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 They have been replaced by information.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