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Current Cities Volume 04 Number 09
_Current_Cites_
Volume 4, no. 9
September 1993
Information Systems Instruction & Support
The Library
University of California, Berkeley
Edited by David F. W. Robison
ISSN: 1060-2356
Contributors:
David B. Rez, Teri Rinne, Vivienne Roumani-Denn, Mark Takaro, Roy Tennant
_______________________________________________________________________
Electronic Publishing
Cronk, Ronald D. "Unlocking Data's Content" Byte 18(10)
(September 1993):111-120. The data in a document is often richer
and more informational than a simple text or numerical figures.
Electronic documents can be made to work for an organization in
ways paper documents never could. Various applications running
on different platforms can be linked to run as one document.
Markup languages are one way to make the data computer readable
across different applications. SGML (Standard Generalized Markup
Language) is the most widely used tagging language. One drawback
of SGML is that there is no universal standard for the specific
processing rules used for encoding and decoding documents,
another is that SGML itself only works on text. Another way to
solve the problem of document interchange is to link multiple
applications in a single document. This method is known as
compound document architecture (CDA). The two leading CDAs are
Open Document Architecture and DEC's Compound Document
Architecture. An attractive element of CDAs are that they are
not limited to text, but also allow for the interchange of
images and graphics.
- DBR
Lu, Cary. "Publish it Electronically" Byte 18(10) (September
1993):94-110. Organizations of any size might benefit by
publishing their documents electronically. Ease of searching,
and reduced storage requirements and paper use make online
document databases attractive to many users. There are some
hurtles to overcome, however: so far the technology is best
suited for minimally formatted text documents and there is no
clear standard solution for managing electronic documents. The
benefits of electronic document delivery are best realized with
computer-readable text. This means that non-electronic documents
need to be optically scanned and run through OCR (optical
character recognition) software, which can be time consuming and
labor intensive. Software companies (e.g., Adobe Systems and No
Hands Software) are working on "print-to screen" technology that
allows for better graphics and typography in searchable
electronic document delivery. - DBR
Murray, Phillip C. "Documentation Goes Digital" Byte 18(10)
(September 1993):121-129. Electronic reference documents (ERDs)
are becoming more popular and more prevalent in today's workplace.
ERDs (sometimes employing hypertext) are supplanting their hard
copy predecessors at an accelerating rate in part due to their
flexibility and the increased ease of access to the information
they contain. Their flexibility allows ERDs to be useful in a
wide range of documents from technical handbooks to organization
policy manuals. As it stands ERD technology is young, there is not
yet the wide base of experience found in desktop publishing.
Consequently paper documentation is not going to disappear soon.
However, as organizations become more comfortable with them, the
future is likely see a wider and more creative use of ERDs. - DBR
Hyper- and Multimedia
Anson, Louisa. "Image Compression: Making Multimedia Publishing a
Reality" CD-ROM Professional 6(5) (September 1993):16-29. A
thorough overview of current and possible future image
compression technologies, including the JPEG standard and the
Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) upon which it is based. Research
into Fractal Transform image compression indicates that it may
outperform the DCT-based algorithms, particularly with images
that are compressed once and then accessed many times. By
treating "whole images" rather than image blocks as is the case
with DCT compression, the Fractal Image Format (FIF) more closely
approximates the originally scanned image, and enhancing image
quality and providing better performance, particularly with
moving images. - MT
Beer, Jeffrey. "Video for Windows: Microsoft's Latest Multimedia
Winner" CD-ROM Professional 6(5) (September 1993):44-46. Beer
offers a short review of the new Video for Windows describing the
video capture and edit features, audio linking and the updated
runtime version of the Windows Media Player. A video capture
board and Video for Windows may be all that you need to get a
start in the Windows multimedia world. - MT
Fetterman, Roger L. "Multimedia Networks for Business" CD-ROM
Professional 6(5) (September 1993):78-81. The first of a two-
part article on multimedia networks for business applications
examines the range of needs within the world of commerce for
multimedia computing. Videoconferencing and electronic
performance support systems join training, merchandising and
presentations as avenues which will benefit from the use of
multimedia technology. The merging of multimedia computing with
networked work groups could produce substantial improvements in
the abilities of businesses to improve worker productivity. - MT
Grossman, Becky Lockwood. "A User's Guide to Multimedia CD-ROM
Drives" CD-ROM Professional 6(5) (September 1993):150-152. A
useful description and handy comparison table for various
multimedia CD drives. Multimedia PC (MPC) specifications and
the aligning of CD-ROM formats are briefly covered in this
article which indicates some of the cross-compatibility of
devices that are presently on the market. - MT
Kappe, Frank, Gerald Pani, and Florian Schnabel. "The
Architecture of a Massively Distributed Hypermedia System"
Internet Research 3(1) (Spring 1993):10-24. Progressing from a
description of present networked hypermedia implementations
towards the future of such systems, the authors introduce a
project which would provide better performance and global
coverage for networked hypermedia systems. Extending the Hyper-G
system used at the Graz University of Technology and employing a
link server and document cache servers, performance improvements
and solutions for updating changing information are made easier
under the described model. Multimedia document types, advanced
searching, links that can be traced bi-directionally and document
security features promise to yield a robust networked hypermedia
system, a pilot of which should be available by late 1993. - MT
Networks and Networking
Breeden, Laura, and Lawrence Bouman. "Demythologizing the
Internet: Lessons from the Real World" EDUCOM Review 28(5)
(September/October 1993):29-35. Breeden and Bouman examine some
of the myths surrounding the Internet and its funding sources.
As the executive director of FARNET, Inc. and senior vice
president for Network Engineering at MCI, respectively, Breeden
and Bouman are insiders with a mission to clear up the common
misconception that the loss of Federal subsidies to networking
organizations will end networking as we know it. As they point
out, "The federal investment in the Internet represents a small
but critical fraction of the total, perhaps as small as 10
percent overall." This money has been considered critical
because, in the past, it provided seed money for development in
high-risk areas. Now that the Internet has reached a certain
level of maturity, this money may not be so critical. The
authors also note that there is legislation under consideration
in Congress that would provide direct funds for networking to
various research and education organizations including libraries
and K-12. - DFWR
Dern, Daniel. "Start Here: How and Why to Join the Internet and
Get Going" Internet World (September/October 1993):67-77. Dern
offers a fairly complete, though article-length, guide to
getting connected to the Internet. Describing the advantages,
disadvantages, and costs of the various options available to
both individuals a organizations of all sizes, Dern offers
potential users a way out of the muddle of connection acronyms
and promises. To whet the appetite, Dern includes a "handful"
of the many reasons to join the Internet world (as if we didn't
know already ;-). - DFWR
Deutsch, Peter. "Peter's Soapbox" Internet World (September/
October 1993):48-49. Deutsch introduces his new column in
Internet World. He describes his plans for musing on
various aspects of the Internet and its ongoing development,
concentrating on social and technical issues. Much of the
discussion in this installment is about the possible effects of
the rapid commercialization of the Internet. Deutsch wonders
whether the anarchic, local-initiative-oriented aspects of the
Internet will survive, and opines that this is the time to try
and influence the future direction of the network. - DFWR
Digital Privacy and Security Working Group. "Outline of
Testimony Before NIST Advisory Board" EFFector Online 5(16)
(September 3, 1993).
<URL=ftp://ftp.eff.org//pub/EFF/newsletters/effector5.16> The
Digital Privacy and Security Working Group, a coalition of over
50 telecommunications, computer and public interest organizations
chaired by EFF, testified before the National Institute of
Standards and Technology on the Clinton administration's Clipper
Chip/Slipjack proposal. They stated that the proposal could be
accepted if use of the Clipper Chip/Slipjack were completely
voluntary. Among the requests made by the Working Group were a
relaxation of export controls on encryption technology and a more
complete, public evaluation of the Clipper technology. [NIST h
as asked for public comment by September 28, 1993; comments may
be emailed to cryptnow@eff.org by 8pm EDT Sept. 27th, where they
will be printed and delivered to NIST] - DFWR
Estrada, Susan. Connecting to the Internet: A Buyer's Guide.
Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly & Associates, 1993. This timely and
concise handbook covers most of the bases when it comes to
getting connected to the Internet in the US. Designed to help
users select the best choice of connection type and service
provider, Estrada's guide explains how each type of connection
works, what parts of the connection the user needs to be
concerned with, and what are the relative advantages and
disadvantages of each option. Appendices include a list of
dial-up providers, dedicated connection service providers, and a
glossary. - DFWR
Godwin, Mike. "The Law of the Net: Problems and Prospects"
Internet World (September/October 1993):52-54. Godwin, legal
services counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, offers
a brief primer on some of the emerging legal issues surrounding
network activities of various sorts. Many legal doctrines of
the past are challenged by the network, and in less than
obvious, but still profound ways. Among these challenges: what
does libel mean when the injured party can publish just as
easily as the party that published the libelous statement? What
about the international nature of the network, where individuals
in one can country can contact thousands of users in another?
Godwin also describes how the net effects criminal, negligence,
and of course, copyright law. - DFWR
Kelly, Kevin. "When Bandwidth is Free: The Dark Fiber Interview
with George Gilder" Wired 1(4) (September/October 1993):38-41.
Gilder, a writer on technology and society, describes some
aspects of the future he sees where networking bandwidth is
free. Arguing that fiber optics can offer virtually unlimited
bandwidth, Gilder claims that the ultimate resource will be the
human mind and where we will need to economize. Advances in
computing will also give immense information power to
individuals, power that formerly was only in the hands of a few.
- DFWR
Klensin, John, and Randy Bush. "Expanding International E-mail
Connectivity: Another Look" ConneXions 7(8) (August 1993):25-29.
Klensin and Bush note that when email-based personal networking
and collaboration become available to users, they quickly become
dependent on it. In fact, "previously-unanticipated
collaboration seems to come into being almost spontaneously."
To increase the availability of email in those areas that lack
the infrastructure and expertise, a number of factors need to be
considered: consider the local conditions as even in the
"developed" world, expecting an elementary school to obtain a
dedicated phone line may be asking too much; address the basic
needs of the user community rather than aiming too high and
possibly scaring them off (e.g., dial-up access at 2400 baud
rather than a 56K line). Typically, small beginnings will breed
further development with little or no outside encouragement. -
DFWR
Lawton, George. "The End of the Party Line" Wired 1(4)
(September/October 1993):66-69. With Russia's telephone network
barely beginning to enter the latter half of this century,
efforts are underway to provide digital service in St.
Petersburg and Moscow. In the meantime, however, a number of
networks connected to the Internet have sprung up in the last 3
years. Among the service providers are FidoNet, Glasnet,
Relcom, and a commercial network, Sovam Teleport. Levels of
service and prices vary widely among these providers, and often,
the fastest line available is only 2400 baud. Ironically, the
US government's rules limiting sales of high technology
equipment to "communist" countries is limiting the development
of an open and easily-accessible network in Russia. - DFWR
Markoff, John. "A New Information Mass Market" The New York
Times (September 3, 1993):C1, C4 (Western edition). With the
announcement that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has acquired
the Delphi Internet Services company comes the recognition that
the Internet is now a mass market opportunity. Murdoch plans to
distribute some of his newspapers online, and other companies
are offering services such as Internet fax, a cheaper
alternative to standard fax. Clearly, this news heralds a new
era for the Internet. - DFWR
Peters, Paul Evan. "Are We Gardeners or Are We Farmers?: Guiding
Internet Resource and Service Planners and Developers" EDUCOM
Review 28(5) (September/October 1993):60-62. Peters describes
how Internet resource and service planning and development
strategies fall into three categories: modernizing, innovating,
and transforming strategies. A modernizing strategy simply
updates an old solution (e.g., email); an innovative strategy
solves an old problem that heretofore was unsolvable (e.g.,
Z39.50); a transforming strategy is one which solves a problem
that heretofore did not exist. In this last instance, the
"problem" is the accumulation and aggregation of knowledge and
specialists in a single virtual space. Peters points out that
the Internet is "brimming with noteworthy initiatives by
individuals who seek to modernize, innovate, and/or transform
the ways knowledge is created, managed, and utilized within
their communities." - DFWR
Reynolds, Dennis. "Evaluating Dial-Up Internet Access Options"
Computers in Libraries 13(8) (September 1993):86-93. Reynolds
provides a library perspective on the more popular questions of
the day, "How do get on the Internet?" Similar to Estrada's
book, and Dern's article, this article describes the issues
user (in this case librarians and library staff) must consider
when purchasing a dial-up connection to the Internet: base
costs, hourly costs, user support, interfaces and editors, and
performance. Unfortunately the article fails to clearly
explain all the advantages of a SLIP or PPP connection other
than the improved speed of data transfer. For the library that
knows it wants a dial-up Internet account, this article is a
good place to start learning about the important concerns.
