College hosts Internet conference

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Edmonton's first Modem Mania conference, held June 23 to 25 at Grant McEwan College, took tourists on a quick spin down the much-vaunted "information highway." For the uninitiated, the $350 price tag was probably worth it, providing a glimpse at the emerging world of cyberspace. But experienced commuters of the "I-way" might have found the sights a little too familiar.

The conference was clearly aimed not at computer nerds, er, enthusiasts, but at the small businessmen, educators and administrators who've heard the hype but still find terms like SLIP connection," "broadband access," "telnet" and "website" just so much gibberish. With a variety of speakers and hands-on demonstrations from reps of the various big boys of the computer-cyberspace industry (IBM, Microsoft, Compuserve, American Online), Modem Mania sought to persuade the predominantly business-oriented crowd that now is the time to get on line.

Even a year ago such a proposition would have seemed like madness. Navigating the Internet with any success required users to learn a nightmarishly complex computer language knows as UNIX, while the more accessible commercial services like Compuserve were expensive and limited in their usefulness. Without skill and practice, about the only thing you could find on the net was, as Homer Simpson said, "what some geek thought about Star Trek."

But along with the rest of the computer industry the Internet ? the worldwide network of computer systems originally built by the U.S. Army as an emergency communications device in case of a nuclear attack, since co-opted by universities and businesses ? has been growing in power and sophistication at an almost frightening rate.

The introduction of the graphically oriented World Wide Web, which makes net-browsing as simple as pointing and clicking with a mouse, removed most of the technical barriers for novices, and scads of new commercial and educational sites began appearing, some literally overnight.

Software giant Microsoft has made Internet access a fundamental aspect of their new Windows 95 product, and companies ranging from Coke to Paramount are on the net. In Edmonton, the University of Alberta is planning to give every student net identification, and the telephone company EdTel is waging a legal battle in a bid to become the city's dominant provider of Inernet access.

The conference kicked off with three speakers: Dr. Gerry Kelly described the educational possibilities of the I-way, citing the current Schoolnet project which, when complete, will link over 16,000 Canadian teachers electronically so that they can exchange ideas, anecdotes, even course modules. Though he said that the I-way "has the potential to affect society even more than TV: and that it will lead to truly democratized learning," the examples of wired schools he cited ? the elite and private Dalton School in Manhattan and Ottawa's Carleton University ? tended to reinforce the idea that only the rich will be able to afford it.

Bob David, a member of the Canadian Information Highway Advisory Council, summarized the recommendations the council recently made to the government on its info-highway policy. He emphasized multi-media ? text, sound, pictures and video all interconnected ? and stated that Canada, like other developed nations, would be gradually moving towards an economy of knowledge. Among the council's recommendations were commitment to government support for remote areas where commercial services are unwilling to set up net access and a thumbs-down for the American Clipper chip plan, which would see government-monitored "bugs" in every net-capable computer.

Jim Carroll, co-author of the best-selling Canadian Internet Handbook, provided the conference's most energetic and accessible presentation. He emphasized the Internet's business possibilities but warned that the on-line universe has rules and a culture all its own.

"You don't go to France to do business without knowing something aout the French," he said. "Likewise, you don't do business on the Internet without understanding the minds of the users."

The various on-line services such a Prodigy, America Online and Compuserve provided product demonstrations and assorted independent Internet access providers were on hand to show their wares. Access prices are dropping ? the current rate begins at about $20 a month.

Some attendees were not impressed by the conference.

"I'm a salesman," one said. "I don't want to pay $350 for someone to give me a sales pitch."

But others were more enthusiastic about the possibilities.

"It's great," another attendee stated. "I'd heard about the information highway before, but now I have a better idea how it works, the actual things you need to do to use it."