It's high-tech versus low-tech in this week's Arts & Leisure section. On the high-tech side, we're pleased to present all the stories from the New Orleans Gambit's special "Online Issue." These writers know their stuff; you won't find any unplugged poseurs who can't tell a parallel port from a serial port here. Instead you'll find cutting-edge articles addressing the following questions about electronic communication and its effect on society:

How does the new "Opera" browser reflect the cultural trend towards multitasking?

How do you create an effective web site?

How can a local-based newspaper expand its presence via the online world?

What will be the future in portable gadgetry and digital photography?

When will technology allow enough bandwidth for us to have fully "wired" living rooms that merge TV and the Internet into one cohesive whole?

So much for the high-tech side of Arts & Leisure. Let's look at the low-tech world of what some like to call "vernacular art." Or "folk art." This intriguing story examines several untrained folk artists whose creative processes, uninfluenced by the pretenses of the art world, are very much their own. A similar story examines the fertile yet neglected wealth of poster art created by small-time concert promoters over the years. This interview with renowned poster artist Frank Kozik demonstrates that the creative spirit of Henri Tolouse-Lautrec is very much alive.

Sometimes the worlds of high-tech and low-tech join forces, as seen in this article about religious websites. Even Buddhists have learned to preach the virtues of simplicity through vast networks of computer links. These are strange times.