Dear all Please find attached a newsletter form the Networked Virtual Reality Resource Centres for Art and Design. You can find a web version (perhaps a bit easier to read) at http://vr.tees.ac.uk/rachael/newsletter.html Regards Rachael Edgar TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII THE NETWORKED VIRTUAL REALITY RESOURCE CENTRES FOR ART AND DESIGN NEWSLETTER NUMBER 1 SEPTEMBER 1997 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII CONTENTS o Editor's Space: Introduction o What is HTML? o What is Java? o Java Sites of Interest o What is VRML? o VRML Sites of Interest o The Visual Assistant o Dearing: Some Implications for VR o Workshop on Web and Internet Technologies o In the next issue... o Contact Addresses o Obtaining this Newsletter IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII EDITORS SPACE: INTRODUCTION This is the first Newsletter from the Networked Virtual Reality Resource Centres for Art and Design, (NVRCADs) so Welcome! New Internet technologies such as VRML and Java promise to revolutionise the WWW making it more three dimensional and interactive. The Networked Virtual Reality Resource Centres for Art and Design, situated at the Universities of Coventry, Plymouth and Teesside have been set up with funding from the JISC Technology Applications Programme (JTAP) to cut through computer science jargon and help those in Art and Design Education to become familiar with these technologies and use them to redesign the Web. We are a free service to those in Art and Design Higher Education, whether you are a student or lecturer. I am sure that the format of this newsletter will take shape as we go along, but we'll try and keep it consistent. We hope to provide two or three different main items on each newsletter, some websites of interest and start some VRML and HTML tutorials. We will archive these so that you can follow the tutorial from start to finish in bite sized chunks. If you have an issue that you feel needs discussing, for instance you may want to provide us with a review of a piece of software, then feel free to send it to me. Likewise if you have any comments or web sites of interest. I would prefer the snippets to be sent to me electronically, or at least on a disc. Thanks. You will find my address at Obtaining this Newsletter. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WHAT IS HTML HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language and is the language that tells your web browser, i.e. Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, how to display a web page. That is, it tells your web browser where to put pictures, where to place text, what colour text will be etc. If you break down the acronym HTML it becomes self explanatory. Hypertext denotes the distinguishing feature of web pages, their hypertext, the text on a web page that you can 'click ' and which transports you to another place altogether. Markup is a reference to the fact that HTML tells your browser how to mark up or format a web page and display it to you. Language is perhaps the most misleading word in the acronym. You might think that a computer 'language' is going to be hard to learn, but this is far from the case with HTML. HTML is actually very simple to write. To construct a web page you have two choices, to use your text editor and write the HTML by hand or to use a web page editor. In the first instance, a text editor is usually an application which comes as standard on your computer, such as Notepad on your PC and SimpleText on your Mac. You can even use your word processing package, such as Macwrite or Word if you make sure that you save the HTML file as a text only document. The alternative to writing HTML by hand is to use a web page editor. The easiest ones to get hold of are the ones that may come with your web browser. For instance, Netscape Navigator Gold comes with an editor and the new Netscape Communicator Suite has an editor named Netscape Composer. These web page editors are often referred to as WYSIWYG, What You See Is What You Get. This means that in contrast to writing HTML code by hand, you can construct your page visually and the editor will write the HTML for you behind the scenes. In coming newsletters we will try to look at both methods of creating pages, text editors and web editors. We will also try to keep you up to date with HTML developments, as the language is constantly evolving. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WHAT IS JAVA You may have heard of it, you may not, but it is important for the World Wide Web as it makes web pages more interactive. Before the advent of Java the only interaction possible on a web page was the clicking of hyperlinks to navigate through the pages. Java is a programming language which allows, among other things, software developers to create special programs called applets. These applets live inside your web pages and are downloaded and run by your web browser. Java can animate images, make interactive games, play sounds, etc. In the next issue we will have a more thorough explanation of Java, and how it works on your web page, but for the moment there is no reason why you can't start browsing the web looking for interesting Java sites. