Chapter 8
It is interesting to see that the electronic book mimics the traditional book as much as possible except that the paper page is replaced by a screen. I can see that the electronic book will replace some of the present paper products but not all of them. I also hope that electronic books will be waterproof so that I can continue reading in the bath.
= What do you suggest to give blind and partially-sighted people easier access to the Web?
I predict an increase in the use of sounds, where blind and partially-sighted people will be able to hear the text of web sites using loudspeakers or earphones.
= What is your definition of cyberspace?
Cyberspace is that area "out there" which is on the other end of my PC when I connect to the Internet. Any ISP (Internet service provider) or web page provider is in cyberspace as far as his users or customers are concerned.
= And your definition of the information society?
The information society is the society where the most valued product is information. Up to the 20th century, manufactured goods were the most valued products. They have been replaced by information. In fact, people are now talking of the knowledge society where the most valuable economic product is the knowledge inside our heads.
HENRI SLETTENHAAR (Geneva)
#Professor in communication technology at Webster University
Henri Slettenhaar has extensive knowledge of communication technology. He joined the European Center for Particle Research (CERN) in 1958 to work with the first digital computer and was involved in the development of CERN's first digital networks. His US experience began in 1966 when he joined a team at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) for 18 months to build a film digitizer. Returning to SLAC in 1983, he designed a digital monitoring system, which was used for more than 10 years. For nearly twenty years now he has been teaching information technology at Webster University, Geneva. He is the head of the Telecom Management Program created in Fall 2000. He is also a consultant for numerous organizations.
In 1992, Henri Slettenhaar founded the (Swiss) Silicon Valley Association (SVA) and, since then, has been constantly networking between Switzerland and California, taking study groups to Silicon Valley. These study tours include visits to outstanding companies, start-up, research centers and universities in the Silicon Valley and in other high-technology areas such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Finland, etc., with the aim of exploring new developments in information technology such as the Internet, multimedia, and telecommunications. Participants have the opportunity to learn about state-of-the-art research and development, strategies and business ventures through presentations and discussions, product demonstrations and site tours.
*Interview of December 21, 1998
= How did using the Internet change your professional life?
I can't imagine my professional life without the Internet. Most of my communication is now via e-mail. I've been using email for the last 20 years, most of that time to keep in touch with colleagues in a very narrow field. Since the explosion of the Internet, and especially the invention of the Web, I communicate mainly by e-mail. Most of my presentations are now on the Web and the courses I teach are all web-extended. All the details of my Silicon Valley Tours are on the Web. Without the Internet we wouldn't be able to function. And I use the Internet is as a giant database. I can find information today with the click of a mouse.
= How do you see the future?
I think I'll be relying more and more on it for information and activities related to my work. As for languages, I'm delighted there are so many offerings in the original language now. I much prefer to read the original with difficulty than getting a bad translation.
= How do you see the growth of a multilingual Web?
I see multilingualism as a very important issue. Local communities that are on the Web should principally use the local language for their information. If they want to present it to the world community as well, it should be in English too. I see a real need for bilingual websites.
*Interview of August 23, 1999
= What do you think of the debate about copyright on the Web?
It is an important issue and will be solved like in the past with all new technologies.
= How do you see the growth of a multilingual Web?
There are two main categories on the Web in my opinion. The first one is the global outreach for business and information. Here the language is definitely English first, with local versions where appropriate. The second one is local information of all kinds in the most remote places. If the information is meant for people of an ethnic and/or language group, it should be in that language first with perhaps a summary in English. We have seen lately how important these local websites are -- in Kosovo and Turkey, to mention just the most recent ones. People were able to get information about their relatives through these sites.
= What is your best experience with the Internet?
Getting pictures directly from space (Jupiter).
= And your worst experience?
Information overload. I get too much and I do not have the tools yet to get only what I want.
*Interview of August 30, 2000
= What has happened since our last interview?
The explosion of mobile technology. The mobile phone has become for many people, including me, the personal communicator which allows you to be anywhere anytime and still be reachable. But the mobile Internet is still a dream. The new services on mobile (GSM) phones are extremely primitive and expensive (WAP = Wait and Pay). See my article about Finland (in French).
= How do you see the growth of a multilingual Web?
Multilingualism has expanded greatly. Many e-commerce websites are multilingual now and there are companies that sell products which make localization possible (adaptation of websites to national markets).
= What do you think about e-books?
I have a hard time believing people would want to read from a screen. I much prefer myself to read and touch a real book.
= What is your definition of cyberspace?
