Web access -- now simple and useful

The very beginnings of computer-based communication belonged to the world of computer system experts. Today, computer-based services are part of everyday life. Obtaining information from the Web is now as simple as getting cash from automated bank machines. This column is specifically for those of you who have not tried the Web yet, and who have (or may purchase) a computer (Mac or PC-with-Windows) and have (or may obtain) a connection to the Internet. If you haven't made the decision to access the Web yet, I offer the thought that it may be fairly easy and useful for you to do just that. Let me explain why.

Modern software packages have taken most of the technical trickery out of using electronic communications. Web browsers are arguably the best example of this. A typical browser requires one initial set-up, which can be done at the store where you purchase your system or upgrade your software, and you type in a few characters and are on your way. These characters form the URL (Uniform Resource Locator), which is the standardized convention for defining the address of the home page that you wish to visit. The rest is viewing graphics and text on the screen and clicking on highlighted portions of the screen to select other options.

AN IEEE EXAMPLE.   In previous columns I have discussed some of the information that IEEE members can access from the IEEE home page -- to view this page you enter the characters between the double quotes "http://www.ieee.org". This set of characters is called the URL. You do not have to understand it, you only have to type it into the box that is presented on the screen and hit "return."

Suppose we are interested in one of our technical society conference announcements -- I'll use the upcoming Power Engineering Society summer meeting as an example. Let's assume that, as a member of that society, I know that traditionally there is a conference every summer. Perhaps I want to check the location and dates so I can think about attending.

On the IEEE home page I find the heading "IEEE's Technical Societies" and click on the highlighted phrase "Web pages." Very shortly, I am viewing a list of the IEEE technical societies. I click on the heading "Power Engineering Society," my screen display changes, and I see the topic I am looking for -- "PES Meetings 1995-2001." One more click and I can see that the next summer meeting is being held in Denver, Colo., USA, between July 28 and Aug. 1, 1996.

There are many other kinds of information I can find as quickly and easily. Here are a few personal examples that you can try out, or use the ideas to find the corresponding URL for your particular need. Not all of these will be available in your area yet. To give you an indication of how rapidly availability is changing, the examples I am using have only been available for a few weeks or months.

Here is my overview list. First, some pages of interest to me as a professional in electric power engineering: my professional engineering association, a listing of power engineering consultants, and a national science and engineering research funding agency. Finally, some pages of non-work interest: a listing of phone numbers for take-out ("take-away" in some parts of the world) food, and then some recipes. I will also tell you how I found out about each one.

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS.   I was reading Engineering Dimensions , the magazine published by Professional Engineers Ontario, the organization that licenses me. This magazine told me that the URL for their new home page is "http://www.peo.on.ca". I found some under-construction messages (often the case for the first year of any set of Web pages) and several information items of interest. If you are licensed, you likely get a similar publication. Watch for this kind of announcement.

CONSULTANTS.   In the same magazine (as part of an article on the information highway and sites of interest to professional engineers), I discovered that BC Hydro not only has its own home page describing its activities, but also maintain a listing of electric utilities and consultants in Canada, the United States and elsewhere. The URL is
"http://unixg.ubc.ca:780/~bchydro/addr/utility_addresses.html".

RESEARCH FUNDING.   As the director of a research laboratory, I am always interested in funding opportunities. The lab is university-based, in Canada, so we are very much involved with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. A recent council publication alerted me to the existence of an NSERC home page. The URL was listed as "http://www.nserc.ca". You can often guess the URL correctly once you figure out the conventions typically used. This set of Web pages was full of contact names, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers that are useful to me and my research colleagues.

FOOD.   While browsing my daily paper -- The Globe and Mail -- one morning, I spotted a Web site guide with an ad entitled "Looking for a new restaurant" and offering over 4,000 restaurants. The URL was given as "http://www.dine.net". It seems that sponsorship of this site is related to the local restaurant association. I tried it, clicked on words like "Italian," "delivery," etc. and viewed a large list, mostly of pizza places, with street addresses and phone numbers. Pizza Hut was the chain with the most entries -- perhaps an indication of their view of the importance of corporate presence.

I understand that there will shortly be the capability to fill in an order form and skip the telephone ordering phase. Perhaps some of you have already accessed such a service.

If you prefer to cook at home, try "http://www.eat.com" for pasta-related recipes. My source is The Sunday Times - London, England, last May. These pages are written with a nice blend of content, humor and (restrained) commercial message.

My main message here is not the detail but the trend. Businesses, professional organizations and individuals are making their presence known on the Internet. Web-page creators are providing information about their own activities and, in some cases, providing links to related activities. These links make the host page more attractive and hence more likely to be visited.

My colleagues and I have done this with our home page (Power Research Laboratory), which is accessible from my personal home page. You may want to start to build your own list of URLs that can help you in your search for the information you need in your professional or personal life. With modern tools, you do not need to be a computer whiz. You can take advantage of today's software and commercial interests to help you to access the Web easily.