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Take JHUniverse: leave the driving to
Gopher! January 31, 1994 Novices take note: the information superhighway -- of which JHUniverse is but one small entrance ramp -- is not as complicated to maneuver around as it may initially seem. And in the weeks ahead the Gazette, Homewood Academic Computing and other university departments will initiate a coordinated effort to make help easily available to anyone with questions. "The whole concept behind the Gopher software is to make finding and retrieving information as simple as possible," said Peter Batke, the humanities discipline specialist at Homewood Academic Computing. "Much of what goes on with the Gopher software occurs in the background, which means the average user doesn't know it's happening." In a typical session, Batke said, a user may start from one machine, look through a menu on the server located at Garland Hall and then get sent to a computer located in another state, or even another country, for the information he or she was after. "But the whole event transpires without the user knowing what is happening," Batke said. "On the screen, all you see is a menu, from which you select the topic, and then the information you need." In an effort to assist newcomers to the brave new world of Internet communications, Homewood Academic Computing plans to offer training to new Internet users and the Gazette will run articles about JHUniverse and computer communications in general. Look for further information in next week's issue.
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