Visitors to the campus center aren't likely to miss a second of Tufts news while enjoying their California rolls or chocolate chip muffins, thanks to a wide-screen plasma television that has found a home near the ceiling of the center's entryway.
The monitor, which was unveiled on Aug. 29, features a continuous broadcast of information pertinent to the Tufts community. According to TuftsLife.com, the development marks only the beginning of InfoView, the site's newest endeavor. Project coordinators hope it will result in the installation of additional information monitors at various locations around campus during the school year.
"InfoView, one of the latest projects from TuftsLife.com, opens a window to the world of information for the Tufts campus," read a statement from juniors Eric Satler, Chief Operating Officer, and Mike Masterman, Chief Technology Officer.
According to TuftsLife.com, InfoView is intended to "increase and reinforce campus awareness." Once installed, the monitors will continuously broadcast the events, announcements, and other information of campus interest currently found at the website.
TuftsLife.com promises to install the monitors in "an aesthetically pleasing and unobtrusive manner." The campus center monitor, though, may be too unobtrusive - some students had overlooked the screen until it was pointed out to them.
Since its inception in March of this year, TuftsLife.com has become a popular website among students, with roughly 1600 people visiting the site every weekday.
Like InfoView, the TuftsLife.com website provides students with up-to-the-minute campus information. There is a daily calendar, with information available for each listed event. Other features of the website include dining menus for both on-campus dining halls and local restaurants, a directory of faculty and students, and links to other campus websites such as the Blackboard course information service and Dowling Hall's Student Information System.
But TuftsLife.com does not restrict itself to campus-related news. Many students check the local weather forecast from the website, and during this week's terrorist attacks, the site provided constantly updated news in a specially designed "Attack on America" information box, which included a number of photographs and links to larger news services.
In addition to the standard site offerings, students can choose to personalize TuftsLife.com by adding features like a dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia; specifying an internet search engine; and opting to make the site their homepage. Also, devotees of the Palm Pilot can now download a version of the site that is accessible from their PDAs.
Daily maintenance of the website includes adding news and sports articles, entries to the Book Swap and Ride Board forums, and information on campus events. Although TuftsLife.com staff say they are continuously developing new features and services for the site, but declined to comment on coming projects.
