First Monday

Endnote 3.0 for Macintosh
Berkeley, Calif.: Niles Software, Inc.
Price: $US299.00; student edition: $US99.95
Niles Software: http://www.niles.com

Are you looking for a way to get all those 3 x 5 index cards into your computer, create footnotes and bibliographies in dozens of standard styles, or catalog small libraries and special collections? Here's good news for Mac users: Endnote is an easy to learn bibliographic management software package that offers a Macintosh version with the features available to Windows 95/NT users. Unlike its major competitor, ProCite (which has just released its Win95/NT version, 4.0, but has not yet announced an upgrade to its six-year old Macintosh version), Endnote provides many of these new features to Mac users as well:

You can enter your citations into many "reference types" (Journal Article, Book, Personal Communication, Electronic Source, etc.) These may also be customized to your needs. As a long-time user of ProCite, I found the Endnote reference types easier for beginners to understand and use, although fields within reference types are not as highly customizable. Endnote also provides more built-in "import filters" for data from the newer web-based versions of bibliographic databases from such vendors as OCLC FirstSearch, and SilverPlatter's WebSPIRS, than does ProCite. First-time users of bibliographic management software who are Macintosh users, or work in cross-platform organizations should consider Endnote: bibliographic "libraries" created in Endnote for Mac can be used by owners of DOS and Windows versions (and vice versa). Educational discounts, netpacks and site licenses are available.

System requirements: A Macintosh running System 7.0 or later, at least 2 MB of RAM, a hard drive with at least 5MB of free space. Your Mac need not be a PowerPC to run Endnote 3.0. - Gloria Rohmann, Head, Electronic & Media Resources, New York University Libraries.

Jack Davis and Susan Merritt
The Web Design Wow! Book
Berkeley, Calif.: Peachpit Press, 1998
paper, 219 p., with CD-ROM, ISBN 0-201-88678-2, $US39.95
Peachpit Press: http://www.peachpit.com/
The Web Design Wow! Book: http://www.wowbooks.com

Designing interactive interfaces, that are both utilitarian and entertaining, to Web-based information is much more difficult than most Internet and CD-ROM content developers realize. Davis and Merritt understand that most designers need visual cues to help them understand the best ways to improve appearance and utility. This book pulls together an excelle nt collection of well-organized and visually tantalizing sites as case studies, in order to help you understand how to best revitalize your own site or CD-ROM. The first three chapters review fundamentals in the process involving content sources, clients, and designers, moving from concept to design to production. Chapters 4 through 10 take a series of case studies, and examine their success in specific arenas - marketing; entertainment; tools and applications; education and training; publishing; portfolios and presentations; and, sales. The variety of case studies - from the CD-ROM version of the Cartoon History of the Universe to the Travelocity Web site - mean that almost anyone involve in digital design will find something useful in this excellent book. The elongate format, with a thoughtful binding that works well open and flat, makes this book work near a computer (provided you've cleared the desktop). Appendices provide contact information for projects described in the book (very helpful!) and provide links to software discussed as well. Highly recommended to designers looking for a few good ideas, and for those ready to upgrade or otherwise rework their digital resources. - ejv

Wayne Jones (Editor)
E-Serials: Publishers, Libraries, Users, and Standards
Binghampton, N.Y.: Haworth Press, 1998.
cloth, 363 p., ISBN 0-789-00514-X, $US69.95
Haworth Press: http://www.haworth.com/

Including 22 essays on acquisitions and collections development, cataloging and metadata, citations, copyright, indexing, local to international projects, publishing, preservation and archiving, pricing, and URLs, E-Serials presents a snapshot of current work on developing and managing electronic journals and magazines. Seven of the chapters treat initiatives to collect, preserve, and otherwise disseminate digital journals, including efforts in the U.S. Europe, and Canada. Other essays look at how different publishers are experimenting with the medium, such as the Corporation for National Research Initiative's D-Lib Magazine. Other chapters are frankly practical such as Janice Walker's description of differing efforts to arrive at a citation style for digital information. Illustrations unfortunately are scarce in this book, which is a disappointment given its cost. A collection of URLs cited in the course of the book would have been another useful addition as an appendix. For those trying to understand the state of work on and with electronic journals and magazines, these comments are minor complaints. Overall, E-Serials provides an interesting and useful perspective on work in this area in the United States and Europe in both publishing houses and libraries. - ejv

