357 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
357 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
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_Current Cites_
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Volume 6, no. 4
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April 1995
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Information Systems Instruction & Support
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The Library
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University of California, Berkeley
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Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne
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ISSN: 1060-2356
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[URL:http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ISIS/current-cites/]
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Contributors:
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John Ober, Margaret Phillips, David Rez,
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Richard Rinehart, Teri Rinne, Roy Tennant
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Editor's Note: I am pleased to announce the official debut of the
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Current Cites World-Wide Web home page. Point your web browser at
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http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ISIS/current-cites/ to find and search
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past issues of Current Cites. You can also establish a link to our
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latest issue. We will strive to add as much value to our webbed
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version of Current Cites, such as providing links to electronic
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copies of articles cited, authors' web pages when we know about
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them or can find them, and information on items mentioned in the
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cites. A special thanks to Current Cites founder, Roy Tennant,
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for his able management of this new resource.
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Electronic Publishing
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_Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters and Academic
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Discussion Lists_ Washington, DC : Association of Research
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Libraries, Office of Scientific and Academic Publishing, 1994.
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-- This fourth edition of the ARL directory of electronic
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journals has now become a standard reference source containing
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a comprehensive list of academically created and oriented
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serials on the Internet. From the 110 listings of journals and
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newsletters in the original 1991 edition, the newest edition has
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grown to include over 440 entries. The references to academic
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discussion lists is, understandably, more selective containing
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nearly 1800 listings; the editors have selected topics that are
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of primary interest to scholars, researchers and students. Of
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particular value in this volume are several reprinted articles
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on electronic publishing including Geoffrey Nunberg's article on
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"The Places of Books in the Age of Electronic Reproduction,"
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Jean-Claude Guedon's "Why are Electronic Publications Difficult
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to Classify?," Birdie MacLennan's "Electronic Serial Sites:
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Collections, Resources, and Services on the Networks," Steve
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Outing's "List of Newspaper Publishers with On-line Services in
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Operation," and a bibliography by former Current Cites editor
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David F.W. Robison, "Bibliography of Articles Related to
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Electronic Journal Publications and Publishing." -- MP
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Eaton, Flynnette. "Preservation Strategies for Electronic
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Records" Spectra 22(3) (Winter 1994-95):22-24. -- Eaton
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draws upon her experience at the U.S. National Archives
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and Records Administration to outline strategies that will
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be useful for any archivist or information systems manager
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in ensuring the longevity of their digital legacy data.
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Many aspects are covered in this useful article, from
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data-migration and disaster planning to physical media
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formats and software obsolescence. Spectra is a quarterly
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publication of the Museum Computer Network; online information
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is available at gopher://world.std.com -- RR
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Multimedia and Hypermedia
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Burger, Jeff. "The Making of Nightclub Earth" New Media 5(4)
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(April 1995):84-85. -- This article covers the technical details
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behind producing a video CD-ROM. Of primary interest however is
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the use of AppleMedia Tool and the QuickTime video format for
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Windows and Macintosh which was used to produce this cross-
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platform multimedia CD-ROM. Some CD-ROMs duplicate both Mac and
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Windows file formats on a CD-ROM, delivering a bi-platform
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package, but using only half the disc for each. All the large
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media-objects on this CD-ROM are recorded only once, in
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QuickTime format, and only the retrieval tool is duplicated for
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each platform. -- RR
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Networks and Networking
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Archee, Ray. "Freenets: Community Access for All" Online Access
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10(4) (April 1995):43-49. -- In all of the excitement of World
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Wide Web sites and technology leaps, the importance of truly
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public access to locally useful information is sometimes lost.
