MUNCIE, Ind. - Sitting at Starbucks and sipping a mocha latte in Ball State University's new Art and Journalism Building, a professor uses her wireless handheld computer to answer e-mail from students.

Meanwhile, in the new sculpture garden, a student uses his laptop to place his finished research paper onto the campus computer network for his professor to grade.

Another student sends instant messages to friends at other colleges from the new outdoor dining area along McKinley Avenue.

Elsewhere in the building, a professor wheels in a mobile cart containing a wireless computer and projector for today's lesson.

Scenes like these will be possible this fall when the Art and Journalism Building opens. It will be the first Ball State structure with wireless capabilities virtually everywhere in the building.

The $30 million facility will provide additional space and technologies to the art and journalism departments, as well as food service in a 400-seat dining area and the university bookstore.

Last year in its most extensive look at technology on American campuses, Yahoo! Internet Life magazine ranked Ball State No. 17 in its survey of most wired colleges and universities. The introduction of wireless capabilities was cited as one reason for the ranking.

Ball State already has wireless access points at the Cooper Science Building, Bracken Library, Kitselman Conference Center, Showalter Facilities and the Robert Bell Building.

"The future of wireless is great," said Vernon Draper, coordinator of network support services. "Could it ever replace the hard-wired network system we have in place today" We'll see."

Draper says many people and the media are still experiencing the "wow factor" over wireless capabilities. Meanwhile, Ball State is separating the hype from the reality, he said.

"We look at wireless as a feature, not a replacement to our current infrastructure," he said.

For instance, the Art and Journalism Building will still have the same hard-wired connections as the rest of campus.

"Right now, the hard-wired connections are eight times faster than the wireless connections," he said. "For campuses that do not have the infrastructure like we do, then wireless is much less expensive to install. However, we have the infrastructure and the expertise to maintain it."

Planned improvements to the campus network this summer will make those "old-fashioned" plug-in connections even faster, Draper said.

This leaves Ball State in the enviable position of being able to cautiously monitor the competing wireless technologies to see which ones will prevail in the marketplace, he said.

"We don't want to embrace anything until it is a standard to ensure we get longevity out of our investment," Draper said. "Security is also an issue with wireless networks, and solutions to these issues are just beginning to catch up."

Ball State has been using the wireless technology known as 802.11b, which is gaining widespread use.

Students and faculty members will get the most from wireless access when mobility is needed. For instance, Draper said, bringing laptops to a lab would allow students to have access to the resources on the campus network, while still allowing them to work on computers they are most familiar with and will be taking with them for further work outside the class.

Future plans call for wireless capabilities to be added as needed, Draper said.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Draper by e-mail at vdraper@bsu.edu or by phone at (765) 285-5964.)