Ball State University is enabling tomorrow's Internet innovators by offering improved personal Web site access and expanding the university's digital storage capacity by more than one-third.

Every student, faculty and staff member at Ball State now has free access to iWeb, software that allows them to create personal Web sites as big as 100 megabytes (MB), an increase from the previous limit of 25 MB.

O'Neal Smitherman, vice president for information technology, said iWeb simplifies the creation of a Web site for even a novice. Users can build elements in Microsoft Word or other familiar programs and then easily move them onto their sites.

"Students now expect to have their own Web space, just as they expect personal living space and working space," Smitherman said. "So this is one way to ensure that they'll have that personal Web space while they're at Ball State."

Michael Oglesby, a senior from Brownsburg majoring in computer technology, uses his iWeb site to display his music compositions, résumé and school work.

"iWeb is definitely a step in the right direction for Ball State," he said. "It's a much more powerful system with more space, and it is very easy for everyone to use."

Internet service providers typically charge a monthly fee for such a product, but Ball State is offering it for free to students, faculty and staff at iweb.bsu.edu. 

Ball State has also expanded its total digital storage capacity from 56 to 78 terabytes. A terabyte is about 1,000 gigabytes or 1 trillion bytes. This expansion creates more room for Web storage, e-mail and any other computing projects done at the university.

"By providing user-friendly software and vast amounts of storage, Ball State is positioned to be a perfect training ground for students to produce the next wave of Internet innovations," Smitherman said. "This approach could lead to the creation of fresh business opportunities that haven't even been imagined yet in Indiana's new information economy."

(Note to Editors: For more information, contact Smitherman at (765) 285-1045 or osmitherman@bsu.edu.)