[jimmybot]

Since a couple aggregators were listed--the thing that troubles design for aggregators in my mind is that they are all just lists. You can put some color, some thumbnails on a list, but in the end, it's still a list.

What I find much more attractive and intuitive, when it comes to news, is a real front page, that echoes the old print newspaper front page, but pulls in extra real-time information boxes from other parts of the paper. There is a clear idea of a headline story, the size of each summary is varied, and it's full use of 2D space, instead of just going linear straight from top to bottom.

What I'm thinking of in particular is the New York Times http://nytimes.com ; since its last major redesign it has become very attractive and I have found myself spending more time clicking around within the site whenever I read it.

For comparsion, check out this old twin-list front page version of NYT: http://web.archive.org/web/20031203020804/http://www.nytimes...

This does also have to do with their strategy for fighting the aggregators (so it's not just a design question): 1) writing their own blogs and 2) syndicating blogs where they are short. Sort of out-aggregating the aggregators.

[UpFromTheGut]

As a matter of personal opinion, I prefer lists to newspaper style layouts. With the new york times site, my eyes wander, never actually reading anything. I lose focus very fast and move on. With HN, though, I will invariably read every title. Lists are not overwhelming to me like many other layouts are.