[645] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: unkind remarks about K-12
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Sean Donelan)
Mon Apr 29 12:16:26 1991
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1991 11:16:28 CDT
From: SEAN@dranet.dra.com (Sean Donelan)
To: com-priv@psi.com
X-Vmsmail-To: SMTP%"com-priv@psi.com"
>If you're talking grade and high schools, $150 for a 1200 baud modem and
>cheap software is still a big deal. Whoever said just get it out there
>has it right. "value" (i.e., curriculum justification) emerges only
>through use, so it's important to get 'em using networks and saying
>to others "If we could do this *faster* it wouldn't cost so much..."
Business certainly won't spend money on something unless there is some
"value"/return on the investment. If you want business to buy into this,
you need to set out the justification up front. The _Field of Dreams_
approach isn't the way of american business (yes, I know, perhaps that's
american business's problem, but that's the way it is). Whether IP
networking can expand outside of its current market niche will depend on
how well commercial IP vendors can explain why they are better than the
alternatives. Currently the major advantage of the Internet is access to
the research and academic market. This is becoming more important as that
market becomes more isolated by the Internet, and the only way for businesses
to reach them (or vice versa) is by the Internet. Sometimes I think rather
than expanding the networking horizon, the Internet actually shrinks it.
Schools should also have some plan for what they are going to do. I've
seen many donated Apple II's sitting idle because the school has nobody
who can run them, or any money to buy software to run on them. I don't buy
the idea that you can just say "Here it is, you figure out how to use it."
It still takes a lot of dedication from somebody to make it work.
--
Sean Donelan, Data Research Associates, Inc, St. Louis, MO 63132-1806
Domain: sean@dranet.dra.com, Voice: (Work) +1 314-432-1100
