I- 1» ■/— — - • P age B5 T he P ortland O bserver • J une 22, 1994 • • • • Taking A Trip On The Information Superhighway .6 f . • . 1 P r o f . M ck in ley B urt If y o u ’re stalled on the O n- ram p o f this w o rld w id e e le c ­ tro n ic th o ro u g h fa re , tak e heart. S lo w ly , b u t s u re ly , ra tio n a l m inds are plow ing th ro u g h all the ream s o f in fo rm a tio n and d isin fo rm a tio n being released by p hone, cab le and telev isio n c o m p a n ies, and by a d v ertisin g ag en cies or scien ce fiction w rit­ ers (the latter are clo se, though.) C le a r, fa c tu a l ac co u n ts are on the w ay. W ell, w h a t’s it all ab o u t? W h a t’s driving this m assive, c a ­ reen in g v ehicle th at seem s to h av e the m om entum o f a ru n ­ aw ay fre ig h t tra in ? A lread y , there have been som e d eliveries on h y p er-p ro m ises — not m any, but e n o u g h to su g g e st a fa n ta s ­ tic fu tu re o f in te ra c tiv e tra n s ­ actions from sh o p p in g , bank- by ing and en tertain m en t to c o n ­ fere n c es, e d u catio n , research a n d b o o k p r o c u r e m e n t. (A single strand of fiber-optic cable can tran sm it the co n ten ts o f the e n ti r e “ E n c y c lo p e d i a B ritan n ica” every second. A nd o f co u rse, can be p laced on a single C D -R O M d isk .) As I w rote here last y ear, I am already u tiliz in g som e of the technologies m ade available by th e su p erhighw ay. B ut to m ake it understandable how this can be done w ith my presently lim ited equipm ent, (the tec h ­ nology scenario is ch an g in g so fast, I put o ff o rd erin g th at 4 8 6 / 50 co m p u ter,) let us go back to the beginning o f my interaction w ith this so -called “ n e w ” te c h ­ nology. T hat w ould be in 1959- 60 w hen I attended IB M school in B everly H ills, C alif., along w ith several o th er acco u n tan ts at a m ajor d isc o u n t h o u se, I w as rep laced by a c o m p u te r (g re a t incentive to fu rth e r your education.) R e tu rn in g to O re g o n in 1963 and em p lo y ed in the ac­ counting dep artm en t o f a m u l­ tinational alum inum com pany, I becam e fascin ated w ith the early , but so p h istic a te d , e le c ­ tro n ic sy ste m s in d u stry w as using for co m m u n icatio n s and controls in g lo b e-g ird lin g n e t­ w o r k s . A t H a r v e y /M a r t in M arietta our in te ra c tiv e system connected T he D alles, O regon plant w ith d ocks in P o rtlan d , m anufacturing facilities in T o r­ ran ce, C alif., a c e n tra l c o m ­ p u ter in the sam e p lace, m ore docks in San D iego, and b a u x ­ ite m ines in the W est Indies and A frica. It was this intensive on-the- job experience that enabled me, in 1966, to sim ulate this in ter­ n a tio n a l IN F O R M A T IO N H IG H W A Y w ith o n -o n -lin e equipm ent right in a ju n io r high school classroom of T he D alles School D istrict — a N ational Science Foundation aw ard-w in­ ning presentation. So, you see, this so called new “ Inform ation H ighw ay” is not a “new ” thing at all. It is ju st faste r and m ore efficient w ith the new 'c h ip s ’ sw itches and w ires — “nothing but the nam e o f the g am e,” and I know the gam e real well. T h o se fa m ilia r w ith th is scene w ill understand my state­ m ent about already utilizing su ­ perhighw ay techniques; sort of “hitchhiking” until I decide on a com puter, with a tw o-line phone service, More Mileage On That Information Superhighway P r o f , M ckinley B urt W ell, th e re is good new s and bad new s. F irst, th ere has been a g o o d resp