Thursday, January 19, 2006
ESPN.com Changes Front Page
ESPN.com has changed the layout of their front page. The layout looks more like the insides pages of the site now with the horizontal menu (something I’m considering for my heavy content sites). The layout is now very similar to Sportsline and even major news sites like CNN.com.
Sportsline and TSN made layout changes over the summer.
ESPN’s new layout looks good. It’s less cluttered and easier to read in my opinion. I’m a little too tired to write up a big review, but I did just want to stop by and give a thumbs up.
I’m still not sure I’m going to visit it like I used to. The auto-playing of commercials on some of the inside sections (like the NHL) is something I despise. It’s not the video, although I’m not a fan of that either simply due to system resources and bandwidth - it’s the sound. I can’t visit these pages in an office and it’s just an annoyance at home when it’s unexpected. I have little doubt these ads pay a ton, but let me activate them on my own by actually wanting to watch videos that appear after the spot (a brief commercial beforehand is understood by me, I’m not an advertisement hater). User initiated playing would be very nice.
Another thing to note: ESPN.com went with an RSS/XML button (it used to be just XML). It’s orange and white and foreground/background flips for each abbreviation. I’m still waiting for the first major site to use the feed icon that FireFox uses and IE will be adding. They also have text RSS links above each news section on the front page.
Post Tonsils Thought
So I had my tonsils taken out today. I’m feeling pretty good considering all the meds that were in my body (and the fact that I had something cut out of me).
In case you’re wondering:
Liquid Vicodin > Mr. Pibb + Red Vines
Friday, January 13, 2006
Stolen Rats
Only in Florida would someone post a sign offering a reward for “stolen” pet rats.
Mind you, this was in a very nice part of town too. If they were inside - then it’s even funnier. If they were outside, I wouldn’t look for the snakes or hawks around. I’m sure someone came and “stole” them.
The phone number has been blurred to protect the rats from being found.