Since information technology has changed so swiftly in such a short time, it may seem like PennInfo has been around for an eternity. In actuality, however, PennInfo has only been around for four-and-a-half years. Born in October of 1991, the service offered computer users hungry for information a menu--make that menu after menu--of items about Penn people, places, programs, and whatever else creative campus minds could conceive.

PennInfo was an instant success, and a number of useful information sources developed on the system. And yet, by its third birthday, PennInfo was already obsolete, made so by the World Wide Web (WWW). With graphical browsers, Web users could order a wealth of information "off the menu" by following hypertext links wherever they led.

Recognizing the superior flexibility and power of the WWW, Penn's Information Systems and Computing (ISC) office decided in 1995 to move campus-wide information services from PennInfo to the Web during a one-year transition period.

On June 30, that transition period will end. PennInfo, which arrived amid fanfare, will slip away quietly within the next month, unnoticed.

Well, maybe not completely unnoticed.

For starters, there are still many live links from Penn Web pages to information stored on the PennInfo server. "The gateway is still live, so some people using the Penn Web may not know that they are reading material on PennInfo" when they follow a link, said Noam Arzt, director of information technology architecture in ISC.

After the PennInfo server is turned off, the Web-surfers who click on those links will be in for an unpleasant surprise: Instead of seeing a document, they will see a message telling them to try to track down what they want on the Penn Web. As a result, providers of information may find their e-mailboxes suddenly stuffed with complaints from users who can no longer access documents because links have not been updated or materials have not been transferred off PennInfo. "Some links will break and bookmarks will not function once we switch off the PennInfo server," Arzt said.

In addition, some people are still using the PennInfo client software to access campus information; after all, the client is an easy way to find historical material or archived documents on PennInfo. However, "since most of the information that is current or still valid has already moved from PennInfo to the Web, what is left is likely stale or old," Arzt said.

Therefore, now is a good time for everyone to kick the PennInfo habit. If you are a consumer of information, the easiest way to do this is to remove the PennInfo client application and replace it with a Web browser if one is not already installed. The Computing Resource Center (CRC) currently supports Netscape Navigator 2.02 for the Macintosh and Windows. The Windows 95 version will be supported in September. Copies of the software--which is free to Penn students, faculty and staff--are available in Windows 3.x, Windows 95 and Macintosh versions from Penn's FTP site (ftp.upenn.edu). Mac users on AppleTalk networks can also obtain copies from the Penn_Software AppleShare file server located in zone UPenn-ISC-DCCS; connect to the server as registered user "Penn" and enter the password "Penn."

If you're a provider of information, you need to take a few more steps than a consumer of information. Material on PennInfo that you still wish to make available to the public should be moved to a Web server. Before that can happen, PennInfo documents must be converted into hypertext markup language (HTML). ISC has developed an application that performs this conversion automatically.

Once the conversion is complete, the documents should be placed on a Web server. If your department or office does not have access to one, request storage space on the University's main Web server, www.upenn.edu. To request space, send a note to webmaster@upenn.edu via e-mail.

Providers who have not yet done so should sign up for introductory HTML training. ISC's Technology Learning Services offers "Introduction to HTML"--a class for faculty and staff--twice each month at CRC, 3732 Locust Walk. Advance registration is required; for information, call 573-3102.

ISC maintains a Web page (http://www.upenn.edu/computing/) with answers to frequently asked questions (a "FAQ" in Net-speak) about establishing Penn Web sites and services, including details about all the services described above. Consulting this site is another good way to get comfortable with the Penn Web.

Finally, if you already maintain a Web site, check your links. Any links that point to sites on the PennInfo server (http://www-penninfo.upenn.edu) won't work after the server is turned off. These should either be changed to point to the same information on the Penn Web or removed. If you're not sure whether a PennInfo document has moved to the Web, you may use the Penn Web search facility (http://www.upenn.edu/search/) to locate an item.

Return to Compass Features for June 18, 1996