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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1993)
I Ktcnse during the l ‘^6(K hut liecause ot the pro litcration lit newer, ninre powerful computers and software, the construction nt tin- intoriii.mon super highuav is nt! .iiul running. “People are lust starting to see the usefulness nt e mail lieeause the personal computer-is a common item m the hinisehold." sa\ s ( lu stei liullocL, a senior ai linhn Kill.lie \erntiautical l in \ri/oiia I mail tGltftt TICM allows me tn cominumeatc with friends .ill mcr the tounm and world for frit If universities .,nti without are going to ^ *;!'Z train us how mm.i u ,i mail s\ stem has " to operate i |u m, m anythin^ ”n ^nu ii,,niH,nnK “ "isn't eotlf ineil to more schools Ilu Mectmnu arivanrpd Nl"' w ' 1 " "ll aavancea uriul|) j, lsci) m than a deep- v 1 estimates that fat fryer, to ><> million they had '"utrLu',n.sI 1,1 J vv j| ks <il ll tc Use better take electronic mall \bont ' million nOUCc enmpnters are In Hiked to the Internet alone Hut tile Internet is In no means the onl\ form of electronic com mumeation used on campus. Main universities arc installing digital hookups that connect cvcr\ dorm room and administrative office on their campuses. Some students at Northwest Missouri State l tailed classes because they spent so much time on then campusuidc e mail network. Vnd at Dartmouth (.ollege, the universitv's e-mail system, called Hht/mail, is taking over as the way to keep m touch on i ampus. "It’s prettv much replaced the telephone in terms of use,” sues ( hris Johnson, a sennit at Dartmouth “Anything that would have heen sent through tin campus mail svstem is now done electronically It s hasiealK the easiest thing in the world to use \t the l of Colorado, students use their Macintosh computer network to see if they ve tul filled course requirements \nd students at Cornell C have access to a computerized counseling service "People have this habit of opening up on-line," sa\s (,Wl s Maltese “The (Internet] is a verv informal place, and it’s a place where we share a lot People post pictures of their weddings to bulletin hoards, announce the birth of children, everything I’hesc people become vour family It's like the biggest secret clique m America." WELCOME TO THE CLASSROOM OF THE 21 ST CENTURY I las the Ixireiiom of study mg I sth century women’s literature got you down* Well, at Pace l in New Mirk they’re introducing multimedia (integrated text, video and music) to their course on women in the Middle Ages in an attempt to make the subject more lively (( mod luck i 1 he classroom of the next century may seem like an odd place for a sOO-vcar-old woman, but the techno logical revolution doesn't discriminate by age or gen tier Relatively inexpensive equipment has allowed more instructors to teach with computer-driven visual images and sound Ihrough continued on next page infotainment —Toys for the 21st century Dorm rooms often rival computer labs for shoer number of high-tech equipment Items. Between the TV. VCR. CO player, Nintendo, Sega (maybe both), computer with CD-ROM and digital phone hookups, a lot of dorm rooms keep the power company scrambling to produce the juice. Here's a list of what's here and what's coming on the technology/ infotainment front Data Oiscma. notice the difference between CD and mim disc, and conventional CDs are tempera mental on bumpy roads and logging paths Just being able to record digitally is enough to dig this CD-ROM PURPOSE: CD-ROMs (Read Only g Memory) look |ust like regular CDs " but can hold an anwmg amount o! information The text, video and uigiuu bompaci wuhiu PURPOSE: Digital sound without the tuss muss and tits ot psychotic rage that would accompany throwing out all your conventional cassettes The sound is almost as good as a CD, and you can play your Pat Benatar tapes, too USEFULNESS TO STUOENTS: DCCs are still expen sive even though they've been out tor about a year Being able to record your CDs is a bonus but the minidisc does that too Hmmm See the WORTN FTP section miURIUTY You can find a DCC at most any \ well-equipped stereo store Locating a good selec tion ot your favorite artists on DCC is a bit of a problem audio entries of a small encyclopedia can all fit on one disc