America Online's web browser is set by default to make images on any page viewed on the web load as quickly as possible. To do so it compresses the image files which results in a serious degradation of the quality of how art looks on your monitor. The lack of sharpness of photography viewed with this default setting is unacceptable! However, this setting can easily be changed. The images will load slower, but it's worth the wait.

Here is how to make the changes. Go to "Members" and the toolbar and select "My AOL". Find the web preferences and un-check the "use compressed graphics" feature. Click "Apply." There may be slight differences in this procedure depending on which version of AOL you are running.

All graphics from web pages you have previously looked at in the recent past are still in the browser's cache files and will still come up in the blurry compressed form. If you are going to view these images again, you need to clear your browser's cache which is stored on your hard drive. Select "Empty Cache" as part of the above instruction. (This would be a good idea once in a while anyway as the files take up room in your computers memory, and makes loading slower too. - M.S.)

Reprinted with permission,
Ben Breard,
Afterimage Gallery,
Dallas Texas