Newsgroups: bit.listserv.pacs-l
Date:         Sun, 22 Nov 1992 14:16:59 CDT
From:         Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS@UHUPVM1.BITNET>
Subject:      Current Cites 3, no. 11 (Part II)

Networks and Networking

Barron, Billy. "How to Find Out Someone's E-Mail Address Without
Using the Telephone" CCNEWS Articles Abstracts 5(26 (November 6,
1992) [available by sending the following message to
LISTSERV@BITNIC: GET ADDRESS BARRON_B].  Barron has compiled this
two page list of resources (electronic and otherwise) for locating
the e-mail addresses of people without calling them.  While you
may get stumped on a particular address, this list gives you a
head start. - DR

Bortman, Henry. "Ubiquitous Computing" MacUser 8(12) (December
1992):243-244, 248-249.  Bortman brings us up-to-date on some of
the developments in wireless connections for computers.  While
some of the connections are still in development (e.g., instant
infrared LANs), others, like a PowerBook-cellular phone interface,
are shipping. - DR

Clinton, Bill. "A Technology Policy for America: Six Broad
Initiatives" EFFector Online 3(8) (November 4, 1992).  As part of
a broad based proposal to enhance the USs R&D position, now
president-elect Clinton explains that "Federal funding for the
National Research and Education Network is one example of how the
federal government can serve as a catalyst for private sector
infrastructure investment.  We will also provide additional
funding to network our schools, hospitals and libraries."   There
is a clear theme in this proposal that a strong R&D initiative
will benefit all Americans in the long run. - DR

Dern, Daniel P. "Interview with Dan Lynch, President and Founder,
INTEROP" Internet World 3(8) (October 1992):14-16.  INTEROP has
become *the* Internet conference, with over 55,000 attendees at
the Fall '92 conference.  In this interview, Lynch talks about how
it all got started and where he sees the net going.  While
decrying arguments over commercialization and protocols, Lynch
describes the Internet as the "glue for building a huge worldwide
society of people who cooperate with each other." - DR

desJardins, Richard. "Internet 2000: A Protocol Framework to
Achieve a Single Worldwide TCP/IP/OSI/CLNP Internet by the Year
2000" ConneXions: The Interoperability Report 6(10) (October
1992):24-31.  desJardins seeks to broker a peace between the OSI/
CLNP (international) and TCP/IP (US) communities by appealing to
the moderates of each camp.  He proposes a compromise protocol
framework dubbed "Internet 2000" that combines parts of both
protocol suites as well as offer a solution to the problem of the
depletion of address space. - DR

Hinnebusch, Mark. "A Primer on Z39.50 - Part 8" Academic and
Library Computing 9(9) (October 1992):24-28.  In the last of his
Z39.50 primer series, Hinnebusch describes an actual search and
retrieval using the Z39.50 protocol.  In this example Hinnebusch
goes into technical detail of the process and includes pseudo-code
for the programming types.  The protocol is supposed to make all
of this invisible, but it doesn't hurt to have at least and idea
of what's going on behind the screen. - DR

Internet: Getting Started. Managing Editor, April Marine.  Menlo
Park: SRI International, 1992.  Already in its second printing
(with revisions), this reference source on the Internet covers a
broad range of topics not normally covered in single sources.
Brought together are chapters on the organizational workings of
the net, how one joins (including sections on obtaining an IP
address, installing a router, etc.), costs, lists of service
providers, non-US networks and service providers.  The second
part covers some of the background, including the list of RFCs
and description of the RFC process, Internet applications,
organizations, and a classified list of resources for further
information.  There's lots more than can be covered here, but
suffice it to say, the serious networker should have this book
around. - DR

Kunze, John A. "Nonbibliographic Applications of Z39.50" The
Public Access Computer Systems Review 3(5) (1992):4-30
[available by sending the following message to
LISTSERV@UHUPVM1: GET KUNZE PRV3N5 F=MAIL].  Kunze uses the
example of the UC Berkeley InfoCal server (a not-quite-CWIS) to
demonstrate some of the developments in non-bibliographic record
syntax and attributes.  Since Kunze is a member of the Z39.50
Implementors Group, the article presents us with an opportunity
to understand some of the process of the ongoing development of
the standard, even if we don't understand all of the technical
details - DR

