The Alertbox is a monthly column that began in June 1995 and is written by Jakob Nielsen, a SunSoft Distinguished Engineer. The content is not platform-specific; rather the primary emphasis is on the optimal design of electronic information. Articles include The Need for Speed, Trends for the Web in 1997, and International Usability (of websites), among others. Planned future columns are also indicated. The advice on such topics as Java applets, long hypertext documents, and the usability of frames is eminently practical.