<Chapter 13> Special for Writers, Journalists, Publishers, and Printers
There is probably no industry for which information is so critical as for the media and publishing industries. Journalists who explore the networks will find that they use the tools described in the first part over and over to track down information, conduct prompt "interviews" by mail, and so on. Publishers will be interested in the electronic transmission of manuscripts (though writers soliciting publication will still want to send hardcopy—the equivalent in the electronic age of sending a self-addressed stamped envelope). Publishers will also be interested in sharing or developing free image processing software with other publishers, and transmitting graphics.
As the net develops, libraries research will more and more often involve internetworking. Searching for books is already easy by dial-up or over the Internet. In addition, the amount of information that is never circlulated on paper will increase. This is already the case in the scientific and technical community where printing is a luxury rather than a necessity. Given that a single 8 mm videotape can hold 500,000 pages of text, it is possible to hoard (and search) vast amounts of information that you can never possibly print out. Imagine what such technology will do in the hands of Government or any other bureaucracy. Finally, it is not hard to image the day when an editor will receive as many press releases by E-mail as through the postal service.
Internetworking technology allows virtually any business or individual to set up and run their own "wire service", providing information about their business or special interest to a select group of subscribers. This capability is completely analogous to Desk Top Publishing, which put low-end printing in the hands of any business or individual.
Journalists and other writers will not want to overlook the kaleidascopic mixture of technical discussion, product announcements, gossip, and general ranting on Usenet. Usenet already has more channels than a typcial satellite and is growing by ten channels a day or so. It is hard to find, but tucked in among the chit-chat and programs is the only up to the minute information on the Internetworked World. Certainly all writers of scientific or technical columns will want to tap this source of information.
<Chapter 14> Special for Elementary and High School Teachers
There are many special Internet services for Elementary and Secondary School teachers provided by the Government, mostly through the education offices of research laboratories. The best all around refernce for teachers is the NCSA Guide to the Internet, put out by the Education Office of the National Center for Supercompter Administration. A paper version is available from:
The network version is located at ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu. Unfortunately, it is available only in Microsoft Word format (requires binary transfer). If you are unable to use this format directly or convert to a format you can use, you will have to order the paper version.
The NCSA Guide covers all you need to know to connect to the Internet— both technical details and etiquette—as well as suggested projects to introduce children to the net. You will find out how to get information about the space program or how to access such programs as the Newton Bulletin Board Service for Science and Math. teachers at Argonne National Laboratory.
In addition, Usenet has a k12.* hierarchy which provides a gateway to the K12 network. Besides K12, there are several other regional networks specifically for teachers and students.