At MicroTimes, We Refined Our Look
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By Stephen M. Lawton

      Alfred North Whitehead, a British mathematician, logician and philosopher best known for his work in mathematical logic, once said, "The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order." At MicroTimes, we view change as a natural progression and companion to order — something we must do periodically in order to best serve our readers and advertisers alike.
     This month we refine our look to improve our functionality, but rest assured: The editorial package remains the same — as does our commitment to the small  to midsize business market.
      We are streamlining our departments, moving to a more functional design. Our E-commerce and Web Applications departments are being combined under the new title of E-business. You will continue to find feature stories on building and managing your Web site, along with our popular columns E-com Intelligence and Making Technology Pay.
      Our Systems, Networking and Mobile Computing sections will be combined under the new Infrastructure banner. Here you will continue to find wireless coverage, plus, Magid At Large and Network Management.
      Tech Careers is renamed Human Resources to better define not only our coverage of recruiting and how to find a new job, but additional coverage of training and news for HR professionals, as well as free agents and consultants.
      Home Entertainment will expand to include more than just games; we are adding products that you might consider more for the hobbyist, as well as those for your off hours. We renamed this section First Look.
      Finally, Industry and Commentary also will merge, creating a new Outlook department. In this department, you'll continue to find not only our editorials, but also Technology & Public Policy, Washington Watch and Standards Watch.
      In addition to the changes in organization, we will be eliminating one feature from our print publication — the Executive News Briefs. Now that we have our Daily News Feeds on our Web site, we decided that we can put this print space to better use by providing you with hands on, tutorial and analysis stories that offer you insights into today's technologies and strategies. To find our Daily News Feeds, point your browser to www.microtimes.com/newsfeeds/today.html.
      Our new clean, sophisticated design should help you find the story you want to read quickly and easily. Remember, we color code our sections to the Table of Contents, so if you're looking for news in a particular section, such as E-business, just look for the green bars at the top of the page and the graphics within the story; when you find them you'll be in the E-business section.
      As with any change, we'd like your opinions. Feel free to write me at slawton@microtimes.com and tell me what you think of the updated design and content.