Orkut finally has got a new interface which is not so exciting but if I compare it with what it had before I would say it is better. Before you start going to Orkut for it, let me tell you that this is invite based and still under testing. Here is what I see is new :
Overall : Orkut is much cleaner now when it comes to user Interface. You can actually now read it better and feel like using it more. You have a small menu which lets you switch between photos, scrap, videos etc making it easier to navigate.
Dashbaord : This is less cluttered and more organized. Instead of displaying all the useless details like profile views, scrap count, recent visitors you see a big text box which asks you to update your status ( Thats what Facebook and Twitter asks you to do in first hand ). So now Orkut focuses more on Scraping than seeing all the useless count.
Apart from this you dont see the names of the recent visitors, you see their pictures instead. Changing the color is on top right and you see links of Profile, scraps, photos, videos and more right below. Also the big left sidebar is GONE.
Whats new replaces Upcoming birthdays.
Upcoming birthdays are now replaced with whats new. This place should class=”hiddenSuggestion” pre=”should “>reflect more of what is happening new in your friends life. Also this section is collapsible by using the plus and minus sign. Looks like Orkut is focusing on making more widget like. Friends Suggest remains the same.
Orkut Updates
Updates are less cluttered and more useful now. In fact It’s more like Facebook because you can now comment on their updates though there is no Like option yet. The UI is cleaner ( I can read actually than trying to figure out what wasnt there ).