ATI's (AMDs) new website?

Al_Vampyre

Its too AMD, feels like ATI have lost their identity

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Stop It

I agree Al Vampyre, the website doesn't feel like ATi anymore, just the graphics arm of AMD, which, of course it is in a way.

AMD are systematically destroying a decent brand by doing this, and I'm not sure if they care, if ATi loses it's identity, people will care less when the inevitable total switch to AMD branding occurs.

Falstaff

Guys...
Its just business thats all..
Jeez...

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kelston

Hopefully, getting to Catalyst drivers isn't an indication of how efficiently and effectively they can deliver that support.

The link on the front page = a single click.

The new way = Mouse over delay + 4 clicks, one of them being a redundant click (Having to select your OS twice).

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Rasta Monsta

Hmm all that trouble and they left up the craptastic download section. . .

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ChrisW

I can care less what color they make the site. Why does everyone else care? Of course AMD is all over the site...they acquired ATI. If ATI had acquired AMD, it would be the other way around. Besides, seperating the sites makes no sense with AMD integrating ATI's graphics on their CPUs.

kelston

I guess some people have a real serious problem with the color. Me? Not so much, my only complaint with the color is that the red wasn't a stylistic red and that made it MUCH easier to read on the white background than this faded green that they used.

However, a better argument for the color isn't so much that it's the color, it's the principle. It's the thought. If AMD is so heavy handed such that ATi can't even have their own website, what's to say AMD won't be heavy handed when it comes to GPU design? AMD has no experience in that field. If something so trivial as website coloration bothered AMD so much, what's to say some basic GPU design idea isn't going to get scrapped because AMD decided arbitrarily that they didn't like it?

The question comes down to why? Is it damaging to AMD's public image for it to allow ATi to have a red website? Is it damaging to AMD's public image for it to allow ATi to have total control over it's own website? What business ideal made it so important to change the design and color of the ATi website?

To me, it's more damaging to AMD and ATi that AMD is so much a Nazi that ATi can't design even have the freedom to design a website.

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ChrisW

But ATI is no longer a seperate company (as far as I know). It is now one company called AMD. Seperating the websites will only confuse people that purchase an AMD processor with integrated graphics. They can't have freedom from themselves.

kelston

Sure they can. Subaru's website doesn't spam you with Toyota logos. Neither does the Lexus website, yet both are owned by Toyota. When Subaru's assembly plants manufacture Toyota automobiles under contract, people who buy Toyota cars don't scream and moan about how they demand a Toyota made in a Toyota facility. So I don't see why AMD has to do it.

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ChrisW

Yes, but Subaru and Toyota are not merging their cars together into one.

kelston

Aren't they though?

Subaru's next hybrid will feature some main parts of Toyota's "Hybrid Synergy Drive".

Another good example of such a merge would be Honda's Acura division. The Honda Pilot uses the same engine as the Acura MDX. But i'm not seeing Honda having a heavy hand on Acura's website.

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BWX

Huh? it's the same company and always has been.. not a good analogy.

kelston

There's a reason I gave two examples (;

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blu.flame

Actually Subaru isn't owned by toyota; it's the automobile division of Fuji Heavy Industries (just look on that box of that model rally car I know you must own! lol), although FHI is owned 8.4% by Toyota since Nissan, who previously owned a 20% share in the company, were acquired my Renault, and sold their share to GM, who were recently talking about merging with with Renault-Nissan group lol. Anyway, I can't blame anyone for the mathematical errors considering Subaru (Pleiades) is a cluster of seven stars and the car logo only show's six.

Anyway, I really think it is a bad move for AMD to go so far into integration, and I think this may confuse some people. I think that maybe even AMD should think about a more enegetic re-design.

BWX

BMW owns:
-BMW
-Mini
-Rolls Royce

Daimler/Chrysler owns:
-AMC (brand discontinued -- Chrysler bought AMC primarily for the Jeep brand which was owned by AMC)
-Chrysler
-Dodge
-Eagle (brand discontinued)
-Hyundai (Daimler/Chrysler only owns 10% --13 May 04 changes!)
-Jeep
-Maybach
-Mercedes-Benz
-Plymouth (brand discontinued)
-Smart

Fiat owns:
-Alfa Romeo
-Ferrari
-Fiat
-Lancia
-Maserati

Ford owns:
-Aston Martin
-Ford
-Jaguar
-Land Rover (bought from BMW)
-Lincoln
-Mazda (Ford owns 33% of Mazda)
-Mercury
-Volvo cars

Fuji Heavy Industries owns:
-Subaru

General Motors owns:
-Buick
-Cadillac
-Chevrolet
-Daewoo (GM owns 44%)
-Fiat (GM has decided to divorce itself from Fiat as of Feb '05, but will retain 10% ownership.)
-GMC
-Holden
-Hummer
-Oldsmobile (brand discontinued)
-Opel
-Pontiac
-Saab
-Saturn
-Suzuki (2.5%, from 20%)
-Vauxhall

Honda owns:
-Acura
-Honda

Hyundai owns:
-Hyundai
-Kia

Isuzu owns:
-Isuzu
(Mitsubishi Corp., Itochu Corp. and Mizuho Corporate Bank owns part of Isuzu.)

