Campus Bytes! PAGE 6A MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1997
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TECHNOLOGY • INTERNET • SOFTWARE • ONLINE ISSUES
Guest Column
Encrypted software yields debate among government officials Government bureaus undecided about legislation of free software
For years, the craft of codes and code breaking was the playground of the super-secret world of spies, satellites, invisible inks, agents and double agents like John Walker. Aldrich Ames and Harold Nicholson.
It wasn't something the average person, let alone the average computer user, even bothered to understand unless it was on a special on A&E
thus it was on a special A&E or The History Channel.
Enter Philip E. Zimmermann. In 1991, the software designer began to distribute his own free encryption software across the Internet from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Zimmermann was so sure about the ability of his product to safely encrypt documents that he seemed to have fun with the name — Pretty Good Privacy, or PGP.
David
Teska
dteska@ukans.edu
Unfortunately, the federal government was not amused and took Zimmermann to court, charged
with distributing the program internationally, an illegal act and something Zimmermann denied.
If convicted, Zimmermann could have gotten five years in Leavenworth and a hefty $1 million fine from Uncle Sam. The Justice Department dropped the case against him in January 1996.
The case does highlight the different issues surrounding the development, use and distribution of powerful encryption software.
The nation's top lawman, FBI director Louis J. Freh, wants tough controls on encryption software and has pushed for a solution that would require encryption software to contain features that would allow for the decryption of messages without the user's knowledge.
The National Security Agency at Ft. Meade, Md., came from a national security perspective. NSA deputy director William P. Crowell said, "Neither industry nor government interests will be served by us establishing a free-form electronic Tower of Babel, devoid of standards and true security."
Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., took a more business-oriented side and through his Security and Freedom through Encryption (SAFE) Act pushed for a lifting of export controls on encryption software.
At last look, SAFE was down on the mat as the House National Security Committee voted last month to strengthen export controls on encryption. The Senate bill remains alive and well.
I don't mean to say I don't believe most government officials like Freeh and Crownell when they say they have U.S. interests in mind, the recent flap at the IRS not withstanding. No, it's just that the idea of a nameless government official with the keys to the virtual crown jewels just doesn't seem like good business sense to me.
As a nation we have to break out of the shell that our world ends at the coast and border. It's a global village, folks, and domestic restrictions on the Internet are a burden on economic growth, represents caps on free speech and exemplifies prior restraint.
The problems of the FBI and NSA are valid and do pose law enforcement and the defense establishment with some serious hurdles, but a total encryption blackout or system of government oversight isn't the way to solve it.
The encryption debate will continue for some time as all three entities will debate whose encryption argument should reign supreme on the Internet.
- To get a free copy of PGP, visit: http://www.ppg.com
- To see versions of both the Senate and House bills,
visit THOMAS at: http://thomas.loc.gov
Teska is a Lawrence graduate student in journalism.
Fair to browse through the future
Companies will display latest technology tools
By Daniel E. Thompson
dthompson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
For the fifth time in as many years, technophiles will tout their educational toys tomorrow in the Kansas Ballroom.
Info '97, in years past known as the Technology Fair, will fill 43 tables with information about teaching and technology in the classroom. The free event will last from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"The emphasis is to create awareness of technology advances in teaching and learning," said Sue Nishikawa, coordinator for Academic Systems for the Training and Use of Technology in Education.
Nishikawa said students attending could learn how to use technology and multi-media applications in classroom presentations and projects.
"We're encouraging students to attend," she said. "Technology is not so much used by faculty in teaching but by students in learning."
Provost David Shulenburger will cut a ribbon to kick off the festivities. He said vendors and campus personnel would keep people aware of where technology is going.
"Vendors will be there showing the latest of everything," he said. "Where we need to go as a university is different than what they're showing. We need to decide from among those things what the University should be using and investing in."
Apple Computers Inc. will have a closed-door
presentation, admitting only administrators, faculty and staff, said Jennifer Burns, education account manager for Haddock Academic Technologies. Apple's higher education agent.
"They're going to have to sign a nondisclosure form," she said. "We'll be showing a product map for desktops and powerbooks for six months out."
She said Apple was also showcasing an unreleased machine, code-named "Gossamer" and equipped with the new 750 microprocessor.
Apple wants the University of Kansas faculty, staff and students to understand the value of Apple and that they are alive and very viable, she said.
Apple also is sponsoring two demonstrations by KU professors. John Hoopes, associate professor of anthropology, will discuss anthropology on the World Wide Web and Steve Shawl, professor of physics and astronomy, will discuss astronomy on the Web.
"It used to be only scientific disciplines," she said. "But now people in the humanities are enthused about it."
Nishikawa said that since the areas of study that used technology were varied, the demonstrations would be interesting.