Morten Kyng and Lars Mathiassen (Editors)
Computers and Design in Context
Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1997.
cloth, 418 p., ISBN 0-262-11223-x, $US40.00
MIT Press: http://www.mitpress.mit.edu/

Why aren't computers and their software better designed? This book examines this question by looking at a variety of ways in which designers are working with users in improving computer design. Based on papers presented at a conference in Aarhus, Denmark, in 1995, Computers and Design in Context brings together a diverse suite of case studies. These studies take different perspectives on how to best achieve workable results; for example, Brattetieg and Stolterman see design as analogous to jazz, while Michael Muller calls for greater use of ethnocriticism (a marriage of anthropology and literary criticism) in human-computer interaction. Details in the case studies provide relevant boundaries for much of the discussion, such as Colin Beardon's descriptions of the uses of computers and programs by creative individuals such as artists. The academic tone of some of the papers in this book may discourage some from working through some of the arguments and discussion presented; the appearance of the book two years after the conference automatically means that much work has transpired in the intervening time. Nevertheless, for those interested in understanding some of the issues in computer-supported cooperative work and human-computer interaction, Computers and Design in Context is a good place to begin to understand the complexity in designing more human computers and programs. - ejv

Gregory R. Sherwin and Emily N. Avila
Connecting Online: Creating a Successful Image on the Internet
Grants Pass, Ore..: Oasis Press, 1997.
paper, 450 p., ISBN 1-555-71403-x, $US21.95
Oasis Press: http://www.psi-research.com/

With thousands of businesses flocking to the Internet, there is a real need for understanding at a fundamental level how the Internet and especially the World Wide Web work as public relations vehicles. Connecting Online tackles this difficult topic with authors well-versed in Internet technology and public relations, providing plenty of examples and data to help readers both understand the Internet and see its value as a promotional tool. Eighteen chapters start from Internet fundamentals - "what's in a domain name?" or "how e-mail works" - to Web site "renewal" (wish more practiced this) and security. Five appendices treat international aspects of digital public relations to Webcasting and Internet prospects for non-profit organizations. There's plenty of common sense in this book, on design and interaction with your digital public. Examples are provided throughout the text with numerous URLs and illustrations. For those who think that they know all of this, the chapters on Web site development and testing, marketing, operations, and renewal will provide new ideas or different perspectives on old bromides. Connecting Online represents one of the best fundamental guides to the Internet and public relations; anyone interested in getting the word out on their site, and improving its appearance and performance, will find this book a necessity. - ejv

Ron Simpson
Cutting Edge Web Audio
Upper Saddle River, N.J..: Prentice-Hall PTR, 1998.
paper, 536 p., ISBN 0-130-80753-2, $US39.95
Prentice-Hall PTR: http://www.phptr.com/

Ready to add sound to your Web site? Cutting Edge Web Audiotakes you on a auditory experience in putting together files and appropriate plug-ins for your site. In three parts, the first section introduces you to the basic formats (the book discusses with equal expertise Macintosh and Windows solutions). The second section examines software tools for recording and editing, utilizing music, freeware, shareware, and demo versions of programs on the accompanying CD-ROM. The final section looks at how changes in bandwidth and improvements in software will make auditory effects of increasing importance on the Internet. In the first section, the complicated world of file formats, licenses, and clip music are all handled very well, even for audio neophyte. In the second section, programs like Cool Edit, SoundEdit, Hyperprism, RealAudio, and ShockWave Audio are described; the CD-ROM helps you in this section with programs to experiment and test audio samples. The final section looks at recent developments like Marimba and Castanet as well as PatroNet, and speculates about their meaning in the broader evolution of the Internet. An excellent starting point for any Web-based audio adventures, this book explains very well the complex listening environment on the Web and gives you ways to develop your own audio niches in your site. - ejv

Contents Index

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