THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, Wl
Business Day
©be JfrUr JJork Stmcs
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide data network will allow personal computer users to tap sources as large as the Library of Congress or receive their own personalized elec- tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth- er, have already demonstrated that searching vast computer data bases can be easier than consulting a card catalogue, and not nearly as difficult or expensive as computer searches are today. Computer users might read some Dickens more readily than they could check out David Copper- field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users with little computer skills will soon be able to search through several tera- bytes of information, or several tril- lion characters of text, in seconds. The Library of Congress, with 80 mil- lion items, contains an estimated 25 terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com- puter library has linked 150 universi- ties to 40 sources of information, ranging from National Institutes of Health data to corporate documents and Shakespeare's plays. New soft- ware allows users to browse or zero in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa- tion are standardized and perfected, industry executives and computer scientists say, thousands of new serv- ices, ranging from electronic newspa- pers to the computer equivalent of free public libraries, will blossom. "Everyone is realizing how impor- tant it is to get into the mass market for information," said Thomas Koulo- poulos, president of Delphi Consulting Group, a Boston market research firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts of computerized information has been the dream of many in the indus- try. But a lack of computing power, effective software and high-speed digital networks has stalled progess until recently.
If many of the technical problems are being solved, major business and political disputes remain. The re- searchers acknowledge that they must resolve several questions of pri- vacy and pricing before they can put the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like government documents, might be available free, but other services, in- cluding electronic newspapers, will ' be available only to those who pay. The industry has yet to settle on ways to protect and charge for intellectual property in a computer network where information can be copied in- stantly. But to encourage progress, the Thinking Machines Corporation, a Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer manufacturer, has made its software available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a nationwide computerized library system. His team's software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data highways, the two machines can function together although they may be thousands of miles apart.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Page
way computerized information is sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of the Lotus Development Corporation, predicts the growth of a new industry as significant as the personal com- puter business. Some companies, like Dow Jones & Company, that already provide computerized information over telephone lines have taken part in developing the new computer li- brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 1989, Thinking Machines enlisted the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com- puter Inc. and the KPMG Peat Mar- wick accounting and consulting firm to design the computer library, called Wide Area Information Servers, or WAIS (pronounced ways). The sys- tem permits computer users to quickly search through a huge vol- ume of information even if it is stored at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct searches by typing common English phrases instead of more complicated computer commands. While current systems like Dialog and Nexis re- quire users to specify precisely the information they want, the new sys- tem can respond to a user's infer- ences. It initially presents a sample list of documents. The user chooses one or several, and then a "relevance feedback" program presents other documents most like the ones select- ed.
"This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be
possible to search through millions of items in seconds.
get to the information you need, get- ting not too much and not loo little," said Esther Dyson, editor of Release 1.0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way services operate today, Ms. Dyson said. A computer user may need to call seven or eight separate data bases depending on the kind of infor- mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of Apple personal computers harness a network of Thinking Machines super- computers and smaller "server" computers to search data bases stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev- eral corporations and universities. Users can also read electronic mail, enter their corporate electronic li- braries and summon up a wide vari- ety of documents, newspapers and magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory'
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS system serves as a "corporate mem- ory," allowing employees to retrieve memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may not be working together can shai e ex- pertise.
"If someone did something in Los Angeles and I'm silting in San Fran- cisco, I may noi know about the work," said Robin Palmer, a senior manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over Ihe Interne!, a collection of 2,600 high- speed public and private computer networks. This Government-spon- 1 sored system of data highways is rap- idly being. improved and. turned to commercial uses.
The market for software that- al- lows the rapid retrieval of computer- ized lext is small but growing, ac- cording to industry analysis. In 1989, the United States had fewer than 60,000 users; by the next year, tolal sales were about $120 million. The Delphi Consulting Group expects ihe market to grow lo 160,000 users and $235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology is starting to spread from supercom- puters all the way down to personal computers," said Brewster Kahle, a Thinking Machines scientist who has led the WAIS experiment.
The WAIS system is built on a procedure for retrieving information developed by librarians who initially set out to computerize their card catalogues. The procedure — - known in the field as Z39.50 — now has the support of the Library of Congress, Apple, Sun Microsylems Inc., Next Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen- tral.
