Where Are We Going ?



        Electronic Bulletin Boards ... INTERNET ... Electronic
     Shopping ... Electronic Banking ... The Information
     Superhighway ... CompuServe ... America Online ... Prodigy and
     a myriad of other services available through any of several
     access points ... I'm starting to get confused ... or should I
     say MORE confused ??

        Perhaps a more meaningful question than "where are we going?" 
     would be, "what do we hope to gain by going there?"

        Hardly a person in America isn't aware that computers now
     play such a role in our existence that we would quickly grind
     to a halt without them, but fewer people really understand
     just how deep our dependence has become.

        Equaled only by electricity and fossil fuels, computers
     and electronic information exchange have truly assumed a
     foundation position in our society. They are now a root
     portion of our very infrastructure, and promise to exceed all
     other inventions as contributors to our evolution.

        Computers are an integral part of virtually every
     endeavor. They play such a critical role that many endeavors
     would not be possible without them. Imagine putting men on the
     moon ... well, you know.

        OK, OK, ... no news here.  Everyone "knows" that computers
     are vital to the continued operation of government, defence,
     business, institutions of all kinds, monetary and stock
     exchanges, weather forecasting, banking, health care, and on,
     and on, and on. "Marvelous" is an understatement.

        Make no mistake, I am not infatuated with, nor overwhelmed
     by, the computer in our age, but I have been reflecting upon
     the future as it might affect the folks like you and me. I
     should point out that I have not been bowled over by any
     blinding flash of illumination, and I don't expect the impact
     will be more than we can handle. I am, however, wondering just
     what it is "we" might want from this incredible little box.

        You are reading this while logged onto a BBS. You
     evidently log on often enough to have figured out how to get
     here, and you undoubtedly have other interests in the BBS
     besides the magazine. You may have interests in the thousands
     of program files available, the on-line games, or netmail, but
     what do you think you might desire in the future ?

        Many of us are regulars on one, or more, of the major
     Echo-mail networks ... many of us frequent CompuServe or one
     of the major services now available ... many of us write
     shareware programs ... many look for source material for school
     or our professions ... some of us already do banking chores
     and some shopping right from our keyboards. Our PC may be
     helping to answer the phone in our absence, analyze our home
     budget, store a year's worth of dinner recipes, maintain our
     listing of friends' and family's addresses and phone numbers,
     and a host of other helpful tasks. No doubt, it's a great
     little machine. I figure breakfast in bed is just around the
     corner !

        In the meantime, we now hear something daily about the
     Information Superhighway, INTERNET, and the wondrous world
     that lies ahead. The vast amounts of data that "will be"
     available, and the system that will put that data at your
     fingertips.

        The applications in business may be fairly self-evident.
     The value to governmental operations is pretty easy to
     imagine. Education, health care services, and sciences of all
     types may be panting to have something more "accessible" than
     the INTERNET to provide information exchange capabilities. Law
     enforcement, military, and a gazillion other organizations may
     find their uses for much of the final system, but I'm having
     some trouble imagining just what it is I personally might find
     so useful about this mega-info system.

        I would be very interested to know your thoughts. What are
     you expecting to find in this "information superhighway" that
     will be of use to you?  Aside from whatever "entertainment"
     value it may hold, are there services or uses that you
     anticipate might be something you will find valuable?  Take a
     minute and drop me a note in the "readers' response" are of
     the magazine. I'll be more than happy to publish anything you
     contribute, and I'm sure there are others reading this
     wondering the same thing.

    advTHANKSance

    Randy Britt