Here’s what The People think, how our culture weighs in. That, we’re told, was the message the chorus delivered in Greek tragedies, as they sang or chanted their reactions to the revelation and the handling of atrocities. What would this look like in a society as heterogonous, and as destabilized by radical societal changes, as ours is today? Sarah Benson investigates in her innovative and often deeply moving take on  “Ajax,” by Sophocles, in a brand new translation by Charles Connaghan.

A grid of 30 monitors, hung askance over an eerie modern military mess hall (designed by David Zinn), reveals the “talking heads” that makeup Benson’s chorus. They belong to a cross-section of community members from the Cambridge area, including, a director’s note tells us, “both military and civilian members, active service-people, veterans, young and old, students, doctors, elected officials, the unemployed, educators, mothers, grandfathers, those working in industry, the arts, media, technology and business worlds, and many more.”

These community members, who sometimes stare silently at the audience for long stretches in Warhol-like footage, have been interviewed about themes and plot elements in “Ajax,” and asked to relate to parts of the story. Pieces of these interviews are offered as reactions to the twists and turns of the drama. They feel personal and heartfelt, real people sharing their feelings. Each face and voice is distinct and anytime the chorus speaks in unison, it produces a pointed cacophony. The result sometimes feels like documentary, sometimes like news footage, sometimes even like reality TV.

The authenticity of these voices heightens the challenge for the play’s actors whose dialogue remains slightly stilted. When dueling heroes Odysseus (Ron Cephas Jones) and Ajax (Brent Harris) speak with the self-conscious bombast of the traditional tragedian, their elocution feels out of step with the elements that work so well in this production—but then, they are meant to be outsized personalities, cultural icons in their own time.

The story, best know from Homer’s “Iliad,” is that Odysseus and Ajax, two of the most formidable warriors on the Greek side of the Trojan War, rescued the body of Achilles, the mightiest of the Greeks, from desecration by his enemies once he fell. Ajax, known for his brawn, carried the body to safety with Odysseus, known for his strategy and craft, guarding his back. In the war’s aftermath, a contest was held to determine which hero would get the honor of owning Achilles’ armor. It went to Odysseys for, Ajax thinks, political reasons. Bitter in defeat after so many hard fought victories, Ajax turns on his old comrade in arms, naming Odysseus and his supporters as sworn enemies.

When Sophocles picks up the story, Ajax’s bitterness has turned into the kind of blinding, violent rage that once made him such a danger to the Trojans. In modern parlance, he decides to “frag” his own men—literally tear them to pieces.  Athena (Kaaron Briscoe) the patron goddess of strategists, protects Odysseus, her mortal champion, by leading Ajax to slaughter cattle he only believes are Greeks.  By the time Ajax realizes the truth the damage is done. He will now be seen by those who once revered him as a madman and a traitor.

In other words, Ajax, trained to be a fearless killer, cannot find his place in the world once his war is over. Extreme emotions trigger a break from reality in which he believes himself to be back in battle. Parallels to the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from which so many of the veterans of our most recent (and ongoing) wars suffer, are all too clear. But “Ajax” touches on more than the ravages of war. It’s about how we reckon with any of our biggest public heroes when their heightened realities catch up with them and they lose their way.

Benson’s production really heats up in about its second half (not bad when you consider that it’s less than 90 minutes long), with the entrance of Teucer (Nathan Darrow), Ajax’s brother, and Agamemnon (Thomas Derrah), his commanding officer, who fiercely debate the way Ajax will be treated by the military now that he has fallen. Ultimately, the arbiter of the quarrel must be the hunted man himself: Odysseus.

There are many reasons to see this affecting and fascinating take on a Greek stage classic; in this rare case, the most compelling reason, is the chorus.

“Ajax” plays at the A.R.T.’s Loeb Drama Center through March 13.

Various outlets are reporting that Firefox 3.5 will land on your computers tomorrow, June 30. This is exciting news in the land of browsers. It’s been almost a year since we’ve seen a full release from Mozilla. Originally scheduled to just be an update, bringing the version number to 3.1, Mozilla has since revised the scheme to signal the significance of all the new features being brought to the table. By the way, did you notice the new logo?

Firefox 3.5 has unparalled support for HTML 5, which will support a more robust offline experience. This may sound ironic for a web browser, but as more applications move towards the web “" think Google Gears to access your Gmail and Zoho documents on a plane “" it will be important to be able to access your documents and tools whether or not you have an active Internet connection.

Another important feature is the TraceMonkey JavaScript engine. While Mozilla was unable to prepare this rendering engine for its 3.0 release, the engine is finally ready this time, bringing with it snappier JavaScript handling. We’ve been test driving the betas and release candidates the whole way through, and we love what we see “" online mail interfaces like Gmail and Yahoo! Mail are quick and responsive, along with many other AJAX heavy sites.

Of course, there are many other numerous tweaks behind the scenes which speed the entire browser and make it a more stable platform. Depending on who’s counting, Firefox controls between 20-25% browser share behind Microsoft’s behemoth Internet Explorer. While this release has nothing flashy to convert more new users, Firefox has been steadily gaining browser share with every passing day, and a better, updated browser will do nothing to slow it down. Head over to get Firefox tomorrow.

4D released a revision, which offers users a new set of Internet tools while providing user-friendliness and better functionally.

Essentially 4D’s Web 2.0 Pack v11 is an online Internet application, which allows business users access to use a simple drag and drop interface, essential to perform a variety of tasks like: the ability to create graphs, perform basic calculations and much more, all without the need to ever write JavaSript.

4D’s Web 2.0 Pack v11 is mainly designed for mobile platforms such as Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch, however it will also run on you standard browsers seamlessly. This new update offers support for the 4D V11 SQL as well while providing a few advancements, such as improved performance and bug fixes; all in effort to provide a better user experience.

“The iPhone’s tremendous popularity has increased the need for powerful, mobile business tools,” said Brendan Coveney, President and CEO of 4D Inc. “We developed the Business Intelligence Dashboards for 4D Web 2.0 Pack v11 to give developers the cutting-edge tools they need to meet those business needs.”

The new AJAX powered software is priced at $599 and includes a six-month subscription to any further updates. The company will also provide an additional 12-month maintenance plan, which can be purchased for $249.

Overall it’s nice to see more productive tools for the iPhone and iPod touch mobile platforms. This new advancement will give business access more functionality, all on a simple, familiar drag and drop interface, without all the code.

Click here for more information and a complete list of features.

By the way:
Due to reporting errors, the name of the 4D V11 SQL was reported 3D V11 SQL. The price of the 4D Web 2.0 Pack V11 is $599, not $600, and the 12-month maintenance plan is $249 not $250.