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This article relates the history and current vibrancy of
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community-based freenets. The article is useful in large part
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because of its list of 26 freenets. -- JLO
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Bailey, Charles W., Jr. "Network-Based Electronic Publishing of
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Scholarly Works: A Selective Bibliography" The Public-Access
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Computer Systems Review 6(1) (1995). [URL:
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http://info.lib.uh.edu/pr/v6/n1/bail6n1.html] -- Bailey has
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long provided good bibliographies on electronic publishing --
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first focusing on electronic serials, now on scholarly
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electronic publishing. The Web version is recommended, as it
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makes appropriate links to online sources when available. -- RT
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Caruso, Denise. "Digital Commerce" The New York Times 144
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(March 20, 1995):C9. -- A new biweekly feature in the New York
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Times business section, Caruso's column provides commentary and
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analysis of information technology. Her first column discusses
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the implications of a recent ruling by the Federal Communications
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Commission that could raise the cost of ISDN -- the relatively
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low-cost digital network service provided by local telephone
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companies that allows users to connect to the Internet. The
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recent ruling means that anyone who needs to increase the
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bandwidth provided through their ISDN lines in order to browse
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the Web more efficiently could face significantly increased rates
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for this service. The FCC's ruling will mean higher costs which
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could, in turn, make access to the Internet out-of-reach for an
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even greater segment of the population. -- MP
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Cerf, Vinton. "Life in a New World," OnTheInternet 1(1)
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(March 1995):22-27. -- Cerf has been living in the "new world"
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of the Internet longer than just about anyone, and in this
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thoughtful piece he offers useful advice for keeping it a
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civil place. He identifies three types of behavioral constraints
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on Internet users: technical, legal, and moral. After a brief
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history of the Internet relating to behavior constraints, he
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deals mainly with moral constraints as "users of the
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Internet bear personal responsibility for their own actions."
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[By the way, this is the first issue of a new publication by
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the Internet Society] -- RT
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"Digital Libraries," Communications of the ACM 38(4)
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(April 1995):22-96. -- Virtually the entire issue is devoted
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to this topic, with over 70 pages of text. Major sections
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include general articles, supporting technologies,
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projects, and initiatives. In the projects and initiatives
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sections, Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) are provided
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when appropriate. Some of the major articles include:
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* Fox, Edward A., et al, "Digital Libraries: Introduction,"
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p. 23-28.
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* Levy, David M. and Catherine C. Marshall, "Going Digital:
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A Look at Assumptions Underlying Digital Libraries,"
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p. 77-84.
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* Marchionini, Gary and Hermann Maurer, "The Roles of
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Digital Libraries in Teaching and Learning," p. 67-75.
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* Rao, Ramona, et al, "Rich Interaction in the Digital
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Library," p. 29-39.
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* Samuelson, Pamela, "Legally Speaking: Copyright and
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Digital Libraries," p. 15-21;110.
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* Wiederhold, Gio, "Digital Libraries, Value, and
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Productivity," p. 85-96. -- RT
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Dorcey, Tim. "The CU-SeeMe Desktop Videoconferencing
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Software" ConneXions: The Interoperability Report 9(3)
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(March 1995):42-45. -- Along with virtual reality,
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interactive video technologies promise to produce the next
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wave of hot Internet tools. CU-SeeMe is a tool for online
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videoconferencing on the Internet that is available today.
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This developer of CU-SeeMe describes the technology behind
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it, and even (briefly) the compression algorithm that allows
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the rapid transmission of such bandwith-intensive information.
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Unfortunately the article does not include a screenshot of
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a CU-SeeMe session. -- RT
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Handley, Mark and Jon Crowcroft. "The World-Wide Web:
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How Servers Work," ConneXions: The Interoperability Report
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9(2) (February 1995):12-24. -- For those of us who wonder
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exactly how the World-Wide Web works underneath what
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we see, this is an enlightening article. In simple yet exact
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language, such topics as proxy servers, the Common Gateway
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Interface (CGI) forms processing, and server performance
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are discussed. Examples and diagrams are also provided.
