Adventures in Cyberspace

November 1, 1997

I've made the giant leap into cyberspace this semester by accessing my space on the World Wide Web. Not a bad journey into Techno-land for someone who couldn't even reply to e-mail last semester! People find that hard to believe, but I just tell them the truth: I received my e-mail messages, but never had the need to reply to one until this year. It's not that I've been actively resisting computerization, but if you're not a student, and don't have access to a computer, you begin your journey through MSU with barely enough computer knowledge to crank out a paper. I am pleased to say that those days are behind me, and not only have I actually purchased my first computer (an old, but serviceable model), but I've recently upgraded my system. Boy, did I think I was on my way to really learning my way around a CPU (that's computer processing unit)!

Well folks, here I am at mid-semester, still trying to get this work out. I have been successful at everything but saving, meaning in true "Star Trek" fashion, those little molecules get beamed into space, never to return. In short, I never see them again! But before you despair and move on to something else in the newsletter, read on and I share the reasons behind my successes and failures.

First of all, DO NOT WAIT until you are assigned to do a web page as a part of a class assignment before you attempt to try this. This message goes double for freshmen and sophomores. You may not realize this now, but web pages are the future, and your employer will want to make sure that you know how to create web pages as part of your minimal package of job skills. Hence, in an effort to teach their students relevant skills and useful knowledge, many professors are assigning web pages as a class requirement. Once you get the hang of it, it's actually interesting and fun (for instance, I can now do editing in my sleep). There can be a steep learning curve associated with the learning process itself. Believe me, you really do not want to experience the thrill of this steep learning curve while you have other class work going on. Save the thrills for Cedar Point, or you'll be thinking of your computer as "The Beast", and not that famous roller coaster.

As a confirmed Mac user, I never thought I would be recommending the following, but if you want to retain your sanity (and you might need it for that employer who wants you to know how to create web pages), do not use the campus Macs for this project! In order to edit, you must use Netscape Navigator Gold, which is not the same as Netscape Navigator, the program that enables you to surf the 'net and print information. Some Macs don't have the Gold version installed or it is hidden in obscure places on the hard drive. When and if you do finally locate Netscape Navigator Gold, you'll find that it requires a lot of RAM (random access memory), and running it in combination with the system software uses nearly 16 megabytes of memory. If your Mac has 16 megs of RAM, as most do on campus, you will have enough memory to pull up your web page and create changes, but when you attempt to transfer your changes back to your storage space on MSU's mainframe, your little desktop will crash under the strain of so much information and your work will be flushed into cyberspace. Or, if you are fortunate, your little desktop will recognize a no-win situation, and save you a lot of time by giving you a dialog box that informs you there is not enough memory to even open the Gold program. After many hours of frustration in the Mac labs, I am now planning to connect to MSU from home, where I have 24 megs of RAM, and should be able to edit and save to my heart's content!

In the meantime, I shall be learning how to edit my web page using the IBMs on campus. Frequently, there are workshops given at the computer center on creating web pages, and I plan on attending the next session. It can only be to our advantage to know both systems. That employer who wants the web page probably uses the opposite system to what we have learned, anyway.

Another great source of help is the Writing Center in Bessey Hall. They have handouts on creating web pages in both formats, Mac and IBM, though they only have Macs in the center. (For reasons unknown to me, I can save my work at the Writing Center - it's only in the Mac labs that I have problems.)

My original intention was to present an article about creating web pages, have a finished product ready, and to include my URL - universal resource locator or "address" of my web page - in this article. While I haven't arrived there yet, I am committed. to conquering that steep learning curve. One of my classmates recently lamented how little she knew about computers compared to me, and how afraid she was of them. I don't think that she has truly comprehended that prior to December 1996, the sum total of my computer experience was typing a few letters, and playing a couple of video games in the early '90s. Last December, I bought my old but serviceable computer, a copy of the Mac for Dummies book, and learned most of what I know by making mistakes along the way. For me, creative problem solving consisted of shutting the computer down and rebooting, or putting the application in the trash, then reinstalling it from scratch. Recalling those days, all I can say is, "crude but effective."

The point I am trying to make is that I'm not a so-called "computer geek," and the skills I've learned in the last 10 months are the types of skills that anyone can learn, with a little motivation and persistence. If you don't have your web page up and running, I would encourage you to spread your wings and learn to fly! And when my web page is finished, hopefully by January, I'll write the end to this story.

If you're interested in designing a web page, here are a few web site addresses that may help you out: