Apple.com revisited

About a year ago I took a look at Apple.com on this blog, pointing out the areas that underwhelmed in both their marketing and design. Since then, the website has been redesigned to welcome iPhone and Leopard, and also to follow web standards (what inspired that is anyone's guess - that mythical Apple excellence?)

Did they address the complaints I had? Or, rather, did I diagnose the weak spots well? In a phrase, by God, what archery! Here's my original list of needed improvements with notes on what's been fixed: (you can see a (slow) archive of the old website at archive.org)

• make your Hardware and Software pages lickable.
  
  The new Mac section certainly does that. Pretty pictures, a simple overview of all their products, an invitation to spend, spend, spend.


• Compress that scattered footer found on most of your pages; I appreciate the white space, but I cringe at the lack of grid, balance, and composition in it. Also, those default blue links have to go. The .Mac page is on the right track.
  
  The new footer is small and beautiful. Two lines, neatly organized, with a pleasant Newport blue. Ahhh.


• Widen the Store page; it's still in 640 x 480 land, while most of your site has expanded way beyond it.
  
  Yes sir!


• Lose the menu pinstripe. I know, I know. They grow up so fast.
  
  We'll do one better - we'll make it match Leopard.


• RSS is orange - that's been decided. Drop the blue and ride with it. This applies to Safari and the rest of the desktop as well.
  
  This probably isn't happening. The "Tiger blue" is Apple's current "this is new" marker.


• Spice up the Retail pages; they're not bad, but they just don't make me want to visit and shop as much as pretty much everything else on the website does.
  
  There have been some improvements here, but individual stores' pages still serve as reference material, not drool inducers. Oh well.