BBC Now Has Beautiful Customizable Website

http://www.bbc.co.uk?beautiful

by kirubakaran • 18 years ago

28 22 18 years ago

bbc.co.uk

brlewis• 18 years ago

It does appear customizable. I don't see what's beautiful about it, though.

Prrometheus4• 18 years ago

It’s not pretty, but after spending 30 seconds working with it I am very impressed by its ease of use and usefulness. Love it!

kirubakaran2• 18 years ago

> very impressed by its ease of use and usefulness

Yeah, thats the meaning of beauty I meant.

luccastera• 18 years ago

It's much nicer that before, though.

cdr• 18 years ago

Top headline: "EU fines Microsoft record $1.4bn".

I like it already.

Prrometheus4• 18 years ago

Something’s broken. I set my sports to include “football” and it says nothing about the NFL draft!

Prrometheus4• 18 years ago

Making jokes like this is how I lost half my karma the last time I started closing in on 100.

edu2• 18 years ago

I find it funny ;)

kirubakaran2• 18 years ago

I was going reply to you with a joke about people on the other side of the pond but decided against it.

'Karma' does work, though it is just a number.

bouncingsoul2• 18 years ago

I haven't voted you down before, but I've seen some of your jokes. Maybe this is weird, but I'd rather jokes not be made here.

I don't mean humor in general – which is great if you can include it – but the one-liners, puns, and feigning ignorance jokes.

I don't know. I guess I'm worried about that scenario that plays out all the time where someone puts effort into making a good argument hoping for deserved admiration, but then someone else can come along and crack a simplistic joke and in one second get promoted right past the first guy.

If that scenario plays out it not only discourages valuable discourse, but it encourages the opposite. Jokes are easier than thoughtful comments. So if they're rewarded just as well or better, than people will choose that route.

And a thread full of attempted jokes gets noisy fast.

danw• 18 years ago

Works great in Opera too

edu2• 18 years ago

I like it, but I can not find anyway to register. I don't want to lose my settings after cleaning the cookies or I would like to have the same options at my home or at work, or whenever I am. 7/10.

redorb• 18 years ago

It does look nice, the color scheme is nice.

moog• 18 years ago

It should integrate in real time with the rest of the BBC's content.

Where are the recipes when cookery programmes are showing on TV? Where are the playlists when a DJ is spinning tunes? Where are the transcripts for spoken radio?

bouncingsoul2• 18 years ago

Sweet tech. Bad design.

1. The giant module titles are friendly for first timers, but regular users – for whom all these customizable modules were created – are not served at all by them, in fact, they detract from the experience by taking up a lot of space and demanding your focus because they're the LARGEST THINGS on the page.

Check out how Newsvine handles module titles: http://www.newsvine.com/

2. All together the page is a jumble. I understand that they're giving users the power to move things around and possibly make it look bad, but why have it jumbled by default? Also going from module to module there's little consistency: they have completely different layouts.

Check out how msnbc's modules have a consistent structure: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

3. I can't help feeling like there isn't anything on the page: There is so much chrome. And the gray dividers between modules create a lot of noise. I have to really focus to find the few unordered lists which are the content.

4. Why can I collapse modules? What problem does that solve? If I don't want a module, I will uncheck it. If it's something I don't need often I will move it to the bottom.

I'm sure some will like it, and it's animated (neat!), but I'm not keen on providing two ways to do one thing.

5. Nitpick: I hate when the hover state of buttons is the just gradient reversed: it's lazy and it always throws me because I worry that I accidentally clicked.

(I know this isn't Design News, but a lot of people here are interface designers for at least their own apps, so hopefully someone finds my critique valuable.)

tel• 18 years ago

Agree on 1-4. 5 is probably a non-issue since inverting the gradient is really increasingly common as a hover state "common design is good design".

My take: the BBC redesign takes 99% of its ideas from Web Two Point Oh and has never heard of people like, say, Tufte. Thanks, BBC, for updating your site and making it customizable. No thanks for changing the visual style.

And why is there a clock? I already have a clock right there on my screen and it's digital.

JohnN• 18 years ago

the only changed the homepage

mdaines• 18 years ago

It mystifies me to see clocks on news & customizable websites like this -- the abundance of chrome was mentioned, and I've always thought cute little clocks fall into the same category. It is perhaps "computer administrative junk" or whatever Edward Tufte calls it. Who looks at a clock on a web page to tell the time?

dcminter• 18 years ago

It's certainly chrome, but in the BBC's defense that particular clock has a special place in the hearts of its viewers. It's the one that used to be used in the run up to "Programmes for Schools" broadcasts and is therefore very familiar to everyone of a certain age.

There's also the fact that the BBC is a broadcaster with schedules, so while you might not care if you know the time, the BBC wants you to know it so that you don't miss broadcasts.

For these reasons I think it's superfluous but in-offensive.

rob• 18 years ago

It would be better if all of the categories/sections weren't stuffed down in the footer.

BBC Now Has Beautiful Customizable Website

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