var tickerpos = 0;
var intervalID;

function ticker(){
  intervalID = setInterval(flashText, 3500);
}

function flashText(){
	
	document.getElementById("whats_new_item_" + tickerpos).style.display = "none";
	tickerpos++;
	if(tickerpos>=class_count){
		tickerpos = 0;
	}
	document.getElementById("whats_new_item_" + tickerpos).style.display = "block";
}

function stopTextColor(){
  clearInterval(intervalID);
}

function ClassCount(className, tag){
	var testClass = new RegExp("(^|\\\\s)" + className + "(\\\\s|$)");
	var tag = tag || "*";
	var elm = document;
	var elements = (tag == "*" && elm.all)? elm.all : elm.getElementsByTagName(tag);
	var returnElements = [];
	var current;
	var length = elements.length;
	for(var i=0; i<length; i++){
		current = elements[i];
		if(testClass.test(current.className)){
			returnElements.push(current);
		}
	}
    return returnElements.length;
}