247 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
247 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
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_Current Cites_
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Volume 6, no. 6
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June 1995
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Information Systems Instruction & Support
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The Library
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University of California, Berkeley
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Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne
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ISSN: 1060-2356
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URL:http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ISIS/current-cites/cc95.6.6.html
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Contributors:
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Campbell Crabtree, John Ober, Margaret Phillips,
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David Rez, Richard Rinehart, Teri Rinne, Roy Tennant
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Multimedia and Hypermedia
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Besser, Howard. [http://http2.sils.umich.edu/~howardb/]
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"Getting the Picture on Image Databases: The Basics"
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Database 18(2)(April/May 1995):12-19. -- This article is
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an indispensable resource and introduction for anyone
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involved in imaging and/or creating an image database. It is
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written so that it is accessible to the novice, but raises
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enough salient issues to be of interest to even the most
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advanced imaging project manager. The article starts with
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the promise of outlining some of the major considerations in
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developing an image database, which it does in great depth.
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It ends by concluding that image databases can be valuable
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assets for general access and scholarship, but that in order
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to ensure longevity of the information, the entire database
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from image to attached descriptive text, needs to be carefully
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planned according to use and adhere to the appropriate
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standards. The article is excerpted from a forthcoming publication
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from the Getty Art History Information Program,
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[http://www.ahip.getty.edu/ahip], as part of a series of
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educational publications on imaging and cultural heritage
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organizations. Of great use as well, are the numerous cites to
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related articles and projects, with contact info. -- RR
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Networks and Networking
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Falcigno, Kathleen and Tim Green. "Home Page, Sweet Home Page"
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Database 18(2) (April/May 1995):20-28. -- A good introduction,
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particularly for librarians, about what is required to create
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your own Web presence. Although they have fallen into the trap
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of mis- and over-using the term "home page," as have many
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others, the article contains a lot of good, practical advice.
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An example is "Learning HTML and creating a series of Web
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documents is not difficult, but maintaining these documents
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will involve a considerable ongoing time commitment." Such gems
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far outweigh such problems as an apparent publication timeframe
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that pre-dates Netscape and makes URL's go out of date. -- RT
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Lamb, Linda and Jerry Peek _Using Email Effectively_. Sebastopol,
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CA: O'Reilly & Associates, 1995. -- This slim volume is chock-
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full of down-to-earth advice that virtually all email users will
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find helpful. It is one of a new series of volumes from O'Reilly
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called "What You Need to Know" and is designed to reduce a
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subject to the essential information about a topic. If this
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volume is any indication, the series may gain as much respect
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with everyday computer users as O'Reilly's Nutshell Handbook
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series has gained with the wireheads for whom that series is aimed.
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Basic information, practical tips, advice, and netiquette are all
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presented in a format that is inviting and easy to browse. The
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layout includes personal vignettes in the ample whitespace of the
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outside margins, where real people (at least some of whom are
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O'Reilly staff) share email tips, personal habits, and horror
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stories. Highly recommended. -- RT
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Lewis, Peter H. "Best Web Browsers" PC World 13(6) (June 1995)
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:122-141. -- The proliferation of World Wide Web client access
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programs, or browsers, is keeping heads spinning and electronic
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discussion traffic high. Combined with the dizzying speed with
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which alliances are forming between browser developers and
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Internet Access Providers (which now include the former
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"gateway" services of America Online, CompuServe, et al.) the
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sources and qualities of different browsers are impossible to
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keep straight. In this article, Lewis evaluates the ten most
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popular browsers, compares them feature by feature, and makes
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recommendations. NaviSoft's InternetWorks is rated highest as
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an all-in-one Internet package plus browser, Netscape is the
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choice for stand-alone commercial browsers, and winWeb for
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stand-alone shareware. It certainly is difficult to create a
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fixed point from which to assess and understand all of the
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access and client options for the Internet (and some of the
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companion articles in this issue of PC World were out of date
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upon publication, including Judy Heim's "Best Online Services"),
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but Lewis creates such a point as well as the framework by which
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comparisons can continue to be made. -- JLO
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Mui, Linda. _When You Can't Find Your UNIX System Administrator_
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O'Reilly and Associates, 1995. -- Finally. A small, well-
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organized paperback that provides hints and gives context for
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the mid-range UNIX user. UNIX has been described as "engineer
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friendly, user hostile" and its power is often lost or misused
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by casual and mid-range users. The book declares, from the outset,
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that it is for "users who are not particularly interested in
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computers, but who just need to get their work done." It assumes
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that the reader knows basic UNIX commands for editing files and
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moving through directories. With chapters such as "What you need
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to know about sharing files" and "What you need to know about
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running programs" it uncovers, in browsable fashion, the true
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usefulness and necessity of file permissions, full pathnames,
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program resources, etc. While not particularly useful as a
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reference tool for individual commands or tasks, the book does
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fill in the conceptual gap for users who believe that something
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OUGHT to be possible (because, for example, it is possible on their
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pc or mac) and how UNIX actually makes it possible (or not). This
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kind of understanding is particularly useful for those Internet
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resource providers who find themselves in a new zone halfway
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between pure content management and system administration. -- JLO
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"Proceedings of the Third International World-Wide Web Conference,
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10-14 April, 1995, Darmstadt, Germany" Computer Networks and
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ISDN Systems 27(6) [available to journal subscribers, conference
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attendees, and those who order a print copy at
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http://www.elsevier.nl/www3/] -- The proceedings of this conference
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have been published simultaneously on the World Wide Web and in
