Issure 300 Railway Herald
 

So what do you think of the layout of the new Railway Herald on line?
I think it is a looks a lot better, easier to navigate and I like the fact that you can blow up any of the photos for a better look at them. I do wonder how long it will have 52 pages though.

Personally, I'm not finding it as easy to read. What I would like (as it was) is one full page at a time without having to scroll up and down to read.

It took me a lot longer to read issue 300 but that's because what was there is interesting. A good blend of old and new, British and foreign.

But will I pay for it in future ? I suppose £18 for 13 months is quite inexpensive these days, still got 3 more free ones to go before deciding.:D

Absolutely. The upright format (like a printed magazine) shows across a 2-page spread which is similar to the former horizontal format anyway, so why change it!

As it no longer seems to be 'saveable' to read later, I doubt whether many people will bother to pay for it - they've probably provided it free for too long so I reckon people would prefer to spend on a magazine from a shop that they can take anywhere.

There is an option to show one page at a time but with two columns you can't read each one without scrolling down, then up again for the second one.

Unless my page settings can be adjusted ?

Without being able to save it as a PDF file, it doesn't seem possible to open it in Adobe Acrobat which would provide various viewing options, so it seems like we're stuck with the on-screen player that it opens in with very limited controls - unless someone knows better? I'm not an expert in such matters!

The e-zine format is very clever but I'm not convinced it's a suitable medium for Railway Herald. I found it very hard to read and gave up trying before I was very far into it. I certainly won't be paying for it. Sorry RH, it's a thumbs down from me.

I had a look at it last night and also found it harder to read. So, even though there is far more content, I took less from it because I was skipping bits that I would no doubt have read in the old PDF format.

Maybe it is one of these things you have to get used to, so I'm willing to give it a few issues, but I'm not sure I'll end up forking out for it

I'm not entirely convinced by it yet. I used to like the old format. I'm looking into ways to save a copy at the moment. If I can make it work I may consider subscribing, don't know yet.

I've read Herald for Years but this latest version is not good

if you enlarge it to read easily then change page you have to repeat the procedure again for each double page spread
the default size is too small on a small screen (I'd hate to try to read it on a netbook)

In total it took twice as long to read it that an old copy and yes I also found I was skipping pages as well as some pages not opening at all

Add to that at the end of the month you have to pay for it not sure my Missuse will let me (being off sick / un-employed / disabled means money is TIGHT) even at 36p a week it is a reasonable price but it worries me that Ian Allen is getting involved (not sure why it just worries me) but I do feel that it is just a way for them to get on to the web cheaply

Now the site's down again. How long will it be before they figure out how to charge us for looking at the pictures?

Can't bring myself to look at Ian Allen's involvement as a good thing.