Campus Bytes! PAGE 8A THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6,1997
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TECHNOLOGY • INTERNET • SOFTWARE • ONLINE ISSUES
Tech Column
E-mail systems allow graphics to flop or fly
I can't believe that only three years ago, I had no idea how to use the Internet or any of its accessories. Nowadays, I find myself helping friends and relatives
get online and spending more time comparing Internet service providers.
Part of that comparison is choosing an e-mail provider. Tuesday's "University Daily Kansan" highlighted the shortcomings of the University's free e-mail system. Graphics and text formatting are all the rage in e-mail these days, and such bells and whistles can't be transmitted through the University's Telnet e-mail.
That is prompting many students to double-up their e-mail accounts, keeping an account on a free, e-mail, service.
Andrew
Rohrback
arohback@kansan.com
a free e-mail service like Hotmail (www.hotmail.com) or Juno (www.juno.com) in addition to their Falcon or Eagle account. Because I've struggled with services like these, I'll try to help you decide how best to access your e-mail account.
E-mail works because it is simple. Of all the material squirred across the Internet, the easiest to move is text. That's because, unlike most aspects of online communication, there is a standard for text. The Advanced Symbolic Code for Instructional Input, or ASCII, character set includes all the English alphanumeric characters as well as several symbolic keys.
In all, more than 200 characters are included in the ASCII character set. That makes it possible to create an entire gallery of smiley faces, drawings and even complete renderings of cartoon characters. It is called ASCII art.
ASCII art filled the gap left by e-mail's lack of graphic capability. But still, you couldn't send a photo of Cousin Balky's graduation.
Nowadays, you can send images in your KU e-mail if you use a mail program with an in-line graphics interpreter like Netscape Navigator 3.0, Netscape Messenger or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 and above. These programs can interpret HTML codes in e-mail documents and include the images as attachments to the original file. It requires specialized knowledge, but the trouble you save may be worth it.
Free commercial e-mail services allow graphics enhancements as well. The problem with these services is that access can be difficult. If you live in a remote geographical area, the nearest access point can be a long-distance phone call away. Here at the University, however, dial-up points are easier to find. The challenge is competing with other customers for modem time. Also, with free e-mail services, you must put up with advertisements that not only clutter your messages but also add to your online time because the advertisements require a long time to download.
Those graphics and text effects will work only if the e-mail recipient also uses your online service. Hotmail includes images if the mail is sent to a Hotmail subscriber.
If you have access to a graphics e-mail program like Netscape or Internet Explorer, your best option is to keep using your KU account. You can transmit images and text formatting that is compatible with any other email system as long as the letter is sent to another graphics-capable browser. KU accounts are free and don't include advertising. The accounts also are easier to access because your long-distance bills don't pile up.
If you have is Tehet, you're best off with a program like Juno, which includes an e-mail viewer. Hotmail works best if you already have Netscape or Internet Explorer. And if you want to use those features, you'd better recruit your friends to join the same service.
Rohrback is an Andover junior in journalism
Workshops make technology click
Large crowds fill computer classes early
By Daniel E. Thompson
dthompson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The Computer Center's workshops for those wanting to learn to use technology better are drawing big crowds this semester.
Enrollment for the workshops so far this semester is 23 percent higher than last year's entire fall enrollment in the workshops.
Some workshops are taught for free, while others require a fee.
For the free workshops, there is no registration, and participants can just show up. And people are showing up.
Jerree Catlin, supervisor for documentation and training, said that nine classes had been added this fall to accommodate the demand.
"If people feel like it's too crowded, we always try to have another class to which we can have them return." Catlin said.
One of the more crowded classes was the one that teaches HTML, she said. The HTML classes, which are taught at three different experience levels, are free.
"As people become more knowledgeable, they want to get past just connecting and getting e-mail," she said.
Catlin said that a wide variety of people were attending HTML workshops for various reasons such as personal home pages, campus organizations and groups and departments.
"Depending on how many computers are down, there are as many as three people to a computer-usually two," said Lisa Hallberg, Lawrence senior and Computer Center staff member.
Even some of the workshops that require a fee are filling up, Catlin said. The workshop that teaches Microsoft Excel is one of the more popular fee workshops.
People and businesses from the community are signing up for the workshops, Catlin said, although people affiliated with the University get first priority.
