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You may have noticed BlackCommentator.com was not available for as much as 48 hours between about 11pm Saturday, April 28, 2007 into Monday, April 30, 2007 (Eastern Time Zone) due to some adjustments to the way the computer on which this Website resides connects to the WWW.

The downtime was necessary to upgrade the bandwidth available for all readers to use when connecting to BlackCommentator.com. Bandwidth is a technical term that describes something like the size of the pipe that is used to connect computers on the World Wide Web.

The computer or server on which all the Web pages and images that make up BC reside is connected to the Internet. Over this past weekend the BC server was moved so it could connect to the Internet or WWW via a bigger pipe. The end result is that the connection speed to BC has increased from 10 megabits (10 mbps or 10 megabits per second) to 100 megabits (100 mbps or 100 megabits per second).

This change does not effect the connection speed you get from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) - the company you pay to get to the WWW e.g. Comcast, Verizon, AOL, NetZero etc. However, once you reach BlackCommentator.com you are now in a bigger pipe and the ten fold increase in bandwidth should make a noticeable difference.

We believe from now on, when you visit BC, you will see a measurable increase in the speed web pages and images display.

Without boring you with technical jargon, suffice to say the broadband connection to BC has been increased ten fold.

These changes were made because data from our server showed the level of demand from readers like you to have increased to the point where making the change was necessary. We also wanted to make the visit of every reader faster and smoother, and therefore more enjoyable.

We thank you sincerely for your readership and we apologize for any inconvenience our downtime may have caused.

To encourage you to experience the results of our technical upgrade we have opened all the archive and search pages to everyone this week.

Please spend a few extra minutes to look around and if you are not yet a BC Paid Subscriber, perhaps seeing how much we have to offer will be just what you need to take the step that is so important to us.

If you are already a BC Paid Subscriber, we thank you for your support. We are an independent publication and can not exist without you.

We also became aware recently that some readers did not know how to use the Contents of Issue Menu that is found in the upper and lower right hand corners of every article and on the home page. With this issue the Contents of Issue button is bigger and easier to notice. If you touch this button with your cursor, a display of the contents of the issue you are reading will pop up. Then all you have to do is click on whatever you want to read next. If you have not been using this feature, please give it a try - it is pretty cool.

If you have been reading BC over the past several months you probably have noticed a significant increase in writings that appear first in BC. We try to distinguish ourselves from other publications by offering material you won't find anywhere else.

We are also the only political or news publication that features the creations of African American artists in every issue. We believe artistic expression in any form an an important part of the fabric of our culture.

The writing and artwork on BC represent an important part in the struggle for economic and social justice and peace. It is a challenge to face off against the corporate powers in the USA who would have us stuck in a corner of selfishness busily counting the stuff we have acquired or sweating out a way to keep our heads above water. The pigs of the power structure like to keep as many people as possible too busy or frightened to join hands and bring about change.

In Solidarity, Peace, Compassion and Justice, BC remains at your service.

As always your comments are always welcome.

Click here to contact BC Publisher Peter Gamble and the BC staff.