Book Review: The Modem Reference (12/88)
BOOK REVIEW: THE MODEM REFERENCE By (Ms.) Gail S. Thomas Michael A. Banks, THE MODEM REFERENCE, COMPLETE GUIDE TO SELECTION, INSTALLATION AND APPLICATIONS. Foreword by Jerry Pournelle. New York: Brady/Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1988. ISBN 0-13-586646-4, paperback. 530 pages. Simon & Schuster, Inc., Gulf and Western Building, One Gulf and Western Plaza, New York, NY 10023. THE MODEM REFERENCE represents an ambitious effort. In some respects the work comprises two books in one, dealing with not only the technical side of modems, but also the communications uses of modems. Michael A. Banks attempts to cover all the bases of...

A Look At Computer Viruses (12/88)
A Look At Computer Viruses by Mike Blaszczak Over the last year, writers for regular columns in magazines have devoted a great deal of attention, and column space, to "computer viruses". A great sub-culture has emerged in America ... and that is the online community. Daily, billions of kilobytes of data, programs, and text change hands over local-area, wide-area, and pulblic data networks. Some people talk about religion, and some people use the systems for business -- as the hub of their interdepartmental communication efforts. Other folks are here for the fun of it; to talk to other people,...

Groupware--from Another Perspective (8/88)
Groupware--from Another Perspective by Susanna Opper We stand at an interesting crossroads in history--not only in the history of computers, but in human history. We've reached a level of evolution which permits (and even requires) us to investigate and get knowledgeable about things human beings have always taken for granted. Think of a fish's relationship to water. The fish doesn't differentiate "water". Water is its environment--all that it knows. In the realm of human behavior, our "water" is process: communication, coordination, cooperation, competition, organization. Of these, only organization has been the subject of major study by large groups of...

Computer Conferencing (8/88)
COMPUTER CONFERENCING: A STEP BEYOND ELECTRONIC MAIL By Stefanie Kott Electronic mail is becoming more and more a part of the fabric of corporate communications. Internal corporate networks provide easy communication among colleagues. Online electronic mail services provide communications links among business colleagues as well as clients. No longer is business dependent on the time of day or the locations of people. The benefits are obvious: "Telephone tag" all but stops. People in New York or London, in Hong Kong or Sydney, at home, at work, on a business trip, or even on vacation can stay in touch, assuming they...

X.400: What Is It? part 2 (3/88)
X.400: WHAT IS IT? - PART 2 by Ruben Boiardi >* Last month's article gave a brief overview of the X.400 series of recommendations for mail interchange. This month we will look at some of the barriers to the implementation of this standard. These barriers can be broken down into two general areas: technical and financial. On the technical front, one of the major problems is the lack of an X.400 certification procedure that is accepted around the world. To date, there are several different test suites that can be used to verify how close an individual mail system...

How to Pick Up Someone New with the Same Old Line (2/88)
HOW TO PICK UP SOMEONE NEW WITH THE SAME OLD LINE By Sue Gunn and Linda Bryant Nicholson OFFERING ALTERNATIVES ********************* In the last issue of Netweaver, concerns were brought forth as to the possibility that once electronic communications becomes the predominant means of information delivery, important information will become less and less available to people without the technical and financial resources to access them, thereby "exacerbating the gap between the ordinary citizen and business and between the haves and the have-nots in society." X*PRESS X*Change, the premier computer information service on cable, is already offering a free, easily-accessible...

Expert Networks vs. Expert Systems (8/87)
Expert Networks vs. Expert Systems by Harry Stevens Ever since I worked in the 1950's on computer-aided language translation, I have been skeptical about the potential of so-called Artificial Intelligence (AI). Much more promising is another type of AI, Augmented Intelligence. I like to think of expert networks as being a form of Augmented Intelligence, which has more immediate potential than the expert systems that are currently getting much attention within the field of Artificial Intelligence. Both types of AI certainly have potential. However, I believe the exaggerated view that intelligence can ever become artificial tends to diminish more...

Desk Top Publishing (7/87)
DESK TOP PUBLISHING The Minimum Requirements by Philip Siddons By now major computer magazines have devoted issues to Desk Top Publishing (DTP). The the hardware and software suppliers are pumping millions of dollars into marketing, advertising, and training. And for good reason. New tools are available to computer users that give them exciting communication abilities. The good news is that business and educational leaders are able to have greater control over their data, design, and production deadlines. Printed communications are becoming more visually effective. A project report, company news letter, or product catalogue, whether one or 5,000 pages, can...

Solving Information Overload with Conference Summaries (2/86)
SOLVING INFORMATION OVERLOAD WITH CONFERENCE SUMMARIES by Bob Sprigge For practical reasons, we have developed ways to deliver information initially in the form of SUMMARIES with the option to delve behind for details only if required. This article suggests that the idea of summaries is lacking from most conferencing systems and ought to be included in future ones. Summaries will assist in the information overload or communication indigestion in that less will need to be read to learn the same. Structure of storage of items in conferencing systems is critical. Here we are not discussing the format of individual...

User Support (2/86)
USER SUPPORT The Bottom Line for CC by Billye Lemon The User Support session of ENA's fall conference involved network coordinators and experienced users in a lively discussion of needs, problems, solutions, and opportunities. The information in this article reflects a broad range of user experience on a variety of systems. It was interesting to discover the extent to which the *same* problems and the *same* needs seem to exist across systems and across software. It's critical for everyone involved in the development of this medium to LISTEN TO THE USERS! Participants in the session had the opportunity to...

Managing Computer Conferencing (1/86)
MANAGING COMPUTER CONFERENCING A Report from the ENA Fall Conference by Roger Bunting The focus of the Managing CC session was understanding the issues of design, structure, and behaviors which can contribute to success of computer conferences (CC). We also looked at the problems to be solved and the dilemmas usually confronted in the management and conduct of CC. The session design was based on the experiential learning model. The attendees were first asked to work in small groups on one of six different scenarios dealing with the establishment of different applications for CC. In each case, the questions...

Growing Pains (12/85)
GROWING PAINS by Andrew Finkenstadt Once upon a time there was a 14-year-old boy who just loved to play with computers. He had noticed that some computers had telephone lines so people who wanted to could dial the telephone and use a funny kind of computer called a terminal to get another computer to do some work. He also noticed that some people wrote letters (word processing) and sent them across the country (electronic mail) to someone they had not ever met "in- the-flesh." He thought, "Boy! If only we could do that right here in Lafayette, Indiana, without...

The Charm of Unlimited Long-Distance Modem-Talk (12/85)
THE CHARM OF UNLIMITED LONG-DISTANCE MODEM-TALK by George Por Until now, long-distance computer communications was limited by the choice between paying long-distance phone rates for it, and using an electronic mail or conferencing service that wouldn't allow you to send/receive messages but to/from subscribers of the very same service. Let's say you live in San Francisco and you have a friend, a relative, or a business associate in New York, and one of you is a member of The Source, the other is with CompuServe, two information and communication utilities that are not in talking relation with each other....