Looking Back To Look Forward: Scientific American, 1991

Almost 20 years ago, Scientific American dedicated a special issue to Communications, Computers and Networks. The September issue of Current Cities, a technology watch e-newsletter edited by David F.W. Robison at the University of California Berkeley, advised readers to buy a copy:

Scientific American Special Issue on Communications, Computers and Networks 265(3) (September 1991). If you purchase a single issue of a magazine this year, this should be it. Filled with eleven articles by some of the biggest names in computer networking, this issue covers all bases and includes suggestions for further readings on the issues.

In addition, both Elliott Parker and Steve Cisler recommended the issue to members of the Public Access Computer Users Forum; and Willard McCarty highlighted three articles for the Humanist discussion group. EFF gave a copy to all of its members.

I’ve tracked down copies or abstracts of all but one of the articles.

1. Communications, Computers and Networks, Michael L. Dertouzos, MIT (abstract)
2. Networks, Vinton G. Cerf, President of the Coalition for National Research Initiatives (Google Books p 333; 2009 profile of Cerf in S.A.)
3. Networked Computing in the 1990s, Lawrence G. Tesler, Apple Computer (abstract)
4. The Computer for the 21st Century, Mark Weiser, head of the Computer Science Laboratory at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
5. Products and Services for Computer Networks, Nicholas P. Negroponte, MIT (abstract)
6. Computers, Networks and Work, Lee Sproull, Boston University, and Sara Kiesler, Carnegie Mellon University (Chapter 6 – Computers, Networks, and Work – PDF)
7. Computers, Networks and the Corporation (pdf), Thomas W. Malone and John F. Rockart, MIT
8. Computers, Networks and Education (pdf), Alan C. Kay, Apple Computer
9. Infrastructure for the Global Village, Al Gore, U.S. Senator and author of the High Performance Computing Act (abstract)
10. Common Law for the Electronic Frontier, Anne W. Branscomb (bio) of Harvard University
11. Civil Liberties In Cyberspace, Mitch Kapor, co-founder and president of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
12. Profile: Information Theorist David A. Huffman: Encoding the “Neatness” of Ones and Zeroes, Gary Stix

I’ll be adding some of these to my reading lists for COM546 and COM548.