[2165] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: low-end users
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Richard Mandelbaum)
Tue Jan 28 20:56:53 1992
To: Dave Crocker <dcrocker@mordor.stanford.edu>
Cc: bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein), rma@tsar.cc.rochester.edu, bjp@sura.net,
In-Reply-To: Your message of Tue, 28 Jan 92 16:18:41 -0800.
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 92 20:54:53 -0500
From: Richard Mandelbaum <rma@tsar.cc.rochester.edu>
One of the NYSERNet affiliates is the New York City Board of Education
which in theory provides such a service for all 1,000,000 school kids
in the NYC public school system. In practice this model has some drawbacks
which I'd be glad to discuss in person or on the phone.
(I am alousy typist and it would take me too long to type the 5 or 6
pages of thoughts I have on the best model for connecting K-12.
The bottom line is that I don't think we have yet discovered the best
model,we should try quite a few and "let a thousand flowers bloom"
(Mao in the little red book circa the 60's)
____________________
Barry,
One could argue that your approach of highly simplified user equipment
(basic terminal service) is similar to what the phone company provides
,
so there is inherent appeal -- and very certainly there is immediate
utility -- to your model.
But I hope that we don't settle for it.
I guarantee you that having me sit on a Mac with a 2400 baud modem, ev
en
if we give it full IP connectivity (though slaving email off a relativ
ely
nearby server, as well as some level of other file storage, I suspect)
is
definitely -- I repeat, definitely, not the 'best' that we should thin
k
about. Therefore, I don't think it should be viewed as the enemy of go
od.
The mediocre is also the enemy of the good. And since the model of
service that you are describing is circa 1975 (or earlier) I somehow
think we ought to try for better. And contrary to the suggestion in a
private note to me, I don't think it need take us the 100 years it has
taken the phone company. (Unless we continue the oft-cited trandition
of
standing on each others' feet, rather than shoulders.)
(The 'masses' don't yet have that 1975 level of service, so I have no
argument with using your model where we must, or WHEN we must, but cer
tainly
it is not dreaming to strive for more? Besides, a PC is a terrible
thing to waste. And reducing one to terminal interaction is definitel
y
wasting it.)
Dave