o n se to the series on w here this new e le c ­ tronic w o rld o f in teractiv e se r­ vices and v id eo en tertainm ent is tak in g us. S e c o n d ly , it is ap­ p a re n t th at a n u m b er o f readers are e x tre m e ly e n th u sia stic , but h a v e n ’t th o u g h t things all the way th ro u g h — so I had better g et on w ith it. C a u tio n and a b it o f re ­ search are n eeded before you rush out to buy e q u ip m e n t (ea s­ ily a v a ila b le ), o r ch an g e your life sty le /jo b . It is alm ost c e r­ tain th at you h av e seen these glo w in g a cco u n ts on the tube, w here com pany em ployees no lo n g e r h a v e to b u c k tra ffic m ornings and e v e n in g s, but per­ form the ir c leric al tasks as h ome on th eir p e rso n a l com puter; all h ap p ily sa v in g g as, rep airs and ch ild care expense. L o cally , we have seen em p lo y ees in Port­ land co m p an ies hap p ily com ­ pletin g th e ir sh ifts in an idyllic settin g in B end, O regon, next d o o r to su p erb sk iin g o r tro u t fishing. B efore you becom e giddy co n tem p latin g how the In d u s­ tria l R ev o lu tio n has rev ersed its e lf and is going to p ro v id e us all w ith a new , but jo y o u s v e r­ s io n o f “ C o tta g e I n d u s t r y ” (T h at was a long tim e ago w hen big city m an u factu rers u sed to d e liv e r raw m aterials and sm all p a rts to th e h o m es o f low - sk illed , p o o rly -ed u cated rural folk. T hey w ere paid “ p iece w o rk ” to assem ble, sew o r fa b ­ ric a te item s w hich the com pany by Garlington Award Recipient Continued from Metro ▲ S .E .I. Ja c k e t. T h is y o u n g lady has had p e rfe c t a tte n ­ d a n c e fo r th e past tw o years. She w ill attend B enson in the fall in th eir T ech n ical P ro ­ gram . I p re se n t to you th e first G arlin g to n A w ard R ecipient fo r th e y ear 1994, Joy Lisa Kelly Joy L isa K elly w ould like to th an k M r. A llen her S.E .I. te a c h e r and the S.E .I. fam ily a n d h e r t e a c h e r s M rs . M c A rth u r and M rs. Ellenz fro m W h ita k e r M id d le School. S he a tten d s E m m anuel T em p le F all G ospel P en te­ c o sta l C hurch. B ishop AA W ells P a sto r, p arents E lder L aw ren ce K elly , and M in. R o setta K elly. Joy Lisa has two sisters Janice Stephens, and Christina Kelly, and a loving nephew Ja Quante Stephens, godparents Elder Perry Palm er and Evang Mandel Palmer. Joy would like to give special thanks to her aunt Lonnie Jenkins. w ould collect each w eek. Even w om en and sm all children were c a u g h t up in th e m iserable sy s­ tem o f ex p lo ita tio n and terrible w orking co nditions.) T o d ay , th ere is a grow ing co n cern about tech n o lo g ical in­ e q u itie s already ap p earin g on the In fo rm atio n H ighw ay. S ev­ e ral co ngressm en are extrem ely co n c ern e d ab o u t “ the poor, the w eak and the unw ary w ho can be s w a llo w e d up on c y b e r s p a c e . ” O n e s e n a to r sp eak s o f an e x tre m e w here “ w e ll-h e a le d e x e c u tiv e s tap aw ay on th e ir c o m p u te rs at poolside, w hile m illions m ore to il aw ay at hom e i n ' electronic sw eat s h o p s ’ — w orking in iso ­ latio n at c o m p u te r term in als at low w ages and w ith N O B E N ­ E FIT S (L ike T em porary S e r­ vices). O th ers a re c o n cern ed about E L E C T R O N IC R E D -LIN IN G ! T he g ian ts o f this new su p er­ in d u stry are alread y busy w ir- ing up the natio n for new and so p h isticated additions to the In fo rm a tio n S uperhighw ay — w ill the affluent