CD-ROM offers multimedia capabilities, so when you re reading about JFK, you can actually hear a digital reproduction of one of his speeches You can also listen to conventional CDs and get bitchm games on CD ROM USEFULNESS TO STUDENTS: CD-ROM really is the format of the future No one other device offers so much in the way of educa tion and entertainment for students You can read Newsweek and the King James Bible on portable CD-ROM players or listen to the Butthole Surlers For academic slackers. tha unlini hru» Mnnirrh Wntoc aw.nl.ihlp though On a recent visit to a record store, several ot the employees didn't even know where they kept the DCCs COST: About $550 tor the portable version and $1,000 tor the home model Blank DCCs cost $8 or $9 and pre recorded cassettes are as expensive as CDs j WOfTM it? Mmidisc is really the only competi tion, since digital audio tape (DAT), which actually provides better sound than minidisc or DCC. is used mainly by professionals A word ot caution Mmidisc and DCC are going to fight it out and it's likely onty one will survive miUSIUTY: The players are already everywhere and the software is exploding You can get everything Irom the latest bestsellers to thesauruses. from how-to UOUXb 10 DetllU OUdillbli ICbbUHS on Into CD And in almost eveiy case the text _■ is accompanied by audio narrative Bueno, mis amigos! COST: Bookplayers as well as CD-ROMs you hook to your computer are about $300 and up Books on CD-ROM range Irom $49 to Y $69; some of the other titles such as Monarch Notes are cheaoer ($40 for Monarch. S30 for a CD uuu is ine oesr oer ror peupie wirn wnu can't cut the cord wjth their conventional cassettes CiHtOM player on how to write term papers) You can get books lor your computer CD-ROM for about $20 worm m It’s hard in imanine anvone readinn a CO Recordable MinMH) PURPOSE: The minidisc allows digital audio recording on a disc that is a little more than half the size of conventional CDs The MD s sound range is more limited than a CD. but the minidisc doesn't skip like a regular CD. because it stores 10 seconds of music in its memory So if you bump the player, it will continue to play while correcting itself Also, it's enclosed in a plastic case ROM player on the beach, but the format otters ama/mg entertainment capabilities Already you can hook a CD-I (Interactive) player into your television for multimedia programs. In the future. CD-I movies will be interactive, and Viola!, you become the director and can change plots at your capricious whim If you have the cash, CD ROM is a worthwhile investment that is going to grow by leaps and bounds Ves, buy one, OK? HWMteflnitkM Television PURPOSE: HDTV will offer a wider image than traditional tube televisions and five channels of digital surround sound The picture will double the that resembles a computer disk tor protection ustrauKU TO fTWOTO: The mmidisc should serve you well under casual listening conditions. It's also portable and the sound is far superior to the Walkman you ve been taking to class And as far as recording goes, each copy will sound as good as the first. MDs can be recorded over a million times without any loss of quality miUBiUTY: Like the OCC. most stereo store chains are carrying them The selection of prerecorded titles isn't huge but Sony makes the MO, so a lot of Sony/Columbia artists can be found on the format. COST: MO portable and home players are priced to move at $550 and $1,000. respectively. The blank discs run between $14 and $17. «am ITT The mmidisc has basically corrected all the shortcomings of the CO. Most listeners won t be able to r gudlliy Ul MdllUdfU iuiui UUAGS diiu me auuiiu win Iivai that ot CDs VSCfVUIIU TO STUDENTS: Very and scary. Incredible clarity * 500 cable channels + sound as good as your Pearl Jam CD * a lot more empty seats in your Elizabethan Poetry class MMUMUTY: Word on the street is HDTV may be avail able as soon as the 1996 Olympics DOST: Yikes — an HDTV will cost about $2,000 But you'll be able to receive high-detimtion broadcasts on that old. beat-up TV you stole from your brother. tNOtTN IT? Sure, it's pricey, but the sound and quality will kick butt and the picture ratio will be more similar to that ot the theater. You ve got until '96 to raise the funds, so start saving.