Don't listen to all these techno-weenies. You will NEVER satisfy them. I am a techno-weenie and I am enjoying the new site immensely. I think I am addicted to the mashups. I love the animations too.
That said, there are a few glitches - like I can't submit a mashup from firefox. Can't see why. Works in IE. Otherwise it all works flawlessly and I'm sure the BETA glitches will be worked out soon.
The old site was fast. It did not use ugly unneccessary flash etc. It was easy to use. Colours might have been renewed - but why build a complete new site? Is the pointy haired boss responsible for this?
Sorry Scott, I still love the work, but the site is a step back. The thing is, the calendar and the strip format of the archive was very simple, intuitive and unbeatable. That is now proven.
I guess you can't really go back now as someone would have egg on their face.
I will occasionally come back to have a browse, but I think the subliminal goal of getting people to read the strip in the paper again is going to work.