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Intranets and Kiosks

The technologies developed for Internet communications, especially the WWW, are beginning to be applied in new ways. While the main focus of HTML design is on the Internet, there are at least two other applications you should be aware of, and this chapter provides a brief overview of each.

Intranets

Interstate commerce means the sales of goods and services across state boundaries, and intrastate commerce refers to business within a state. Similarly, the Internet crosses many networks, while an intranet resides on a single network. Clear? OK then, we continue

You may have noticed that "intranet" has become a buzzword over the last several months, mostly because many software companies have seen an easy transition to this type of system, and because it is one of those solutions that was "there all the time, and nobody noticed."

So, what is an intranet? Well, first of all, it's a misnomer. The name itself simply implies a closed-end network, and LANs and WANs (Local or Wide Area Networks, respectively) have existed for quite some time. An intranet is actually the way this LAN or WAN network is used—just as the WWW is a way the Internet can be used.

Figure 23.1. Netscape's intranet development site depicting 3M's intranet.

Now, doublespeak aside, here's the scoop: The WWW has expanded so quickly, with so many companies racing to apply their own advancements, and so much effort has been put into things like cross-platform compatibility and user-friendliness, that existing network protocols and tools pale by comparison. An intranet is basically the application of Internet tools and technologies to a local network—or the creation of a mini-Internet.

The advantages to this are many:

TCP/IP is, obviously, an excellent and proven protocol for connecting multiple platforms.
The open-ended architecture of the Internet enables MIS/IT managers to install a system that can evolve as quickly as the Internet, and make use of many new features immediately.
Internet server software (easily converted to intranet use) is extremely low in cost compared to many LAN or WAN client/server software packages.
Using a WWW browser for information sharing (the main focus of most intranet implementations)—including everything from newsletters, to training manuals, to reports and sales updates—enables an internal network to take advantage of the same instant access, interactivity, updateability, and paper-saving qualities that make the Web so powerful.
The user-friendly design of Web browsers facilitates simple, self-led training—a dream come true for most IT technicians.
There's no need to train users twice. If someone can operate on the intranet, they can function on the Internet, and vice versa. To internal users in most applications, the intranet and Internet can be seamless (so much so that some office workers can't understand why they aren't able to load a specific URL from home—"it works fine at the office").
The intranet can operate at the speed of the network—giving every user high-speed access, and allowing the design of high-bandwidth features that might operate too slowly on the Internet.

Now, what does this have to do with you? Well, basically, if you can design pages for the Internet, you can design them for an intranet. In fact, since you will usually be designing for a single browser on a high-speed connection, designing for an intranet is in many ways easier than designing for the "big one."

Kiosks

A kiosk (for those who don't know) is basically a computer in a box. The idea is to provide a multimedia, interactive, user-friendly interface for the general public. To assist the user-friendly design, most kiosks use touch-screen monitors and very simple navigational controls (see Figures 23.2 and 23.3).

Figure 23.2. The Microtouch Prospector's Web site (http://www.microtouch.com/prospect.htm). Prospector is the maker of Web Kiosk software.

Figure 23.3. A sample of what Prospector does.

Kiosks generally run a multimedia presentation application (made in something like Authorware) on a closed system. Most applications are for trade shows and corporate lobbies (replacing human-run information desks), as retail applications seem to be pretty hit-and-miss. Kiosks are continuing to prove themselves as communication tools, enabling people to view a presentation at their own pace.

So, what does this have to do with HTML? Well, as HTML begins to incorporate more multimedia, navigational, and interactive features, and as it allows more control over page layout, it will have more applications. Microsoft has already announced that IE4 (a.k.a. Nashville) will provide an entire HTML desktop GUI navigation for their Windows 95. The HTML designer may have all sorts of new opportunities both on and off of the Net.

Because HTML is portable, cross-platform, and easily updated, it is being discussed as the possible future of kiosk-type presentations.

Some advantages to this are:

Continuity. Your presentation can look (exactly) like your Web site.
Updateability. Your presentation can be updated as often as your site, or can even be a direct link to your site.
Development cost. Why develop a separate multimedia platform for a kiosk, when you can just use your Web site?
Equipment cost. You don't need a fast, high-graphic, touch-screen, RAM-intensive machine to power a WWW kiosk (though it would, of course, help).
Education. Anyone familiar with the Web will feel comfortable with the interface.
Multiple lines of access. If users don't have time to get all of the information they want, it's not a problem. They can look it up at home.

There are some considerations that need to be taken into account when designing a closed-ended HTML system. For instance, it would be a good idea to refresh all pages with the home page (or presentation starting page) after a certain length of time—five minutes, for example. This way the system will "re-start" after someone has walked away from the kiosk.

It's also a good idea to take into account the fact that many people who are using the system may be unfamiliar with WWW terms. Naming your home link Start Over, for instance, would make things clearer to everyone involved. A help page, describing how to navigate, may also be very useful.

Finally, if you are designing a kiosk system that doesn't necessarily match your WWW system, you can take advantage of the bandwidth available in a closed system. Sounds, animations, and other bandwidth hogs that you wouldn't put online can easily be incorporated into a closed system—giving you the ability to do all the "wish-I-could" things that the Net doesn't yet allow.

Anything Else?

Well, there are already several bars and cafes that have replaced the pretzel bowls and ash trays with multimedia computers and charge for people to use them. Similarly, the advent of Internet Appliances ($500 simplified systems made specifically for accessing the WWW) will bring more and more people onto the WWW. This spells growing markets for advertisers and designers alike.

The heavy investment that large corporations have made from their wallets, and that the media has made with its mouth, seems to make it a safe bet that technology is following the path of the WWW. Will the Internet soon support 5,000,000 TV channels? Well, perhaps not, but it's now more likely that the future of TV (and many other technologies) will lie in Internet technology than the interactive TV technology being touted a few years ago.

Even if the Internet is just a big laboratory—even if it's the steam engine of this decade, and will be eventually replaced by an as yet unknown technology—it is the future. Just as the internal combustion engine was based on the steam-piston, future communications technologies will undoubtedly grow from what has been developed up to this point.

Summary

In this chapter we have addressed additional uses for the Web design skills you now possess. We have discussed the expanding markets of Intranets and Kiosks and have attempted to predict what the future may hold. There will undoubtedly be many other avenues to explore as this technology continues to evolve.

In the next chapter, we return to the Internet to investigate who has been visiting your site.