Saint Mary's Magazine Fall 2004 - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

SMU ON THE WWW
Beyond HTML: Enriching the
Web with alternative formats
In the beginning … back in the
early 1990s … was the
WorldWideWeb (no spaces in the
name then) and the only format
available was
text with
hyperlinks.
Today, the Web
is filled with a
variety of
delivery options
that can
sometimes be
confusing. Let’s
take a look at
how several of
these formats
are used here at SMU and why
they are important to you.
A. Eric Heukeshoven
website manager
Adobe Acrobat or
Portable Document
Format (aka PDF)
Without a doubt, Adobe PDF files
are the closest thing we have to
fulfilling the vision of a “paperless
office.” A PDF document can be
shared with the vast majority of
computers today regardless of their
operating system. And yet, we still
live in a world that requires
signatures and paper records. For
this reason alone, PDF files provide
the bridge between electronic and
printed documents. PDF files are
typically small, the software for
viewing and printing these
documents is free from Adobe
Systems (www.adobe.com) and best
of all, the layout of the original
document is retained and cannot be
altered as it might be if a word
processing file was used instead.
The SMU website uses Adobe
PDF files in many places. Here are
just a few of the places you’ll find
PDFs on our site:
Undergraduate Course Catalog:
www.smumn.edu/sitepages/pid5.php
Printable Undergraduate
Admission Application:
www.smumn.edu/sitepages/pid157.php
Alumni Magazine (1999 to
present) is also available in PDF
format at: www.smumn.edu/magazine
Audio/Video Formats
MP3 Audio
MP3 is short for Moving Picture
Experts Group, Audio Layer III,
and is a compression format that
shrinks audio files with only a small
sacrifice in sound quality. In the
span of only a few years, MP3 has
risen from obscurity to near
ubiquitous status. From Napster
(now a legal source of music
downloads) to the iPod and iTunes,
MP3 is the undisputed champ of
audio formats.
The SMU website uses MP3
files as a way of sharing audio to
visitors around the world. Care to
hear the SMU Alma Mater? Click
over to http://av.smumn.edu/general/
almamater.html.
Several MP3 players are
available at no charge; here are two
suggestions:
WinAmp for Windows:
http://www.shoutcast.com/
iTunes for Windows and
Macintosh:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/
QuickTime and RealPlayer
A recent Nielsen/NetRatings report
indicates that more than 45 percent
of U.S. homes use a “broadband”
connection to access the Internet.
As this trend continues, SMU plans
to introduce more video content for
alumni and friends.
We currently offer audio and
video in QuickTime and RealPlayer
formats. Both formats compress the
audio and video to make it easier for
people connecting at slower speeds.
Video can downloaded as a file
or “streamed” (viewed live in real
time.) The SMU webcam
(http://av.smumn.edu/webcam/) uses
QuickTime streaming and has been
serving up views of the Winona
campus for more than four years!
Another interesting
application of video can
be seen in our “Round
Trip Tours” where
QuickTime provides
the engine to view 360-
degree panoramas of the
Winona campus. See for yourself at
http://av.smumn.edu/tours/
Flash
A relative newcomer to the Web,
Flash is an emerging technology
offering a great potential especially
in the area of animation. While we
have not yet incorporated Flash
into the SMU external website, the
format is getting some serious
attention by our Office of
Instructional Technology (http://
www2.smumn.edu/deptpages/~instruct
Tech/) to provide tutorials for faculty,
students and staff.
Bold New World
What will the Web look like in 10
years? Judging from the incredible
changes we have witnessed in just
the past few years, I don’t think we
can make any predictions except to
say that the future of the Web with
its many formats will continue to
evolve and enrich our lives.≠
20 SAINT MARY’S MAGAZINE FALL 2004