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To: Michael Olds who wrote (7655)	4/20/1999 10:47:00 PM
From: advinfo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17679

I'm on a Viking external 56k right now in Dallas and my ISP rides the Sprint backbone. Although the home page could be lighter, it did load pretty fast. The page should be redesigned/reorganized into channel and/or information categories. That would lighten the load immediately, make it more intuitive, and accommodate the rapid expansion of content. I think it's off to a good start though, and we're in a for a wild ride. :-)

To: Michael Olds who wrote (7655)	4/21/1999 2:54:00 AM
From: B. A. Marlow	Respond to of 17679

But Michael, how long did it take for RealGuide to load?! To Group: Thanks, all, for some great responses to the TVW "Web Site Renovation Challenge"! To Ted M.: Your point not missed. Kudos to TVW for doing a lot right. Just want it to deliver the whole egg; we know it can and will. To NorthStar: Your idea for TVW to establish information categories makes a lot of sense, as it's clean, fast and intuitive. To Jubimer: Whoops! Sorry if I offended you, good sir. Sure is my opinion, although methinks others concur. Believe the average Netizen can read. Don't think TVW needs inscrutable symbology. RealGuide by no means the best example, just the newest, and a step in the right direction. To Carl R.: Thanks for submitting your load times. Suspect your experience, that RealGuide loads about twice as fast as TVW, is common. To David V.: Thoughtful comments. Yes, TVW's text appears to load prior to graphics, a standard technique. Apparent "load speed" is a function of site design, Net congestion, backbone proximity and number of "hops," ISP conditions, connect speed, modem-to-computer transfer speed, line noise, graphics interface, browser configuration, cache status and other factors. Still, the average user shouldn't have to be concerned with any of this. While connect speeds and failed log-ins can be detected, these don't really tell the story due to the effects of other variables. Net congestion, for instance, can turn a 56kbps connection into less than 14.4kbps. And if you confront a dead name server, you're out of business at any speed. In my experience, two of the best "optimized-for-speed" Web sites are CNET and TheStreet.com. CNET, for example, strictly limits its graphics content (to about 15-18k per page, I think) in order to minimize loading "drag." They also test extensively on Macs and PCs, as results can differ markedly. Try 'em. To Terry W.: Thanks for inspiring this dialogue. Actually, "stickiness" is the black art of keeping visitors "glued" to a site. Getting them there in the first place and making them feel at home are entirely different adventures. In your honor, here's a nostalgic look at some of Raymond "Studebaker" Loewy's (1893-1986) finest automotive ideas: art.net And of course, the ultimate "Loewy," the classic Studebaker Avanti: carpictures.com A final note to the Group: My own experience at 56kbps (AT&T WorldNet in NYC) is that RealGuide loads much faster than TVW (say, 00:29 vs. 01:14) and is both cleaner and more businesslike. To conduct this test, be sure first to clear your browser's cache and stop the clock when "Done" appears in the browser's tray. BAM