Re: bad memory IP post

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

Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 08:52:17 -0500
From: Charles Brownstein <cbrownst () CNRI Reston VA US>


My take is that the Internet came of age and (is dragging) everything with
it. For example:


1) Internet ran over the opposition of GSA and technophobes on the Hill when it:


- took off in the press (eg., became real to non techies such as members
and most constituents)


-  Executive branch use got a push from the National Performance Review,
(embarrassing eh Legislative Branch


- The National Library of Congress (which services this activity) gained
the experience and confidence to buy into the Internet


2) there was sharp bias against the Internet by the OSI promoters at NIST
that was finally beat down by the Federal Networking Council and ARPA/NSF
persistence


All of the above got momentum due to a) HPCC- Internet technology emerged
with benifits of virtually guranteed service performance due to NSFnet ease
use due to Mosiac, and b) personal information processing capability
improvment due to faster/cheaper PCs).


There is still a long way to go-


Even now, if you try to contact the members of the House listed as
participating in the congressional experiment with E-mail, you only get a
canned response and a promise that IF you are a constituent, the message
will be passed on. Attitude and organization needs adjusting!


Worse, there remains debate about the most efficient way to give the public
the information that they pay agencies to produce in the first place. Many
intermediaries (firms) massage bits and sell products for large profits -
some even have contractual monopolies (vis flap on SEC's EDGAR/NSF/West
Publishing). Politics and economics collide.


Any progress is progress however, so I applaud and push forward. Contituent
interest is the MOST powerful force, and once the gates are open, many
things will be possible. Just watch out for the moves that can close the
gates- via attempts to control, and worse, by accident when the bathwater
is let out!




At 6:49 PM 1/6/95, Harry J. Saal wrote:
> On Fri, 6 Jan 1995 15:59:57 -0500  David Farber wrote:
> > Date: Fri, 6 Jan 1995 14:05:22 -0500
> > From: Charles Brownstein <cbrownst () CNRI Reston VA US>
> >
> > Dave- planning for this "overnight Gingrich innovation" of congress
> > business on line began in 1987 when Gorden Bell participated in laying out
> > an architecture for information systemsfor the House and Senate. It got a
> > big boost last year when many members went on line,
> Would you care to quantify "many"? (The old joke is 1,2,many afterall.)
> My impression is that it is a rather small minority of the full
> membership of the House. (I don't have an idea about the Senate,
> but I have seen only private Senatorial e-mail addresses published.)
>
> Mind you, I am very supportive of the concept and the vision. But it
> truly appears to be more show than reality. On the other hand,...
>
> and now that most
> > Executive branch agencies and White House have active Web sites,
>
> This is a large, pervasive and vibrant activity. It was non-existant
> just over a year ago. So why does it take the House and Senate 5 years
> to get from Gordon Bell's plan to what is still a mere wisp of a
> reality?
> ============================================================
> Dr. Harry J. Saal, President & CEO, Smart Valley, Inc.
>   http://www.svi.org/    gopher://gopher.svi.org
> E-mail: HSaal () svi org Voice: 415-843-2102  FAX: 415-843-2222
> ============================================================


Charles N. Brownstein
Executive Director
Cross-Industry Working Team
Corporation for National Research Initiatives
1895 Preston White Drive
Suite 100
Reston, VA 22091


Tel: (703) 620-8990
Fax: (703) 620-0913


Internet: cbrownst () cnri reston va us


On the Web: http://www.cnri.reston.va.us:3000/XIWT/public.html