taylor@hpdstma.hp.com (Dave Taylor) (07/22/88)
___________________________________________________________________________ | | | Computers & Tuesday, July 5, 1988 | | Society Volume 3 | | Digest Number 17 | | | | Editor and Publisher: Dave Taylor, Hewlett-Packard Company | |___________________________________________________________________________| Contents: Libraries of the Future ..................................... Eugene N. Miya Technopinions ........................................ (rockwell.henr@Xerox) Urban Legends ..................................................... GR Meyer Word Processing Words ............................................. GR Meyer [A simple plea from the editor: when you submit things for the digest, please try to include your full name somewhere in the text so we can keep this all reasonably human readable. Thanks! --- Dave] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Re: Libraries of the Future Eugene N. Miya (hplabs!ames!pioneer.arc.nasa.gov!eugene) I will take a stab. The challenge to libraries will come in the combination and reconciliation of different types of media. Currently, a customer needs to run from one place in the library to another: card catalog, to stacks, to say reference, then back to stacks. Computers are evolving into multiple window systems (BTW: See the Xerox "Orange and Whites," papers by Goldberg and Kay on Personal Dynamic Media, Steve Weyer's [now at H-P] PARC PhD thesis on traversing a dynabook, and Alan Borning's PhD thesis as well.) The problem is we have this information on paper, disks (optical and magnetic), video tape, etc. We can't easily mix these things together. Libraries have the borrowed out problem: only one copy, the one I want. This has to change, but at what cost to things like copyright law. Perhaps libraries will have to start charging for use, but I do know that libraries aren't changing fast enough for me. It's shame, but I also don't want to imply the use of rigid standards. The complexity of change in media is ge`reater than exponential (and you thought all libraries had to deal with was books). I suspect we should have a system like Japan's living treasures of people keeping knowledge as well. Wow expert systems from your library. Eugene Miya ------------------------------ Technopinions (rockwell.henr@Xerox.COM) I have wanted to respond to some of the articles in the latest digest as well as pass along several datums and opinions. On Future Libraries: My own opinion is that libraries are going to disappear, replaced by pay-as-you-go info services and advances in entertainment technologies. Two things will cause this. First, some megacorp or startup will put a mega/tera bit fiber optic cable into every home.Myriads of companies will then use that bandwidth to replace the library in fufilling their needs for both information and pleasure. Second, as has been discussed in the Digest, there is already a large need for better display technology to combine the best elements of books and computers. Once that's solved, one will only have to plug into the closest port, be it the home or work and download whatever. The only people who will go to libraries then will be the people {like myself} who love libraries, love to browse, and like books. And that won't be enough people to support public libraries. On what to do with all those MIPS: I can think several things that will soak up some MIPS. 1. Object oriented programming will continue to escape from AI into the conventional world. Object oriented C's and databases are out or coming. 2. There is still no conventional equivalent to the LISP programming environment ------------------------------ Urban Legends (TK0GRM1%NIU.BITNET@CORNELLC.CCS.CORNELL.EDU) It seems to me that there is one bit of computer folklore that we are leaving out. Namely, the "rumor" that Single Sided floppy disks can be used in Double Sided drives with no ill effect. This statement is usually accompianed by a declaration that Computer X writes to the top of SS disks while Computer Y writes to the bottom of SS disks therefore disk manufacturers must "certify" both sides of a SS disk because they don't know what type of computer the disk will be used on. The extra money that one pays for DS disks is wasted on the "supposed" difference. I've seen this debate arise many times, and have been told by many people that it is either the truth, or totally false. There is presently a thread about this topic on the Atari ST newsgroup. Regardless of the "truth" in this case, I think it qualifies as an urban legend folklore in that it seems to have taken on a life of its own, is repeated many times in slightly different forms, and to my knowledge has never really been confirmed or denied. GR Meyer ------------------------------ Word Processing Words (TK0GRM1%NIU.BITNET@CORNELLC.CCS.CORNELL.EDU) I have seen a number of manuscripts (some of them actually published!) where the author states something to this effect... "Above/below I have discussed the implications blah blah" and all to often (to my liking) the refered to discussion occurs several (2-5) pages later. Now I may be stretching a point here, but when I read "above" or "below" I assume that the author is refering to a point made (or to be made) relatively soon. When I see an example of this it gives me the impression that the document was written/edited on a word processor and the author is refering to "above/below" in a more physical sense. A false assumption that I think is bred by the screen scroll of the word processing software. This effect (for which I don't have name) is enforced even more when one is using a GEM (or Macintosh) based program that presents a slider-bar for scrolling through the manuscript. When (or should I say if) screen size increases enough to allow an entire page to be viewed at once will word processing software be written to emulate a more "paper-like" environment? Will the now familar scrolling text be replaced by a more traditional "page turning" effect? (Hey..I'm not asking for animation don't get me wrong.) Comments anyone? GR Meyer ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTICE: For the next few weeks the information server that was available as info@atom is shut down while I move my home to another computer. It is expected to return shortly. Articles for submission to the digest should be sent to the editor, Dave Taylor, at either of the following electronic addresses: comp-soc@hplabs.hp.com ...!hplabs!comp-soc This digest is published approximately weekly, the articles representing the views of the authors, not the Computers and Society Digest editorial staff, Hewlett-Packard, or anyone else. The copyright to each article is owned by the author, the copyright of the entire digest (including format) is (C) Copyright 1988 Dave Taylor. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, any article can be retransmitted as long as an appropriate citation of the source is included. ___________________________________________________________________________ | | | End of Computers & Society Digest | |___________________________________________________________________________|