Today's visionaries understand emerging networked businesses and the new culture they empower
Raphael Needleman
When this magazine was founded nearly 20 years ago, computer users were pioneers. We took off for the open spaces of the new technologic frontier, driven by the vision of wide-open adventure and the inkling that there was a better life out there.
We had to build our own tools--there were no towns, no roads. We had to invent the infrastructure as we went along. And we had to dig deep into the dirt to eke out the barest technological existence, programming Mits Altair machines through front-panel interfaces, soldering our own circuit boards for basic I/O functions.
In those days, BYTE was the journal of the frontier. We told you how to program in assembly, how to install components,
how to solder together a processor board. Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar was one of the most popular series of articles we ever ran.
But we don't live at the fringes of society anymore. We're not wiring robots together in our basements these days. And there are entire industries now alive and thriving on what was once the remotest outpost of civilization. Finally, it's cool to be a nerd.
Does this signify the end of an era? Have we all gone, heaven forbid,
mainstream
? Worse, is computer technology finally boring?
No way. Ask anybody who once saw the future on a chip. They will tell you, yes, the frontier spirit is alive and well. It's just that, today, the new world is made up of communications protocols, on-line business offerings, internetworked information, and new ways for people to share ideas. Exploring technology was once a solitary venture--best embodied by the task of building a personal computer--but today it is a way to explore, and perhaps help design, new forms of social
interaction.
That is why, in this issue, we're thrilled to launch a new feature called "The BYTE Network Project," authored by our very own Jon Udell (recently promoted to executive editor of new media, by the way). Each month, the "Network Project" will explore and explain the technologies and products necessary to develop an Internet presence. We're basing this feature on BYTE's own need: To develop a WWW (World Wide Web) home page that provides additional information beyond those articles that appear in our magazine each month.
The "Network Project" starts small: We try out a bunch of different ways to connect our PCs to the Internet and to launch a rudimentary home page. Of course, there's a lot more to building a networked business than just posting a bunch of stuff on the Net. In future issues, we'll be exploring tools that automatically format our existing content for on-line publishing, products that let us collect data from our readers, and methods to connect you to the most up-to-date
information about the products we cover in the magazine. If we find electronic cash technology robust enough, we will also explore tools to let you process your subscription through the Internet. Truth be told, the technology to get a business on-line is not that complicated. However, the thinking behind it is. Our business (publishing) has been based on nearly the same business model for countless years. What happens to the business when we throw the Internet into the mix? Can we--can you--manage the transition to this new frontier?
To clarify the issues you need to address when you think about your growing Internet business, we've put together a Special Report (see "The Greatest Show on Earth") that covers the 10 most contentious and interesting factors facing Internet users. Among them: the current blend of incompatible security protocols, the lack of decent Internet search tools, and the looming hulk of Microsoft, now poised to put every single Windows user on-line. We may think that the Internet l
and-rush is now in full swing, but in reality it's barely begun.
"The BYTE Network Project" may never be done--we'll continue to expand our system as new technologies emerge and as we figure out better ways to exploit the capabilities of the Net. Maybe we'll build a video-conferencing network. Or maybe, in a few years, you'll find us down in our cellar again, soldering together the machines that will carry the next explorers into the wild West.
Raphael Needleman, Editor in Chief, (
rafe@bix.com
)
The Future Is on the Line
