European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 09, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Doil Magazine a giant electronic blackboard in the Eky by Brian Sullivan associated press hink of it As one giant electronic blackboard in the sky with scientists from All Over the coun try working on it whenever they want  blackboard is a new computer system called computerized conferencing an alternative to the use of paper itself designed to break Down the barriers of time and distance. An experimental program of this kind involving 221 individuals in 33 groups of investigators is just going into operation at the new Jersey Institute of technology in Newark. It is aimed at providing new forms of communication in science and technology but similar systems May some Day reach right into your living room. This system employs terminals around the country tied to a centralized computer system at nit by Ordi nary Telephone. U allows scientists to Send messages to each other. It gives each member his or her own note  it replaces face to face Contact at expensive and time consuming conventions. And it can even provide a Coffee break with scientists sitting around their computer terminals telling jokes. Beyond All this the people directing the project say that computerized conferencing despite its formidable name will have More common everyday uses in the future. All that is needed for that to happen is for the Price to come Down As equipment is mass produced just As the Price of pocket electronic calculators came Down. This big Public blackboard could be used for wide spread education programs to provide recreation help lobbying groups get together hold town  such applications of computerized conferencing systems would be Likely to Lead to widespread changes in work patterns and lifestyles says or. Starr Roxanne Hiltz of Upsala College who is working with or. Murray Turoff a computer scientist and designer of the  is no reason Why one s terminal and thus place of work has to be separate in time and space from one s place of living or Leisure. Wherever there s a Telephone you can plug into your computer and your conferences and go to work whenever it suits you. This is especially important for women or. Hiltz says to facilitate time budgeting Between family and career. If you can work in your own Home whenever t suits you. There won t be those minor crises that mate u so difficult for the Parent responsible for child care such As what to do when the baby Sitter does t come or if your school age child is sick. One will be Able to stay Home near the children and wok. Overall computer conferencing will mean More substitution of communication for transportation for All while Collar workers. Men. As Well As  be Able to opt for work in their Homes or neighbourhood centers much of the time instead of commuting daily to Central do this would Cut Down on use of the automobile Wiki. The attendant Energy and Poh Utton problems tic auses and on the suburban sprawl which grows out of the Neces sity for the expanding Middle class to live within Dally commuting distance of downtown office  the immediate future however the system will provide More efficient scientific communication it is built with the idea of the invisible College in mind in i groupings of scientists whose interests transcend i universities and link them with scientists in the tem is economically competitive with the Tele one and . Conference a running series of Short papers and discussions on a specific topic. The computer replaces a three hour or three Day seminar. Or the computer conference could run on for weeks or months with members signing in and contributing when they choose. The computer keeps order. When do you want to begin it asks. The researcher can ask for All contributions since he was last on line or ask for a particular per son s remarks or ask for everything from a certain Date. There also is a human Moderator to control membership and discussion. Socially you can participate More evenly Hinitz says. No one can get the floor and shout Down the slower thinkers or  the other hand this impersonality can have obvious disadvantages. The social and emotional aspects of face to face meeting will be absent. A person is Likely to feel a bit like a robot after several hours alone in a room talk ing to a machine says or. Hiltz. Part of the Experiment is to try to build in humanizing factors. The notebook. Right now each participant has space for his or her personal use. For composing scientific papers for example. It s the private space of the individual but you can authorize any others to read five pages of it says Turoff. Instead of Xerox ing it and mailing it out they just get it. Also you can open it up for co authors. You can work together without being  the bulletin or journal. When an article is ready the author notifies the human editor who sends the Arti Cle to referees for evaluation. The paper could be published on the computer the next week or even the next Day on the screen or As a print out. This takes months now. A traditional hard copy journal could be produced every few months. There Are other features pea name. When discussing someone else s paper. For example you can use a pen name for anonymity. This is to encourage critical or controversial ideas and com  Zelog. Hal. Whose name is from the computer in the movie space Odyssey. 2001," is a microprocessor a sort of computer within a computer. Hal acts As a member of the conference and is being programmed to perform a number of services such As talking to other computers by dealing them to get certain desired info  break. Also called Grafitti. The computer conference is terribly task oriented it can be frustrate  says or. Hiltz. People need a release. A joke clears  the experimental program at Newark is to last for three to five years during which the program will Combine both theory and experimentation. One group working on current problems. Is interested in the uses of such systems in models of the National Economy. The system is in the Institute s computer conferencing and communications Center which says the current Esti mated costs of the eyes is Only $8 an hour for each use for nationwide communications cheaper than a Long Dis Tance phone Call. For 800 or More users that would drop to under $5. And the Cost of a terminal should drop to $300 to $600 by 1980 and will then begin to open up the possibility of widespread Home terminals and possibilities for working at Home a significant percentage of the  Turoff  current problem in scientific and technical communication with eyes is the inability to Deal with graphic information necessary for such things As engineering or construction projects. There also is the problem of privacy in the future of unauthorized monitoring of communications by someone else s Hal. The Legal and regulatory considerations Are enormous says  Are the economic considerations. The major eco nomic Impact of these systems will Likely fall on the publications  Turoff says. Whether they will Lead the Way or be brought in kicking and screaming remains to be  memos ble colleges communicate lot now a Telephone mail journals at meetings. The new computer system called eyes or  for e dec tronic information Exchange system b  for this the new system supported by the National science foundation has four major features a message system. Any one member can Send a Mes same to any other or All. The message can be informal of Tempo Ary and disappears from the system a week Tate a message will wait for the recipient to sign inon the system at his or her Leisure. The message or. Starr r. Hiltz transmits her work to a centralized computer while at her poolside  thursday june 9, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 13