Acknowledgments

Many people assisted in the preparation of this work, and the space available here doesn't really allow me to do justice to their help. Here's my best shot.

The following people read and commented on parts of the manuscript. Carol Blum of Ohio University, Kate Carey of the Ohio Learning Network, and Patrick Hearne offered extremely helpful suggestions on organization and readability. Doug Gale of OARnet painstakingly reviewed and thoughtfully critiqued the networking section. Don Stredney of the Ohio Supercomputer Center, and John West of the Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State, provided great insight into graphics technologies.

A core group of exceptional friends and colleagues read the entire manuscript several times, offering a range of invaluable advice and thoughtful ideas. They are: Ed O'Neill, Senior Research Scientist at OCLC; Al Stutz, Director of High Performance Computing at the Ohio Supercomputer Center; and Oscar Garcia, NCR Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Wright State University. Special thanks to Oscar, who put the pieces in place.

Colin Walters provided help in research and preparation of most aspects of the text. Leon Young assisted with the bibliography and other tasks. Noelle Van Pulis took charge of the index, making the impossible occur on schedule.

John C. Dvorak's comments and encouragement have been extraordinarily important. There can't be a better team of editors than Prentice Hall's Miles Williams and Ralph Moore. Miles provided energy and vision; Ralph's consistent guidance on audience, purpose and tone made all the difference.

It's taken many years to complete this work, and a few friends and colleagues, without directly reading the manuscript, have nonetheless had a central role in making it possible. Chancellors Elaine Hairston and Roderick Chu have been patient and flexible with a colleague whose attention was sometimes distracted from academic issues; without their outstanding leadership, Ohio would be on a much less successful path. Members of the Board of Regents have been consistently supportive of all my endeavors. Regents Gerald Gordon, Elizabeth Lanier, and Tahlman Krumm, Jr. have provided exceptional encouragement and support. And, without the help of my colleague Carol Kenner, I would have been too disorganized to get anything done.

Finally, from the guy perpetually at the keyboard, thanks again to my amazingly patient family: my wife Noelle and children Colin, Jessica, and Mairin.