>From this perspective, I can assure you that the revolution, of which the
internet is a part, is in its infancy. The ubiquity of the Internet will grow.
Bandwidth will grow. Use of wireless communications will dominate. The number
of applications will flourish. Home computers will literally become televisions
and vice/versa. Businesses will start doing more business directly across the
Internet, using new electronic commerce technology...avoiding middle-men and
paperwork. Everything is about to change.
And of course nobody really controls or regulates the Internet. How can they?
The Internet spans the globe. It is anarchy, in the best possible realization.
At Netscape, and most other Silicon Valley companies that I know of, personal
use of the Internet is a given. It is difficult to regulate, hard to enforce,
and silly to even try. The 'Net literally routes around such limitations and
censorship of usage. At Netscape, it would literally be impossible for me to
keep up with what is current in my field if I couldn't browse the web at will.
I sincerely hope that the University Of Idaho and the State of Idaho modernize
(remove) their regulations and allow unfettered use of the Internet to all state
employees. Its the only thing that makes sense in this new world.
And to tie this with the future of Moscow, how does the city plan to bring the
Internet into the schools? Are K-12 schools in Moscow already wired? If so,
how? Are there any programs to provide computers to those that don't have them
for economic or other reasons? Any plans for such a future program? Is the
city library wired yet (its been awhile since I have been to Moscow)? Any plans
for providing free, public terminals for public internet access?
I can assure you that computer/internet illiteracy is already a
disfranchisement. In the San Francisco Bay Area, just being able to speak
intelligently about the net can double your salary. Moscow is in an interesting
position because it is such a small community. Many positive things can be done
now and planned now because of its scale.
-Luke
Lou Sternberg wrote:
> Hello,
>
> A few quick comments first:
>
> **University professors have three missions: Teaching, research, and
> SERVICE. The service mission will cover almost all e-mail and discussion
> group activity. Other state employees are left hanging.
>
> **E-mail today is akin to the telephone of yore. Theoretically, no State
> employee should be able to use a State-owned phone to make a personal call
> notifying family that they will be working late! In practice, we know
> better. But the powers that be are still uncomfortable with this new
> e-mail/Internet technology, so they flail about trying to find sufficient
> and reasonable policy and guidelines.
>
> Now to the gist of my post:
>
> Not long ago, Steve Cooke wrote: " My understanding of the Vision2020 list
> server is to discuss ideas of importance to the Moscow-Pullman area,
> typically within an economic
> development scope." Along those lines:
>
> Until recently, I was a semi-rural Latah County resident enjoying the
> services of the Troy Telephone Company (with 640 phones in the system). No
> Internet Service Provider could afford to offer services within the system,
> and few, if any residents could afford the long distance telephone fees
> required to enjoy real on-line services. Since moving to Boise, however, I
> have enjoyed the benefits of an on-line world.
>
> At home, I can access today's New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times,
> Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Lewiston Morning Tribune, and Molly Ivis columns
> in the Texas-based Star-Telegram. (And for a $10 yearly fee, download the
> NYT crossword puzzles). I can find lots of science, and see what the Hubble
> Space Telescope sees. And from my house in Boise, I can learn of the Moscow
> City Council agenda.
>
> More importantly, business is now on the Internet. Don't think about
> LLBean's on-line catalog. Think about the fact that any organization can
> have instant access to Federal Government research and statistics, Idaho
> State Code, major journals, worldwide list-serve discussion groups of
> professional colleagues, professional organizations, better informational
> depth that any encyclopedia, and the ability to share information and
> data--computer to computer-- with vendors and consumers across the country.
>
> What does this portend for the future economic development of Latah County
> outside of the local, toll-free zones? What does it portend for the
> children who are on-line illiterate? (I sincerely believe that an inability
> to aggressively access information from the Internet is becoming as serious
> a handicap as the inability to navigate within a library.) Today, access to
> the Internet provides one an advantage. In the coming years, lack of access
> could be de facto disfranchisement.
>
> Is this a problem? If so, how will it be solved?
>
> Peace,
>
> Lou
>
> p.s. (This post does was not meant to criticize the Troy Telephone Company
> or any of their employees. In fact, I always enjoyed their friendly and
> attentive service.)
>
>
> Lou Sternberg, Ph.D. (208)343-0555
> 5017 Bel Air loustern@primenet.com
> Boise ID 83705-2777