In ihe future, a special directory or'
Spreading Information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound, words or pictures.
Dectronic text libraries
Office network
Electronic card catalogue
§ource; Thinking Machines, Corpoo,^.
Home
"white pages" will keep an up-to-date list of all the separate sources on the network.
Apple has its' own electronic library project, borrowing its name, Rose- bud, from Ihe movie "Citizen Kane." The three-year-old project is based on the WAIS system, but adds features including the ability for a user lo de- velop a personalized electronic news- paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that let custom- ers specify the kinds of information and news they want to retrieve from the WAIS system every day. Re- searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech- nology Group said (hat in the future the necessary retrieval software might be a standard part of a comput- er's operating system.
They expect improvements in the Internet computer network logically lower Ihe cost of information
searches, promoting the introduction of many new services. The Govern- ment proposes lo expand and im- prove Internet by financing a Na- tional Research and Education Net- work, or NREN, that could extend a high-speed computer links into schools and communities across the country.
"With things like NREN, evertliing could change overnight," said Tim Oren, an Apple researcher.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1991
Business Day
SftciNrtugorkSnncsJ
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide data network will allow personal computer users to tap sources as large as the Library of Congress or receive their own personalized elec- tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth- er, have already demonstrated that searching vast computer data bases can be easier than consulting a card catalogue, and not nearly as difficult or expensive as computer searches are today. Computer users might read some Dickens more readily than they could check out David Copper- field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users with little computer skills will soon be able to search through several tera- bytes of information, or several tril- lion characters of text, in seconds. The Library of Congress, with 80 mil- lion items, contains an estimated 25 terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com- puter library has linked 150 universi- ties to 40 sources of information, ranging from National Institutes of Health data to corporate documents and Shakespeare's plays. New soft- ware allows users to browse or zero in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa- tion are standardized and perfected, industry executives and computer scientists say, thousands of new serv- ices, ranging from electronic newspa- pers to the computer equivalent of free public libraries, will blossom. "Everyone is realizing how impor- tant it is to get into the mass market for information," said Thomas Koulo- poulos, president of Delphi Consulting Group, a Boston market research firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts of computerized information has been the dream of many in the indus- try. But a lack of computing power, effective software and high-speed digital networks has stalled progess until recently.
If many of the technical problems are being solved, major business and political disputes remain. The re- searchers acknowledge that they must resolve several questions of pri- vacy and pricing before they can put the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like government documents, might be available free, but other services, in- cluding electronic newspapers, will be available only to those who pay. The industry has yet to settle on ways to protect and charge for intellectual property in a computer network where information can be copied in- stantly. But to encourage progress, the Thinking Machines Corporation, a Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer manufacturer, has made its software available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a nationwide computerized library system. His team's software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data highways, the two machines can function together although they may be thousands of miles apart.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Page
way computerized information is sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of the Lotus Development Corporation, predicts the growth of a new industry as significant as the personal com- puter business. Some companies, like Dow Jones & Company, that already provide computerized information over telephone lines have taken part in developing the new computer li- brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 1989, Thinking Machines enlisted the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com- puter Inc. and the KPMG Peat Mar- wick accounting and consulting firm to design the computer library, called Wide Area Information Servers, or WAIS (pronounced ways). The sys- tem permits computer users tu quickly search through a huge vol- ume of information even if it is stored at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct searches by typing common English phrases instead of more complicated computer commands. While current systems like Dialog and Nexis re- quire users to specify precisely the information they want, the new sys- tem can respond to a user's infer- ences. It initially presents a sample list of documents. The user chooses one or several, and then a "relevance feedback" program presents other documents most like the ones select- ed.
"This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be possible to search through millions of items in seconds.
get to the information you need, get- ting not too much and not too little,'-' said Esther Dyson, editor of Release 1.0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way services operate today, Ms. Dyson said. A computer user may need to call seven or eight separate data bases depending on the kind of infor- mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of Apple personal computers harness a network of Thinking Machines super- computers and smaller "server" computers to search data bases stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev- eral corporations and universities. Users can also read electronic mail, enter their corporate electronic li- braries and summon up a wide vari- ety of documents, newspapers and magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory'
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS system serves as a "corporate mem- ory," allowing employees to retrieve memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may not be working together can sliai e ex- pertise.
