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.