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From the days of Joseph-Marie Jacquard and his loom (see Digital Century's concise history of computing), computers have been used to control machinery and other computers. Today, computers are found as controllers in many everyday devices. On the Web, students can use their Web browsers (like Netscape Navigator) to control a variety of computers and electronic devices.
Automatic Translation Service (http://www.iai.uni-sb.de/cat2/cat/en/trans.html)
A very unusual service. From this page, you can type in any phrase in English, German, or French. The computer, which is located in Germany (hence the .de on the end of the domain name part of the URL), will translate your phrase into English, German, or French and email you its translation.
Aerodynamics Calculator (http://www.aoe.vt.edu/aoe3114/calc.html)
Allows students to enter in numerical data and have the computer run very sophisticated aerodynamics calculations. Uses JavaScript, so technically you're not controlling another computer in the same way as some of the other resources listed here allow you to.
Budget Simulation (http://garnet.berkeley.edu:3333/budget/budget-1.html)
One of the most popular educational sites of its type, this site at Cal Berkeley allows students to try their hand at balancing the federal budget.
The UCC Drink Machine (http://finger coke@ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/drink/)
Okay, so it's a little silly. The Computer Club at the University of Western Australia has a coke machine which is controlled over the 'Net. You can go to this page and find out how many of each kind of drink is available in the machine.
Some of the computers and machinery connected to the Web is not available to students in any other way. Students can
Students involved in robotics projects can get a look at what is possible in terms of technological capacity and interface design by using Web resources which allow them to control remote computers and devices.
