It's been a bit hot lately, hence the Rod-as-ice-lolly graphic on the What's new page, and here in the office tempers have been getting a bit frayed. or at least EVERYONE ELSE'S TEMPERS HAVE BEEN GETTING A BIT FRAYED. I have remained my usual cool and helpful self, no matter what the other tossers in here say. Up yours, the lot of you.

There's all kinds of developments in the Room to tell you about, but first, an apology. Due to lots of work being done on certain new developments in the Room (see above) (and below), the site wasn't fully updated last week, with a fresh What's new page etc, for which I'm really sorry. And if that isn't good enough for you, then I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT IS. No, I am NOT bad tempered, I just need a little bit of leeway, okay? God it's hot.

These developments and improvements take several different forms. Look down to the bottom left of this browser window... Remember that computer monitor-type thing that used to live there? Well it's gone now, and good riddance, I say. I mean, what was it for? WHAT THE HELL WERE WE THINKING OF? WERE WE INSANE? Actually, it was a lift down to other parts of the VNU online empire, but as hardly anyone was able to work it out, we thought it might be a good idea to replace it with something vaguely sensible, which told you where you might be going if you were to click on it.

I mean it's still a lift, like before, with the same comings and goings, but you can now get directly to Job.net as well as Mag.net. As for the Job.net thing (in case you don't know) it's a massive database of jobs in IT and computing, which is constantly updated, and which you can search and personalize to show only the jobs relevant to your heart's darkest and most sinister desires. If that's what you want. Mag.net is still the same repository for the online versions of magazines like PC World, What PC, Accountancy Age, Computing, and loads more.

Another development has been with our rotating bar at the bottom. This has always had the disadvantage that with Netscape 3 and 4, if you stayed on one page for a while, when you pressed the Back button, you'd have to wade back though loads of rotating banners before you were actually able to go back like you wanted to. This wasn't the case with Netscape 2, because of the "Back in frame" thing, but that never caught on...

Anyway, there's a new way of changing the document in the bottom bar, without affecting the back button, so now you can move backwards and forwards through the Room, without even having to consider the bottom banner bar. This works with Netscape 3 and 4 but not with Netscape 2 (though you can always use "Back in frame") or MSIE 3 (but this has its own system for avoiding the problem. The same's true of our fancy new navigation bar at the top (which I hope you've come to love in a very real and physical sense, as I have). Sorry if you're missing out, but that's the nature of the Web, I'm afraid.

Meanwhile, no-one ought to miss out on the four new episodes of the Stoney Blokes (actually it's three, plus a "Director's Cut"). God are they dull or what? Sometimes I think we take our job of creating the "Most boring cartoon series in the world" a little too seriously.

We've also finally completed a pretty comprehensive listing of Web search engines, along with our rating of their usefulness and performance. If you don't know which one to use for what sorts of sites, check it out. It's in Web-u-like as well as on the What's new page.

We've got two new features for your delight. There's a feature on how easy it is to give up smoking. HOW EASY? Who does this kid think he is? It's killing me, and I gave up almost two years ago. But no WAY am I GRUMPY. Though it's amazing how HOT IT IS, STUCK IN THIS HIDEOUS OVEN OF AN OFFICE WITHOUT A CIGARETTE.

Sorry. The other article is the best piece of "What I did on my holidays" reporting I've read for ages. Well certainly the best I've read in the Room. Holidays with attitude, that's what we want. And air conditioning, of course, or else it gets TOO HOT.

Last, and probably least, there's a new section, which we've decided to call the attic, for no other reason than the attic is a room (get it?), and everyone thinks there's bound to something valuable hidden away there, when in fact it's just full of crap. Er, no, I mean it is full of hidden treasures. Yes indeed.

The attic is actually the place where you can sign up with us and get an ever increasing cornucopia of goodies. And no, we won't be reducing the scope and functionality of the rest of the Room, just so we can appear to be giving something extra to our members, (or whatever we decide to call people in the attic). We're going to be offering a number of special new treats over the next few months, and if you want to know more about what they are, click on the key on the What's new page to find out.

There. Plenty to see and do. So stop whingeing about the heat and GET ON WITH IT. Or is that me?

Ben (bene@vnu.co.uk)