Welcome to the new CNET

Over the last few months we have been beta testing, tweaking, and fine-tuning the new CNET user experience. Today, August 27, the yellow and green CNET pages are history as we have completed the rollout of our new site design and speedier service.

As I wrote in a post in June, we are updating our look and feel after nearly 13 years of variations on neon yellow and green:

CNET started out in 1992 as c/net, meaning Computer Network, a 24-hour cable network about computers and technology with original online content. CNET online launched in June 1995 and quickly became a huge success. Over the years, we stuck with the neon yellow legacy from the TV days as the Internet grew to encompass all forms of media.

We had two key goals with this CNET revamp--make the site easier to use and speed it up. Simplicity is the major theme of this design, and that includes the new "pipeless" CNET logo, a more consistent site structure and a streamlined color palette.

Behind the scenes, we also rewrote the CNET back-end infrastructure, creating a new API that is delivering pages 40 percent to 50 percent faster in some cases. The API also makes it much easier for partners, such as Yahoo and Univision, to work with our content.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Following are some of the new CNET highlights:

• News integrates Webware and Crave as well a more topic sections under the CNET News umbrella.

• Improved search functionality and tools have been deployed throughout the CNET site.

• Buying advice is surfaced in most relevant places throughout CNET Reviews.

• Web reviews from around the Web are accessible in CNET Reviews.

• CNET TV is delivered in beautiful HD format.

We are proud of what our team of designers, engineers, and producers have accomplished over the last several months. We aren't finished with the new CNET, so after a brief rest from late nights and pizza they will be back eliminating rough edges and adding new features. We also appreciate all the feedback we have received from our users during the beta testing--keep in coming. Now back to our regular news programming...