Welcome to version 3.0.

This edition of the site was originally supposed to launch in the fall of 2006, but similar to Microsoft Windows Vista, we ran into problems with the voice recognition software. It turns out that a malicious audio file sent via email could be remotely executed and potentially delete documents on the end user’s machine. That problem is seventy-percent resolved, thus the product roll-out continues.

There’s some pretty nifty coding involved in this release. It’s probably not that nifty to real web developers and computer programmers, but to the layman or casual reader, it’s pretty damn cool. This version is totally scalable and could be used to power an online newspaper such as the now-defunct Ypsilanti Sentinel or YpsiNews.com. A version of the site will be available for download as a WordPress Theme shortly. Details to follow.

Not all of the features will be rolled out at this time. The most useful feature that’s available now is the incorporation of a FEATURED article that will remain on the front page for several days at a time. At the moment, information on the Ypsilanti People’s Solar Initiative is available there now to remind everyone they should pledge money towards the installation of solar panels on City Hall. Including the originator of the pledge, we are up to nineteen pledges or $950 in just two weeks. If you like the programming you’re receiving, we want to remind you to pledge now so we can continue to bring you the programs you love. Your support also helps us provide a variety of education and outreach services tailored to your community. Individual donations from viewers like you represent the single largest source of support for sites like this around the country.

The site looks different in Firefox than it does in Internet Explorer. In addition, there are differences between IE6 and IE7. I have no idea how this will work in Safari or Opera, but to be perfectly honest, I don’t care. Our market research says those people are statistically insignificant.

The big question becomes, what does this mean to the end-user?

Nothing really. The writing won’t get any better. The updates will probably not happen any more often than they do now. In fact, because the site is so easy to update now, I’ll probably turn over most of the day-to-day controls to the two interns who help. I’ll probably continue in an Editor Emeritus role.

I would encourage anyone experiencing any problems to drop us a line. Operators are standing by.