My link takes me here, then I click on the "forums" link, I only scroll down the front page by accident.

I think it's got a "message board" kind of look, which just doesn't interest me. Maybe I should have voted for "tabs", I'm not sure, but as it is, I just skip over it and head to the forums.

Do people actually set their browser to homepages? Weird.

I have a "homepage" my browser opens to, Rogers.com, my isp. Has my local weather, my fave links in the sidebar, my local TV listings, up to date news, my personalized sports scores so I can follow the teams that I like, has links to my online storage, email accounts, the list goes on. So yeah, I have a homepage my browser is set to.

Sure beats the hell out of any default page that any browser opens up to.

Hi, this new frontpage is excellent, I'm impressed, well done!!!
ChrisC

Thanks

I didn't vote because there wasn't an option that said, I fear change, I don't like the new page.

And that penguin would scare little children.

Actually, it seems too narrow, why are you conserving so much space at the sides?

BTW, I think a conservative approach to web layout is always a good idea, I personally prefer plain, simple and easy to navigate web pages.

Originally posted by tyga:


The colors could be easily changed after the new layout is using CSS for the style. The new layout is currently optimized for 1024 x 768, which is also the most used lowest screen resolution nowadays.

I will look into both it in the next few days and make a few adjustments here and there.

Philip, the colors are better and easier to read, well at least for me that is.

I do find that the columns are too narrow as well. Luckily Maxthon allows me to increase the text size pretty easily so I can view things better.

tyga was taking about Linux Compatible

I know this is for content, but the page doesn't display correctly in Firefox 1.0.7. The sections are basically just listed, instead of being arranged as they are under IE6sp2.

The content is somewhat busy, but I run across usefil bits here and there.

-bZj

Interesting, it works fine here but Clutch had also some rendering problems in Firefox. Can you give me more details about your configuration (e.g. screen resolution, operating systems etc.).

I like it, much better than the old plain white page. White pages just bug me, too bright, and look like no real effort or thought was put into them.

May take me a bit to get used to, but I think it's cool, well done.

As the page now works on CSS would it be possible to choose what style sheet we use, similar to http://www.csszengarden.com/ that way we can either use this one, the old one or any that people write themselves. It could be saved in the cookie or profile.

What do you think?

I like the new look Philipp, job well done.

Originally posted by felix:

This will be possible with the next version of the CMS system, which is coming in a few weeks.

Originally posted by Philipp:

FF1.0.7, XPPro, 12x10res.

I noticed today that if I go 'back', the page is displayed correctly. So, it may be a FF problem - but growing as it is, one that should be looked into.

Screenshot 1 (wacky layout), Screenshot 2 (after going 'back')

It does look nice when it displays correctly.

-bZj

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

Anyone else have this problem?

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.

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

Anyone else have this problem?

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.

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

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

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

I will just remember to log in that way.

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".

Originally posted by American Zombie:

Done

Originally posted by packman:

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.

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.

Originally posted by American Zombie:

Originally posted by Philipp:

Thank you

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.

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

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

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

The misalignment problem has gone away for me.

Looks good Philip.

-bZj

Philipp,

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

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

Ok. Thanks, Philipp.

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?

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

Philipp,

Sorry for any delay. Yes, using the Bold option vastly improves the readability, although I'd say that pushing up the font size by another point or two is desirable. Also, I'd like to make it clear that this vast improvement is only sensibly viewable in Internet Explorer on my dual-browser setup. In Firefox, for example, the entire layout of your homepage gets moved around and, as before, long strips get generated, with lots of blank areas around. I've tried putting Firefox's default fonts back, but that's made no difference. I think maybe the default fonts and default sizes don't actually return when you uncheck 'Use My Fonts' in Firefox.

At present, in both IE and Firefox, your webpage now, width-wise, occupies 10" of my available 16", which is certainly an improvement but, for my 20" monitor, is still wasting a lot of screen space.

Do keep trying to improve it. Check how things work out, using the Firefox browser (as well as IE), if you can. Then, if you settle on a good compromise, you'll be able to tell me which default fonts and sizes to use in Firefox. Note that, in Firefox, I set my minimum fontsize to 15.

Of course, you might very well be able to reach a very good compromise on this. However, in order for me to continue using Firefox for other completely different websites, I'll still need to use my customised Firefox font settings. As I said at the start of this whole discussion, the fault lies with all those other webpage designers; you're the first to take this seriously (and I applaud you for that). Your current provision of an Appearance option on the homepage is a good idea.

Is the bold font now better? You may need to clear your browser cache. Are there still display glitches with Firefox?

Unfortunately, I cannot reproduce the issues with Firefox at all

Here my screenshots:

Firefox 1.07 under Windows XP SP2
http://www.ntcompatible.com/images/ntc-firefox.tiff

Internet Explorer 6 under Windows XP SP2
http://www.ntcompatible.com/images/ntc-ie.tiff

Safari 2.0.2 under MacOS X 10.4.3
http://www.ntcompatible.com/images/ntc-safari.tiff

Great. I just upgrade to the new Firefox 1.5 and have now the glitches as well ;(

It seems like that the current Mozilla rendering engine have issues with div's

What do you mean by 'display glitches', Philipp?

With Firefox, I'll try clearing the cache, as you've suggested, and then I'll get back to this forum again.

Personally, I preferred things as they were before you embarked on this whole recent change, as your webpage still occupies only about half my screen width, in both IE and Firefox.

Yeh, I noticed Firefox 1.5 came out today, and I've downloaded it, but I'll not install it until I hear feedback from real usage. Experience has demonstrated that bugs in it will likely remain or new ones get introduced.

I'll maybe send you my latest IE and Firefox screenshots, Philipp. Bear in mind I'm using Win2k and v1.0.4 Firefox.

Originally posted by packman:

Down8 posted a screenshot of this problem before:
http://www.hostunlim.com/Down8/screenshotstemp/ntcompbad.jpg

I thought that you have the same problem in Firefox? Anyway, I just put the news blocks into tables, which seems the easiest workaround for this problem.