A number of readers wrote in today noting that TPM was downloading e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y slowly. We're working on rectifying the server issue that was causing that problem. So the site should soon be back to its normal speed.

This, however, is an opportune moment to share with you something we've been working on.

If you access TPM through a high-bandwidth connection, it usually downloads tolerably fast. But if you're using a slower conncetion, like dial-up, for instance, it can be quite slow.

So we've developed a faster downloading version of the site here.

This other version of the site doesn't actually download more quickly, at least not exactly. The difference is that the main TPM site appears all at once. So you have to wait for each piece of the site -- all the text and all the images -- to download until you see anything but the beige background. This other version downloads one piece at a time. That isn't quite as aesthetically pleasing (it can be a touch jagged), but you end up seeing the text more quickly.

As I say, if you're using a fast connection, you probably won't notice much difference. But if you're using a slower connection, you'll probably prefer this alternate, fast-downloading version.

Finally, please let us know what you think about this faster downloading version of the site. If the response is positive, particularly from folks with high bandwidth connections (the great majority of users), we'll likely end up making it the default version of the site.