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII JAVA SITES OF INTEREST Here are some fun Java sites, just don't take them too seriously! Remember that to view these sites you must have a version of Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer that runs Java. This means Navigator 2,0 or above and Internet Explorer 3,0 and above. Then you must make sure that you switch the Java enable buttons on. You can find out if the Java enable buttons on if you: (On Microsoft Internet Exlorer) on the View menu, click Options Click the Security tag In the Active Content area, select the check box that syas Enabale Java Contents (On Netscape Navigator) On the newest version, (the suite of applications, Netscape Communicator) Go to the Edit menu and choose Preferences You will be faced with a file tree. Click on Advanced Check the boxes that you want to enable. I am at a bit of a loss with some other versions of Netscape as to how to enable the Java. Perhaps it is always on? Answers on a postcard please.... Now you are ready to roll! Just for fun.... VOODOO DOLL http://dent.tky.hut.fi/voodoo/ Visit here to torture someone of your choice! ANIMATION VOODOO DOLL http://www.virtual-design.com/v2/online%20demos/voodoo%20doll/voodoo.htm No picture of a loved one to torture? Torture this doll instead and then send it to someone as an animation! Click here..... DEATHCLOCK http://www.deathclock.com/ Want to know how long you have left to live? Click here..... IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WHAT IS VRML The World Wide Web is essentially two dimensional as, at its most basic level, it is simply a truly vast array of pages created in HTML. However, a file format called VRML (Virtual Reality Modelling Language) lets you create three dimensional worlds for the Internet and lets people surifing your web pages move around in these worlds. You can animate VRML worlds, give them sounds, morph shapes and write in scripts that make things happen in your world. So if you are an interior designer you could build a room complete with furniture, walk around it and see if you need to make changes. Likewise if you are a Product designer you could VRML model a drill, move around it in three dimensions and then modify it if you need to. VRML has great potential for all sorts of things but especially for art and design as it is three dimensional. Its files are, like HTML, only text files, so they are easily passed about the Internet and between collaborative groups. VRML is a scene description language. A VRML file literally describes the geometry of a scene or world. Just as HTML describes the content and layout of a 2D web page, likewise a VRML file describes the content and layout of a 3D space. WHAT SPECIAL EQUIPMENT DO I NEED? As you surf the Web with you browser sucha s Netscape Navigator or Interent Explorer, your browser might come across a VRMl world file. It will know that it is a VRML file as it ends in .wrl (short for world) and not .html or .htm like a HTML page. Your browser then knows to pass this file to your VRML browser or plug-in. This VRML browser/plug-in then interprets the geometry in the VRML file and displays it for you to navigate around. Most web browsers now come with a VRML plug-in (that is browsers that are shipping with machines now or browsers that have been downloaded recently). For instance, the most recent Netscape Navigator ships with a CosmoPlayer plug-in. If you do not have the latest browser, then you will have to download a VRML browser (a separate application to your ordinary web browser) or a VRML plug in which you can put in your web browsers plug in folder. The best place to look for browsers is the VRML Repository at: http://www.sdsc.edu/vrml Be sure to check that you have the right platform and specification before you download. Here is a list of browsers that are fully compliant with all the language specifications of VRML 2.0 CosmoPlayer - Silicon Graphics Versions for Win95, WinNT, Irix 5.3-Irix 6.2 (Coming soon for the Mac, Win 3.1) http://vrml.sgi.com/cosmoplayer/ WorldView - Intervista Software Versions for Win95, WinNT, Mac http://www.intervista.com Community Place - Sony Win95, WinNT http://www.sonypic.com/vs/ SPECIFICATION VRML is scaleable, i.e. the better the machine, the better the experience. This is a suggested specification: Hardware Win95, WinNT, IRIX, Mac, Linux, Sun 16 Megabytes of memory (No 3D graphics hardware accelerator board is required.) Software Netscape Navigator 2.0 or above Microsoft Interent Explorer 3.0 or above A VRML Plug-in or Browser Connection 14.4 kbs modem (28.8 kbs or higher preferred) Your University network should be fine. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII VRML SITES OF INTEREST Visit the VRML site at Silicon Graphics. Here you can find out all sorts of things about VRML. Be sure to look at 'Floops' which shows you what VRML looks like when it is animated. http://vrml.sgi.com Construct net is full of nice looking models, especially the galleries and convention centre ones. You are faced with a menu bar which invites you to choose the Objects, Avatars, Spaces and Behaviours, sections of the company. The Behaviours option shows you how VRML can be scripted to react to decisions made by you, the viewer. http://www.construct.net/worlds/ Planet9 is full of all sorts of models of buildings and spaces. They seem to specialise in recreating famous cities in VRML. As well as these, at the moment they have some Japanese temples running. http://planet9.com/index.html Radical VR are a Dutch company that have some VRML pages including one which has won the Buzz.wrl of the Week award from Silicon Graphics. This is an office for which you can choose furniture from a menu at the side. These pieces then appear in the office and you can move around the office. It crashes a bit with my browser (CosmoPlayer) but may not with others. Also on this site is a flat pack piece of IKEA furniture which you can assemble bit by bit. Ignore the error messages, just close them and watch. Look