Thinkpads Forum

Tried going with a different layout...
http://www.dcdomain.org/images/thinkpad ... ncept4.jpg

Don't think that's working either. Maybe I should ditch the blue scheme... go with a more black/grey theme to reflect the Thinkpad's... color of choice.

I love it man! It's looks great! You're right, a bit more black/grey might be better for the background. I would also use one of the headings from your previous pic (concept13.jpg).

Good job! I think Bill will love it too.

Regards,
G-Man

I agree. Dump the blue theme.

Ditto, the amount of blue is a bit overwhelming, but it looks great in terms of design.

FWIW, i like the concept..
and i will supply the toucan photo..

thanks guys..

but where will i put all the old stuff..??

Both concepts look great. It will be nice to clean up some of the old stuff that isn't really needed anymore.

Would like to see a return of the "birdie flipping the birdie" that caused some uproars....

maybe in a subpage or something

Yeah that's what I was wondering, how we should structure the site.

One page for models you have on hand.
One page for the accessories you sell.
One page for the FAQs you have accumulated over the years.
One page for reviews around the net (maybe just link this to a forum thread where everyone can post up reviews they have found online.
A page for links (not sure if this is needed)
A link to new forums, old forums
A link to contact you...

Will that work?

http://www.dcdomain.org/images/thinkpad ... ncept5.jpg

I'm pretty happy with the layout of this so far. I'm going to try to put something together really quickly in Flash for the gray bar you see up top.

I have a request for members of the forum here. If you would like to be on the site, and wouldn't mind Bill using your photo as a random image, could you please do the following:

Take a photo of yourself using your Thinkpad. I'll resize and crop as necessary. I was thinking of something in terms of this: http://www.3ctech.co.uk/products/busi%2 ... laptop.jpg or this: http://www.citrix.co.jp/site/resources/ ... ce_pic.jpg or: http://login.umassonline.net/images/umol_6.jpg

And if possible, you could write a one line statement about anything related to Thinkpads. I'll overlay it on top of the image.

The photo idea is interesting - however I don't think I can get my finger as far up my nose as this guy...

http://www.citrix.co.jp/site/resources/ ... ce_pic.jpg

Would that be a problem?

No problem, all we can ask is that you try

Here's the flash thing I was working on...
http://www.dcdomain.org/images/thinkpad ... inkpad.swf

I'm having trouble coming up with the text to accompany this. I was trying to work something along the lines of. "No matter your preference, there is one right for you. The highly "customizable" IBM Thinkpad, now available in black." (poking fun at what appears to be a trademark of the Thinkpad. The trackpoint tops were the only thing I could think of that was physically customizable.)

I also have some images lined up for another banner ad, and it goes something like, "Laid back or uptight. With, or without the base station. There's a Thinkpad that fits your personality." I have images of a Thinkpad with the screen folded way down, so it looks like it's leaning back, and other images corresponding to the rest of the statement.

Anyone creative here that can add a little humor or punch to the text for me?

Going to get some shut eye... [censored] text has been stressing me out all afternoon. Just toss anything out that crosses your mind, it'll help me out.

Are you planning to use Flash for a specific purpose or just because you can? If you simply must use it, don't make it a requirement to get to a page. For example, I cannot view Brenthaven's web site at all using my work machine because the opening page requires Flash and I don't have it on that machine and can't load it. (The more absurd part of that is that not only is Brenthaven one of our suppliers but also that some of our online training uses Flash, so I end up using my own equipment whenever I need to get to either of those functions. Bureaucracy run amok.)

Remember the KISS principle. The purpose of Bill's web site is to help him sell more ThinkPads not to show off web-site techniques. Not everyone who is in the market for a new machine is looking for one using the latest and greatest hardware and software. Keep it easy and fast for them to buy from Bill.

It's only going on the site as a banner, more of a minor 'dynamic' element. There won't be a 'flash-intro-index' page. Unless of course Bill wants something like that.

I too hate websites that are designed all in flash. I'm pretty much a noob so it actually takes me longer to work in flash. The only thing all flash sites are good for is for artsy/multimedia sites, there's not much of an application for thinkpads.com

Bill, if you prefer to have no flash, just let me know! I'll put a static image up there, or a small script that'll load a random banner from a folder.

I'm making the template now while I sit on the flash banner: http://www.dcdomain.org/images/thinkpads/template.php

Is anyone up for doing a backend to this thing? If not, I'll just make something similar to the table Bill has been using for his 'models listing' and dump it into a blogger so he can update it more easily.

Hello folks,

I just followed this thread to its - temporary - end and looked at dcdomain's last draft :

... I'm making the template now while I sit on the flash banner: http://www.dcdomain.org/images/thinkpads/template.php...

I like the layout and I love the phrase above (all colours... !!!
And: Do keep the bird, actually I think its Bill's brand and a first class brand, too.

dcdomain wrote: I'm making the template now while I sit on the flash banner: http://www.dcdomain.org/images/thinkpads/template.php

I really like the Flash Intro. Is it possible to add a picture of the ThinkLight to it? Whenever I show off my T30 it seems like the ThinkLight is the one thing people think is the coolest.

Before you get too far on coding, is it supposed to be Thinkpad or ThinkPad? I've always seen it both ways...

Thanks for catching that! I'll change Thinkpad to ThinkPad in the flash banner. I think I'm going to keep it all lowercase for thinkpads.com though.

I dunno about that Thinklight. I actually hate the thing. Everytime I try to use it, because of the angle I like my screen at, the light source annoys my eye. Plus, Apple's solution is much more easy on the eyes, and looks way cooler http://images.apple.com/powerbook/image ... 182004.mov

darren..

that banner you created is very nice..
complete with the toucan..

Your concept5 (also located at http://www.dcdomain.org/images/thinkpads/template.php) looks great. I definitely like the look and feel of it, but I do have one question to ask/possible suggestion. (Before you read the rest, note, this is not an issue for me as I am not a idiot and know how to hit Ctrl-Home, but not everyone does, so please read on.)

I know that currently Bill has one (some?) very long page(s) that you have to scroll through. If this continues to be the case and there is that banner which is only at the top of the page for navigation that might get a bit annoying. So, what type of navigation interface is going to be provided to make it convenient so that it is not necessary to scroll back up to the top of the page. Is the banner at the top going to stay at the top even as you scroll down? Or is there going to be some interface on the side that stays with you as you scroll down.

i would like a nice banner on all pages..

and data on one screen per page..

no more long endless page..

anyone have any reason NOT to do it that way..?

We'll try to keep the pages short, but in the case of the Models or Accessories pages, they might get a bit long depending on how many products Bill lists. I'll add a horizontal text menu across the footer.

Update: $%*@)$ I can't get the CSS to work for what I need it to do. Wasted way too much time on this. Sorry for all you CSS enthusiasts, I'm going back to a table format for the basics. I'll use CSS for everything else though .

I've noticed that edited post/replies do not get pegged as unread, I think it should if it's at all possible.

Selvan,

The forum is an entirely separate site, as far as the innards of "how things work."

Matt, sorry, I just couldn't find a better place for it, perhaps a new thread in Off Topic.

Okay, I ended up using tables (puts on flame suit from hardcore webdesigners) but just to mock me, IE has the menu blue hanging out just one or two more pixels than it should be *@)*@$)*@%* .

http://www.dcdomain.org/images/thinkpad ... .table.php

Going to go split the information on the site up now and create the other pages.

I took ONE last shot at the CSS, and I think I finally figured it out. I just can't have the bottom menu below the horizontal bar, in between the copyright and the legal link...

http://dcdomain.org/images/thinkpads/template.php



SUHHHHWWWWWEEEEET.

No bird reference?

yes, toco toucan and feather..

You think there's too many bird references?

I don't see any bird reference at all on the template. Is it not there yet, or does it just not show up in my browser?

dcdomain wrote:You think there's too many bird references?

too MANY bird references..??
not possible..
perhaps i send you some bird photos and maybe they can be integrated with the people who flow from right to left..