We occasionally write about "works in progress," particularly when it comes to legislation before Congress, trends in technology, or upcoming events. Many of these issues deserve a second look, something we'll take this month.
In April 1993, for instance, we discussed the demise of the Cold War and the resulting effect on the high-tech defense industry. What we saw was organizations such as Lawrence Livermore National Labs (LLNL) scrambling to develop new, nonmilitary markets and products. This trend is accelerating.
A new radar technology developed at LLNL by Tim McEwan, for example, uses extremely short electrical pulses (each lasting less than one billionth of a second) to transmit signals to detect movement and objects within a 20-foot spherical area. McEwan's device is both small and inexpensive--transmission circuits and reception sensors can be put on a 1-inch square circuit board costing less than $10. One of the first commercial applications of this will be mounted in a car's taillight to let you know whether or not another car is behind or beside you when you're changing lanes. Over 20 companies have lined up to license the device, and LLNL believes it will create a $1 billion market before the end of the decade. To hurry things along, the Federal Laboratory Consortium has launched a series of National Technology Transfer Conferences which bring together government-sponsored R&D labs that parade technological wares like this radar device before private companies interested in developing commercial products.
In January 1994, we examined a proposal by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to change the way stock options are treated by the IRS. In this case, FASB wanted to consider stock options as compensation instead of incentive, thus charging option value against a company's earnings when granted, not exercised. The end result would be fewer stock options for employees, making it more difficult for small companies to attract top-flight talent--clearly a threat to the entrepreneurial spirit that's helped build the high-tech industry.
According to published reports, FASB is looking for a way to "back out [of the proposal] with grace." Among the compromises reportedly being considered by FASB are an option-holding requirement (employees couldn't exercise options within, say, six months) and elimination of "volatility" as a way of determining option value. Although FASB denies reports that it's backing down, the issue will likely be resolved by this summer.
In April 1994, we looked at how Southwestern Bell was using the information highway as an excuse for demanding that public oversight for telephone company rates and profits be eliminated forever in both Missouri and Kansas. In Missouri, the bill has been buried in the legislative process. As for Kansas, a watered-down version was signed into law by the governor, ensuring a loose telecommunications cannon for the next two years. SW Bell continues to push hard, putting enough money into the right pockets to become the leading lobbyist in both states.
And speaking of the information highway, we described in May 1994 New Brunswick's "TeleEducation" distant-education project which, unlike U.S. entertainment-oriented proposals, is committed to universal access for all citizens. There are exceptions in the U.S.
Former DDJ editor Jim Warren, for instance, pushed through AB 1624, a California state law that mandates that the legislature make all proposed legislation, current laws, and the constitution freely available on the Internet. Anyone with access to a PC and modem can get information about pending legislation, as well as news releases and general information about the state and addresses and phone numbers of legislators. Of course, access to the Internet isn't free, limiting the possibility of universal access. There are projects underway, however, to provide universal Internet access. The Sunflower Freenet, for instance, will make Kansas the first state in the nation to provide free, statewide Internet access to the public. The nonprofit system is slated to go online this summer. In addition to providing e-mail services, says project director Rick Palmer, Sunflower Freenet will offer educational, health, and business services.
Interest in community-oriented freenets (or community networks, civic networks, community-wide education and information services, as they're also known) such as the Sunflower Freenet continues to grow. To facilitate these efforts, the Apple Library of Tomorrow (Cupertino, CA) and the Morino Foundation (Great Falls, VA) sponsored a conference in early May entitled "Building Community Computing Networks." Among the issues discussed were the specific needs of freenets in urban vs. rural settings, policy and funding, regional networks, and technical issues.