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This article is not for the beginning Web user, but if you
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feel ready to look under the hood you could do a lot worse
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than this piece. [Article based on the forthcoming book
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The World Wide Web: Beneath the Surf] -- RT
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Kent, Peter. "Browser Shootout" Internet World 6(4)
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(April 1995):46-59. [Also available at URL:
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http://www.mecklerweb.com:80/mags/iw/v6n4/feat46.htm]
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-- Another contribution to this issue's focus on the
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World-Wide Web (a little too cutely titled "Webaganz"),
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Kent contributes a very useful comparison among the
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proliferation of Web browsers. His evaluative comparisons
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lead him to suggest that the stand-alone browsers
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InternetWorks and Netscape are front-runners. He helpfully
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summarizes the incorporation of browsers into suites of
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Internet tools as well as those incorporated into
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proprietary systems like Netcom's Netcruiser and The
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Pipelines Internaut. A sidebar explains Internet access
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without SLIP software, as with Slipknot and The Internet
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Adapter. -- JLO
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Stoll, Clifford. _Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the
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Information Highway_ New York: Doubleday, 1995. -- The
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author of _The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze
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of Computer Espionage_ takes on the hype and myth surrounding
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the Internet. Since the Internet is often over-hyped, Stoll
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has no problem finding targets, but he also makes up his own.
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While some of his criticisms are as simplistic as 'if you
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are in front of a computer you are not doing something
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else' (with the 'something else' assumed to be of more value),
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some are not as easy to criticize. His polemic can be redundant
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and ill-informed at times, but it is also funny, entertaining,
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and certainly controversial. This is the kind of book that
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has already incited arguments, sometimes heated, and will
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continue to do so for some time to come. Whether you agree
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or disagree with what he has to say, if you are going to
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argue about it -- read it. -- RT
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Tennant, Roy. "The Virtual Library Foundation: Staff Training
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and Support" Information Technology and Libraries 14(1)
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(March 1995):46-49. [Also available at URL:
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http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ISIS/ITAL.html] -- Current Cites'
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own Roy Tennant has penned a straightforward summary of the
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basic strategies for staff training and support of digital
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library initiatives. Along the way he makes a strong case
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for the necessity of staff development for the kinds of
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imaginative innovation that all information service agencies
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must seek. -- JLO
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Tropiano, Lenny and Dinah McNutt. "How to Implement ISDN"
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Byte 20(4) (April 1995):67-74. -- More and more Internet
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trainers are acknowledging that Integrated Services Digital
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Network (ISDN) access through the local phone company is
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close-at-hand in most of the U.S. This article explains the
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availability and complexity of ISDN access, including a
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checklist of questions to ask an ISDN provider. A side-bar
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compares ISDN access with the fastest modems. All in all
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this is a valuable read for those considering ISDN as
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another alternative to providing personal or organizational
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network access. -- JLO
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Vacca, John. "The Net's Next Big Thing: Virtual Reality"
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Byte 20(4) (April 1995):28. -- Vacca briefly explains the
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philosophy behind presenting Virtual Reality through the
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Internet via the emerging standard called Virtual Reality
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Markup Language (VRML). This may well be the next logical
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extension of Internet functionality and complements the
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announcement (at the Spring Internet World conference in
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San Jose, California) of Silicon Graphics VRML browser
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development. [URL:http://www.sgi.com/]. -- JLO
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Weiss, Aaron. "Hop, Skip, and Jump: Navigating the
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World-Wide Web" Internet World 6(4) (April 1995):41-44.
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[Also available at URL:
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http://www.mecklerweb.com:80/mags/iw/v6n4/feat41.htm]
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-- In typical Internet World style, Weiss provides a
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whirlwind tour of the major sources of well-organized
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directories of Web sites and of Web search tools. The
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search tools summary, which mentions the Jumpstation,
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the Webcrawler, LYCOS, WWW Worm, RBSE, and CUIs W3,
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is useful for its brief descriptions of the tool's
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embedded strategies and comparisons among tools. -- JLO
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Wilson, David L. "Senate Bill Takes Broom to Internet"
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Chronicle of Higher Education 41(30) (April 7, 1995), A21.
