Tech Resources on the Web: A Guide for the Perplexed

Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Education, June, 2000 by John G. Norman

Faced with technology decisions, university managers find themselves engaged in a vortex of simultaneous and contradictory conversations--with administrators, with technical staff, with faculty, with students, and with vendors of all sorts. Can we update our student information database in time for the fall semester? Should we go with the Macintosh, Windows, or Linux platform for the new labs in the Department of Geography? Should we recommend the Macintosh or Windows campus-wide? How can we stop e-mail spare on campus?

These kinds of questions rarely have obvious answers--but for a start at narrowing the range of answers, try the World Wide Web. Most organizations and companies have some kind of Web presence where you can find out about their latest offerings or get a sense of what others in your situation have done. Our selected sites are intended not as an inclusive list, but as a starting point for investigation. We'll begin with some resources for the maintenance of the individual computer, and then consider sites that are more useful at the institutional level for planning and forecasting.

The Lone PC: Identifying Problems and Finding Answers

The key to finding a good answer about hardware and software glitches is a clear statement of the problem. Unfortunately, this can be a difficult task, but necessary since the Web abounds in information about specifics rather than generalities. You can discover, for instance, how to upgrade the software drivers for a specific video card, but it can be more difficult to get a good lead on more general questions.

Anyone seeking a technical answer on the Web should be armed with lists of the product numbers and versions of the hardware and software on the machine. If you don't have such a list, and you're using a PC with Windows 95 or later, you might try ZDNet's Updates.Com at http://updates.com. Follow the link to "Hardware Advisor." You will be asked to download a small helper application. Then choose a "user profile," such as "Office/Business User" or "Power User" and the site will tell you quite a bit about your hardware.

Follow another link to "My Updates List" for a scan of your system that will identify which software is out of date. At Updates. Com you can also search for information on specific hardware and software products.

With such a list in hand, vendor sites are frequently the most useful. Most vendor Web sites are indexed in topically oriented Web search engines such as Yahoo! at http://www.yahoo.com or Excite at http://www.excite.com. At a vendor site, look first for a link to patches, drivers, updates, or fixes. If those prove to be elusive, look for a search box, and enter the name and number for the product that is giving you grief. If it turns out that the site lacks such information, it may at least have a telephone number where you can obtain more information.

If you know a lot about your technology, and if you have a very strong sense of your problem, and if it has proved to be intractable, try Experts Exchange at http://www.expertsexchange.com/. After signing up, you'll be given a small number of points. When you ask your question, you can assign it some points; other experts will be attracted to the question depending on its "value." You, in turn, can answer the questions of others to gain points. Unless you are willing to answer questions yourself, you'll probably only have enough points to obtain an answer to one or two questions: Still, this can be an extremely helpful free site for questions that require the aid of a consultant.

Preventative Medicine

The best way to circumvent problems in the first place is to stay plugged in to the information networks that keep track of your most important hardware, software, and services. An excellent starting place is the Computing/Technology area of About.Com at http://home.about.com/compute/. What's wonderful about About.Com is the human touch--all areas are edited by an expert in the field. Following the link to "Macintosh Operating Systems" reveals the welcoming face of William Bailey, who serves as guide for this section. Bailey's biography at About.Com demonstrates its main selling point: The guides have real experience. Bailey is "A Certified and directs the entirely Macintosh-based technology efforts of a nonprofit educational organization in Atlanta, Georgia."

A recent inspection of the Macintosh section revealed new information and links about Aqua, Apple's latest Macintosh interface, as well as links to resources on specific versions of the operating system going back to version 7. About.Com's Computing/Technology area provides sections on such varied topics as PC Support, Business Software, Intranets, and many more.

For broad-based technology-oriented news, CNet's one-week view offers a great deal of information in a single page. Go to http://cnet.com, and follow the links to "News" and then to "One Week View." For a more hip approach to new developments in technology, try Wired News at http://wired.com/news/. The most lively area here is the section devoted to e-mail from readers: follow the link to "Rants & Raves."