Throughout the fair, there will be formal presentations as well as informal demonstrations on the fifth floor of the Union to illustrate how to use technology on a college campus.
Silicon Graphics Inc., whose million-dollar Origin 2000 supercomputer powers the University's high-end users, hopes to connect it to the 16-processor machine to show it functioning in real time, said Alex Ehrsam, sales representative for Silicon Graphics. He said the University had over 50 SGI machines in addition to the supercomputer.
A window display advertises for the upcoming "Info Fair '97." The fair will have 43 tables filled with information about teaching and learning with technology. The fair will be held tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Kansas Union Ballroom. Photo by Pam Dishman/KANSAN
Silicon Graphics will also be giving away one of the door prizes: a Nintendo 64.
Other door prizes include hats, computer products, software and a grand prize of a cordless digital answering system/telephone from Lucent Technologies. To go along with the theme of "Puzzled by Technology?" there will be a jigsaw with one piece missing at the registration table.
The grand door prize will be given to whomever has the missing puzzle piece on his or her flier.
Some fliers were mailed to faculty and staff members, while others are available outside Ansehutz Science Library. More will be in a fishbowl the day of the fair.
Perils in new game not worth the time
Reviewer finds little to merit Sierra saga
Software Review
By Aaron Knopf Kansan staff writer
When I was 13 years old, I played computer games regularly and with a relish that bordered on obsession. Now that I'm half my lifetime away from those days, and I no longer have the desire to spend hours on end in a fantasy world.
Unfortunately, Sierra's "Betrayal in Antara" requires excessive devotion. It's a particularly long game that was probably made longer by my inexperience with current computer adventure games. I would not recommend it to anyone who has neither a lot of time to play nor significant experience with similar games.
To set the stage, "Betrayal in Antara" begins with a series of bland, static graphics accompanied by a recorded narrative. A young nobleman, William of Escobar, and another passenger escape their sinking ship in a dinghy. Just as they reach a nearby beach, a flying beast attacks, and a fisherman named Aren Cordelaine rescues the two men by repelling the beast with newfound magical powers. William's copassenger is mortally wounded during the battle, but before he dies, he manages to give William a mysterious medallion. William and Aren set off to solve the mystery of the medallion and to get Aren some training in the use of his powers.
As the game player, I was responsible for controlling the actions of William and Aren and other characters who join the party later. I had to move them from point to point in their virtual world and interact with other characters they met. I had to acquire food, armor and weapons, tools and any other provisions necessary to complete plot-related tasks. For example, the characters needed torches to travel by night and shovels to dig up buried treasure. As they became
fatigued, injured, poisoned or hungry. I also was responsible for keeping the party rested, fed, and healthy.
Too often I failed to meet those requirements. Because I wanted to advance the story, I would move along as quickly as possible with a minimum of effort. Such a strategy usually resulted in weakened characters. I continually returned to saved games to perform some action again without repeating prior mistakes.
My mistakes added repetitiveness to a game that is naturally monotonous. Much of the action involved guiding characters over long distances between cities and towns. To break up the sameness, the developers have supplied plenty of enemies to fight along the way. Frequently, I was ill-prepared for battle and had to fight them more than once. And because my characters' weak conditions often meant that I could not vanquish the enemies with ease, I had to spend a lot of time fighting each battle. On top of it all, a preview screen popped up before every battle that stated something like: "Aren decided that if anyone were to walk away from this battle, it would be he." This amused me the first time I saw it, bored me the second time and annoyed me all times after that.
Reaching a town usually provided some respite from the monotony of travel. There were new people to meet and a few engaging plot-related tasks to perform. Unfortunately, I often spent time on tasks that were not central to the overall story and that took more time and effort than they were worth. I do think it is worthwhile to have optional minquests, but I wish that the
Betrayal in Antara
Manufacturer: Sierra
graphics ★★★
playability ★★★
features ★★★
overall ★★★
ratings from one to five stars
System requirements
- Windows (v3.1 or higher)
- CD-ROM
- Two-button mouse
developers had found some way to indicate the diversions that were not essential.
I found myself disheartened by the graphics as well. The developers have created an elaborate world that was easy to navigate, but it lacked lively visual stimulation. Other friendly characters that my party would meet along the way were nothing more than static drawings. The interior of buildings usually were single, non-navigable screens. Battle scenes were animated, but slow even on my speedy PC.
The only saving grace while playing this game was Sierra's online help. Whenever I became too confused, I made use of the hints-and-answers message board on Sierra's Web site.
Unfortunately, I reached a point in the game where no one could help me. My characters were tired, hungry, out of money and poorly equipped for further travel. I hadn't saved the game at a point where I could conveniently make up for any mistakes, so I had to quit before completing the adventure.
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