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Current Cities Volume 06 Number 06
_Current Cites_
Volume 6, no. 6
June 1995
Information Systems Instruction & Support
The Library
University of California, Berkeley
Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne
ISSN: 1060-2356
URL:http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ISIS/current-cites/cc95.6.6.html
Contributors:
Campbell Crabtree, John Ober, Margaret Phillips,
David Rez, Richard Rinehart, Teri Rinne, Roy Tennant
Multimedia and Hypermedia
Besser, Howard. [http://http2.sils.umich.edu/~howardb/]
"Getting the Picture on Image Databases: The Basics"
Database 18(2)(April/May 1995):12-19. -- This article is
an indispensable resource and introduction for anyone
involved in imaging and/or creating an image database. It is
written so that it is accessible to the novice, but raises
enough salient issues to be of interest to even the most
advanced imaging project manager. The article starts with
the promise of outlining some of the major considerations in
developing an image database, which it does in great depth.
It ends by concluding that image databases can be valuable
assets for general access and scholarship, but that in order
to ensure longevity of the information, the entire database
from image to attached descriptive text, needs to be carefully
planned according to use and adhere to the appropriate
standards. The article is excerpted from a forthcoming publication
from the Getty Art History Information Program,
[http://www.ahip.getty.edu/ahip], as part of a series of
educational publications on imaging and cultural heritage
organizations. Of great use as well, are the numerous cites to
related articles and projects, with contact info. -- RR
Networks and Networking
Falcigno, Kathleen and Tim Green. "Home Page, Sweet Home Page"
Database 18(2) (April/May 1995):20-28. -- A good introduction,
particularly for librarians, about what is required to create
your own Web presence. Although they have fallen into the trap
of mis- and over-using the term "home page," as have many
others, the article contains a lot of good, practical advice.
An example is "Learning HTML and creating a series of Web
documents is not difficult, but maintaining these documents
will involve a considerable ongoing time commitment." Such gems
far outweigh such problems as an apparent publication timeframe
that pre-dates Netscape and makes URL's go out of date. -- RT
Lamb, Linda and Jerry Peek _Using Email Effectively_. Sebastopol,
CA: O'Reilly & Associates, 1995. -- This slim volume is chock-
full of down-to-earth advice that virtually all email users will
find helpful. It is one of a new series of volumes from O'Reilly
called "What You Need to Know" and is designed to reduce a
subject to the essential information about a topic. If this
volume is any indication, the series may gain as much respect
with everyday computer users as O'Reilly's Nutshell Handbook
series has gained with the wireheads for whom that series is aimed.
Basic information, practical tips, advice, and netiquette are all
presented in a format that is inviting and easy to browse. The
layout includes personal vignettes in the ample whitespace of the
outside margins, where real people (at least some of whom are
O'Reilly staff) share email tips, personal habits, and horror
stories. Highly recommended. -- RT
Lewis, Peter H. "Best Web Browsers" PC World 13(6) (June 1995)
:122-141. -- The proliferation of World Wide Web client access
programs, or browsers, is keeping heads spinning and electronic
discussion traffic high. Combined with the dizzying speed with
which alliances are forming between browser developers and
Internet Access Providers (which now include the former
"gateway" services of America Online, CompuServe, et al.) the
sources and qualities of different browsers are impossible to
keep straight. In this article, Lewis evaluates the ten most
popular browsers, compares them feature by feature, and makes
recommendations. NaviSoft's InternetWorks is rated highest as
an all-in-one Internet package plus browser, Netscape is the
choice for stand-alone commercial browsers, and winWeb for
stand-alone shareware. It certainly is difficult to create a
fixed point from which to assess and understand all of the
access and client options for the Internet (and some of the
companion articles in this issue of PC World were out of date
upon publication, including Judy Heim's "Best Online Services"),
but Lewis creates such a point as well as the framework by which
comparisons can continue to be made. -- JLO
Mui, Linda. _When You Can't Find Your UNIX System Administrator_
O'Reilly and Associates, 1995. -- Finally. A small, well-
organized paperback that provides hints and gives context for
the mid-range UNIX user. UNIX has been described as "engineer
friendly, user hostile" and its power is often lost or misused
by casual and mid-range users. The book declares, from the outset,
that it is for "users who are not particularly interested in
computers, but who just need to get their work done." It assumes
that the reader knows basic UNIX commands for editing files and
moving through directories. With chapters such as "What you need
to know about sharing files" and "What you need to know about
running programs" it uncovers, in browsable fashion, the true
usefulness and necessity of file permissions, full pathnames,
program resources, etc. While not particularly useful as a
reference tool for individual commands or tasks, the book does
fill in the conceptual gap for users who believe that something
OUGHT to be possible (because, for example, it is possible on their
pc or mac) and how UNIX actually makes it possible (or not). This
kind of understanding is particularly useful for those Internet
resource providers who find themselves in a new zone halfway
between pure content management and system administration. -- JLO
"Proceedings of the Third International World-Wide Web Conference,