"If someone did something in Los Angeles and I'm sitting in San Fran- cisco, I may not know about the work," said Robin Palmer, a senior manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over the Internet, a collection of 2,600 high- speed public and private computer networks. This Government-spon- 1 sored system of data highways is rap- idly being, improved and . turned to commercial uses.
The market for software that- al- lows the rapid retrieval of computer- ized text is small but growing, ac- cording to industry analysts. In 1989, the United Stales had fewer than 60,000 users; by the next year, total sales were about $120 million. The Delphi Consulting Group expects the market to grow to 160,000 users and $235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology is starting to spread from supercom- puters all the way down to personal computers," said Brewster Kahle, a Thinking Machines scientist who has led the WAIS experiment. •
The WAIS system is built on a procedure for retrieving information developed by librarians who initially set out to computerize their card catalogues. The procedure — known in the field as Z39.50 — now has the support of the Library of Congress, Apple, Sun Microsytems Inc., Next Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen- tral.
In the future, a special directory op
Spreading Information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound, words or pictures.
Electronic text Ibrarle*
Office network
Electronic card catalogue
Source; Thinking Machines Cojpo/a.,
"white pages" will keep an up-to-date list of all the separate sources on the network.
Apple has its own electronic library prujeel, borrowing its name, Rose- bud, from the movie "Citizen Kane." The three-year-old project is based on the WAIS system, but adds features including the ability for a user lo de- velop a personalized electronic news- paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that let custom- ers specify the kinds of information and news they want to retrieve from the WAIS system every day. Re- searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech- nology Group said that in the future the necessary retrieval software might be a standard part of a comput- er's operating system.
They expect improvements in the Internet computer network lo greatly luwer the cost of information
searches, promoting the introduction of many new services. The Govern- ment proposes to expand and im- prove Internet by financing a Na- tional Research and Education Net- work, or NREN, that could extend a high-speed computer links into schools and communities across the country.
"With things like NREN, everthing could change overnight," said Tim Oren, an Apple researcher.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1991
Business Day
<EI)r Jfeur jjjork Simes
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide data network will allow personal computer users to tap sources as large as the Library of Congress or receive their own personalized elec- tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth- er, have already demonstrated that searching vast computer data bases can be easier than consulting a card catalogue, and not nearly as difficult or expensive as computer searches are today. Computer users might read some Dickens more readily than they could check out David Copper- field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users with little computer skills will soon be able to search through several tera- bytes of information, or several tril- lion characters of text, in seconds. The Library of Congress, with 80 mil- lion items, contains an estimated 25 terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com- puter library has linked 150 universi- ties to 40 sources of information, ranging from National Institutes of Health data to corporate documents and Shakespeare's plays. New soft- ware allows users to browse or zero in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa- tion are standardized and perfected, industry executives and computer scientists say, thousands of new serv- ices, ranging from electronic newspa- pers to the computer equivalent of free public libraries, will blossom. "Everyone is realizing how impor- tant it is to get into the mass market for information," said Thomas Koulo- poulos, president of Delphi Consulting Group, a Boston market research firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts of computerized information has been the dream of many in the indus- try. But a lack of computing power, effective software and high-speed digital networks has stalled progess until recently.
If many of the technical problems are being solved, major business and political disputes remain. The re- searchers acknowledge that they must resolve several questions of pri- vacy and pricing before they can put the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like government documents, might be available free, but other services, in- cluding electronic newspapers, will be available only to those who pay. The industry has yet to settle on ways to protect and charge for intellectual property in a computer network where information can be copied in- stantly. But to encourage progress, the Thinking Machines Corporation, a Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer manufacturer, has made its software available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a nationwide computerized library system. His team's software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data highways, the two machines can function together although they may be thousands of miles apart.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Puge
way computerized information is sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of the Lotus Development Corporation, predicts the growth of a new industry as significant as the personal com- puter business. Some companies, like Dow Jones & Company, that already provide computerized information over telephone lines have taken part in developing the new computer li- brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 1989, Thinking Machines enlisted the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com- puter inc. and the KPMG Peal Mar- wick accounting and consulting firm to design the computer library, called Wide Area Information Servers, or WaIS (pronounced ways). The sys- tem permits computer users tu quickly search through a huge vol- ume of information even if it is stored at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct searches by typing common English phrases instead of more complicated computer commands. While current systems like Dialog and Nexis re- quire users to specify precisely the information they wanl, the new sys- tem can respond to a user's infer: ences. It initially presents a sample list of documents. The user chooses one or several, and then a "relevance feedback" program presents other documents most like the ones select- ed.
"'This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be
possible to search through millions of iterns in seconds.
get to the information you need, get- ting not too much and not loo little," said Esther Dyson, editor of Release 1 .0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way services operate today, Ms. Dyson said. A computer user may need to call seven or eight separate data bases depending on the kind of infor- mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of Apple personal computers harness a network of Thinking Machines super- computers and smaller "server" computers to search data bases stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev- eral corporations and universities. Users can also read electronic mail, enter their corporate electronic li- braries and summon up a wide vari- ety of documents, newspapers and magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory'
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS system serves as a "corporate mem- ory," allowing employees lo retrieve memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may not be working together can shai e ex- pertise.
"If someone did something in Los Angeles and I'm sitting in San Fran- cisco, I may not know about the work," said Robin Palmer, a senior manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over the Internet, a collection of 2,600 high- speed public and private computer networks. This Government-spon- ' sored system of data highways is rap- idly being, improved and 'turned lo commercial uses.
The market for software that- al- lows the rapid retrieval of computer- ized text is small bin growing, ac- cording to industry analysts. In 1989, the United States had fewer than 60,000 users; by the next year, total sales were about $120 million. The Delphi Consulting Group expects the market lo grow to 160,000 users and $235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology is starting to spread from supercom- puters all the way down to personal computers," said Brewster Kahle, a Thinking Machines scientist who has led the WAIS experiment.
The WAIS system is built on a procedure for retrieving information developed by librarians who initially set out to computerize their card catalogues. The procedure — known in the field as Z39.50 — now has the support of the Library of Congress, Apple, Sun Microsytems Inc., Next Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen- tral.
In the future, a special directory or-
Spreading information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound, words or pictures.
Electronic text libraries
Office network
Electronic card catalogue
Source: Thinking Machines. Corpora.....
SmaH business
"white pages" will keep an up-to-date list of all the separate sources on the network.
Apple has its own electronic library project, borrowing its name, Rose- bud, from the movie "Citizen Kane." The three-year-old project is based on the WAIS system, but adds features including the ability for a user to de- velop a personalized electronic news- paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that lei custom- ers specify the kinds of information and news they want to retrieve from the WAIS system every day. Re- searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech- nology Group said that in the future the necessary retrieval software might be a standard part of a comput- er's operating system.
They expect improvements in the Internet computer network to greatly lower the cost of information
searches, promoting the introduction of many new services. The Govern- ment proposes lo expand and im- prove Internet by financing a Na- tional Research and Education Net- work, or NREN, that could extend a high-speed computer links into schools and communities across the country.
"With things like NREN, everthing could change overnight," said Inn (h en, an Apple researcher.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1991
Business Day
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide data network will allow personal computer users to tap sources as large as the Library of Congress or receive their own personalized elec- tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth- er, have already demonstrated that searching vast computer data bases can be easier than consulting a card catalogue, and not nearly as difficult or expensive as computer searches are today. Computer users might read some Dickens more readily than they could check out David Copper- field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users with little computer skills will soon be able to search through several tera- bytes of information, or several tril- lion characters of text, in seconds. The Library of Congress, with 80 mil- lion items, contains an estimated 25 terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com- puter library has linked 150 universi- ties to 40 sources of information, ranging from National Institutes of Health data to corporate documents and Shakespeare's plays. New soft- ware allows users to browse or zero in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa- tion are standardized and perfected, industry executives and computer scientists say, thousands of new serv- ices, ranging from electronic newspa- pers to the computer equivalent of free public libraries, will blossom. "Everyone is realizing how impor- tant it is to get into the mass market for information," said Thomas Koulo- poulos, president of Delphi Consulting Group, a Boston market research firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts of computerized information has been the dream of many in the indus- try. But a lack of computing power, effective software and high-speed digital networks has stalled progess until recently.