"We have a waiting list," she said. "If we get too many, we make a new class. At this point, we're at capacity for the number of instructors and number of offerings."
For instance, the office of documentation and training is considering several hands-off demonstrations for next semester.
Catlin said that the classes were changing as fast as the technology they teach.
With all the new upgrades for software continually coming out, Catlin said, departments can't afford to buy every one.
The demonstrations, which will be given in the Computer Center auditorium, will present new upgraded features such as Microsoft Office '97.
"People who have it can learn how to use the new features," she said.
"Or people that don't have it can find out if it's worth the cost to upgrade."
M. D. Bradshaw/KANSAN
"As people become more knowledgeable, they want to get past just connecting and getting e-mail."
Jerree Catlin
supervisor of documentation and training
Another demonstration planned is for Adobe Photoshop.
"It's one of the programs people request the most," she said. "But the price keeps us from putting it on."
Catlin said that workshop participants had requested a workshop for the program on previous class evaluations.
The classes that require a fee are for computer applications used in
business settings, such as Microsoft Access and Quark XPress. Catlin said.
The fees go toward upgrades and licensing.
The cost of these workshops is $20 for a student, $40 for University personnel and $75 for everyone else.
Many of the Internet applications are shareware, freeware or have a nominal licensing fee, she said. Software workshops in those applications, such as HTML, FTP, Telnet and e-mail, are free.
http://www.ukans.edu/~acss/training
ing/index.shtml
For more information, click on:
If you don't know how to click and need a basic course, an inBrief brochure listing all the free classes is available at the Computer Center, the Budig Hall Computer Lab or the Ellsworth Hall Computer Lab.
Game not up to speed for reviewer
'Interstate '76 has violence, poor game play
Androw Rohrback
arohrback@kansan.com
Kanson computer nerd
Game Review
It has been said that the reason Lawrence has so many left-turn lights is because people in this town can't turn left without being prodded.
I believe it. On occasion, I've thought seriously about mounting a couple of 30mm machine guns on my Chevrolet Cavalier and tooling down Iowa Street about 4 p.m. When I picked up "Interstate 76," I thought I had found catharsis at last.
At first glance, "Interstate '76" has the three most important elements of an action game: highly destructive and readily available weaponry, well-dressed and excessively coiffed characters, and a swingin' soundtrack.
The game has a fascinating intro sequence, which overcomes its polygonal chunkiness with a surprising, almost theatrical, dose of realism. The cinematic scenes are reminiscent of the
"Mad Max" films: tires squealing, pistils firing, jewelry glimmering.
The first problem I noticed is this game's extreme "realism," which makes it completely unsuitable for kids. The characters curse like sailors, and violence is common and vivid.
But even for those with incorruptible minds and unshakable stomachs, this game isn't worthwhile. The graphics engine is just too slow, and even on my
166 MHz Pentium with 32 megabytes or RAM, it is jerkier and slower than Kansas State's frontcourt.
Imagine driving down U.S. Highway 59 at 95 mph while staring at the windshield through a ceiling fan. That is the feeling you get while playing "Interstate 76."
This game doesn't need to be slow. The first mistake the programmers made was to set the entire display to rock with every bump. It makes things realistic, yes, but it makes parts of the heads-up display hard to see, and it slows the whole game down.
A more obvious flaw was the apparent lack of a speedometer. I could not tell whether I was accelerating or decelerating and chasing a few pixels on a constantly jostling screen is even more difficult when you cannot monitor your speed.
The storyline also leaves something to be desired. The story centers around a group of "auto vigilantes," people who enforce justice with guns and missiles mounted on those stout, 1970s-era cars. The best of the auto vigilantes was Jade, who was gunned down in a salvage yard. She requested before dying that her brother take over where she left off. That is where you come in.
At one point in the game, you receive a CB radio message calling Jade to race
Interstate'76
Manufacturer: ActiVision
graphics ★★★★☆
playability ☆
features ★★
overall ★★
ratings from one to five stars
System requirements
against another driver. You go, somehow without identifying yourself and compete in the race with really nothing to gain and everything — including your life — to lose.
The game does have a couple of redeeming values. It has multi-player capability, and you can even play on the Internet. Do not expect much, though; this game is slow enough without a phone line to provide even more drag.
The soundtrack is also fairly decent, with high-quality recordings of cheesy '70s music. Like the rest of the game, it's fun for about 10 minutes.
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