LaQuey, Tracy, with Jeanne C. Ryer. The Internet Companion: A
Beginner's Guide to Global Networking.  Forward by Senator Al
Gore.  Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, c1993.  LaQuey and Ryer
have put together an excellent guide to networking for the
beginner.  The authors provide the uninitiated or newly initiated
with both motivating decriptions of the power of the network as
well as the tools for getting connected and guides for sucessful
activity on the net.  Rather than trying to list all of the neat
resources that are available, the authors have described the key
sources for further information.  The coverage of issues is quite
broad, and I learned some new things about the types of
connections available.  For only US$10.95, this is a great buy.
- DR

Nelson, Nancy Melin. "ISDN Test Call: Advent of National ISDN"
Academic and Library Computing 9(9) (October 1992):12.  Nelson
reports on the first interstate call using the developing ISDN
network.  This technology offers simultaneous transmission of
voice, data, video, graphics, and signaling over a single
telephone line.  The national ISDN network was expected to be
launched on November 16th, 1992 and is designed to work between
any manufacturer's switching system and any vendor's telephone
equipment. - DR

Strauss, Howard Jay. "CWISes: Myth, Mania, or Miracle" Academic
and Library Computing 9(9) (October 1992):13-16.  In the first
of a series of columns called "Data Day," Strauss explains how
a Campus-Wide Information System can be used as a marketing tool
by libraries and other campus information providers.  He also
argues that while the library will be providing large chunks of
information, and the computer center may provide technical
support, the campus public information office may be the best
department to actually  administer the CWIS since they already
have experience in creating a public face for the institution.
- DR

Tyckson, David. "The Settling of the Internet" EFFector Online
3(7) (October 22, 1992).  Causing a sensation when it hit the
net, Tyckson argues that the Internet hit a turning point last
summer and moved from the pioneering to the settling stage.
While he applauds this maturation of the medium, he also notes
the loss of a certain freedom and enthusiasm as "the
formalization process will tend to discourage 'skywriting' as we
have known it in the past." - DR


Optical Disc Technologies

Beheshti, Jamshid and Andy Large. "Networking CD-ROMs: Response
Time Implications" CD-ROM Professional 5(6) (November 1992):70-77.
A commonly-held assumption is that networked CD-ROMs produce
slower response times than their standalone counterparts. Beheshti
and Large of McGill's Graduate School of Library and Information
Studies confirmed this assumption in an experiment designed to
answer the question: what are the response time implications for
CD-ROM searching as additional workstations are networked?
Although response times increased as the number of workstations
increased, the degradation was not uniform across different CD-
ROMs or when using different kinds of search statements. While
simple, non-truncated single index term searches performed
satisfactorily on simultaneously accessed CD-ROMs, the more
complex searches characterized by multiple, truncated index terms
joined by boolean operators yielded unsatisfactory response times.
- TR

Bowers, Richard A. "Retail Channels Opening to CD-ROM" CD-ROM
Professional 5(6) (November 1992):26-31.  Bowers outlines major
new CD-ROM retail distribution programs necessitated by the
market shift from libraries to general consumers.  He concentrates
on the Multimedia Publisher's Group (MPG), Compton's New Media
(CNM), and Sony Electronic Publishing Company (SEPC). - TR

Hartigan, John M. "Price Versus Performance in the Optical Media"
CD-ROM Professional 5(6) (November 1992):8-9.  Hartigan cautions
against the apples and oranges comparison between optical and
magnetic media. The performance of CD-ROM is often measured
against what magnetic media does best, ignoring the attributes
such as crash-proof media, data integrity, portability, and low
publishing costs.  Hartigan defines optical media as enabling
technologies that allow us to do things not possible before
rather than an improvement over an existing technology. Therefore,
the price/performance equation of optical media must be adjusted
in terms of systems need rather than compared to other methods
of delivery. - TR

