Netscape is one of the most well-known applications for navigating the World Wide Web. Netscape is now available in a new version fully integrating the World Wide Web, e-mail and news in one and the same interface. Thus you only need one application to use all the most used Internet services under the NITOL project during the last two or three years.
The new Netscape offers much more than three different applications
under the same interface. You may now send formatted letters comprising
several text types, graphics, images, sound etc., by sending a
short message containing a Web address as demonstrated below.
Hi, this is Geir. I want to tell you about
our distance learning opportunities via the Web.
Regards, Geir
By clicking on the term distance learning opportunities you are automatically connected to the Web page in question. The letter has become a "live" hyperlink document.
The same applies to news under Netscape 2.0
From the user's point of view Java has a lot in common with the World Wide Web. You will find the same hypertext structures here as on the Web, but Java also has a feature which is very appropriate for open learning, and that is the capability for animation.
Java functions as follows: First you connect to a server somewhere in the world (the same as with the Web). You then download documents with text hyperstructures as on the Web where everything occurs automatically - images, graphics etc. - everything is placed correctly and properly in the text (as a page in a printed book). However, with Java you do not only get images and graphics with you text, you also get animation, film, and even sound.
Java manages this by downloading small applications which execute the animation, play the sound or film sequence etc. Note! You do not have to do anything special to manage this, you just download a Web document in the usual way, and the animation will start to play.
Above you can see a Java Web page which simulates the Chernobyl disaster. Everything on this page has been downloaded from a Web server in the USA. The elements appear on the page as they arrive, and they start to animate. You may then select various scenarios, set your own parameters to simulate different events etc. It is worth noting that everything needed for this simulation was downloaded when you selected this Web document. This means that all application software needed for the simulation is running on your local PC.
In the future tools will be available enabling any user to create this type of document.
A rosy future has been predicted for Java, as this represents a whole shift of paradigms, since application software is retrieved from the net according to need. This is in stark contrast to the present situation, which makes you fill your harddisk with 100 Mb just for the purpose of writing a text like this. In Java, conversely, you start with small basic applications, which then fetch other helper applications from the net as needed. (For example: If I want a table of contents in this document, I select it on the menu, and a little helper application will promptly be downloaded from the net.)
Video requires a high capacity net (or high bandwidth net as it is also called). In a few years video on the net will probably be commonplace.
Video on the net exists today too, but the quality is not very good. The video picture is small on your monitor, and the number of frames per second is also low. This means that any movement in the picture will be jerky.
Video on the net may be considered in two ways:
The first method is also used for direct real-time video, but
may also be used for already stored information. It is conceivable
that it would be possible to see the daily news report on TV at
11 PM (instead of the present 7 PM time slot) by connecting to
the broadcasting company server which is continually sending video
signals to everyone who is interested. This is what we call interactive
TV.
CUSEEME is the name of an Internet service which transfers video signals to anybody who connects to this service. At present this is an experimental service, testing installations of small TV cameras in offices, laboratories, roofs etc., transmitting direct TV to the Internet for everybody to watch if they want. The latest development I have heard about in this context is a camera placed in Hessdalen to capture pictures of the rumoured but elusive UFOs.
Arvid Staupe has used video recordings in one of the NITOL subjects, transferring this from the University of Trondheim to the College in Agder, but also to any interested Internet users.
The second method would first transfer files to a local harddisk, and then play these locally. This means you will have to wait before you get any pictures.
I believe that the differences between these will disappear when network capacities increase.
It is also important to note that I am not talking about special hardware, video cards or other special equipment to see video film on a PC. A regular Windows PC built to the present standards will do.
Sound has many features in common with video as stated above. Sound can be downloaded, and played back as sound data arrive over the net, or it can be saved to a file and played afterwards.
To exploit the sound medium, special equipment - a sound card and speakers - is required.
By real-time services I mean services requiring two or more parties to be present at the same time to communicate. This makes it a synchronous communication in contrast to e-mail, news etc., which are typical asynchronous services.
Several such services are available:
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a service comparable to Telenor's open line, in that several persons can converse on the same channel. IRC is the Internet version of this, where a number of people can connect to the same channel and discuss a given topic. Communication is by writing text messages, and all participants see the messages written by the others.
There is also the Internet telephone. When running on your PC this application allows you to talk to people anywhere in the world. However, both of you must have the Internet telephone application, a sound card and a microphone. The feasibility of talking across the Internet has, perhaps understandably, been the source of serious headaches in some telephone companies as it means overseas calls can be made at local rates.