Our virtual space. The area of digital information (bits, not atoms). It is a limited space when you think of the spectrum. It has to be administered well so all the earth's people can use it and benefit from it (eliminate the digital divide).
= And your definition of the information society?
The people who already use cyberspace in their daily lives to such an extent that it is hard to imagine living without it (the other side of the divide).
*Interview of July 8, 2001
= What has happened since our last interview?
All I can come up with is the tremendous change I am experiencing with having a "broadband" connection at home. To be connected at all times is so completelely different from dial-up.
I now receive e-mail as soon as it arrives, I can listen to my favorite radio stations wherever they are. I can listen to the news when I want to. Get the music I like all the time.
Today for instance, I heared the comments and saw the score board of Wimbledon tennis in real time. The only thing which is missing is good quality real time video. The bandwidth is too low for that.
I now have a wired and a wireless LAN (local area network) in my home. I can use my laptop anywhere in the house and outside, even at the neighbors and still being connected. With the same technology I am now able to use my wireless LAN card in my computer when I travel. For instance during my recent visit to Stockholm there was connectivity in the Hotel, the Conference center, the airport and even in the Irish Pub!
MURRAY SUID (Palo Alto, California)
#Writer, works for EDVantage Software, an Internet company specialized in educational software
Murray Suid lives in Palo Alto (California), in the heart of the Silicon Valley. He writes educational books (e.g., Ten-Minute Grammar Grabbers), books for kids (e.g., The Kids' How to Do Almost Everything Guide), multimedia scripts (e.g., The Writing Trek), and screenplays (e.g., Summer of the Flying Saucer -- to be produced by Magma Films, Ireland).
*Interview of September 7, 1998
= How did using the Internet change your professional life?
Professionally, the Internet has become my major research tool, largely -- but not entirely -- replacing the traditional library and even replacing person-to-person research. Now, instead of phoning people or interviewing them face to face, I do it via e-mail. Because of speed, it has also enabled me to collaborate with people at a distance, particularly on screenplays. (I've worked with two producers in Germany.) Also, digital correspondence is so easy to store and organize, I find that I have easy access to information exchanged this way. Thus, e-mailing facilitates keeping track of ideas and materials.
The Internet has increased my correspondence dramatically. Like most people, I find that e-mail works better than snail mail. My geographic range of correspondents has also increased -- extending mainly to Europe. In the old days, I hardly ever did transatlantic pen-palling. I also find that e-mailing is so easy, I am able to find more time to assist other writers with their work -- a kind of a virtual writing group. This isn't merely altruistic. I gain a lot when I give feedback. But before the Internet, doing so was more of an effort.
= How do you see the relationship between the print media and the Internet?
For one thing, the Internet serves other print media. My recently published book, The Kids' How to Do (Almost) Everything Guide, would probably not have been done prior to the invention of e-mail because it would have cost too much in money/time to locate the experts. So the Internet is a powerful research tool for writers of books, articles, etc.
Also, in a time of great change, many "facts" don't stay factual for long. In other words, many books go quickly out of date. But if a book can be web extended (living partly in cyberspace), then an author can easily update and correct it, whereas otherwise the author would have to wait a long time for the next edition, if indeed a next edition ever came out.
Also, in terms of marketing, the Web seems crucial, especially for small publishers that can't afford to place ads in major magazines and on the radio. Although large companies continue to have an advantage, in cyberspace small publishers can put up very competitive marketing efforts.
We think that paper books will be around for a while, because using them is habitual. Many readers like the feel of paper, and the heft of a book held in the hands or carried in a purse or backpack. I haven't yet used a digital book, and I think I might prefer one -- because of ease of search, because of color, because of sound, etc. Obviously, multimedia books can be easily downloaded from the Web, and such books probably will dominate publishing in the future. Not yet though.
= How do you see the future?
I'm not very state-of-the-art so I'm not sure. I would like to have direct access to text -- digitally read books in the Library of Congress, for example, just as now I can read back issues of many newspapers. Currently, while I can find out about books on-line, I need to get the books into my hands to use them. I would rather access them on-line and copy sections that I need for my work, whereas today I either have to photocopy relevant pages, or scan them in, etc.
I expect that soon I will use the Internet for video telephoning, and that will be a happy development.
I do not know if I will publish books on the Web -- as opposed to publishing paper books. Probably that will happen when books become multimedia. (I currently am helping develop multimedia learning materials, and it's a form of teaching that I like a lot -- blending text, movies, audio, graphics, and -- when possible -- interactivity).