suburbs (w hich can be b illed at higher rates) be severed first and better, w hile th e p oor and ethnic urban areas w ill be ignored o r charged the sam e for poorer service? In this respect, I have w rit­ ten here before about the d if­ ference in “ju n k m ail” betw een L ake O sw ego and the N o rth ­ e a st innercity. I have alw ays had friends in the suburbs who h av e forw arded me the “ real in fo rm a tio n ” on services, sales, business opportunities, go v ern ­ m ental operations and the like. T h e 'p o w e r s - th a t- b e ” d o n ’t w aste their tim e and m oney on 'p o o r ’ cen su s tracts. T h ese are the realities o f th is “ new age,” and why I b e ­ gan this series last w eek talking ab o u t the real-tim e, ec o n o m i­ cally advantageous applications o f th is new art — n ot about th e heating oils Best Cash Prices 104 NE Russel Portland, OR 97212 282-5111 Speedy Service Friendly Call for Quote SHMUDON'S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE 2731 N. KILLINGSWORTH & A GREELEY 285-4144 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 11:00 AM TO 2:00 AM THIS AD GOOD FOR 2 DINNERS FOR $10.75 AD MUST ACCOMPANY ORDER GOOD THROUGH JULY 31,1994 OUR DINING AREA IS SMOKE FREE WE OFFER DISCOUNTS TO SENIOR CITIZENS HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE ONE COUPON PER CUSTOMER EARM RAISED CATFISH, CRAB CAKES PRAWN EE TTUCINNI, CLAM STEAKS ALSO FEATURING LIVE BLUES MUSIC FRI-SUN 9:30PM TO 2:00AM JUNE JUNE JUNE JUNE JUNE JUNE JUNE JUNE JUNE JUNE JUNE JUNE JUNE JUNE 3,4........STAPLE BROTHERS 3,4....... 5 ........... ZACHARIOS & THE BLUE DEVILS 5........... 6 ...........MICHAEL COOPER 6........... 10.........NORMAN SYLVESTER 10 11,12 ... KITA & THE FAMILY JEW ELS 11,12... 13 .........ZACHARIOS & THE BLUE DEVILS 13......... 14 .........LLOYD ALLEN BAND 14........ 17,18... SOUL SYNDICATE 19,20... .. LLOYD ALLEN BAND 21.........ZACHARIOS & THE BLUE DEVILS 21......... 24 .........NORMAN SYLVESTER 24......... 25 .........KITA & THE FAMILY JEWELS 25......... 26,27... MICHAEL COOPER 28......... fa x m a c h in e , m o d e m a n d prin ter, there is m ore in fo rm a­ tion to be retrieved from around the w orld than one person can possibly sort analyze and file in a reaso n ab le tim e. W ith the phone co m p an y ’s com puterized answ ering service on one o f the lines, I have a very functional 24 hr. loop w ith contacts in B eaverton and H illsboro. T h ese friends and fellow m em bers o f the ‘ A ssociated O r­ egon In d u strie s’ group are co­ o perating by interacting with lib raries and netw orks I ’m not yet equipped to deal w ith di­ rectly , then forw arding th at in­ fo rm ation to me. This relatio n ­ ship cam e ab o u t as a resu lt o f a p resen tatio n I m ade to an in­ d u stry group. T hose 40 and under w ere astounded by my sc en a rio o f a 30-year-old “ In ­ fo rm a tio n H ig h w a y ” — and above all, my role in it. Richard M. en tertainm ent and in teractiv e gam es and gossip vistas that lie ahead in u n interrupted sp le n ­ dor; w e ’ll get to that next w eek as w ell as the bib lio g rap h y I prom ised. If you m issed the first ar­ tic le , be sure to get a copy as y o u ’ll b e tte r u n d e rsta n d th e d e scrip tio n o f the fo llo w in g netw orking I ’m d o in g . Just w ith my present eq uipm ent and not yet installing new acquisition, I ’m doing w ide-area interactive presentations to tens-of-thou- sands of people at a w hack in sev eral m ajor urban c e n te rs, (from my living room office) KYOK in H ouston, T exas, and other talk show s in A tlanta and D .C. I h av e som e sharp siste rs, experienced in m arketing who are fast developing this vehicle for m arketing my public ap ­ p e a ra n c e s , p u b lic a tio n s and m erchandise for A frican T e c h ­ n o lo g y : E le c tro n ic B a se lin e Essay going nationw ide. 7». ■• •• * > ,î. •>•7. B '- • .. 