If many of the technical problems are being solved, major business and political disputes remain. The re- searchers acknowledge that they must resolve several questions of pri- vacy and pricing before they can put the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like government documents, might be available free, but other services, in- cluding electronic newspapers, will be available only to those who pay. The industry has yet to settle on ways to protect and charge for intellectual property in a computer network where information can be copied in- stantly. But to encourage progress, the Thinking Machines Corporation, a Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer manufacturer, has made its software available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a nationwide computerized library system. His team's software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data highways, the two machines can function together although they may be thousands of miles apart.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Page
way computerized information is sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of the Lotus Development Corporation, predicts the growth of a new industry as significant as the personal com- puter business. Some companies, like Dow Jones & Company, that already provide computerized information over telephone lines have taken part in developing the new computer li- brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 19S9, Thinking Machines enlisted the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com- puter Inc. and the KPMG Peal Mar- wick accounting and consulting firm to design the computer library, called Wide Area Information Servers, or WAIS (pronounced ways). The sys- tem permits computer users to quickly search through a huge vol- ume of information even if it is stured at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct searches by typing common English phrases instead of more complicated computer commands. While current systems like Dialog and Nexis re- quire users to specify precisely the information they want, the new sys- tem can respond to a user's infer- ences. It initially presents a sample list of documents. The user chooses one or several, and then a "relevance feedback" program presents other documents most like the ones select- ed.
"This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be possible to search through millions of items in seconds.
get to the information you need, get- ting not too much and not too little," said Esther Dyson, editor of Release 1.0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way services operate today, Ms. Dyson said. A computer user may need to call seven or eight separate data bases depending on the kind of infor- mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of Apple personal computers harness a network of Thinking Machines super- computers and smaller "server" computers to search data bases stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev- eral corporations and universities. Users can also read electronic mail, enter their corporate electronic li- braries and summon up a wide vari- ety of documents, newspapers and magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory*
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS system serves as a "corporate mem- ory," allowing employees to retrieve memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may not be working together can shai e ex- pertise.
"If someone did something in Los Angeles and I'm sitting in San Fran- cisco, I may not know about the work," said Robin Palmer, a senior manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over the Internet, a collection of 2,600 high- speed public and private computer networks. This Goven\ment-spon- ' sored system of data highways is rap- idly being. improved and. turned to commercial uses.
The market for software that- al- lows the rapid retrieval of computer- ized text is small but growing, ac- cording to industry analysts. In 1989, the United Slates' had fewer than 60,000 users; by the next year, total sales were about $120 million. The Delphi Consulting Group expects the market to grow to 160,000 users and $235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology is starting to spread from supercom- puters all the way down to personal computers," said Brewster Kahle, a Thinking Machines scientist who has led the WAIS experiment.
The WAIS system is built on a procedure for retrieving information developed by librarians who initially set out to computerize their card catalogues. The procedure — known in the field as Z39.50 — now has the support of the Library of Congress, Apple, Sun Microsylems Inc., Next Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen- tral.
In the future, a special directory or»
Spreading Information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound, words or pictures.
Electronic text
libraries
Office network
Electronic card catalogue
$ource: Thinking Machines. Corpora —
"white pages" will keep an up-to-date list uf all the separate sources on the network.
Apple has its own electronic library project, borrowing its name, Rose- bud, from the movie "Citizen Kane." The three-year-old project is based on the WAIS system, but adds features including the ability for a user to de- velop a personalized electronic news- paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that let custom- ers specify the kinds of information and news they want to retrieve from the WAIS system every day. Re- searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech- nology Group said that in the future the necessary retrieval software might be a standard part of a comput- er's uncrating system.
