Elon University

Subtopic: General

Paved With Fool’s Gold?

The director of research for Bell Laboratories envisions a world in which there will be a mass reduction of the labor force which, in turn, will create a culture of nomadic information workers who will carry their offices wherever their tasks will take them. “We are the first generation in human history where knowledge will change more than once in a lifetime. In the past, with each new generation, knowledge was gained and the torch was passed. What we havenÕt figured out yet is what happens when your knowledge becomes obsolete at age 38.”

Paved With Fool’s Gold?

The most important technological advances of the past century Ð most significantly the telephone and the computer Ð have contributed to an information revolution in which continuous data-streams encircle the globe in the service of world commerce. Cultures are hard-pressed to keep pace with such transactions Ð literally occurring at the speed of light – and ever more rapid technological change. The result is what some describe as societal dislocation … “The deeper significance of whatÕs happening to our culture – the sense of distemper and death – is that it depicts the end of a particular worldview. Throughout history whenever a worldview has come to a close, its culture usually expressed themes of anomie and crisis.” According to Wishard and others, America now relies upon the promise of science and technology to pave the way for a liberal utopian vision. But scientific advancement coupled with cultural dissolution has taken its toll. Even those most keen on the power of technology understand that without corresponding social development we will become a culture awash in information but without core values.

INTEROP: Cultivating the Leading Edge

Interactive TV may be one of the most comprehensive networking challenges ever undertaken … Decoding the bits at the user end is really the least of the challenges; the infrastructure required in terms of network services will be phenomenal. The interoperability challenges raised by the scurry to seize market share could be daunting … There is a natural synergy between object orientation and networking; the complexity inherent in a distributed multiplatform environment mandates a software technology that buffers users and developers from the underpinnings. Object orientation provides just that. YouÕll notice that all of the major systems vendors are incorporating object-oriented systems and software into their strategic product plans. IBM has stated, for example, that object orientation is the only mechanism through which weÕll ever see pervasive distributed computing.

Where Are Information Superhighways Headed?

The Internet is here by accident, and has many drawbacks, including poor support for video transmission. Internet recently experienced slowed performance across the U.S. due to very high load, and users trying to access sites on the Web, and other Internet services were frustrated by long connect time or lost data … Today, thousands of household are already receiving (experimental) video-on-demand, interactive games, electronic newspaper, and shopping services. With the tremendous growth of wide-area networks such as ATM, this number will soon reach millions. Then these networks will also become information superhighways. At that time, the Internet will experience very strong competition, and its importance may be significantly reduced. We envision that the Internet will then become one of the services on these new cable and telephone information superhighways.

Designing a Web of Intellectual Property

The technology should be designed to minimize the need for legislation, as well as give as much decision power as possible to the individual users. The design of the web technology has large impact on individuals and the social system. The notion of intellectual property is one of the issues that is strongly affected, and is of high relevance for the shape of an information-driven society. The flexibility of digital media technology gives large control to the design of web standards. This suggests a high level of responsibility of the designers, as well as widespread involvement in the design. The implications of the web are all too important to leave solely to technology-optimizing decisions.

Space, Collaboration, and the Credible City: Academic Work in the Virtual University

The interesting questions to ponder are: (1) is “exposure” in cyberspace the same as exposure in physical space, and (2) if so, who among us will: (a) unthinkingly exceed the virtual FARs of stimulating space and move into active freneticism, (b) ever so gently decline into the state of “comfortably numb” as we use isolating environments to cut ourselves off from exposure, or (c) pro-actively leverage connectivity to serve our time rather than succumb to the temptations of too many activities … The answers probably lie in the combination of autonomy and self-awareness that structures individual lives, and the sense of mission that make up institutional memories.

Space, Collaboration, and the Credible City: Academic Work in the Virtual University

The universal “we” has lost a sense of rhythm, and is in danger of unbalancing the thought and action cycle that drives creative human behavior … Where traveling through space physically once buffered periods of mental activity, we are squeezing out the inherent rest cycle associated with going to libraries, face-to-face meetings, and going from home to work … The added convenience of telecommunication-based collaboration, the umbrella reason that new technologies are adopted within organizations, carries with it this hidden cost of a loss of pace as it throws us into the vacuum of electronic space.

Commercial Scenarios for the Web: Opportunities and Challenges

Significant adoption barriers to commercialization preclude predictable and smooth development of commercial opportunities in this emerging medium. Commercial development of the Web must follow the demand (“demand pull”), instead of being driven by “gold fever.” Firms will reap the benefits of innovation in interactivity by being closer to the customer than ever before.