sassyprint

The original site is definitely better. Granted, the background image in the second is beautiful, it distracts from what would be the content on the site. The original’s background is nice, and helps to focus on what would be the content.

I really like it! I agree that the round up threw me off a bit (it said it was 5 past 3, when it was only 3 after 3. But I was able to understand that it was just rounding when I saw the clock part in the bottom. I think it would do good on the market! Good luck!

Great layout, clean look. You may want to change the position of the Twitter and Blogger logos to a less distracting area.

I'd ask about the company's reputation, their client base, any funny stories in the company's history. Mine for what makes that company unique in the market place. Their logo needs to express that uniqueness, so until you find it, you won't be able to design the logo that's for them. If you can help it, I'd stay away from the obvious verbal-visual connections. Those are easily forgotten and the marketplace will be replete with them.

It all comes back to personal preference in the end. Windows operating systems, such as Windows 7 are very user-friendly and let you do your web design and graphic design easily. There will be some differences when you use linux, but it gets easier when you get used to it.