I think that there are two problems with approach taken on hurl's homepage: 1) New user may be confused and not discover sign up functionality behind log in li

I think that there are two problems with approach taken on hurl's homepage: 1) New user may be confused and not discover sign up functionality behind log in link. 2) Two buttons in the dialog require thinking each time when existing user logs in (i.e. common scenario). When I was designing Memengo's homepage (http://www.memengo.com http://www.memengo.com), I was trying to provide streamlined execution path for 3 different scenarios: see demo, register, log in. I hate web sites that have tiny log in link in the top-right corner. After all, I usually visit home page to log in immediately, so I expect email and password fields to be provided right there. To streamline sign up there is a need to ask as few things as possible, preferably on home page as well. Potential users should be aware that there is a no-strings-attached functional demo one click away, so this area requires some screen estate as well. The final design: 3 equally sized boxes on the bottom of the page: 1 click demo, Sign up (with all required fields), Log in (with all required fields).