Election Night's slow downloads Analysis/Commentary Election Night was particularly painful this campaign season due to slow download times and a paucity of the latest and greatest information. Television showcased the same old, tired talking heads, while Web news lacked a timeliness -- a "this is now" kind of conviction. Apparently, the television networks stumbled when they first "gave" Florida to Gore -- based on exit polls -- then recanted. And the Web churned slowly, in silence, reveling in its shadow existence. There was a good side and a bad to Net reports: CNN provided an Electoral Vote counter, and its cover page was loaded with timely information. The New York Times gave readers a tongue-in-cheek summary of what the anchors on the major television stations were doing and saying. Yahoo!'s Election Coverage site braced itself for an audience that would surpass the Victoria's Secret fashion show -- and delivered flawlessly. ("Yahoo!" is right.) On the down side: Voter.com consistently crashed. Was it overloaded or just badly coded? Many news stories neglected to prominently display their date lines, so visitors couldn't help reading old news as new news. CNN hosted a "news analyst chat" that played it safe by focusing entirely on Mrs. Clinton's victory over Mr. Lazio. Boring. All told, Election Night was one slow download -- which, you must admit, hardly becomes an electronic medium. Clicksville snored. The big ticket item when last I looked? Bush had turned in for night. Could anyone blame him? November 8, 2000