Fence first
I've just read the article about Online Caroline being touted as something fresh and new, a "fake" web cam. However, this has been done before. Last November in a six-week web cinema project, WebCinemaConcret www.idea.org.uk/cinemaconcret, we looked at ways of using film grammar successfully in an online, streaming medium.

One work was fencecam.com, which can be seen at www.gorgeous.org.uk/fencecam about a petty criminal, secretly filmed by a "friend". This used the webcam format, supplemented by edited highlights as QuickTime movies. So Freeserve is really three months behind the game, rather than ahead of it.

Have a look at artSlab, an ongoing experimental art site. We do a live stream (RealPlayer), audio and video, every Thursday night, at around 7pm GMT, and unlike most streaming media sites, we produce our own work (every week, without any budget).
Nik Kraakenes
nikolas.kraakenes@tvc.org.uk

What I meant
In my letter published on April 13 I tried to make two points and apparently did so badly, resulting in the reply from Peter Tucker. I did not intend that all sites should be rewritten in wireless markup language. This would be of little use and a waste of most of the capabilities of the net.

I wanted to see all attachments sent in common format so as to be accessible to PC, Mac and other computers,and also to web TV appliances and the more capable Wap (wireless application protocal) appliances. I hoped that this would make the web less intimidating to the millions who must be brought online if it is to achieve the status it needs if web commerce is to have a future.

I would also like to see simplification of web pages. Small things like slightly less dense graphics, a little more open space and perhaps fewer fonts would make sites more accessible.

I do not see why mouse navigation is set as standard. I am sure that use of function keys could be added to sites as well as mouse use. This would make web TV surfing easier, and I personally prefer not using the mouse on my Windows system, as I find keyboard navigation easier. I doubt that using a mouse on your lap while trying to read a web page on TV would be a rewarding experience.

Widespread use of ADSL broadband connections will make all the above unnecessary for those who can afford it. Don't forget, however, that a lot of BT customers can still only download at 28.8Kb/s.
Chris Emery
Chrisdemery@chrisdemery.fsnet.co.uk

Usability?
My enthusiasm for Jacob Neilson's work is a matter of record. My recent letter (Content First) in Online refers to "It's so smart to be simple".

That's why I would like his reaction to the gnomic remark from his collaborator Donald Norman: "I say usability is always secondary. You go to get something done."

What in God's name is usability if it is not providing the ability to get something done?

It is not just reducing the number of words on the page as in Google.com, admirable though this site is. A site is not usable if it has too little information to allow the user to proceed.
John Ashurst
john.ashurst@blackboardzen.co.uk

Lyrics found II
Re lyrics on the web (Feedback, April 13), an interesting site is www.summer.com.br/~pfilho/html/top40/index.html It lists the US top 40 song lyrics from 1933 to 1998.
Paul Hartmann
guycroft@clara.co.uk