the reindeer effect

The Facebook redesign is everything I could have dreamed of and more.  There are a few things that are broken with Javascript off, but I certainly don’t do any browsing from Lynx or screen readers.  It’s also designed for a 1024px width, which is great news.  Things targeted at 800px screens are such a waste of good screen real estate, and flexible width design would be next to impossible on Facebook.  The combination of Mini-Feed and Wall is probably the most striking change.  It’s probably the thing that will cause the most confusion, but also probably the most useful.   I suppose that “Wall” is a better brand than “Mini-Feed”, but the new Wall is really the old Mini-Feed with the ability for you and your friends to add content of your choosing.  Application profile boxes have been relegated to separate tabs that require a click to display.  While this may be another unpopular choice for people who want to show off their “Werewolves” ranking, it works aroud the cruft that was building up quickly on everyone’s profiles.  The bad news is that this change in layout has broken several apps that I use, but hopefully developers will update quickly.  The new focus on the Wall may also cause developers to put more thought and effort into placing items in a user’s Mini-Feed.  Overall, the redesign has restored the simple elegance of Facebook’s profiles while improving the presentation of information and retaining the power of the application platform.