facebook is just about ready to launch the completely redesigned interface, and as of now you can actually view the new layout before they release it for everyone.  A few weeks ago they offered a preview glimpse and began collecting feeback, and I assume if you participated in that preview they went ahead and turned on the new interface automatically for you.  I say this because I was automatically directed to the new profile page when I logged in, but my wife’s profile still shows the previous layout.

Regardless, the new interface is a drastic change, and from what I’ve played around with so far, a huge improvement.  The biggest change is the merger of the wall and news feeds into one continous ‘wall of posts’ if you will.  When you go to your profile page, everything from your individual news feed and your wall is the first thing you’ll see.  You’ll also notice it is now wider and easier to see all of your information without having to scroll through 35 applications (I’m looking at you application addicts).  Some of the application panels are still in place, but a lot of the information is now organized into tabs.  By default there are Wall, Info, and Photos tabs, with the option to add a tab for each application you have.

the new facebook

Clicking on the different tab repopulated the profile page with the applicable data, and it felt pretty snappy and easy to navigate.  The newly merged wall and news feed offers several different filtering options so you can view what you want to view.  You can view all posts, posts by you, or posts by others; and of course there is a little settings button with a few other options for your wall.  Any applications you had in the left pane of your profile are still in place and can be easily edited .

The facebook home page has also seen a slight change, with a width increase, and small tweaks to the way things are layed out.  But, everything is not 100% functional yet.  I noticed small little pencil icons next to everything that are supposed to let you edit that piece of your profile; but instead most of them are just placeholder links that pop you to the top of your profile.  Other than that though everything worked great.

Go take a look, login to facebook and then type http://new.facebook.com in the address bar and see what you think.  I thinks it’s a big improvement, and just one more reason that facebook is the social networking king.  Sorry myspace, you just aren’t showing any signs of keeping up.  Thoughts in the comments.