>
> Making the technology invisible is one thing, but making controls
invisible
> is quite another.
>
> Yes, what you have done on the website is clever, but I am not sure I wold
> have discovered it except for the hint you gave in your note.
>
> So, why not keep exactly what you had, but add at the bottom of each page
> five small visible words -- scope program speakers location
registration --
> each a hyperlink to the appropriate section. People who miss the
cleverness
> will still be able to navigate the site.


this would also let folks who have Java turned off or don't have a VM to
navigate the site. Usability has a technological component...

I was able to find the controls easily simply because almost all splash
pages on the web have this same look... a big graphic you have to click
through to get to content. I went to click and saw the controls.
I always wonder if splash pages with no content are useful to the
consumer... do they help prepare them by letting the user know where they
are and what they may expect, or do they simply act as a barrier to entrance
for slow modems and short attention spans.