- DFWR
Sandfort, Sandy. "The Intelligent Island?" Wired 1(4) (September/
October 1993):52-55, 116. While the US has a plan for its "data
superhighway", Singapore is already well along the technological
path to ubiquitous, multimedia, networked computing. But
currently, their Teleview system is has no international links.
What will happen is a country that censors the foreign press and
officially has no drugs or prostitution offers Internet
connections to the general public? One economist who has spent
time teaching in Singapore says, "Their big problem is what to do
when Singaporeans are introduced to the world." - DFWR
The White House. National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for
Action. Version 1.0. September 1993.
<URL=ftp://ftp.ntia.doc.gov/pub/niiagenda.asc>
<URL=gopher://gopher.nist.gov/DOC Documents/niiagenda.asc>.
This is the latest release from the Clinton/Gore administration
regarding the National Information Infrastructure (NII)
initiative, and provides some of the clearest information yet
about the administration's plans. For the first time, there is
a clear articulation of the goals of the NII initiative itself,
as well as the specific programs both planned and in progress
designed to effect the overall plan. One sentence, from the
Executive Summary, describes the administration's overall
position on the government's role in the development of the NII:
"Carefully crafted government action will complement and enhance
the efforts of the private sector and assure the growth of an
information infrastructure available to all Americans at
reasonable cost." Outlined in the text are 9 principles of the
NII. Among these are: "universal service"; a trustworthy and
secure network, "protecting the privacy of its users" - but
still allowing authorized wiretaps; protection of intellectual
property. Towards these ends, the President has convened a
Federal inter-agency Information Infrastructure Task Force
(IITF) that will work with Congress and the private sector with
three committees focusing on telecommunications policy,
information policy, and applications. The administration will
also establish a private sector Advisory Council on the National
Information Infrastructure to advise the IITF. Included in the
report is a list of government actions taken in each of the 9
focus areas and description of projects in business, health
care, civic networking, research, life-long learning, government
operations. It is a pleasure to see that the administration
recognizes the value of the participatory nature of the network,
writing, "the NII will be of maximum value to users if it is
sufficiently 'open' and interactive so that users can develop
new services and applications or exchange information among
themselves, without waiting for services to be offered by the
firms that operate the NII." - DFWR
Wilford, Neville. "Cello: Getting a Window on the World Wide
Web" The World Wide Web Global Network Newsletter 1
(September/October 1993):11-12. Wilford reviews Cello, an MS
Windows World-Wide Web browser similar to Mosaic that is
available via anonymous FTP. While still in beta testing,
Wilford claims Cello is stable and quite useful as an Internet
front-end, supporting WWW, FTP, Telnet, and email. Wilford also
includes handy tips for loading the software and extensions for
handling sounds, graphics, and PostScript. - DFWR
Optical Disc Technologies
Hartigan, John M. "Compact Disc Recording: A Technical Overview"
CD-ROM Professional 6(5) (September 1993):102-106. "In an age
of revolutionary products and revolutionary ideas," writes
Hartigan, "one product stands out as the most revolutionary: a
recorder with the ability to record compact discs at the
desktop." Hartigan enthusiastically describes both the
innovative technology and its promising market potential. - TR
Herther, Nancy K., et. al. "CD-ROM Distribution Today: Surveying
Attitudes of Top Computer Distributors" CD-ROM Professional
6(5) (September 1993):86-91. This article presents the results
of a survey targeting computer distributors, designed to
determine the nature and scope of CD-ROM acceptance in the
traditional computer distribution channels. The results of
the survey provide evidence of a major shift by computer
distributors to not only include CD-based products in their
product line, but to actively support and promote these products
to their clients. - TR
Herther, Nancy K. "Dancing With Life: Talking About the Future
of CD-ROM and SilverPlatter with Bela Hatvany" CD-ROM
Professional 6(5) (September 1993):71-76. CD-ROM Professional
Editor in Chief Nancy Herther interviews Bela Hatvany,
SilverPlatter's Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.
Hatvany, one of the early believers in CD-ROM technology,
describes the humble beginnings of Silver-Platter, originally
called INCubator, residing in a 10' x 10' office space. A decade
later, SilverPlatter is intent upon being the world's best
distributor of information in electronic form. Hatvany's future
vision of SilverPlatter includes heavy investment in four areas:
distribution (naturally), internal systems, technology, and
market-specific publishing. - TR
Kovacs, Diane K. "The Best and the Worst Government Printing
Office CD-ROMs: Govdoc-L Reports Again" CD-ROM Professional
6(5) (September 1993):58-61. This article presents the results
of a survey ranking GPO CD-ROMs which was conducted on a
government documents electronic discussion list, Govdoc-L. Since
the GPO no longer distributes some of its material in printed
format, libraries often have no choice regarding CD-ROM
collection development. The overwhelming favorite for best CD-
ROM was the National Trade DataBank; the "favorite" choice for
worst GPO CD-ROM product was the Congressional Record. - TR
McDonald, Dennis D. "Access to Data While on the Road: A
Hands-on Look at Portable CD-ROM Systems" CD-ROM Professional
6(5) (September 1993):120-127. McDonald provides a personal
perspective on portable CD-ROM systems. Portable CD-ROM systems
are defined, the connection between the CD-ROM drive and the
computer is explained, and salient issues such as portability,
battery life, performance, durability, and display are discussed.
The author cautions that both portable computing and CD-ROM-based
electronic publishing are changing rapidly. What was considered
state-of-the-art only six months ago may be obsolete tomorrow, or
it might still be in use five years from now. - TR
McQueen, Howard. "CD-ROM Servers: An Overview" CD-ROM
Professional 6(5) (September 1993):54-57. This article reviews
various CD-ROM server configurations, ranging from the simple to
complex. Among the systems described are access to CD-ROMs
attached to individual workstations, dedicated CD-ROM (only)
servers, and dedicated file server/CD-ROM servers. - TR
Richards, Trevor and Christine Robinson. "Evaluating CD-ROM
Software: A Model" CD-ROM Professional 6(5) (September 1993): 92-
101. Richards and Robinson start by summarizing the literature
of CD-ROM evaluation and then present their own model of product
evaluation which concentrates primarily upon user interface
criteria.- TR
Rugg, Tom. "Installing a Low-Cost LAN: Fool-Proof Tips From a
Pro" CD-ROM Professional 6(5) (September 1993):114-118. The
major drawbacks of local area networks (LANs) are the expense and
the complexity. Rugg presents alternatives, utilizing two of the
most popular, low-cost network operating systems, LANtastic and
NetWare Lite. If conditions are ideal, LANs can be installed for
as little as $150 per PC. - TR
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Current Cites 4(9) (September 1993) ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright (C) 1993 by the Library, University of
California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective holders. Mention of a product in this publication
does not necessarily imply endorsement of the product.
Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by computerized
bulletin board/conference systems, individual scholars, and
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ftp.lib.berkeley.edu in directory /pub/Current.Cites
<URL=ftp://ftp.lib.berkeley.edu/pub/Current.Cites>. This message
must appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
permission from the editor, who may be reached in the following
ways:
drobison@library.berkeley.edu // drobison@ucblibra // (510)643-9494
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