The signs are all around us

Computer Life column for September 26, 1998
by
Richard Gordon

One of my favorite features in Sports Illustrated is entitled "This Week's Sign That the Apocalypse Is Upon Us."

There, SI has reported a jailbreak in Thailand that occurred while prison guards were engrossed in a World Cup soccer match on TV; that a fist fight broke out in Italy's Chamber of Deputies over a referee's decision; that the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association moved its 1999 championship away from Montana State because that college refused to let tobacco companies pass out free samples to spectators; and that Don King took some of the jurors who voted to acquit him of fraud charges on "an all-expenses-paid weekend jaunt to the Bahamas."

In short, this feature details how some parts of the sporting world are absurdly out of control--signs that "the end is nigh."

If you fear computing, there are plenty of signs that your world, too, may be coming to an end. It is time for you to recognize these signs, time for you to jump up and say that you, too, will compute and shall use the Internet!

In keeping with the sports theme, two observations from the youth soccer world begin our litany of signs.

First, you thought you were asked to be an assistant coach because of your soccer knowledge--maybe it's because you have e-mail.

The league in which many of the area "rep teams" participate announced at its coaches' meeting this year that all teams must have an e-mail contact, whether it's the coach, an assistant, or a parent. The expense and time involved in either trying to call or send letters to all the teams--or even to just the coaches involved in a schedule change--is too great. It's much easier for the league office to notify us via e-mail.

As a matter of fact, my team's age group coordinator cautioned us that e-mail is the most reliable way to turn in score reports. If we call him on the phone--well, he has teenagers.

The folks at the Western YMCA make fun of the spreadsheets and record-keeping I do as part of my coaching, but I have, so far, not brought a computer onto the team bench. However, at a recent tournament I saw a second sign that the end may be nigh: One team was using a palmtop computer to record data right there on the sideline.

That's very efficient--I have to re-key data from my clipboards.

But the signs are really everywhere:

These are not really apocalyptic signs; they're just visible signs of how much the technology has changed our landscape in just a few short years.

Maybe I'll have a palm-top on the sideline with me next season, too.

Tip of the week

Over 40% of us who use the Internet start at America On Line. One of AOL's features that appeals to many families is the ability to have multiple screen names associated with one main account.

Using the keyword "Names" and exercising "Parental Controls," you can control the amount of Internet and chat access for each screen name. For example, you can set up your son's screen name so that he can receive e-mail only from approved correspondents and so that he can't get to certain information you judge to be unsuitable.

Or you can set up a second screen name for yourself--one that has no profile and that receives e-mail only from "trusted" people, making you feel safer entering chat rooms, knowing that you can remain anonymous unless you choose to reveal your true identity.

Copyright © 1998, The News Journal Company

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Richard Gordon helps support faculty, staff and student computing at the University of Delaware. E-mail questions, comments or suggestions to richard@inet.net, or write him at The News Journal, Box 15505, Wilmington, DE 19850. Although each note cannot be answered individually, reader comments and questions will often be incorporated in future columns.