Computer Fest

Walking out of the bookstore into the chilly autumn air, I was taken back by the scene before my eyes. In all of my years as a student, I had yet to encounter this sight. Instead of the usual tables of credit card vendors promoting their companies, so common to this time of the year, sat vendors of a much different sort. On display were some of the latest technological devices instrumental to teaching and learning out on the market. Everything from the new PCS system from Pacific Bell to a radical three dimensional keyboard were out for the public to view and learn about. The hustle of people and the collage of voices, conjured up a most intriguing picture as the vendors displayed the technology accessible to the public. For three days, the area around the bookstore was immersed in Computer Fest 1997.

The whole point of Computer Fest was to make everyone aware of the new technological advancements available, and show people how to utilize them. Questions were usually answered by the vendors who had set up tables, and were prepared to answer almost any question asked. However, the most informative part of Computer Fest was the seminars set up to familiarize the public with new and important services.

The first seminar was directed towards one of the most important subjects for a student of any kind: electronic searches. Whether in need of information for a research paper or just looking for a job, electronic search tools are perhaps the most useful devices available today. But most of us still have problems navigating our way around such search engines, and finding exactly what we are looking for. There are many useful little tricks that can help a great deal: in a multiple-word search adding a plus (+) sign before any word will ensure that the word will be featured in the search results. For example, if I were looking for space to rent, I could type "+space +rent" to make sure that both words be present in the match. To exclude "houses up for sale" in my search, I could use the minus (-) sign to get rid of them: "+space +rent -sale -house." Since I have learned these little tricks, I have already used them more than a few times.

The next part of the same seminar was concerned with Melvyl. Perfect for any student doing research, this system connects you to many references useful for any research project -- with the option of linking to any other connected reference at any point. Having been updated greatly from last year, it has become much more user friendly, and searches can be defined much more easily. And, as a great new feature, once logged on to their Web page at http://www.melvyl.ucop.edu, you can create yourself a "profile." This profile saves everything you do while in Melvyl, including a history of all the searches you have made, and all the matches you have found. It is, of course, password protected, and only accessible by yourself.

Finally, the seminar ended with a section that is ever useful to any student: Jobs, Careers, and Internship searches via the Web. Two Web sites were suggested in this last section of the seminar that, in themselves, offer thousands upon thousands of listings. The link http://jobs.ucdavis.edu will take you immediately to any student employment, both off and on campus, while http://icc.ucdavis.edu will list all careers and internships available. Both sites were extremely user friendly, and have new features, such as the ability to e-mail yourself the listings you would like from the site.

The second seminar was focused on getting connected to the Internet. Presenters introduced Bovine Online, what it has to offer to off campus network users, and how to use it. Put together by Information Technology, Bovine Online is an Internet software package for UC Davis students, as well as staff and faculty. Instructions on installing Bovine Online for both Macs and PCs, setting up the software, and using it were all covered. Complete with a new expanded manual covering virtually everything you need to know about Bovine Online, students who own a previous version now have the choice to buy either version 2.0 or and upgrade.

All in all, the seminars offered much information invaluable for any student trying to keep up with the ever quickly progressing technology of the time. For any others who have questions regarding computers, computer parts, repair, software or even calculators and communications systems, this was the place to be. In three hours I learned more about the new services, software packets, Web searches, and available options than I could have all year round by myself. Definitely, an experience I would recommend to any student.