"Drudge Report 2008"

The Drudge Report is a news aggregation website run by some guy named Matt Drudge. The site consists primarily of links to stories from the US and international mainstream media about politics, entertainment, and current events. It originated around 1994 as a weekly subscriber-based email dispatch. It is most famous for being the first news source to break the Monica Lewinsky scandal to the public after Newsweek decided not to publish the story.

The site has a simple design, consisting of a banner headline and a number of other selected headlines in three columns. These linked stories are almost always hosted on the external websites of mainstream media outlets. The rest of the site contains links to media outlets and a number of columnists. Although the site initially featured very few images, it is now usually illustrated with five or six photographs. Generally the images are similarly hotlinked from other news agencies' servers although Drudge does occasionally use some images, generally those he personally edits, that are hosted on his own server.

I like this site. I've used it nearly religiously since 2002, and doubt I will ever stop. It's so much more convenient and uicker to go here for up to dat by the minute news worldwide than even turning around and turning on the TV. Even with the ugly design and the lack of any stylesheet to be found, it flawlessly does it job, however. I certainly can't fault much here, to be honest. From a design perspective, it's poor, but all at the same time, it achieves every goal possible.

Pros:
-Easy to Navigate
-Up to date by the minute

"Science and technology information from Scientific American"

In March 1996 Scientific American launched its own website that includes articles from current and past issues, online-only features, daily news, weird science, special reports, trivia, "Scidoku" and more. The popular-science magazine brings articles about new and innovative research to the amateur and lay audience.

Scientific American (informally abbreviated to "SciAm") is a well-respected publication despite not being a peer-reviewed scientific journal, such as Nature; rather, it is a forum where scientific theories and discoveries are explained to a wider audience. In the past scientists interested in fields outside their own areas of expertise made up the magazine's target audience. Now, however, the publication is aimed at educated general readers who are interested in scientific issues. The magazine American Scientist covers similar ground but at a level more suitable for the professional science audience, similar to the older style of Scientific American. And now, the website offers even more, with a community on top of it's usual news updates.

The site has a pleasant design that is easy to navigate. The designer of it found a way to incorporate many categories into a streamlined and non-confusing navigation method. I like the use of lots of bright colors; the site seems very inviting and the color scheme, while uncommon, follows through and remains consistent.

I like this site a lot, although the content tends to mimic a lot of what we see in the magazine, so id you expect special or additional information than what you read traditionally, then you may be in the wrong place.

Pros:
-Great navigation even with many topics

Cons:
-Sometimes lacks new content for those that already get the magazine

"Airline offering suborbital spaceflights with a new version of SpaceShipOne. Provides description of flights, the vehicle and offers bookings starting 2005."

Virgin Galactic is a company owned and established by Richard Branson's Virgin Group to undertake the challenge of making private space travel available to everyone and by creating the world's first commercial spaceline.

Virgin plans to operate privately built spaceships, based on the history making SpaceShip One. A breathtaking feat, no doubt, and VG has mimiced this even in it's website design.

When you begin to browse, VG immediatley offers a Flash version or HTML - something that a lot of trendy Flash-bogged-down sites fail to do, thesedays. The site offers images, news, progress reports on thier industry, and an overview of thier "big picture".

No matter which version you choose, the site has a pleasant design that is easy to navigate, and a color scheme that screams YAY SPACE all while being pretty moderate, overall. I am insanely bias, as I like this site a lot, and find it hard to fault it. I suppose I could ask for more information, a few videos, and how about some merchandising? I'd kill for an online store to buy a model SpaceShip One or something.

Pros:
-Clean cut color scheme
-Offers two versions of browsing
-Has a very dynamic and lively interface (flash version)
-Non-Flash version doesn't appear watered down like most sites

Cons:
-Could maybe use some more content

"Welcome to LEGO Universe, the upcoming massive multiplayer online game, which will be the ultimate LEGO play experience."

LEGO Universe is an upcoming massively multiplayer online game developed by NetDevil. It is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2008. LEGO Universe brings the construction and creativity inherent to LEGO into a new, safe and fun virtual experience. LEGO Universe is being designed as the first MMOG professionally developed for LEGO fans and supported by community members from around the world.

The website itself is easy to navigate, only limited by the request for a newsletter signup on most older content. The news is easy to follow, the gallery effective and easy to follow, and the visuals are all enough to get your attention - an impressive feat with such a young product to advertise.

Pros:
-While the product is still very young, the website offers lots of content.

Cons:
-Requiring a newsletter signup on some content is fustrating and limiting

"Official website for the movie Artemis Eternal offering production details and the opportunity to be involved in the evolution of filmmaking."

Artemis Eternal is a professional sci-fi fantasy short intended for film festivals and traveling screenings. Independently financed, this sci-fi fantasy film is currently in preproduction and shoots this spring and is intended for film festivals. In days of past, only royalty were able to patronize and influence the arts, but AE hopes to change that with the public using the website to help support independent film and see your name in the credits of the movie - aka, they want you to donate. Which is cool, they recognize it and will even modify the website layout to add a "star" with your name on it. Silly, sure, but hey, at least it's live and real recognition and not a thank you from a newsletter.

The website for AE is interesting. It's very visual, and has limited content even though at first glance there seems to be evidence to the contrary. Right now, there's only a main splash page and a "progression page" outlining thier plans all the way to post-production and beyond for the film. Even with a limited content under thier belt, they certain achieve a "drop everything and pay attention" presentation with a very 'pretty' site design/layout.

Pros:
-Very attractive 'themed' visuals
-Interesting interactive "progression" navigation

Cons:
-Lack of content