Many rural areas of the country lack an on-ramp to the information superhighway for people who are looking for educational and professional advancement, which leaves these rural communities frustrated by a situation that puts their residents at a significant disadvantage. This article describes Quick Start and Advanced Internet Regions (AIR.U) as…

Improvements in Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and standardization of interoperability standards among heterogeneous Information System (IS) applications have brought a paradigm shift in the way an IS application could be used and delivered. Not only an IS application can be built using standardized component but also parts of it can…

People live in an era of social, enterprise-oriented, and increasingly cloud-based technology; a dramatic shift away from stand-alone isolated silos that previously dominated. Computing systems can flourish today only when built to easily exchange data and services. An application that stands alone may provide practical functionality but may not…

Cloud computing is definitely a thing now, but it's not new and it's not even novel. Back when people were first learning about the Internet in the 1990s, every diagram that one saw showing how the Internet worked had a big cloud in the middle. That cloud represented the diverse links, routers, gateways, and protocols that passed traffic around in…

In these days of distance learners, virtual libraries, and electronic information, no library can be without some way of providing remote access to affiliated users, whether they are distance students, online students, or local students and faculty members working from home. Libraries subscribe to any number of electronic resources and journals,…

Colleges and universities worldwide are turning to the hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) model and saying goodbye to issues like patch management and server optimization. Generally, SaaS involves applications (such as customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and e-mail) offered by a hosting provider. In this…

This paper provides an overview on the current state of art in the field of Distance learning for mobile users. It mentions a large range of technologies, services and approaches that may be used to bring distance learning to mobile internet users. These technologies are supposed to considerably increase innovative e-learning solutions for the…

Suggests that society is more likely in the midst of an information evolution, rather than a revolution. Uses new media technology and forecasting literatures as a framework to evaluate current technology developments and public discussion about the information highway. Compares the hopeful rhetoric that surrounds the information highway to…

Offers advice for choosing an Internet provider: consider the amount of time, effort, and expertise one has, coupled with the complexity of the Web page, which impact price and choice of provider; and question providers about server speed, ports, architecture, traffic levels, fee structures, and registration of domain names. Lists 33 Web presence…

Describes technological advances at North Dakota State University under the direction of Bonnie M. Neas, formerly the director of information-technology services and currently the head of Internet research. Campus networks were in their infancy when she began her programs, but now the university is part of a consortium building a high-speed…

This document contains the enrollment application form and line-by-line instructions for subscribing to LincOn, a statewide network, administered by the Illinois State Board of Education, that allows public K-12 schools to access the Internet. An overview of LincOn and a checklist for implementing LincOn membership are also included. Appendices…

Recognizes a need for systematic standardized mechanisms to identify, locate, and describe Internet resources. Discusses the initiatives for organization of networked information resources, the development of subject search tools, and the need for global efforts to maintain a catalog and to review online information for currency. (JKP)

This special section presents two articles relating to accessing online systems. The first article discusses power availability for portable computers, including batteries and electrical outlets; the second describes two bulletin board systems that provide information about the Internet and its resources for librarians and patrons. (LRW)

Includes four articles that focus on networking in developing nations: "The Reconfiguration of International Information Infrastructure Assistance Since 1991"; "International Assistance for Networking in Less-Developed Countries: The IDRC Example"; "International Assistance for Internet Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa";…

Considers what library outreach means in the age of networked information and suggests that outreach should focus more on libraries and librarians as resources for advice on how to search in general, rather than where to find familiar information. Discusses use of the Internet and search engines. (LRW)