cybc-small.html - recommended for users with small screens or who
might encounter memory problems with the
standard format
We recommend using Java WorkShop or the Java Applet Viewer for best results.
ABOUT CYBCERONE
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Cybcerone is the result of an interactive kiosk project for the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and consists of an interrelated group of services based on the Web and on Java.
The services Cybcerone provides were originally intended to assist visitors on the University campus. These services can be accessed by means of kiosks equipped with touchscreens (without keyboard or mouse) and a modified Web browser (HotJava), designed for people who are not accustomed to using a computer. These kiosks are connected to the University's TCP/IP network.
The Cybcerone system as it stands now is an Intranet application available to the public via Kiosks in selected areas. However, because Cybcerone uses Java to distribute services, it will soon be available to the entire University community. Its services will be accessible from all of the 3500 or so computers in the University network, as well as any other computer in the world with access to the Internet.
An illustrated html page about the Cybcerone Project is included in the distribution: ./doc/cybcWP.html
NOTES ON THE APPLET PROVIDED FOR THE JAVA CUP
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The system currently in use has been accessible to the public since November 1995 and uses the alpha version of Java running on a modified Hotjava browser. In this setup, the browser toolbar has been adapted for the touchscreen and each service is performed in a separate applet.
However, the system presented here unites all of these functions into a single applet, written using the beta version of Java, and is therefore executable by current browsers.
INITIALIZATION
In order to make the system as easy to use and entertaining as possible to the general public, an intensely graphical and interactive interface was selected. Each night at 4 a.m. the kiosk is reinitialized so that the user does not have to wait for images or data to load the following day. The initialization process of the applet provided here is, therefore, quite lengthy. It can take from 5 to 10 minutes depending on your system configuration.
DATA FEED
The Cybcerone version in use on the University campus has dynamic access to databases including the directory of University staff and the calendar of events. For this competition, we have provided local files for demonstration purposes. To prevent these files from becoming outdated, we have specified as a parameter in the html file that the applet should always consider the current date to be the 25th of March, 1996.
FRENCH
This project has been developed for a French-speaking public. Consequently, the applet interface is in French. However, in order to appeal to as broad a user base as possible, the applet provides all necessary information in english on the status bar.
FUTURE PLANS
The University of Lausanne is planning to extend Cybcerone from the public kiosk (Internet Toaster Please! ;-) to the desktop Web browser in the near future. The new, desktop version of Cybcerone will of course use only small graphics and will load data dynamically so as to be light and fast enough to run on the widest variety of systems.
