• Headlines. A well above average selection of news headlines from various providers.
  
  
• Feel and Appearance. A stylish, understated new design.
  
  
• Ease of Customization. Very good. You can put things where you want on the page, and convey your personal preferences for major portal features like e-mail, calendar, weather, etc., with no major problems. It should be noted, however, that while some of the features were pleasantly cutting-edge, others were just so-so and didn't blow our doors off. Some users may have their own opinions about how easy it is to put such-and-such a thing in a certain area on the page. However, such individual opinions are just that. Everyone has their own taste.
  
  
• Clutter? AltaVista doesn't go to great lengths to railroad you into seeing promotional material you don't want to see. Of course, it's all relative. You still do see advertising, and featured links for WWF downloads and other silliness. But we expect a reasonable amount of advertising in the land o' portals.
  
  
• Speed. AltaVista Live! is looking and feeling really fast - they've come prepared for the heavy portal traffic they're counting on to do business. Others, like Excite, have really had their ups and downs, although generally service upgrades will make old complaints disappear. Unplanned service outages are the biggest problem, and AltaVista's latest portal offering is too new to have a track record in this regard. Some will find the design too plain. But it's probably a good move for AltaVista to save its multimedia magic for the broadband future. Many users are still hooking up at 56K (at best) with a Pentium 166 or similar degree of computing power.
  
  
• Breadth of features; innovation. This is a comprehensive package, but it doesn't 'turn your head' with a lot of super cool stuff. A deliberate effort has been made to keep things relatively simple. Certainly, if you want e-mail, a calendar, and your favorite links and headlines on the page - in short, the things that we have come to think of when we think of a customized portal - you'll get very good offerings here without being force-fed a lot of junk.
  
  
• Quality of major features. Major features like search and e-mail have been done right. We will review major portal features individually. But the broad overview suggests that AltaVista has taken care in selecting technologies for its major features like e-mail. Despite some bumps in the road, search is still an enormous strength at AltaVista. They're understating it somewhat, for now. One has to expect they're working feverishly to extend their lead in the area of search, especially in light of the recent strides being made by competitors such as MSN. Popular newer features don't exactly abound, but some are here. The new AltaVista Clubs utility, for example, is a pleasant surprise. While not as full-featured as some, it is very easy to set up.
  
  
• Overall, AltaVista has done a terrific job of combining ease of use with the latest in technology. That's not to say it isn't behind in some areas. It lags behind many others, including Go2Net, MSN, Lycos, Go (just about everyone, maybe) in terms of life-changing, cutting-edge content. The "last mover advantage" touted by company management recently is, evidently, not always an advantage. You can cobble together a slick portal on top of a strong search engine in about a year. Building a true user experience, including putting more attention into the 'depth content' areas like entertainment, sports, and finance, can't be done overnight. It's a tough uphill climb to be able to compete with the best financial offerings like Motley Fool (Yahoo/AOL), Silicon Investor (Go2Net), and MSN Investor. (Instead, AltaVista's finance message boards are powered by Raging Bull, one of the most overrated, and fastest-growing, websites around.) Beating Lycos and Go Network (a.k.a. Disney / ABC) in the entertainment field for teens and children, similarly, seems impossible. Late-mover advantage works in fast-evolving technological areas, perhaps, but is a non-issue when it comes to building top rated content and tapping into the leading lights in the worlds of finance, sports, and entertainment. CMGI has done well to scoop up a technological leader and solid brand name in the search space, and to build a new portal around it. AltaVista has had a decent history in the technology business. Welcome to the consumer entertainment business, and good luck.
  
  
• Conclusion. Unless CMGI buys Disney (tip: don't bet the rent), it may be tough for AltaVista to reach that coveted pinnacle of portal success, a Traffick 3-star rating. They could inch closer by filling in some missing features, and beefing up the content and entertainment elements of AltaVista. But make no mistake, AltaVista should be applauded for the understated usability of the new offering, and for the attention to detail in putting together major features. Ask yourself, what dominates most customized portal offerings? What is the 'common denominator'? It looks as if news headlines tend to take up most of the page for most users. AltaVista's handling of this is very good. This shows that they understand that you must focus on the quality, speed, and ease of use of the most important features for users.

OVERALL RATING: 2.5 Stars (very good).