*Interview of August 3, 1999
= What has happened since our 1998 interview?
In addition to "web extending" books, we are now web-extending our multimedia (CD-ROM) products -- to update and enrich them.
= What do you think of the debate about copyright on the Web? What practical solutions do you have?
The secret, I think, is to create information packages that cannot be economically stolen. In other words, the product being sold needs to have more value than a copy. For example, it's currently easier and cheaper for someone to buy one of our books than to photocopy a book -- in its entirety. So we try to design our books in a way that makes all the pages valuable, and not just a few pages.
We would like to sell our books online -- in PDF format -- but have not investigated ways to keep buyers from re-distributing the files. Maybe this is possible through encryption. But we don't know how to do it.
= What is your best experience with the Internet?
Meeting experts and authors who have contributed to our publishing ventures.
= And your worst experience?
Being insulted by a stranger -- someone who assumed that I was bad without knowing anything about me.
*Interview of October 10, 2000
= What has happened since our last interview?
Our company -- EDVantage Software -- has become an Internet company instead of a multimedia (CD-ROM) company. We deliver educational material online to students and teachers.
= How much do you still work with paper?
Very little, though of course there are printouts, especially for meetings when we review manuscripts.
= Will there still be a place for paper in the future?
I hope not.
= What do you think about e-books?
I haven't used them.
= What is your definition of cyberspace?
Anywhere = Everywhere. The simplest example: My mailbox follows me wherever I go.
= And your definition of the information society?
A society in which ideas and knowledge are more important than things.
JUNE THOMPSON (Hull, UK)
#Manager of the C&IT (Communications & Information Technology) Centre at the University of Hull
Since its inception in 1989, the C&IT Centre has been based in the Language Institute at the University of Hull, United Kingdom, and aims to promote and encourage the use of computers in language learning and teaching. The Centre provides information on how computer assisted language learning (CALL) can be effectively integrated into existing courses and offers support for language lecturers who are using computers in their teaching (e.g. Internet Resources for Language Teachers and Learners).
Hosted by the C&IT Centre, EUROCALL is the European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning. This association of language teaching professionals from Europe and worldwide aims to: promote the use of foreign languages within Europe; provide a European focus for all aspects of the use of technology for language learning; and enhance the quality, dissemination and efficiency of CALL (computer assisted language learning) materials. EUROCALL supported the creation of WELL (Web Enhanced Language Learning), which offer high-quality Web resources in 12 languages, selected and described by subject experts, plus information and examples on how to use them for teaching and learning.
*Interview of December 14, 1998
= How did using the Internet change your professional life?
The use of the Internet has brought an enormous new dimension to our work of supporting language teachers in their use of technology in teaching.
= How do you see the growth of a multilingual Web?
The Internet has the potential to increase the use of foreign languages, and our organisation certainly opposes any trend towards the dominance of English as the language of the Internet. An interesting paper on this topic was delivered by Madanmohan Rao at the WorldCALL Conference in Melbourne, July 1998.
I suspect that for some time to come, the use of Internet-related activities for languages will continue to develop alongside other technology-related activities (e.g. use of CDROMs - not all institutions have enough networked hardware). In the future I can envisage use of Internet playing a much larger part, but only if such activities are pedagogy-driven. Our organisation is closely associated with the WELL project which devotes itself to these issues.
PAUL TREANOR (Netherlands)
#Created on his personal website a section on the future of languages in Europe
Created in 1996, this website is divided into six sections: Net/cyberspace ideology; geopolitics/nationalism; the future of Europe; urban theory/planning; liberalism and ethics; and academic issues. For legal reasons, some pages with a high risk of legal action are only located at the duplicate website. In this way, if the second website is closed down the first can continue operating.
Paul Treanor also writes articles for Telopolis, a German online magazine.
*Interview of August 18, 1998
= How do you see the growth of a multilingual Web?
You speak of the Web in the singular. As you may have read (on my website), I think "The Web" is a political, not a technological concept. A civilization is possible with extremely advanced computers, but no interconnection. The idea that there should be "one Web" comes from the liberal tradition of the single, open, preferably global market.
The Internet should simply be broken up in multiple Nets, and Europe should cut the links with the US and build a systematically incompatible net for Europe. (...) Remember that 15 years ago, everyone thought there would be one global TV station, CNN. Now there are French, German and Spanish global TV channels.