They expect improvements in the Internet computer network logically lower the cost of information
searches, promoting the introduction of many new services. The Govern- ment proposes to expand and im- prove Internet by financing a Na- tional Research and Education Net- wurk, or NREN, that could extend a high-speed computer links into schools and communities across the country.
"With things like NREN, everthing could change overnight," said Tim Oi en, an Apple researcher.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, mi
Business Day
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide data network will allow personal computer users to tap sources as large as the Library of Congress or receive their own personalized elec- tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth- er, have already demonstrated that searching vast computer data bases can be easier than consulting a card catalogue, and not nearly as difficult or expensive as computer searches are today. Computer users might read some Dickens more readily than they could check out David Copper- field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users with little computer skills will soon be able to search through several tera- bytes of information, or several tril- lion characters of text, in seconds. The Library of Congress, with 80 mil- lion items, contains an estimated 25 terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com- puter library has linked 150 universi- ties to 40 sources of information, ranging from National Institutes of Health data to corporate documents and Shakespeare's plays. New soft- ware allows users to browse or zero in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa- tion are standardized and perfected, industry executives and computer scientists say, thousands of new serv- ices, ranging from electronic newspa- pers to the computer equivalent of free public libraries, will blossom. "Everyone is realizing how impor- tant it is to get into the mass market for information," said Thomas Koulo- poulos, president of Delphi Consulting Group, a Boston market research firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts of computerized information has been the dream of many in the indus- try. But a lack of computing power, effective software and high-speed digital networks has stalled progess until recently.
If many of the technical problems are being solved, major business and political disputes remain. The re- searchers acknowledge that they must resolve several questions of pri- vacy and pricing before they can put the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like government documents, might be available free, but other services, in- cluding electronic newspapers, will be available only to those who pay. The industry has yet to settle on ways to protect and charge for intellectual property in a computer network where information can be copied in- stantly. But to encourage progress, the Thinking Machines Corporation, a Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer manufacturer, has made its software available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a nationwide computerized library system. His team's software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data highways, the two machines can function together although they may be thousands of miles apart.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Puge
way computerized information is sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of the Lotus Development Corporation, predicts the growth of a new industry as significant as the personal com- puter business. Some companies, like Dow Jones & Company, that already provide computerized information over telephone lines have taken part in developing the new computer li- brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 1989, Thinking Machines enlisted the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com- puter Inc. and the KPMG Peat Mar- wick accounting and consulting firm to design the computer library, called Wide Area Information Servers, or WAIS (pronounced ways). The sys- tem permits computer users to quickly search through a huge vol- ume of information even if it is stored at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct searches by typing common English phrases instead of more complicated computer commands. While current systems like Dialog and Nexis re- quire users to specify precisely the information they want, the new sys- tem can respond to a user's infer- ences. It initially presents a sample list of documents. The user chooses one or several, and then a "relevance feedback" program presents other documents most like the ones select- ed.
"This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be possible to search through millions of items in seconds.
get to the information you need, get- ting not too much and not too little," said Esther Dyson, editor of Release 1.0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way services operate today, Ms. Dyson said. A computer user may need to call seven or eight separate data bases depending on the kind of infor- mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of Apple personal computers harness a network of Thinking Machines super- computers and smaller "server" computers to search data bases stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev- eral corporations and universities. Users can also read electronic mail, enter their corporate electronic li- braries and summon up a wide vari- ety of documents, newspapers and magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory'
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS system serves as a "corporate mem- ory," allowing employees to retrieve memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may not be working together can shai e ex- pertise.
"If someone did something in Los Angeles and I'm sitting in San Fran- cisco, I may not know about the work," said Robin Palmer, a senior manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over the Internet, a collection of 2,600 high- speed public and private computer networks. This Goveniment-spon- ' sored system of data highways is rap- idly being. improved and- turned to commercial uses.
The market for software that- al- lows the rapid retrieval of computer- ized text is small but growing, ac- cording to industry analysts. In 1989, the United Stales had fewer than 60,000 users; by the next year, total sales were about $120 million. The Delphi Consulting Group expects the market to grow to 160,000 users and $235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology is starling to spread from supercom- puters all the way down to personal computers," said Brewster Kahle, a Thinking Machines scientist who has led the WAIS experiment.
