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n-1-4-090.02a
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N-1-4-090.02, "The Network Services Conference, Pisa, Italy, 3-5 Nov.
1992", by Daniel Pimienta <pimienta!daniel@redid.org.do>
This event was organized by EARN Europe, in conjunction with
EUnet/EurOpen, NORDUnet, RARE & RIPE. It is fully dedicated to
services and user oriented matters.
The event reflects a profound and historical evolution: facing the
slowing of growth and the emergence of national and regional
backbones, EARN has to face the challenge of a drastic switch, from a
network resource manager, into a user group association.
Participants felt the premises of the global library birth; thanks to
presentation and demos on World-Wide-Web, WAIS, Gopher, Archie, Alex
or Prospero; and on the Hyper-G, Soft Pages and PegUn projects
(freewares aiming, in different fashions and perspectives, to hide the
network complexity, while giving a unique interface access to various
sources of data spread within the Matrix).
Heavy-weight software or LAN makers (MicroSoft, Lotus, Novell)
demonstrated they start taking seriously the e-mail mass market by
investing in multi-platforms interfaces and by trying to standardize
application interfaces.
PC based network interfaces freeware are coming into the picture,
trying to open an easy network access for casual users, home users,
travelling users, and dispersed teams. MULBRI from Union Latina,
Trilla from Hungary, the GUI mail from Israel, were presented and
demonstrated; other proposals were discussed during the demos.
Pisa conference gave an idea of what may happen next in networking:
- Relieved of the OSI compliance main focus, RARE is able to
show its abilities in user group and electronic library
management.
- The new global library tools will provide for large increase
in bandwidth consumption, thus justifying the fat pipes.
Will the research and academic networks be able to maintain there
specificities (and tariff advantages) while the e-mail commercial
market is expanding? Will they get blurred into the global commercial
offerings?
The answer is no more exclusive to data communication specialists: the
time is coming for information specialists (librarians) to take the
lead and preserve the research networks advance.
Meanwhile, the third world countries are still in the previous phase,
trying to generalize e-mail usage and looking for solutions to face
telecommunication costs. The new global information tools, even
though required, could become a headache for their network managers
who are still struggling to dispose of enough bandwidth to satisfy
national e-mail requirements. Furthermore, the possible evolution
into toll research networks represents an unacceptable menace for the
researchers from the South who would feel an injustice to pay for what
their industrial countries colleagues had free for more than 10
years...
*Science Advisor, REDALC Project Director, Asesor Cientifico Union
Latina