A very popular form of real-time communications on the Internet is Internet Relay Chat (IRC) type programs. It was invented in 1988 by Jarkko Oikarinen. A chat program is a forum where you can discuss your favorite subject interactively with other people located anywhere on the Internet. Of course, the chat room isn't a physical room but a virtual one.
A chat room is actually a channel or path between two or more computers on the Internet. The communication occurs in "real-time", similar to a conference call. Messages are usually typed on the keyboard, not spoken. (HOWEVER, some voice and video chat software programs are available, just not as common. YET.) As you type a message on your computer keyboard, the people you're chatting with see what you type almost immediately, and you can simultaneously see what they type in reply. Spelling errors and all.
Usually conversations are organized according to channels or groups; each group is a different conversation that's going on. There are thousands of existing chat groups you can join, or you can create your own.
Assignment:
Choose one of the following three ways below to communicate via the Internet. Sign up, sign on, download the program (if needed). Explore the chat connection you choose. Answer these questions:
How difficult was it for you to understand the program you chose?
Where did you go?
Did you join in the discussion or just "lurk"?
What do you see as the potential in being able to globally communicate?
IRC, mIRC and MUDs
* Generally for those with slower connections who wish text only communication. More difficult to use as you must also learn the commands to type. *
WWW Chat Groups * For those using a Graphics browser such as Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer. *
Multimedia Chat Software * For those with their own computer who are able to download and install seperate multi-media communication programs. *
Web pages can be made very exciting and dynamic through the inclusion of multimedia. Multimedia simply means more than one type of media, such as animation, audio, graphics - both 2D and 3D images, video or any combination of these.
There are a number of different possible outcomes when you use your browser to load a Web page that contains multimedia. The browser may look for a Helper or Plug-In that may already be a standard element included with your browser. Or it may ask you to click on a hyperlink to download and install a needed program to process the file. If you decide to download and install the program (you should run virus detection software on it, as anything you download), you should then be able to play/display the multimedia element in your browser window.
Multimedia is one of the most complex and rapidly changing areas on the Internet today. In many ways this area is still in it's infancy. Because multimedia is so new, many of the technologies for creating and displaying multimedia are proprietary. For this reason a given "plug-in" or downloadable "media software" may only be able to process one of the many multimedia formats. For example, there are several common audio and video formats, but each "plug-in" can usually only deal with one of these formats.
Assignment:
Go to the following Multimedia Site. Decide which type of multimedia element you would like to attempt to use. (Each section gives either a list of typical plug-in links used for that element type, or gives the specific software you will need to download and install so that you can view that individual site.)
Once you have chosen a link, go there and see which type of plug-in or software that it requests. If you already have the particular helper installed with your browser than you should be able to view the site with no problems. If not, the site will tell you what you need to get/install.
Download, install, and experiment with a plug-in for a form of multi-media of your choice.
Send the instructor an email answering the following:
Describe your experiences with multimedia.
If you had to download a helper application, describe how long the process took and what was involved.
Do you think WWW pages should or should not include multimedia elements? Why or why not?
The Internet and it's applications grow at an astonishing rate.
Staying up to date with the latest in Internet Technology is important in this fast growing new "online world". Programs are developed everyday and the newest innovations give us something to look forward to.
Assignment:
Listed below are several online "Tech News" sites. Pick one and explore. Tell the instructor three new "technology items" that you found exciting. What what you like to see developed in the future?
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NIVERSITY OF
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LASKA
The Facilitator
