UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 14, Page TT-6
December 9, 1993
TechTalk
Looking through the same window

     In the course of a day, you probably use your desktop computer for a
variety of things. You check your e-mail, read items of interest on
electronic bulletin boards, type letters, look up student or accounting
information, peruse DELCAT, analyze data and more.
     For some of these functions-like typing letters and analyzing data-you
might use such software as WordPerfect or Lotus 1-2-3,  For other
activities, your desktop computer is connected to another computer through
the campus network.
     Wouldn't you like to be able to move effortlessly from one activity to
the other and not have to worry about how you are connected or where the
application you want is located? Well, now there's a solution-the Common
User Interface, or CUI (some call it a "cooey").
     The CUI is a screen on which each application you use (e-mail,
U-Discover! or your favorite word processor) is represented by an icon. The
CUI is implemented on systems that run Microsoft Windows. The
point-and-click feature of Windows allows you to select the activity you
want to perform, and the correct program will be automatically activated.
Using Windows, you can do more than one activity at a time, each in its own
window. You can easily copy information from one application to another or
switch from one to another, say from WordPerfect to e-mail. In an office
where several people are doing similar work, the CUI can be customized so
everyone has the same introductory screen.
     Because the campus communications environment has evolved over several
years, there are still many different ways that a desktop computer can be
connected to the campus network. Now that most campus buildings are
connected to the campus backbone, systems within those buildings can be
connected via Ethernet. We have standardized the PC/TCP software from FTP
Inc. so that systems being connected now all use the same communications
software. However, you can still enjoy the advantages of the CUI because
your Windows-based system can be set up to use a different communications
method while still allowing you to click on the icon for the application
you want.
     The offices of the president, provost and senior vice president are
already taking advantage of the CUI. Icons for the applications used most
frequently now appear in the same format on the main Windows screen of
every office PC in those offices. The resulting main Windows screen lets
everyone access frequently used applications in the same way, such as
electronic mail and word processing.
     To find out more about how a CUI could be of benefit to you, contact
Ron Nichols (nichols@strauss, telephone 831-2547). Remember that you will
need Microsoft Windows.