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-- New legislation intended to spur growth on the National
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Information Infrastructure by deregulating the telecommuni-
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cations industry has met with criticism from many Internet
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users because it includes restrictions on the distribution
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of obscene or indecent material. Both the Office of
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Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association as
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well as the Electronic Frontier Foundation have expressed
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their opposition to the legislation and questioned the
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constitutionality of restricting free speech on the Internet.
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Those who otherwise support the legislation are hoping that
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the anti-pornography provisions will be altered by the time
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it comes up for vote later this year. -- MP
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Optical Disc Technology
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Desmarais, Norman. "How Fast is Fast?" CD-ROM Professional
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8(3) (March 1995):119-121. -- Desmarais cautions librarians
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against throwing their older CD-ROM drives onto the trash
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heap. Since most library and information applications use
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text almost exclusively (indexes, abstracts, and full-text)
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rather than multimedia applications, single-speed CD-ROM
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drives, which are now dirt cheap, should suffice. However,
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since the increasingly popular multimedia titles require
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double-speed to quadruple-speed drives for satisfactory
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playback, few if any manufacturers will be producing
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single-speed drives. As librarians replace existing
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equipment with only multispeed drives to choose from,
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they should opt to put heavily-used and multimedia
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applications in the newer, faster drives while loading
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the text-only CD-ROM applications in the slower drives.
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-- TR
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Hudson, Barry J. "CD-ROM Network Access: Problems, Pitfalls
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and Perils" CD-ROM Professional 8(3) (March 1995):98-108.
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-- Although there are often many potential benefits assoc-
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iated with shared access to CD-ROMs over a network, Hudson
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argues quite convincingly, as the title suggests, that
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shared access is not necessarily the best course to take
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for every organization. Foremost reasons are the technical
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and administrative obstacles associated with the successful
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sharing of CD-ROMs. Quite simply, many CD-ROMs are just not
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suited for LAN access. Hudson provides many examples and
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offers practical tips on how to determine the likely costs
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and benefits of shared access. Useful sidebars include
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"(14) Questions to Ask Before Establishing a CD-ROM Server"
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and "A Technical Compliance Checklist" which Hudson
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designed to assist server administrators in determining
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a CD-ROM's fitness for use. If a title scores more than
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40 penalty points on the checklist, it should not be
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considered for centralized support. -- TR
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Lieberman, Paula. "Multiple Disc CD-ROM Systems" CD-ROM
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Professional 8(3) (March 1995):60-74. -- Lieberman provides
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a concise overview of the plethora of multiple disc
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CD-ROM systems: CD-ROM towers, CD-ROM arrays, CD-ROM
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servers, six-disc and 18-disc changer/jukeboxes, and
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jukeboxes that can access anywhere from 100 to more than
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1400 discs. A comprehensive multidisc vendor directory
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accompanies the article. -- TR
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Current Cites 6(4) (April 1995) ISSN: 1060-2356
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Copyright (C) 1995 by the Library, University of
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California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
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All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks
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of their respective holders. Mention of a product in this
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publication does not necessarily imply endorsement of the
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product.
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[URL:http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ISIS/current-cites/]
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To subscribe, send the message "sub cites [your name]" to
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listserv@library.berkeley.edu, replacing "[your name]"
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with your name. Copying is permitted for noncommercial use
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by computerized bulletin board/conference systems, individual
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scholars, and libraries. Libraries are authorized to add the
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journal to their collections at no cost. An archive site is
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maintained at ftp.lib.berkeley.edu in directory /pub/Current.Cites
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[URL:ftp://ftp.lib.berkeley.edu/pub/Current.Cites]. This message
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must appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
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permission from the editor, who may be reached in the following
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ways:
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trinne@library.berkeley.edu // trinne@ucblibra // (510)642-8173
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