Lost on the Information Superhighway? You're Not Alone

These days, it seems, just about everyone is cruising the
Internet, skillfully picking up facts and information,
artfully making new electronic acquaintances and in countless
ways making their lives richer, fuller and more rewarding.
    Or at least, so the spate of recent media attention
would have us believe.
    The reality, say Internet experts, is somewhat more
complicated than the gee-whiz articles in papers and
magazines suggest.
    "There are a lot of people who are very confused by the
Internet and the various protocols used to maneuver through
all the information that's out there," said Lee Watkins,
assistant director of the Homewood Computing Information
Center. "It's not surprising, really, considering how
complicated this technology is."
    Watkins likes to point out that even though computers
have become commonplace, they are, nonetheless, "probably the
most sophisticated and complicated products in common use
today."
    They are also among the most diverse products on the
market. Automobiles, by and large, all use much the same
technology and operate in much the same way. "But a dozen
different computer manufacturers will produce a dozen
different machines, each of which operates in its own highly
unique way," Watkins said. "Just creating a system in which
different machines using different software can communicate
and share that information was a tremendously complex
undertaking. That's all the Internet is, a way for different
machines to talk and share information."
    The first generation of Internet communication
software_or protocols as they are called_includes three basic
elements: e-mail, which allows users to send a piece of text
(wrapped in an identifying and routing code) to a specific
location; ftp or file transfer protocol, which defines how to
transfer files from one computer to another; and telnet, a
"terminal emulation" protocol that allows users to log on to
other computers on the Internet.
    Gopher, the software system developed at the University
of Minnesota that is at the heart of JHUniverse, can be
described as a second-generation Internet communication tool,
Watkins said.
    "The idea behind gopher software is to allow someone to
maneuver through the Internet without having to learn a lot
of codes and other technical language," he said.
"Essentially, you just scroll through menus until you find
what you want, then highlight that item, hit return, and
you're automatically connected. All the technical information
about how, where and in what way you connect is in the
background and not visible on your screen."
    Even though they are designed to be user-friendly,
gopher systems, including JHUniverse, can present challenges
to new users unfamiliar with the requirements of the new
technology.
    "As JHUniverse has become more widely known both on
campus and off, I have begun receiving a lot of e-mail
queries asking how to log on," Watkins said. "Because many
people do not understand the different Internet protocols and
their uses, they find themselves confused as to how to access
JHUniverse. Many, for instance, think it is a location you
can e-mail to and connect that way; this is not so."

Next issue: Logging on and other functions