clock … watching time, the only true currency

A journal from John B. Roberts

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Entries Tagged as 'CNET'

New CNET redesign fully live

August 28th, 2008 · No Comments

After the original announcement on June 23rd, and some revisions tested starting July 14th, CNET’s redesign is open to all as of yesterday, August 27th. See for yourself at CNET.com, CNET News, and CNET Download.com. Congrats to all who worked on it. I’ve had my say kibitzing from the outside; I also know how much [...]

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Tags: CNET · Design · Media

Tech news needs a new domain; News.com being prepped for general news

July 14th, 2008 · 2 Comments

Dan Farber previewed the next phase of CNET’s rolling redesign in today’s blog post. See the full image of CNET News here.
My previous comments hold. The body of the home page looks fine, with no complaints. However, I find the reflection in the sub-brands of “News” and “Download.com” quite distracting, and hard to read. The [...]

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Tags: CNET · Design · Domains · Everything · Media · Tech

CNET design changes, good and bad

July 8th, 2008 · 2 Comments

I’m a bit late here, but the new design hasn’t rolled out yet.
CNET’s decision to announce a coming redesign ahead of time is admirable. It shows a new respect for how disruptive change can be to an existing audience.
Current CNET logo, in context

New CNET logo, in context (proposed)
I have a few comments, but IANAD (I [...]

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Tags: CNET · Design · Everything · Media

Goodbye, Newsburst

December 23rd, 2007 · 1 Comment

Like everyone else, I got the “we’re shutting down Newsburst” email on December 12th. Sigh.
I pushed and prodded to build this web-based reader service, and poured a lot of energy into its creation. But you can’t change some things, and it’s smart of CNET to shut this down gracefully and move on.
See all my posts [...]

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Tags: CNET · Everything · Newsburst

Sunday night links

December 23rd, 2007 · No Comments

Since I’m disappointed with our Sony digital camera, I pay attention to roundups like this one: “Looking beyond megapixels” But I get annoyed when the links leading to the NYTimes branded version of CNET don’t lead straight to the right camera, though. The Fujifilm FinePix f50fd looks like a possibility. (I wasn’t impressed that the [...]

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Tags: Books · CNET · Design · Domains · Everything · Links · Visualization · camera

Saturday night links, June 2, 2007

June 2nd, 2007 · No Comments

Clearing out the inbox of various links, as part of a Saturday night cleanup. No promised connection beyond the simple fact these caught my eye and were “worth” more than a del.icio.us link.

British history timeline, via Infosthetics.
There are so many things I want to improve about this blog. First and foremost would be actually posting [...]

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Tags: Bicycling · CNET · DNS · Everything · Media · Newsburst · The Atlantic · Time

RIP, James Kim

December 7th, 2006 · No Comments

James Kim, 1971-2006
Like so many around the country (especially in the small-world of the San Francisco Internet industry), I followed the story of the Kim family over the last week. After the unexpected lift in spirits when the family was found, it was especially disheartening to get the bad news yesterday afternoon.
So, we doubled down. [...]

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Tags: CNET · Everything · Family

Buying a new digital camera via CNET

July 25th, 2006 · No Comments

It’s 8:35pm PT as I start this post, where I will chronicle the process of buying a new digital camera via CNET.com. That’s not an uncommon task on the Internet, nor an uncommon starting location. Still, I’m going to willfully avoid other options as long as possible and see if I can come away with [...]

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Tags: CNET · camera

Why I left CNET

July 18th, 2006 · 3 Comments

I left CNET Networks on May 10th, about nine weeks ago. I’ve hinted at my departure a few times here, but I haven’t said much. When I noted the launch of OpenDNS, it reminded me of my silence on the topic of CNET.
I am proud of my five and a half years at CNET. I [...]

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Tags: CNET · OpenDNS

Welcome Martin

May 23rd, 2006 · 1 Comment

Martin Green jumps in with a blog, Forward Looking Statements. I think Webshots, and the other community properties at CNET Networks, will benefit from the conversation. Subscribed.

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Tags: CNET