Internet Letter -- Jacking in from the Resource Port: Brock N. Meeks

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

CyberWire Dispatch // Copyright (c) 1994 //


Jacking in from the Resource Port:


Washington, DC -- Two California firms are the top Internet providers,
transmitting 337.1 gigabits of information between them during February.
Meanwhile the World Wide Web (WWW) has sped to the front of the Internet
browsing pack, besting Gopher as the number one searching tool. WWW use is
up 556% from March 1993 to March 1994.  And the National Science
Foundation's future routing structure will help strengthen the government's
Acceptable Use Policy because it will allow better monitoring of
potentially offending packets.


Those are just a few of the items taken from the May issue of _The Internet
Letter_, a newsletter that's fast becoming one of the Internet users most
valuable "I gotta have it" resources.


Although Dispatch doesn't readily hand out kudos, _The Internet Letter_ is
a different case.  With an abundance of confusing and conflicting
information being trafficked about the comings and goings of new Internet
developments, this publication is fast becoming a must read.  That wasn't
always the case with this publication.  Early issues were thinly reported
and of marginal use.  With the last couple of issues, however, the
publication has come into its own.


The publication is edited by Jayne Levin, who also writes a fair amount of
the copy.  Levin's a more than competent reporter.  Having watched her in
action during various news conferences, she knows the issues and questions
to ask.  She also has a knack for attracting competent writers.  Her
publication is now showing the fruits of those efforts.


The May issue draws on statistics compiled by Merit, a job they perform as
managers of the NSFNet.  Although Dispatch has roundly criticized Merit's
management of NSFNet in the past, it hasn't given enough praise to the
vital job they do as keeper of these under utilized statistics.  They are a
wellspring of information about the nature of the Internet.  The stats
kept by Merit are becoming as crucial to Internet watchers as the Census
Data are any number of disciplines.  Merit deserves credit for a job well
done here.  And the stats are just sitting there, an FTP away.


Few reporters -- including Dispatch -- have tapped into this information.
The Internet Letter is way ahead in this area and it will be awhile before
others catch up.


The May issue contains an excellent interview with Tony Villasenor,
coauthor of the Acceptable Use Policy.  He now manages Internet activities
for NASA.  The commercial use Internet figures mentioned above go on to
list the top 50 users and there are equally impressive figures on the
growth of Internet browsing tools.  Other articles include how the
government is moving toward online procurement procedures in an effort to
reach a broader segment of the business community and a report on the
Holocaust Museum's efforts to move onto the Internet.


To get _The Internet Letter_ will cost you $249 for a one year, 12 issue
subscription.  However, Dispatch ponied up $7.95 and bought its copy off
the newsstand.  You can reach them at netweek () access digex net.


Meeks out...