Janet Little

Interactivity and collaboration on the WWW — is the ‘WWW shell’ sufficient?

Abstract The web and its associated technologies — Cgi-scripts, JavaScript and Java — have become a platform for the development and deployment of applications. Such has been the impact of these technologies that their combination has been likened to an Expert System Shell, and referred to by the term ‘WWW shell’. This WWW shell it is claimed is particularly adapted to the development of collaborative applications. This paper challenges this claim on three grounds: browser incompatibilities limit the potential benefits from client-side processing technologies; the generic Common Gateway Interface as an application delivery mechanism is inadequate and the networking restrictions on Java applets constrain effective use of the latter as dedicated interfaces to remote applications. This argument is illustrated with respect to three case studies of practical collaborative applications of WWW shell technology. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of new server side technologies, in particular Java servlets for the future development of the WWW shell and the evolution of an ‘Active Web’.

Diffusion of the Internet: a local perspective on an international issue

The rapid growth of the Internet in recent years has received considerable attention. Closer examination of the growth of the Internet however reveals some interesting limitations to the diffusion pattern that has been demonstrated to date. More widespread use of the Internet as a communications technology depends on new partnerships being formed which cross the traditional divides between the world cf business, the world of academia and that of grass roots community life. An example of such a partnership in the Merseyside area is presented.

Bringing the internet to the community

Abstract Current developments in browser technology have largely ignored academic research on interface design in hypermedia systems. This is unlikely to change in the future. Thus, the needs of an information society must be met by providing appropriate training in the use of the technology in the community. To be effective, such training has to identify the difficulties computer-naive members of the public experience with existing systems and to consider both software and training based solutions to these problems. This paper seeks to encourage debate about strategies for facilitating access to Internet technology in the community by reviewing both the success and the difficulties encountered in a public access to the Internet outreach programme, the Internet Express, currently operating at libraries in Merseyside, UK.

Good business practice needs good communications-new generation chat software for real-time discussion

Whilst the email and newsgroups have long been recognised as commercially useful tools, chatroom technology has generally been regarded as a somewhat frivolous application. Chatrooms however may serve a variety of useful commercial and educational as well as recreational purposes. Each context of use, however, has its own requirements. Consequently, there is a need for the design of generic software for chatroom generation which is readily configurable to the requirements of a context and which is also extensible. The design requirements of such a system are discussed and a novel generic system, ChatterBox, implemented in Java, is presented.

The impact of the new connectivity: transferring technological skills to the small business community

This paper describes a set of strategies developed by the Department ofcomputer Science, Liverpool University to promote the necessary conditions for electronic commerce within the Mcrscyside Region of the UK. The implications of these strategies for the IT professionals involved in the project, for the utilisntion of skills among unemployed computing professionals and for the relationship of the business to the University community are discussed.

TITANS: a component based authoring environment using XML to facilitate low cost, high quality entry of the SME to e-commerce

A component based authoring environment for the production of WWW sites by naive users is described. Within this environment complex functionality such as forums can be included in a user defined template through the same basic editing operations as govern the inclusion of more standard aspects, e.g. navigation bars. As XML is used to represent components, user templates for WWW site design can be readily rendered in alternative media formats. A business can thus seamlessly integrate their WWW site and paper based marketing strategy.

Maximising the Benefits of Electronic Commerce

Evolution is required in the services offered to businesses by regional centres for the promotion of electronic commerce if the potential benefits and new opportunities presented by the latter are to be successfully exploited. Public access to and training in use of Internet related technologies is required if a local consumer base is to be established. Software tools are also required. Centres need to be able to effectively and efficiently generate the key functionality of a generic on-line store that can be customised and maintained by any SME without the need for specialist programming knowledge. Tools are also required to automate the registration of on-line businesses with the appropriate, quality search engines. This paper reviews the suite of software tools and strategies used by a regional centre, Connect, to achieve such objectives.

Promoting Ownership: A System for WWW Site Maintenance by the Non-Technical User

The invention of the World Wide Web has created a graphical user interface to the world of distributed computing that does not require high level skills in the end-user. As the Internet changes however, effective exploitation of its ecommerce potential requires a greater degree of technical sophistication in the design and maintenance of a WWW site. Tools are required to facilitate this process for the nontechnical user. This paper describes one suite of tools designed to enable the non-technical user to maintain and develop a WWW site and/or store without the need to learn complex programming skills. A WWW interface provides the user with transparent access to a comprehensive suite of WWW site maintenance and development software. The user can thus complete key maintenance tasks -Authoring; Site registration and Marketing; Site Validation and Analysis- and extend the functionality of their site without the need for detailed technical knowledge

CONNECT: A case study in promoting the advantages of the Internet to SMEs

The potential of the Internet to provide a means through which economically deprived and geographically isolated sectors of the community may be revitalised has received much attention. This paper details the strategy employed by CONNECT, the Internet Centre for Merseyside Businesses, Department of Computer Science, Liverpool University to help establish Merseyside as a centre of electronic commerce despite its status as one of the most socially deprived regions of Europe.

Distributing quality-controlled software via the Internet

Abstract We describe in this paper an archive of software which has been established and made available to users of the Internet. The archive was establishde initially as a collection of public domain software, made available to users at no cost. Use of the archive has grown rapidly: it now contains over 600 items, and withdrawals take place to some 50 countries world-wide at a rate of about 40,000 items each month. We describe here the organisation of the archive and summarise its contents. A particular aspect of this has been our aim to define qualitative criteria for the inclusion of software in this collection, and we discuss our approach to this and other issues.