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print to a limited audience: the attendees of the conference,
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subscribers to the journal, and purchasers of this issue. Persons
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in those categories have access to a password that enables them to
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visit the online archive. The online archive has a number of
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interesting research articles on the World Wide Web, and each article
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includes numerous links to online information and a "printable"
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version of the file in Adobe Acrobat format. -- RT
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Schnell, Eric. "Writing for the Web: A Primer for Librarians"
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<http://bones.med.ohio-state.edu/eric/papers/primer/webdocs.htm>
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-- Although this online article/tutorial is still in draft form,
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it could prove useful for those asked to teach librarians (or
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anyone really) how to write for the WWW. It is not an HTML tutorial,
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as that topic is well-covered by other resources. Rather this
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article leads a writer through some of the issues involved in
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writing for this new medium, such as the need to keep individual
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pages short and focused, and using links instead of additional
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paragraphs for new topics. So far it is a bit short on information
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about embedding multimedia objects in writing for the WWW, but in
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considering design along with technical issues, and written for a
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Web beginner, this tutorial can provide a useful tool for
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instruction. -- RR
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Singleton, Andrew. "Cash on the Wirehead" Byte 20(6) (June 1995)
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:71-78. -- You've seen it as part of every science fiction movie
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made in the last decade or so - some computer verification of debit
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or credit replacing every trace of cash or coin. Singleton's article
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serves as a readable primer on digital cash and digital credit. Along
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the way he points out that most of the pieces and players are already
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in place while the remaining security, privacy, and network components
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are being readied. Six current systems, essentially sold as services
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to businesses wanting to support transactions on the Internet and
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other electronic venues, are compared and contrasted. The author's
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analysis includes predictions of slow acceptance and profitability
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while any rewards to be had will very likely go to the major credit
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card companies and their collaborations with hightech, such as the
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joint ventures between MasterCard/Netscape and Visa/Microsoft. -- JLO
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Optical Disc Technology
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Benford, Tom. "The Quad Speed Six: Fast CD-ROMs in the Fast Lane"
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CD-ROM Professional 8(5) (May 1995):20-38. -- When Pioneer
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released the first quad-speed CD-ROM drive in 1992, its 800KB/sec
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rotation rate was considered a huge waste of energy. Benford
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explains how things have changed in the intervening years.
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Quad-speed drives are fast becoming a necessity with multimedia
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applications which involve full-motion video, 3D modeling and
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rendering, and complex animation, especially at 24-bit color
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depth. Quad speed drives make it possible to render huge graphic
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information databases in real time - a necessity for believable
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virtual reality multimedia. Quad speed drives also enable faster
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software loading, as more publishers are providing their software
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on CD-ROM. "Whatever prophecies of doom the debut of quad speed
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drives inspired," concludes Benford, "this kind of drive is here
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to stay because the technology represents advances that are making
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things better, faster, and less expensive." The meat of the article
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is a comprehensive review of the six quad speed drives currently
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on the market. -- TR
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Mortensen, Kirsten. "Technology Meets Culture at the Dawn of the
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Digital Museum" CD-ROM Professional 8(5) (May 1995):106-111.
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-- This article gives an overview of why museums (and by
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extension, other cultural heritage institutions) are employing
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digital technology. Among the reasons are improved collection
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management and care (through reducing the need to handle delicate
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objects), income generation (in actuality, the furthest goal as
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yet), and foremost - increased public access to collections
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information. Applications of CD-ROM technology are highlighted,
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of course, and of value is the sampling of projects cited. Of
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particular interest is the briefly touched-upon notion that soon
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an online visitor could search across collections regardless of
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the actual physical location of them in separate museums, by
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theme for instance, or artist, instead of by museum/location.
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Museums even more than libraries have been tied to local access
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to mostly unique objects, so remote and shared access implies an
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even greater change for these institutions. -- RR
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Samuels, Geoffrey, ed. "Sample CD-ROM Licensing Agreements for
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Museums" New York: MUSE Educational Media, 1995. -- This booklet
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is published by the MUSE group in cooperation with the American
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Association of Museums and several law consultants. It contains
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two sample agreements between a museum and CD-ROM developer, to
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serve as a template for museums, and surely libraries and archives
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as well, in writing agreements for developing and publishing
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CD-ROM titles. It contains samples of the legal language, a
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glossary, and notes explaining in lay terms the reasoning behind
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each section. The field of intellectual property is just as
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challenging as the technical issues in creating quality
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educational media titles, and this booklet is a major step toward
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helping education and research institutions in this area. MUSE
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can be reached at: MUSE Educational Media, 1 East 53rd St.,
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10th Fl., New York City, 10022-4201. -- RR
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Current Cites 6(6) (June 1995) ISSN: 1060-2356
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Copyright (C) 1995 by the Library, University of
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California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
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All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks
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of their respective holders. Mention of a product in this
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publication does not necessarily imply endorsement of the
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product.
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[URL:http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ISIS/current-cites/]
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To subscribe, send the message "sub cites [your name]" to
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listserv@library.berkeley.edu, replacing "[your name]"
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with your name. Copying is permitted for noncommercial use
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by computerized bulletin board/conference systems, individual
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scholars, and libraries. Libraries are authorized to add the
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journal to their collections at no cost. An archive site is
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maintained at ftp.lib.berkeley.edu in directory /pub/Current.Cites
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[URL:ftp://ftp.lib.berkeley.edu/pub/Current.Cites]. This message
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must appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
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permission from the editor, who may be reached in the following
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ways:
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trinne@library.berkeley.edu // trinne@ucblibra // (510)642-8173
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