10-14 April, 1995, Darmstadt, Germany" Computer Networks and
ISDN Systems 27(6) [available to journal subscribers, conference
attendees, and those who order a print copy at
http://www.elsevier.nl/www3/] -- The proceedings of this conference
have been published simultaneously on the World Wide Web and in
print to a limited audience: the attendees of the conference,
subscribers to the journal, and purchasers of this issue. Persons
in those categories have access to a password that enables them to
visit the online archive. The online archive has a number of
interesting research articles on the World Wide Web, and each article
includes numerous links to online information and a "printable"
version of the file in Adobe Acrobat format. -- RT
Schnell, Eric. "Writing for the Web: A Primer for Librarians"
<http://bones.med.ohio-state.edu/eric/papers/primer/webdocs.htm>
-- Although this online article/tutorial is still in draft form,
it could prove useful for those asked to teach librarians (or
anyone really) how to write for the WWW. It is not an HTML tutorial,
as that topic is well-covered by other resources. Rather this
article leads a writer through some of the issues involved in
writing for this new medium, such as the need to keep individual
pages short and focused, and using links instead of additional
paragraphs for new topics. So far it is a bit short on information
about embedding multimedia objects in writing for the WWW, but in
considering design along with technical issues, and written for a
Web beginner, this tutorial can provide a useful tool for
instruction. -- RR
Singleton, Andrew. "Cash on the Wirehead" Byte 20(6) (June 1995)
:71-78. -- You've seen it as part of every science fiction movie
made in the last decade or so - some computer verification of debit
or credit replacing every trace of cash or coin. Singleton's article
serves as a readable primer on digital cash and digital credit. Along
the way he points out that most of the pieces and players are already
in place while the remaining security, privacy, and network components
are being readied. Six current systems, essentially sold as services
to businesses wanting to support transactions on the Internet and
other electronic venues, are compared and contrasted. The author's
analysis includes predictions of slow acceptance and profitability
while any rewards to be had will very likely go to the major credit
card companies and their collaborations with hightech, such as the
joint ventures between MasterCard/Netscape and Visa/Microsoft. -- JLO
Optical Disc Technology
Benford, Tom. "The Quad Speed Six: Fast CD-ROMs in the Fast Lane"
CD-ROM Professional 8(5) (May 1995):20-38. -- When Pioneer
released the first quad-speed CD-ROM drive in 1992, its 800KB/sec
rotation rate was considered a huge waste of energy. Benford
explains how things have changed in the intervening years.
Quad-speed drives are fast becoming a necessity with multimedia
applications which involve full-motion video, 3D modeling and
rendering, and complex animation, especially at 24-bit color
depth. Quad speed drives make it possible to render huge graphic
information databases in real time - a necessity for believable
virtual reality multimedia. Quad speed drives also enable faster
software loading, as more publishers are providing their software
on CD-ROM. "Whatever prophecies of doom the debut of quad speed
drives inspired," concludes Benford, "this kind of drive is here
to stay because the technology represents advances that are making
things better, faster, and less expensive." The meat of the article
is a comprehensive review of the six quad speed drives currently
on the market. -- TR
Mortensen, Kirsten. "Technology Meets Culture at the Dawn of the
Digital Museum" CD-ROM Professional 8(5) (May 1995):106-111.
-- This article gives an overview of why museums (and by
extension, other cultural heritage institutions) are employing
digital technology. Among the reasons are improved collection
management and care (through reducing the need to handle delicate
objects), income generation (in actuality, the furthest goal as
yet), and foremost - increased public access to collections
information. Applications of CD-ROM technology are highlighted,
of course, and of value is the sampling of projects cited. Of
particular interest is the briefly touched-upon notion that soon
an online visitor could search across collections regardless of
the actual physical location of them in separate museums, by
theme for instance, or artist, instead of by museum/location.
Museums even more than libraries have been tied to local access
to mostly unique objects, so remote and shared access implies an
even greater change for these institutions. -- RR
Samuels, Geoffrey, ed. "Sample CD-ROM Licensing Agreements for
Museums" New York: MUSE Educational Media, 1995. -- This booklet
is published by the MUSE group in cooperation with the American
Association of Museums and several law consultants. It contains
two sample agreements between a museum and CD-ROM developer, to
serve as a template for museums, and surely libraries and archives
as well, in writing agreements for developing and publishing
CD-ROM titles. It contains samples of the legal language, a
glossary, and notes explaining in lay terms the reasoning behind
each section. The field of intellectual property is just as
challenging as the technical issues in creating quality
educational media titles, and this booklet is a major step toward
helping education and research institutions in this area. MUSE
can be reached at: MUSE Educational Media, 1 East 53rd St.,
10th Fl., New York City, 10022-4201. -- RR
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Current Cites 6(6) (June 1995) ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright (C) 1995 by the Library, University of
California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
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