To help users develop a long-term strategy for software acquisition, this article outlines two rules: (1) "Know exactly the nature of the problem you want to solve"; and (2) "If you can't try it, don't buy it." Use the sharpest precision software tool you can find to solve your problem and keep a constant look out for something…

High-performance computing refers to the use of advanced computing technologies to solve highly complex problems in the shortest possible time. The federal High Performance Computing and Communications Initiative of the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) attempts to accelerate availability and use of high performance computers and networks.…

This guide is intended for individuals and organizations interested in hosting online conferences. For the purposes of this guide, a host is the administrator or manager of a conferencing system and of the conferences held on that system. Eight sections cover the following important processes for hosting online conferences: (1) determining…

This guide focuses on moderating non-pedagogical online conferences that use World Wide Web-based conferencing software, whether synchronous or asynchronous. The first section provides information on getting ready and discusses features and advantages of synchronous and asynchronous systems. The second section focuses on getting started, including…