By Joe Burlas, Army News Service

March, 2004 - Army Knowledge Online now offers a stripped-down version that loads up to 10 times faster than the regular service. AKO Lite was developed in response to concerns of deployed Soldiers in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom that AKO took too long to access and use, said Lt. Col. Kenneth Blakely, chief of AKO.

The normal AKO is very heavy with lots of bytes to download," Blakely said. "Soldiers said they want something faster, so we made AKO Lite. AKO Lite contains access links to the most popular AKO features, like the Web-based e-mail and instant messaging systems, and is very close to the full AKO experience."

A large part of the downsizing to make AKO Lite was getting rid of byte-hungry graphics. The AKO Lite homepage is about a third of the size of the regular version -- missing the pictures and links to Army senior leaders, the Army and AKO logos, and the What's New at AKO, Quick Links, My Links and My KCC sections. Users can still access their knowledge collaboration centers via a link at the top of the page.

AKO Lite is part of an ongoing effort to make AKO useful and vant, Blakely said.

Other initiatives that will be implemented in the near future include:

o A server software upgrade that will deliver both AKO and AKO Lite twice as fast as it does currently.

o Making the viewable area of the announcements section smaller by introducing a scrolling text box.

o Updating all AKO pages with consistent colors and logos.

o Creating a new portal that allows AKO users to create their own homepages that can be viewed by other AKO users.

Not all AKO changes have been applauded by the field. Speaking about the early January Army announcement that limited where AKO Web-based e-mail could automatically be forwarded to, Blakely said it was to make AKO compliant with Army Regulation 25-2, Information Assurance, which was published in November. "AR 25-2 specifically prohibits automatic e-mail forwarding to unofficial e-mail addresses," Blakely said. "You can still forward any AKO e-mail manually to an unofficial e-mail address if you want to after reading it; you just cannot have the system automatically do it for you."

As of mid-January, AKO had more that 1.6 million registered users. I think one of the best things about AKO is that you have a single, portal e-mail address for life,î Blakely said. That e-mail address and access to AKO goes with all active, Reserve and National Guard Soldiers wherever they go and it remains valid even into retirement, he said.

AKO Lite can be accessed through the regular AKO sign-in page, www.us.army.mil, from a link on the left side of the page. It works with the same user name and password as the regular AKO service.

AKO Lite is part of an ongoing effort to make AKO useful and relevant, Blakely said.

Other initiatives that will be implemented in the near future include:

* A server software upgrade that will deliver both AKO and AKO Lite twice as fast as it does currently.

* Making the viewable area of the announcements section smaller by introducing a scrolling text box.

* Creating a new portal that allows AKO users to create their own homepages that can be viewed by other AKO users.

Not all AKO changes have been applauded by the field. Speaking about the early January Army announcement that limited where AKO Web-based e-mail could automatically be forwarded to, Blakely said it was to make AKO compliant with Army Regulation 25-2, Information Assurance, which was published in November.

"AR 25-2 specifically prohibits automatic e-mail forwarding to unofficial e-mail addresses," Blakely said. Most users have now adapted and complied well, and they are no longer experiencing any inconvenience by the change.

As of mid-January, AKO had more that 1.6 million registered users.

"I think one of the best things about AKO is that you have a single, portal e-mail address for life," Blakely said. "That e-mail address and access to AKO goes with all active, Reserve and National Guard Soldiers wherever they go."