So the answer to your question is that the "one Web" will split up anyway -- probably into these four components:
1. An internal US/Canadian anglophone Net, with many of the original characteristics
2. Separate national Nets, with limited outside links
3. A new global Net specifically to link the nets of category 2
4. Possibly a specific EU Net
As you can see, this structure parallels the existing geopolitical structure. All telecommunications infrastructure has followed similar patterns. (...)
Current EU policy pretends to be neutral in this way, but in fact it is supporting the growth of English as a contact language in EU communications policy.
*Interview of July 25, 1999
= What has happened since our 1998 interview?
The nature of the Internet has changed dramatically in the last two years. It is no longer possible to speak of idealistic social or political effects: the Net is entirely commercialised. I find this entirely predictable. I have always described the Internet as a liberal structure, a market of information. It is logical that it is now commercialised.
It is often said the Internet is now like television. Certainly the content is determined by market forces and is increasingly split into very large sites with huge quantities of information. In some ways, these are like television channels, but the metaphor is not completely accurate.
= How do you see the growth of a multilingual Web?
The future multilingualism of the Net will be determined by market forces. At present there's no political will to enforce multilingualism. But it is in the commercial interest of the content providers to have material in local languages. At least in Europe. For small languages in Africa, there is no market potential.
= What is your best experience with the Internet?
I have no illusions about the Internet. I can't remember any positive exception to that.
= And your worst experience?
The worst thing I have seen on the Internet recently is the way thousands of people added the logo of the Belgrade radio B92 to their websites, without asking what it was and what politics it represented. In fact it was already broadcasting from NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) aircraft. The campaign shows how easy it is to manipulate the new media scene...
FRANCOIS VADROT (Paris)
#Founder, chairman and managing director of FTPress (French Touch Press), a cybermedia company
*Interview of May 20, 2000 (original interview in French)
= What is FTPress?
FTPress (French Touch Press) is a French cyberpress company. It has created the following websites:
-- www.ftpress.com, which describes the concept, products and structure of the media company, and gives very informal portraits of the team members.
-- www.internetactu.com, Internet Actu's website, which carries news about the Internet and new technology. It was launched on 9 September 1999 in its present form. It replaced LMB Actu (Le Micro Bulletin Actu - The Micro News Bulletin), published by the Information Systems Department (Délégation aux systèmes d'information (DSI)) at France's National Centre for Scientific Research (Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)).
-- www.pixelactu.com, Pixel Actu's website, giving news about digital pictures, set up on 31 January 2000.
-- www.esanteactu.com, eSanté Actu's website, with news about eHealth -- the interface between health (as seen by professionals) and the Internet -- launched on 16 May 2000.
- www.lafontaine.net, the website of Jean de la Fontaine (a 17th century French poet and writer, renowned for his Fables), containing all his works, as well as many drawings, pastiches and recordings. It also features a "Daily Fable".
- www.commissairetristan.com, the website of Superintendant Tristan's adventures (Les aventures du Commissaire Tristan), the first (free) online crime novel, co-produced by FTPress and AlloCiné and launched in mid-June 2000.
Many projects are planned in the next months.
= What exactly do you do professionally?
Very briefly, developing a company, FTPress, that specializes in the online press -- for the moment, that is, because things are moving so fast that it might not be doing that any more in a few months time. The idea of FTPress is to create professional media, each specialized in an economic area, such as health, cars, digital pictures, human resources and logistics. Each medium deals with the economic, technological, political and social aspects of a sector being changed by the arrival of new technology and the Internet. The first one was Internet Actu, set up at France's National Centre for Scientific Research in February 1996, followed by Pixel Actu (February 2000) and eSanté Actu (May 2000). We began with written products, but we're now focusing on multimedia, including TV programmes in the near future. FTPress also sets up media for outside customers.
= How do you see your professional future?
I see my professional future as a professional "here and now." If you'd asked me that two years ago, I would have said that through working with the Internet (as head of information systems at the CNRS) and writing things about the Internet (as editor of LMB Actu), I was dreaming of creating an Internet start-up. But I was wondering how to do that. If you'd asked me the question a year ago, I would have answered that I'd made the jump, was all set and had told my bosses I was leaving, to go off and create FTPress. I just didn't want to stay where I was any more. I was becoming bitter. I wanted to start my own company or else take a year's sabbatical to do nothing. Today, I'm fully involved in the firm. I feel I'm living some of the stories we read in the press about start-ups. It's hard to do physically because it's all growing so fast. So I see my future on the beach, without the Internet, relaxing with my wife ;-)
= What do you think of the debate about copyright on the Web? What practical suggestions do you have?