Campus Bvtes! PAGE 6A TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1997
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TECHNOLOGY • INTERNET • SOFTWARE • ONLINE ISSUES
Web Column
Web editors hope new services will put the interactive back into UDKi
Web paper has plans for sports coverage, live chat
Greetings. :)
You're looking at a cross-platform promotional interface device with multi-user functionality and no bandwidth constraints. Or you could call it a Web column.
Here, Web editor Charity Jeffries and I will keep print-edition readers up to date on what's happening on the "University Daily Kansan Interactive," at www.kansan.com.
We're building on a solid foundation left by last year's Web team, David Teska and Ivy Clothier. Now that we've got the hang of getting the news on the Web, we're reaching
Andrew Rohrback
webmaster@kansan.com
out to put more on UDKi than just the news.
The No.1 mission of any newspaper's online edition is to provide a service unavailable to those who only receive the printed edition. Failing at this mission earns an Internet project the ugly title "shovelware," connoting the, well, less-than-pleasant image of shoveling content from printing press to cyberspace.
UDKI sets out this year to fulfill that mission, to offer that kind of unique service. UDKI doesn't compete with the printed "Kansan," but there needs to be some sort of online peg to bring people in—besides the fact that you technically don't have to get out of bed to read it (if you have your monitor and keyboard positioned just right).
In 1997-98, UDKI is focusing on interactivity and multimedia. Discussion groups and live chat are in the works. The flagship of the interactivity project is "The Backfield Lounge," which combines live, online play-by-play coverage of Kansas football with live chat capabilities. Students and alumni from around the world can meet in the lounge to "watch" and discuss the game. If the project goes well, it will be adapted and continued through the basketball season.
The multimedia aspect of UDK1 is perhaps the most distinct change in the project's nature. This idea brings together the reporting resources of the "Kansan," KJH, and television station KUJH to provide news not only in text form, but with audio and video highlights. The purpose is to make our everyday news more vivid and to give more detailed exposure to non-revenue sports and other campus activities.
But the most exciting single project is ... still under wraps. We don't want to ruin the surprise for you. Trust us, we'll keep you up-to-date on this feature, releasing as much information as possible. For now, all we'll tell you is that this feature celebrates the 100th anniversary of KU basketball, and goes beyond anything UDK1 has ever attempted.
Rohrback is an Andover junior in journalism.
Budig Hall computer lab opens
More than 100 machines available for all students
By Daniel Ethan Thomp-
dthompson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The Budig Hall computer lab, the University of Kansas' newest, is up and running, and the 98 Tangent PCs and 20 Macintoshes are available to all students, faculty, and staff.
The price tag of about $700,000,
which includes computers,
equipment, and the construction
on the first floor of Budig Hall,
was allotted by Chancellor
Robert Hemenway.
William Crowe, vice chancellor for information services, said Hemenway was committed to technology to support learning. The demand for more computer labs was integral in Hemenway's decision, he said.
"This is just the beginning. We're just catching our breath," Crowe said. "The chancellor made a commitment. We've been dreaming about it for years."
That dream stirred up excitement as well. Crouse said.
"The weekend before classes started, Wes slept there," he said, referring to Wes Hubert, assistant director of Academic Computing Services. "You can't ask people to do that, he just did it."
Hubert said the lab was open at 8 a.m. on August 21, the first day of classes.
Budig lab
James Vequist, director of Hoch Auditorium, shows off one of the technology rooms in Budig Hall. Technicians can control all aspects of the computer-and-television-assisted teaching from this room. Photo by Geoff Kieran/KANSAN
Hours of operation:
• Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to midnight
• Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.
- Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.
Printing:
Printing:
* Printing is free, but you must bring your own paper.
For more information see the Budig Hall computer lab website at:
www.ukans.edu/~budig
"Two weeks ago, it was empty—no carpeting, nothing," he said. "Saturday, August 16th, we started moving in."
came up with the money to do it."
"It was in the part of the building originally designated to be finished later," Hubert said. "The University made it a priority to provide additional labs and they took advantage of the new building with floor space and
In order to have all the computers ready before the start of classes, Hubert said that workers configured the computers while the space was being completed and then moved them into the lab as soon as they could.
come up with a problem to solve.