Mitsubishi Corp. owns:
-Isuzu (13.6%)
-Mitsubishi Motors Corp (13%)

Nissan owns:
-Infiniti
-Nissan
-Renault (Nissan owns 15%)

PSA Peugeot Citroen owns:
-Citroen
-Peugeot

Porsche owns:
-Porsche
-VW (20%)

Renault owns:
-Nissan (Renault owns 44%)

Toyota owns:
-Daihatsu (~51%)
-Fuji Heavy Industries -- Subaru (Toyota owns ~20%. Toyota bought this from GM in late 2005. )
-Lexus
-Scion
-Toyota

Volkswagen owns:
-Audi
-Bentley
-Bugatti
-Lamborghini
-SEAT
-Skoda
-Volkswagen

ChrisW

So, if you guys have it your way, a customer that purchases an AMD CPU with integrated graphics will need to go to ATI.com to download their graphics drivers. And you don't think this may confuse some people? Maybe you want the AMD CPU to say both AMD and ATI on the box?

welldl

Not bad.

kelston

Why would it? It's not as though it would be impossible for the AMD site to offer a link to the ATi site. I mean, linking to your own subdivision's website? How hard is that?

And it's not as though you can reliably go to your motherboard manufacturer's website to get chipset drivers. nForce drivers usually come from nVidia's site. It's not like you frequently visit AMD's website right now for drivers, why force a change in what works?

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ChrisW

Yes, but most people do not update their drivers or even know where to go to get them. Most people would never think to look at nVidia.com for their motherboard drivers. We know where to go, but we do not represent the vast majority of users, which are basically ignorant of this subject. The enthusiast will know, but the average user will be completely lost.

kelston

But if this was the argument, the average user never updates his/her drivers anyway, as the most common solution to problems is to point these users towards the sites that houses the necessary drivers.

Even if you were to find a slightly more tech literate user, most manufacturer sites are less than user friendly.

It's these reasons that a direct link to the drivers on the ATi frontpage was so useful. And even now, if I wanted to get drivers from ATI, if I were to visit the AMD page, it takes even more navigation than having to go directly to the new "ATI" page. If anything, this just made it more complicated.

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swimtech

Gosh, one click on ATI Products from the AMD front page gets you to ati.amd.com with a link to the old driver pages on the top of that page - same as the old ATI site. And the new ati.amd.com page has many more obvious direct links to the stuff inside the site than before - shoot, I think the new page is better!

And I really believe the average user will have no problem finding the drivers - my two cents...

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kelston

That's 5 clicks versus the old 1. Don't see how that's better.

But that's just a part of the problem.

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swimtech

My bad, ATI did have a direct link to the latest Catalyst driver in the lower left of their main page - forgot about that...

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Dragunov

red was the color of ATI

Just a link on AMD and site of ATI was needed for the partnership, no take over the complete site, worst site every now

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ET3D

Frankly, I don't really care about the colour. Yes, it's a pity to get rid of the trademark red, and I really hope AMD isn't planning to change the ATI logo to green , but the driver link really is missed.

BTW, on the UK site, the ads on the right hand advertise the 9800 XT and 9600 XT. I guess the UK is a couple of years behind the US. (There's also a link to the X700, but nothing newer).

me972

so, after almost 2 weeks of this poll running and about 60% of the people hating the new look..

do you guys think some one at ATI/AMD gives a %#^@ about what we think?

or are they going to try and make us like it by force and maybe wait till we might get used to this YAAAAKKKKYYYYY green stuff!!

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ET3D

If you want my guess, it's that the ATI people care what we think (or at least liked the way it was) and the AMD people don't. So probably yes, someone does care, but not anyone who can do anything about it.

ET3D

Actually, have you seen the new driver page? That's a major improvement over the previous page. It's kind of like what NVIDIA has (though a little better, IMO).

josh2thad

Im one of those people who doesnt care about colors as long as it has the content i need. I think that the updated drive page is great, still does what its supposed to and now they are with AMD...couldn't be any better than that!