Herther, Nancy. "Mergers, Consolidations and More: CD-ROM
Companies Position for Future Market Share" CD-ROM Professional
5(6) (November 1992):40-49.  Herther outlines the mergers,
buyouts, reorganizations and other changes that have occurred in
the CD-ROM industry over the past year. Partially a reflection of
the economy and the ten-year maturation of the industry, the
degree and extent of the changes are significant. - TR

--. "New Leadership and a New Direction for Meridian Data" CD-ROM
Professional 5(6) (November 1992):60-64.  "CD-ROM has the
potential of becoming the next floppy disk," predicts Whitney G.
Lynn, Meridian Data's new president.  In this interview with CD-ROM
Professional editor Nancy Herther, he discusses the future focus
of Meridian Data and the dynamics of the CD-ROM industry.  He
characterizes the industry as market-driven, once a niche of the
publishing business and currently making a transition to the
corporate desktop.  Ultimately, he sees CD-ROM as a universal
peripheral device. - TR

McQueen, Howard. "File Server-Based CD-ROM Networking: Using SCSI
Express" CD-ROM Professional 5(6) (November 1992):66-68.  McQueen
describes a networking configuration developed by Micro Design
International called SCSI Express Novell 386, which operates
exclusively on NetWare 3.11.  McQueen targets the network-literate
in this technical article which provides guidelines for evaluating
this new product for immediate or future use. - TR

Sargeant, Eric W. "Getting the Most for your CD-ROM Dollars: the
CD-ROM Bundle" CD-ROM Professional 5(6) (November 1992):50-56.
Sargeant offers comparison shopping tips for CD-ROM bundles
(application software sold in conjunction with CD-ROM hardware).
He points out that the best bundle deals are clearly being
offered via mail order.  Current lists of retail bundles are
provided. - TR

Tamule, Harold B., et. al. "A New Look at CD-ROM Prices" CD-ROM
Librarian 7(9) (October 1992):22-26.  For librarians faced with
fixed or shrinking budgets, the authors construct a price index
for the CD-ROM market.  Among the conclusions drawn is that CD-ROM
titles aimed at academic and research markets are now only 4% more
expensive than they were four years ago.  This percentage compares
quite favorably both to the inflation rate and the book publishing
industry's price index. - TR

Volkers, A.C.W., et. al. "Multiple Usage of CD-ROMs Using Meridian
Data's CD-Net: Performance in Practice" CD-ROM Professional 5(6)
(November 1992):91-98.  In the second article this month
investigating response times of networked CD-ROMs, networks fared
much better.  The experiment's platform/venue was a 16-workstation
Novell-based Meridian Data CD-Net located in the Medical Library
of Erasmus University Rotterdam.  One especially surprising result
was that the CD Net system was about twice as fast as the
standalone CD-ROM workstation previously used.  Other tests
included all workstations searching the same disc, all
workstations active with different operations and the effects of
multiple, simultaneous downloading sessions. - TR


General/News Bits

DeLoughry, Thomas J. "Scholarly Societies Courted in Effort to
Spread Faculty Use of Technology"  The Chronicle of Higher
Education (October 28, 1992):A21, A24-A25.

Ensor, Pat. "The Community Information Format, Or MARC Goes
Alien!" Technicalities (12)9 (September 1992):9-11.  In 1990,
NISO standard Z39.2, which we all know and love as the standard
for information interchange of bibliographic data (that is, the
framework for MARC) was broadened in scope to encompas non-
bibliographic materials, specifically to accomodate records for
community information.  While this change has many uses (e.g.
cataloging information on services and governmental agencies) one
use which will effect technologists is the use of this format for
cataloging online database services, and other stores of electronic
information. - LR

Watkins, Beverly T. "Scholars Are Urged to Collaborate in Today's
'Technology Revolution'"  The Chronicle of Higher Education
(October 28, 1992):A25.

Wilson, David L. "Libraries: U. of Iowa Turns Part of Library
into an 'Information Arcade': Library of Congress Sets Up On-Line
Information Service"  The Chronicle of Higher Education (November
4, 1992):A19.


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Current Cites 3(11) (November 1992) ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright (C) 1992 by the Library, University of
California, Berkeley.  All rights reserved.

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