Internet of the Future (What's on the horizon)
- Schools in remote areas can now connect to the Internet without a high-speed land-based connection - K-12WORLD™ Satellite Server
- Software like Internet Phone, WebPhone, and WebTalk turn your Internet
connection into a telephone that eliminates long distance charges.
- Systems like CUSeeMe (available at http://www.wpine.com) allow users to not only hear each other but also see each other.Interesting Devices Connected to the Net
- Entire "virtual" universities are emerging to provide low-cost education for anyone with an Internet connection. For example
International University held their first Cyber-Graduation this past May.
- "The deluge of data in modern life places ever greater demands on our processing power."
- Information agents like InfoMagnet search listservs on the Internet for a particular topic and returns all listservs concerning the indicated topic.
- "Knowbot" or "spider" like Techweb identify topics of interest and each morning provide you with links to articles from a collection of magazines and journals related to your interests.
- Computer games like CivNET and board games like Monopoly can be played in real-time with others who may be located anywhere in the world.
- You can hear live newscasts including sports clips from ESPN using Live RealAudio (http://www.RealAudio.com).
- You attend live presentations and lectures at any time, anywhere: NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) Video Library
- More and more individuals are telecommuting to "work." And if you are commuting by car, you can get a traffic report with "pictures".Atlanta Traffic Table of Real-Time Traffic
- Many companies are exploring the use of groupware on the Internet. IBM's Lotus
- Other companies are developing groupware that simulates a virtual office. The virtual office contains virtual rooms where the company's employees can work on group projects. Each employee is represented by an avatar, which is a graphical personification of the person on the computer screen. (A good example of the avatar model is the virtual char room Worlds Chat at http://www.worlds.net where you can choose an avatar and then converse with others in a virtual space station.)
- Imagine the same technology being used in education. We could have a group project where the student participants are from various countries and are each represented by their own personal avatar.
- You can now tour virtual images of universities and museums around the world from your computer.
- You can explore and build new worlds using software like AlphaWorld. AlphaWorld is a 140,000
square mile virtual world where users can construct their own communities. Eventually, AlphaWorld will have virtual stores and banks where individuals can transact real-world business.
- Imagine a classroom like this where the students are from all over the world studying and working together in the privacy of their own home. This is the ultimate distance education.
- What's next? Imagine that your students are doing research on life in Siberia. You will soon be able to arrange a virtual field-trip to Siberia led by a "local" travel guide. Visit the Yellowstone Virtual Adventure Page
(http://www.virtualadventures.com) and do some "virtual" fishing. "It is the next best thing to being there."
Emerging Technologies
- Enhanced Techniques for the Visualisation of Information
- Java
- VRML & 3-D Environments
- Macromedia's Shockwave
- XML & SMIL
- Internet PC / WebTV
- requires fast connection
- applications need to run on server
- connected to TV
- Cable Modems
- can deliver two-way access to the Internet
- speeds close to 10 Mbps (modems are 36.6 Kbps upstream)
- Teleconferencing and collaboration tools
- Intranet and extranets; e-commerce
Where do our travels lead us on the Internet?
To the ultimate virtual library.
Douglas Comer defines the Internet as "a wildly-successful, rapidly-growing, global digital library built on a remarkably flexible communication technology. The Internet digital library offers a variety of services used to create, browse, access, search, view, and communicate information on a diverse set of topics ranging from the results of scientific experiments to discussions of recreational activities. Information in the Internet digital library can be recorded in memos, organized into menus, stored as hypermedia documents, or stored in textual documents. In addition, information accessible through the digital library can consist of data, including audio and video, that is gathered, communicated, and delivered instantly without being stored. Furthermore, because the services have been integrated and cross-referenced, a user can move seamlessly from the information on one computer to information on another computer and from one access service to another."
What is Internet Addiction?