out as well for the world which showcases the work that the company have done. The panels in the room turn around and display a piece of work from their portfolio when you click them. http://vr.radical.nl/index2.htm IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII THE VISUAL ASSISTANT Visual Assistant (v 0.2) for Mac will export VRML 2.0 worlds The Visual Assistant (VA) is an Apple Macintosh application for the rapid prototyping of theatre set designs, though it can be used more generally for visualising. It will work comfortably within 8Mb of memory and enables 2D images to be arranged in a 3D space, rather like flat cardboard cut-outs. It is written in 'C' and has been developed at the University of Plymouth as part of the EC-funded HaMLET Project to develop multimedia learning tools for theatre studies. Full details of the VA software and the project and a downloadable version of the VA application are available from http://www.esad.plym.ac.uk/VA/ Version 0.2 of VA has been available from 1st September 1997 and includes an additional feature in the 'File' menu to 'Export to VRML 2.0'. This will take the 3D model in the Visual Assistant and output a corresponding VRML 2.0 file (i.e. .wrl) plus any associated images in .gif format. A separate .wrl file is created for each model within the VA. A demonstration VRML world is also available for browsing. It is to be stressed that this uses only a very limited subset of VRML 2.0 but sufficient to produce a limited demonstration of a static world. Further developments of the Visual Assistant are in progress to develop it as software specifically to develop VRML worlds within the context of theatre and performing arts courses. If you are interested in participating in the project please contact Colin Beardon (c.beardon@plym.ac.uk). IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII THE DEARING REPORT: SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR VR Though most attention has rightly been given to the Dearing Committee's recommendations concerning student fees, the Report also has quite a lot to say about what it calls "Communications & Information Technology" (C&IT) within teaching & learning. It is welcome to see, in this new descriptor, the recognition that computers are something more than processors of text and numbers and might bring about a qualitative change in teaching and learning. Among the Report's recommendations in regard to C&IT are recognition of the benefits of greater collaboration between institutions [32, 68], the need for staff to develop C&IT skills [9, 42], the needs of students with disabilities [6] and the need for some form of quality control over computer-based materials (15). A little noticed section also recommends that charges be introduced for using JANET for research [27] which is likely to be expensive for art & design. If there is a concern with regard to this aspect of the Report it is that the full impact of multimedia computing does not seem to have been considered. For example, the Report suggests that students will have access to the network by 1999/200 and will own their own computer by 2005/6 [44, 45, 46]. It goes on to suggest that this computer will cost around #500. Accepting that technologies may develop beyond our current expectations, it still seems unlikely that a portable #500 machine will be capable of serious creative use of graphics or sound. Each year you get more computing power for your money but each year expectations increase, so that the cost of a standard multimedia authoring system with software has, if anything, increased over the past two years. I would expect this to continue and for the cost of such equipment to be #8-10,000 by 2005/6. Specific speculations about technologies in eight years time may be unwise, but the Committee's conception of such a machine is clearly laid out. They do not expect it to do any serious creative multimedia work and have said that any such work should be done on a computer purchased by and located in the institution. There must be concern that the genuine daily needs of art and design will once again be ignored in the bureaucratic attempt to find One Common Solution. Art & Design faculties in universities have already faced this problem internally and the Dearing Report contains an attempt to elevate these institutional strategies to a national level. There are two particular outcomes of which we should be wary. The first is that future students may come to college with their #500 computer and the expectation that this is will be all that they will need. The second is that institutions will provide central services around the #500 computer and will regard everything else as abnormal and to be met from (non-existent) Faculty funds. While the use of computers in universities and colleges is generally given a mild boost by the Report, imaginative projects that attempt to use the full creative power of computer and communications technologies will, I fear, continue to be sidelined as a minority interest. (The attention of readers is also drawn to the HEFCE Report on "IT Assisted Teaching & Learning in HE" which was HEFCE's submission to Dearing.) Colin Beardon -------------------------------------------------------- Professor Colin Beardon, Exeter School of Arts & Design, Earl Richards Road North, Exeter EX2 6AS, UK Direct Tel/fax +44 (0)1392 475028 Office fax: +44 (0)1392 475012 Email c.beardon@plym.ac.uk www: http://www.esad.plym.ac.uk/personal/C-Beardon/ -------------------------------------------------------- IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WORKSHOP ON WEB AND INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES CALL FOR PARTICIPATION Date: Tuesday December 16th 1997 Venue: Exeter School of Art and Design Cost: FREE An Interdisciplinary event for those using the Internet and the Web as part of their work or as a tool to publicise their work. AIMS AND SCOPE The internet is undoubfully transforming radically the way we work in the academic community. Not only does it provide a powerful research tool to navigate through an immense stock of data and information, but it is also an efficient way of publicising and making available a wide range of documents and information. The World Wide Web has borught the Internet even closer to the academic community by presenting a more user friendly face and by being more powerful than the previously available tools on the Internet such as ftp, gopher, and Telnet. Following the emergence of new technologies hich will further revolutionise the web, such as VRML, JAVA and Push and Pull technologies, the NVRCADs are organising a series of workshops presenting these technologies. KEY WORDS HTML - WORLD WIDE WEB - HTML - VRML - JAVA - PUSH AND PULL TECHNOLOGIES (CASTANET BROADCASTING - NETCASTING) PAPERS/POSTERS You are invited to submit either a paper or a poster in one of the following subjects (but not limited to) : Supporting Webservices and Webservers. Dynamic HTML HTML VRML 2.0 JAVA Javascript Bongo presentations CASTANET Channels CASTANET Transmitters Netcasting Model and metaphor of User Interfaces and presentations SUBMISSIONS All submissions should be written in English, and clearly state The title The author(s) The affiliation(s) of the author(s) A contact address (plus e-mail or phone ) PAPERS Authors are invited to submit papers containing previously unpublished work. POSTERS Poster submissions are invited to present work in progess and postgraduate research topics. Successful posters will be on show for the duration of the workshop SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Both authors of papers and posters shall adhere to the following format : Paper on A4 format (210mm X 297mm) Papers no more than 10 A4 pages in length. Poster papers no more than 4 A4 pages in length Papers shall be submitted in electronic form as a Word for Windows Document or a PostScript file (first choice prefered) Platform specific formats (i.e. Mac images or SGIfiles) should be avoided if possible IMPORTANT DATES Friday September 26th 1997 Submission of paper abstracts Friday October 6th 1997 poster abstracts and notification of acceptance of papers Monday November 24th 1997 Submission of papers (both for presentation and posters) CONTACT DETAILS Prof. Colin Beardon/Ben Salem/Nic Earle NVRCAD, Exeter School of Art and Design, Earl Richards Road North, Exeter, Devon, EX2 6AS, UK http://www.esad.plym.ac.uk/NVRCAD/ email: nvrcad@plym.ac.uk tel: (+44/0) 1392 475126 fax: (+44/0) 1392 475012 This call is also available on the web at: http://www.esad.plym.ac.uk/NVRCAD/workshop/exeter.html IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IN THE NEXT ISSUE... In the Next Issue... In the next issue we will have: An introduction to the members of the NVRCAD team Call for participation in the third NVRCAD workshop HTML Tutorial part1 VRML Tutorial part1 More web sites of interest and more! IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII CONTACT ADDRESSES There are three NVRCAD centres at Plymouth, Teesside and Coventry. They can be contacted as follows: Liam Birtles and Prof. Clive Richards Visual Information Design Coventry School of Art and Design University of Coventry Priory Road Coventry CV1 tel 01203 838522 http://www.csad.coventry.ac.uk/NVRCAD liam@vide.coventry.ac.uk Ben Salem and Prof. Colin Beardon Faculty of Art and Education University of Plymouth Earl Richards Road North Exeter EX2 6AS tel 01392 475028 http://www.esad.plym.ac.uk/NVRCAD ben@hal.nvrcad.plym.ac.uk Rachael Edgar and Janice Webster Institute of Art and Design University of Teesside Borough Road Middlesbrough TS1 3BA tel 01642 342374 http://vr.tees.ac.uk/rachael r.edgar@tees.ac.uk IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII OBTAINING THIS NEWSLETTER The NVRCADs Newsletter is published in September, December, March and June. Subscription is free It is also possible to read a web version of this newsletter at: http://vr.tees.ac.uk/rachael/newsletter.html IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII CONTRIBUTING TO THIS NEWSLETTER For inclusion in the forthcoming issues, please send contributions to Rachael Edgar Institute of Art and Design University of Teesside Borough Road Middlesbrough TS1 3BA tel 01642 342374 http://vr.tees.ac.uk/rachael r.edgar@tees.ac.uk Email of a plain text document or a Word document is preffered but I will try and cope with floppy discs and paper copy. (Please mark PC or Mac on discs) IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII he NVRCADs Newsletter is published in September, December, March and June. Subscription is free It is also possible to read a web version of this newsletter at: http://vr.tees.ac.uk/rachael/newsletter.html IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII CONTRIBUTING TO THIS NEWSLETTER For inclusion in the forthcoming issues, please send contributions to Rachael Edgar Institute of Art and Design University of Teesside Borough Road Middlesbrough TS1 3BA tel 01642 342374 http://vr.tees.ac.uk/rachael r.edgar@tees.ac.uk Email of a plain text document or a Word document is preffered but I will try and cope with floppy discs and paper copy. (Please mark PC or Mac on discs) IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII