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From: mcmullen@macado.cica.indiana.edu (Rick McMullen)
Subject: Re: Workstation lab notebook packages?
Message-ID: <1991Apr3.153820.11506@cica.indiana.edu>
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Reply-To: mcmullen@macado.cica.indiana.edu (Rick McMullen)
Organization: IU Center for Innovative Computer Applications
References: <1991Apr2.222807.24848@colorado.edu> <9104021427.AA05299@sunosi.al.alcoa.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 91 15:38:20 GMT

>Does anyone out there have experience with an Xwindow based lab notebook 
>package (either commercial or public domain)?  Ideal features would provide
>for Postcript file inclusion and mouse drawing capability.
>                              Thanks, Steve Corbato
>	                      U of Utah Physics Dept.
>			      corbato@cosmic.physics.utah.edu

We are in the process of writing a specification for a lab notebook
and would appreciate any input.  The obvious things have been included
already:  multifont text, equation typesetting, tables and spreadsheets,
color and monochrome raster images, outline type expanding and contracting
blocks, hypertext link ability, table of contents and index generation, 
raster flip-card animation, printed report generation, and hooks for 
live video (currently through The Media Lab's Galatea package.)  Other 
desirable capabilities include symbolic math, reference of nonlocal files 
by network address, and visual programming as a part of the notebook's 
contents. 

Walks on water, eh? Well, the clincher is that the product should be
available on at least three types of platforms to reach the largest
number of users: Unix workstations, Macs, and PCs, presenting almost
insurmountable problems (not even STDWIN could handle this one!)
A key issue, then, is to assess who's using what in the laboratory.
Physicists have traditionally had the best (e.g. Unix or VMS workstations),
Chemists and Biologists seem to be moving from PCs to Macs and 
Unix workstations.  Not to ignore the Second Culture, humanists here
seem to be jumping into computing with high end Macs and workstations,
so the question is: should PCs be included in plans for a notebook?

A very close approximation to what we want is the Andrew Toolkit, although
it seems to be lacking a few key items (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong):
color raster images, and outline mode.  A very informative paper,
"Translating Among Processable Multi-media Document Formats Using ODA",
Rosenberg, et. al., from the CMU Andrew project addresses some of the
problems associated with sharing multimedia documents in a larger
(research) community, and indicates some potential pitfalls in creating
a "general purpose" notebook.

There is at least one notebook developed by the DOE as a part of their
involvement in the Human Genome Initiative, which has not been placed
in the public domain (as a taxpayer this outrages me, but you can't fight
City Hall), so there is activity and interest. I would like to see more
dialog on the general subject of computer based notebook systems
and others for the augmentation of intellect (Engelbart, right?)

Rick McMullen
The Center for Innovative Computer Applications
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405
mcmullen@ucs.indiana.edu

made available