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Hello friends,
Welcome to dotTech 4.0.
This is the fourth major revision of dotTech and, if I do say so myself, it is our best one yet. Not only does this new theme give dotTech a fresh, modern look but it simply kick-ass. [Insert philosophical bullsh!t here.]
Please report any bugs or issues you see in the comments here or via e-mail. And keep a lookout for dotTech’s mobile version getting a similar overhaul in the coming days.
Over and out.
-Mr. Boss
About the author: Ashraf View all posts by Ashraf
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@Locutus:
*phew* good! I’m not going bonkers! :D
Nice job on the site change!
Looks pretty good.
I do miss the post numbers ?
Just overall Refreshing, well done gentlemen. :)
Looks OK. My Avatar is gone.
I love the Avatars in the comments section that look like Atari VCS graphics. Totally awesome!
Personally I would like to see a way to toggle between dark text on light background and the other way round. I find it much easier to read almost (note almost!) white text on dark grey background. This is sooo pleasing to the eyes. Look at arstechnica.com and choose “Main Menu” in the upper left. On the right side you can then toggle the themes. Would be cool to have something like this over here.
No problem with the new look in XP or Win 7.
I just regret the colors (blue-brown), which were particularly evident at the opening of the page and allowed me to know immediately if I had a problem with Firefox.
BTW, these problem (layout and color disappearing) came from the simultaneous use of Firefox and CCleaner.
I like the overall look, but part of the changes to the “Windows Software of the Day” pages makes them more difficult to read. On the August 15 edition, for instance, take a look at the headlines for the apps being reviewed: BrowserBackup Pro, Kiwi Monitor, etc. They are easier to read at the point size here in this message than they are in that headline font. The letters, and the stems of the letters are pressed too close together. Choosing a different font, or adding kerning (?) to your stylesheet for more spacing would be a big help.
@Eric: I agree. I’ve made the font size of titles larger to mitigate this. Let me know if that makes it better.
@tuiruru: My wife would take away my computer privileges if I floated her picture around the Internet.
@Locutus: Ditto. I was testing some new features which were reflected on the old theme.
@RobCr: You mean comment numbers? I’ll add those.
@hatman: The new avatars are Gravatar enabled. Upload your avatar on Gravatar and it will be here. See http://gravatar.com.
@Unicorn02: Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll look into it but I can’t promise you it will be added. Essentially have a toggle would require me to maintain two themes and I don’t have the budget that ArsTechnica does.
@Jeanjean: Erm? I’m not sure what issues you are having. Can you send me a screenshot?
@Everyone: Thanks!
@Jeff: Looking at your example, you have a point. I’ll see what I can do.
Thanks.
I like dotTech 4.0.!
The new design is very nice, I really like it. Only the text ‘dotTech’ in the right part of the logo looks a bit odd to me. I think it would be better if you switched the colors gray and blue in this text. So the front in blue and the sides in gray.
Looking good :insertthumbsupemoticonhere:
@Ashraf:
Wow, you managed to replace small ugly font with big ugly font. Actually it is an improvement but the brackets and parentheses are nearly identical and crowd the letters too much.
Are all of your wives camera shy? Surly one of them will agree to a photo.Ha Ha!
I do like the avatars though. They remind me of Space Invaders.Just don’t add the Space Invaders music to the background.
Very very nice makeover! Glad to see you back at this site again. Additional writers help, and do an awesome job, but for some reason when the boss is around things run smoother. =)
@ Ashraf
I’ve said that before about Firefox.
All of a sudden, i opened it and on some sites, including yours, the layout and the colors disappeared (I didn’t take snapshots).
I’ve discovered that it happens only when you clean Firefox with CCleaner and at the same time, Firefox is used.
To resolve the problem :
- don’t use the two programs at the same time… of course ;
- if you are distracted (like me) and it still happens, just delete C:\Documents and Settings\xxxxx\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\7w1lzdgy.default. A new folder will be created at the reopening of Firefox without loss.
The new look is great. What I like most, however, is that dotTech is still here, thriving and growing while other blogs I once cared about have faded away. Cheers to you, Ashraf, and your excellent associates!
Nice job. However, count me as one who was not unhappy with the previous version.
I almost killed the tab right away when I did not recognize the site, though… lol
Nutra-sweet!
Well . . . Everything is certainly, uh, BIG. :) and BRIGHT. :) I liked the old version, but I like this, too. Changes always take some getting used to.
I use a desktop with two monitors. Websites are being redesigned to display on those tiny devices y’all love. On my screens they look carnival gaudy. And, you don’t seem to mind that you can only see little bits of a page, something that irritates me no end. But, I’m not complaining about your site, just making a general statement.
I like your site. Keep up the good work.
Nice tweaks to the site, everything seems to be clearer (more visually defined/separated) and I love the space invaders :)
kewl, long live dottech!
Great job on the new site design. Clear, clean and as always useful.
Despite a more modern look, the site did not take visibly longer to load. Having spent much of my youth staring at too many crude DOS images, I don’t find them very appealing, but it’s just a personal thing. I am happy to see the development, because it suggests that the site is here to stay and that is what pleases me most. This is the site I enjoy visiting most, due to it’s down to earth, user friendly, yet clean-living policy. Thank you for all the effort that goes into making it so conveniently functionable and for all the insights and info made available.
Looks more refined definitely. 2 thoughts:
- it’s feels very narrow and a little claustrophobic
- the screenshots don’t expand as they used to
The header’s a bit big for my personal taste, but who cares! I’m digging the blue-gray metallic theme you have going there.