Day 4

Wonders of the Web

The next issue we discussed was which software is used most often. Steve emphasized to the group that e-mail and news are where the action is. In addition, the facilitators all emphasized the importance of realizing the potential for the publicizing of your private e-mail messages. Other e-mail etiquette ideas were mentioned, such as checking to see where you are posting and where the follow-ups will be posted. Steve told the group that they will not find themselves using Gopher and Fetch all that much, and he introduced Mosaic by saying it has a completely different style and purpose as compared to the software they had learned thus far. Mosaic is more about presentation; it almost becomes like a shopping mall. With this information, we swam through the humidity to the computer room.

Our brief session today was entirely taken up by the exploration of the Web via Mosaic. Steve began the Mosaic tutorial by emphasizing a few important facts: Mosaic only uses one window, that you only have to click once (as opposed to twice for all other Mac software), the triangle menu that tells you where you've been, the idea of links, and the different kinds of external images, sounds, and movies you can view. Next, he gave them URLs as starting points for surfing -- Steve's home page and my own personal home page. Also, participants were asked to build their own hotlist. The participants had a great time surfing around for topics that interest them. Cindy found a 'songs of the day' page, Mike found a home page that contains several Monty Python songs, Jo and Ruth discovered Escher drawings, and Paul used Sparkle to watch a movie with fractals. A good time was had by all.

At 2:30 p.m., we all loaded into a Swarthmore College van, and Annie whisked us off to Philadelphia. Our first stop was the Franklin Institute. My personal highlights of the museum were the Grand Canyon movie on the 180 degree screen (though the seats were so comfortable, it was easy to fall asleep) and the Future sections. They had demonstrations of the SGI machine and a really cool animation station in the future computer section (though I must say the Internet section was a little outdated). Also, there was a fantastic machine on which one could view oneself aging.

After our short, but fun-filled visit to the Institute, we journeyed down scenic Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Marabella's Italian Restaurant (which was my choice). The dinner was a big success; there were lots of choices, friendly service, and lively conversation. After dinner, we took a brief driving tour of Center City: city hall, Market Street, the Art Museum, and the other museums along the Parkway. Laughter was ringing, and smiles were plentiful. We should do it again sometime.

I will be in touch again tomorrow with a synopsis of the day's events.

--Heather Mateyak :)

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Heather Mateyak / July 12, 1994