Refreshing news
Monday, March 31, 2008 I do, however, have the advantage of having access to several computers that use a variety of browsers and I can understand why some people are complaining. Looking at the site using Internet Explorer (allied to Windows XP) on a PC laptop is not a great experience.
However, when I use Firefox or Safari on my new MacBook Air, the site looks fantastic. OK, it benefits from the crystal clear screen, and I guess the screen resolution will play a significant part, but the design just ... works. It works better too on my iPhone where the less compact design is not only easier on the eye but also aids the touch screen navigation.
I'm interested in this not just because I use the BBC website all the time but because we are currently "refreshing" the Forest site and I'm curious to see the latest design trends and how people react to change. From a technical standpoint, there is also the issue of how a website will work using a particular browser. In the days when almost everyone used Internet Explorer this wasn't an issue, but it is now.
Fingers crossed, the new-look Forest site will go live this month and I hope it will look good whatever browser and/or computer you're using. In the meantime I'd be interested to know what browser you are using to read this and whether you have any comments on the matter. For example, I am so impressed with Safari on my Mac that I downloaded it on to my PC - where it looks dreadful.
Likewise, I recently (and belatedly) downloaded IE7 on to my PC but there are so many icons and navigation bars - for Google, Yahoo and the rest - that the screen is hopelessly cluttered. Give me Safari (or Firefox) on a Mac any day. As with government, less is more.
Reader Comments (5)
Simon,
Welcome to the thrilling world that we web designers inhabit. There are, essentially, two types of browsers: standards-compliant browsers and Internet Explorer. IE has been holding back web design for many years and is an absolute and total nightmare, requiring endless code hacks to make it display pages properly.
Text display is a different issue: Macs use sub-pixel anti-aliasing (which leads to the smooth (some say "fuzzy") type display) whereas Windows uses a whole-pixel grid. The latter system distorts the glyphs, and thus the true shape of the fonts are not displayed (which is just another reason why Macs are preferred by design professionals).
Personally, I am a Mac user (well, fanatic, actually) and my preferred browser is Camino, a Mac OS X-only brower based on the same Gecko rendering engine that Firefox uses (the other rendering engines are, broadly, KHML (Safari, Konqueror), Opera's and IE's).
How are you finding the Air, by the way?
DK
P.S. My favourite site is Panic's Coda website...
Simon,
Yiou asked what we use. I'll bet the majority reading this site still use the good old steam driven Internet Explorer and, like me, are unlikely to change. Don't lose us!
DK, the Air is great, except for one important issue - battery life. I haven't tested it properly yet (ie on the road) but the battery seems to drain v quickly, especially when browsing or uploading things via the internet. Without access to a power point, it would be pretty hopeless on a medium to long train journey, for example.
Ah, yes, I have heard that. I have no doubt that peripheral makers will come up with a solution pretty soon. A rechargeable battery pack that you can plug into the power port must be pretty easy to implement...
DK