7»«. »-4 ? ¿•I. !;t - 4 ■ ■ •;t, • \ t > - .Z. ■ *.* s •'••VV':...? P.tr-.v •- ■e.;- * s '. . - ; ) . - • • 4 i T- ■ »• • • » » » ' • G a ry L ow e (left) a n d Terry L o w e p la y th e d ru m s to b a c k up stu de nt sin g e rs in a p a rk g a th e rin g to o ffe r yo u th a lte rn a tiv e s to g a n g and d ru gs invo lvem en t. See s to ry a n d re la te d p ho to, M e tro Page. abric THE LARGEST, M0STC0MPL TAIL FABRIC STORE IN THE WEST. JUNE 21, THROUGH JULY 5 ,1 9 9 4 DUE TO A GREAT RESPONSE AND BY POPULAR REQUEST, WE ARE EXTENDING THIS SALE FOR TWO MORE WEEKS. NAACP Prison Reform Program The Attica riots provided a so­ bering reminder that “correctional institutions: do not cure criminals but only embitter and destroy the people they are meant to help. Ameri­ can prisons are perhaps the major breeder of crime; two-thirds of those committed return. Another sad fact is that black prison populations are considerably larger than in the gen­ eral population. The NAACP has launched a program to provide assis­ tance to inmates and exinmates. Prison branches have been estab­ lished to give hope and to encourage inmates to participate in the educa­ tion and training programs provided Oregon NAACP branches are plan­ ning to implement this program in partnership with the Oregon Dcpart- . . z • • • • Visit Director Of Prison Programs The Portland Branch office of the NAACP will hold the second of two community meetings designed to address the alleged racism and dis­ crimination within the Oregon De­ partment of Corrections. The meet­ ing is Saturday, June 25, 1994,4:00pm at Bethel A.M.E. Church, 5828 NE 8th Avenue. Mr. LeRoy Mobley, National NAACP Director of Prison Projects will be the guest speaker at this public forum. The NAACP is working with the Oregon Department of Correc­ tions to have on-site NAACP offices at Correction facility for the NAACP Prison Reform Program. Butrick, the president of our orga­ nization, is a chief executive with U .S. W est, form erly “ Pacific Northwest Bell,” a prime partici­ pant in the original award-winning demonstration. They w ere even m ore as­ tounded to learn that, in 1969, the Portland School D istrict had refused even to discuss with me a contract to install on-line com ­ puterized inform ation highways in e le m e n ta ry sc h o o l c la s s ­ room s. T his though I had a n a ­ tio n ally acclaim ed track record — and a $50,000 plant on S.E. 24th and B elm ont w ith the lat­ e s t IB M a n d r e p r o d u c tio n equipm ent. A stonishm ent has turned into cooperation tow ard getting som e m odem system s into the “ p ro g ressiv e” districts. N e x t w e e k : U s in g th e In tern et, a bibliography, using th e S u p e rh ig h w a y to c re a te jobs. • . . LIMITED TO STOCK ON HAND. DOES NOT APPLY TO INTERFACING 4 0 % DISCOUNT DOES NOT APPLY TO SPECIAL PURCHASES OR PREVIOUSLY DISCOUNTED OR MARKED-DOWN ITEMS BE SURE TO CHECK OUR STORE FOR "MANAGER’S SPECIALS" Discounts do not apph Io special purchase or previous!* discounted or marked down items h 21 thru “ ' Rl I Ml HOI Rs \1< v\ I Kl " t," • 't*'|’ M \l IW !"•« if W I IO I IN U I HOI R \ S '• t Prices p x x i lim e 21 through Julv ' RETAIL-WHOLESALE Plenty o f FREE PARKING CARS • BUSES • RVs 700 S.E. 122nd Ave. Portland, OR 252-9530 I