The computers are faster than those at the computer center,
said Lydia Ash, the lab's supervisor. She said that since it opened,
at any given time during the day,
there were 15 to 50 users.
The ratio of PCs to Macs at the lab is a little more than 5 to 1. Academic Computing Services decided the ratio by examining Internet software sales at the
Computer Center, Hubert said
The computers all are networked to a lab server, as well as the campus network, he said.
There is no glass in the interior windows of the lab's teaching classroom and there are rough edges instead of floorboards along the walls. But all the computers are running and construction workers are almost finished, Hubert said.
"They're trying to be quiet," he said. "They're doing work on the weekends in the early morning."
Hubert said Budig Hall was ideal because of its central location. The 5,400 square-foot lab is inside the south entrance of the hall, which is on the ground floor across from Anschutz Science Library.
"It's three times the size of my house," Hubert said. "But I don't think of it like that."
'Outpost 2' sweet relief from similar games
By Andrew Rohrbae
webmaster@kansan.com
UDKi Webmaster
By Androw Rohrback
Software Review
Exactly when people started raving over these "Warcraft"-style games is unclear. Maybe the root is in the early days of Sim City or perhaps as far back as that "Lemonade Stand" game for the Apple-II line.
Whenever the trend began, it's at a high-water mark today, as game after game formed in this mold keeps rolling off the CD-stamping presses.
That's not to say, however, that "Outpost 2: Divided Destiny" isn't worth playing. In fact, in my book, "Outpost 2" solves many of the shortcomings of "Command and Conquer." The interface and basic layout of the game is very similar: build structures, vehicles and weaponry to fight enemies and keep your base alive. The setting and storyline, of course, are very different: Here, you're the leader of a colony of humans trying to start a new life after Earth was destroyed by an asteroid collision. It's unclear whether the asteroid was the same one that just missed Kansas City in the NBC movie.
You get to pick from two little enclaves: Eden, a group that seeks to terra-form the planet (that is, transform it from its
raw, unlivable state into something that can support life - kind of like the committee for distributed enrollment); and Plymouth, a hardy, outdoory folk that want to adapt to the planet's harsh environment (like people who actually read all the books for Western Civilization).
In either case, your philosophical conflict with the other enclave is moot when a deadly virus called the Blight starts spreading across the planet (I was going to bring up an allusion to a soft-drink maker, but I have limited space here). Basically, you have to build a colony strong enough to subsist, but lightweight enough to keep moving as the Blight sweeps the planet.
That's where the similarity to the administrative-simulation games begins. You have factories, labs and farming facilities called AgriDomes and a host of other structures and vehicles to help you build a city. Of course, you have to have enough power and enough "common ore" to build those structures and vehicles, so you'll need power plants and mines to keep the dough rolling in. Get the idea?
Although "Outpost 2" is basically another incarnation of "Command and Conquer," I did enjoy some of its unique features. For one, there is a "Colony Mode" that lets you build your city without threat from the Blight. That always bothered me about "C&C" — no matter how hard I worked on my base, I never had enough time to build the fun stuff. The Russians always blew me away first.
Like "C&C." "Outpost" has multiplayer support. If you're logged into the campus
Outpost 2: Divided Destiny
Manufacturer: Sierra
graphics ★★★★★
playability ★★★
features ★★★★
overall ★★★★
ratings from one to five stars
backbone you can start a game with your pal across campus. You can even connect to the Internet and play with opponents from around the world.
For me, the biggest shortcoming of "Outpost" was its steep learning curve. In the first mission, you essentially have to move all your little trucks to one corner of the screen to win. In the second, you have to accomplish a host of tasks from storing resources to doing research in your labs to keeping people alive. It's a wonder they don't ask you to build the South Lawrence Trafficway as well. This is not a game to be played once. You'll need a couple of days just to master the nuances of the interface, and at the rate the game moves, you might get bored before then — depending on your attention span. But if you're into these simulation games (that is, if you're a control freak like I am) this one is well worth your while. It's a nice switch from hearing "C&C" bark "unit lost" at me all the time.
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