New! Improved! (again)

In the olden days when the Internet was a fresh faced newcomer you would often find websites with little messages along the lines of "site under construction". This meant one of two things. The first meaning was "I know this is a pretty poor attempt at a website but frankly this whole web thing wasn't as easy as I thought and I've lost interest/gone on holiday/retired to a small cave in the Alps to avoid technology".

The second, and more exciting meaning of "under construction" was "I know this is just an OK website but in my heart I know it could be GREAT and I just need to spend more time and do more tweaking".

The thing with technology is that it is constantly changing. There's a little fear about jumping in first (for those of you who are old enough I need only mention the Betamax/VHS debate). For those who are younger hands up if you bought a splendid plasma screen TV just before digital arrived or High Definition. Did you kick yourself? Did you rush out to upgrade? Or are you still looking at a black and white portable waiting for technology to "settle down" so that you can invest in something that will remain cutting edge for the next 30 years?

The challenge of technology is that it is always changing. Good websites tend to change a lot too, because a good web developer will want to try out all the new gizmos and gadgets available.

The hot new gizmo on the web at the moment is personalisation. Don't like the boring Google home page? Personalise it! Pick a background, add a clock, a calender, a thought for the day...make it yours.

Other websites are following suit. Which is why, from the middle of next month, your My Athens home page will change - again. It will offer you the option to move round the information on your home page, just by dragging boxes around and closing those you don't want. You'll be able to select your favourite resources and keep them in a separate handy box. If you can't wait to see the new site then take a sneak preview - opt for "beta My Athens" when you log on.