The WAIS system is built on a procedure for retrieving information developed by librarians who initially set out to computerize their card catalogues. The procedure — known in the field as Z39.50 — now has the support of the Library of Congress, Apple, Sun Microsytems Inc., Next Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen- tral.
In the future, a special directory or"
Spreading Information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound, words or pictures.
Electronic text libraries
Office network
Electronic card catalogue
Source: Thinking Machines. Corpot......
tiome
"white pages" will keep an up-to-date lisl of all the separate sources on the network.
Apple has its own electronic library project, borrowing its name, Rose- bud, from Ihe movie "Citizen Kane." The three-year-old project is based on the WAIS system, but adds features including ihe ability for a user to de- velop a personalized electronic news- paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that let custom- ers specify the kinds of information and news they want to retrieve from the WAIS system every day. Re- searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech- nology Group said that in the future the necessary retrieval software might be a standard part uf a comput- er's operating system.
They expect improvements in Ihe Internet computer network logically lower Ihe cost of informal ion
searches, promoting the introduction of many new services. The Govern- ment proposes to expand and im- prove Internet by financing a Na- tional Research and Education Net- work, or NREN, that could extend a high-speed computer links into schools and communities across the country.
"With things like NREN, everlhing could change overnight," said Tim Oi en, tin Apple researcher.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, mi
Business Day
Sljc JfrUr Jjork SimfS
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Large PC Libraries Are Being Developed
By JOHN MARKOFF
The development of a nationwide data network will allow personal computer users to tap sources as large as the Library of Congress or receive their own personalized elec- tronic newspapers.
Several innovations, taken togeth- er, have already demonstrated that searching vast computer data bases can be easier than consulting a card catalogue, and not nearly as difficult or expensive as computer searches are today. Computer users might read some Dickens more readily than they could check out David Copper- field from the local library.
Those in the industry say that users with little computer skills will soon be able to search through several tera- bytes of information, or several tril- lion characters of text, in seconds. The Library of Congress, with 80 mil- lion items, contains an estimated 25 terabytes of information.
Already, an experimental com- puter library has linked 150 universi- ties to 40 sources of information, ranging from National Institutes of Health data to corporate documents and Shakespeare's plays. New soft- ware allows users to browse or zero in on particular information.
As methods of retrieving informa- tion are standardized and perfected, industry executives and computer scientists say, thousands of new serv- ices, ranging from electronic newspa- pers to the computer equivalent of free public libraries, will blossom. "Everyone is realizing how impor- tant it is to get into the mass market for information," said Thomas Koulo- poulos, president of Delphi Consulting Group, a Boston market research firm.
Such ready access to huge amounts of computerized information has been the dream of many in the indus- try. But a lack of computing power, effective software and high-speed digital networks has stalled progess until recently.
If many of the technical problems are being solved, major business and political disputes remain. The re- searchers acknowledge that they must resolve several questions of pri- vacy and pricing before they can put the new methods to commercial use.
Many sources of information, like government documents, might be available free, but other services, in- cluding electronic newspapers, will be available only to those who pay. The industry has yet to settle on ways to protect and charge for intellectual property in a computer network where information can be copied in- stantly. But to encourage progress, the Thinking Machines Corporation, a Cambridge, Mass., supercomputer manufacturer, has made its software available at no charge.
Some industry enthusiasts say the new technology will transform the
Continued on Page D5
Brewster Kahle was the leader of the development team at the Thinking Machines Corporation for a nationwide computerized library system. His team's software links a CM2A Connection Machine, left,
Mike Theiler for The New York Times
with a personal computer or work station like the Apple Macintosh II at right. Using high-speed data highways, the two machines can function together although they may be thousands of miles apart.
, , , || ' | ■ II ' ^
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
For Shakespeare, Just Log On
Continued From First Business Page
way computerized information is sold. Mitchell Kapor, the founder of the Lotus Development Corporation, predicts the growth of a new industry as significant as the personal com- puter business. Some companies, like Dow Jones & Company, that already provide computerized information over telephone lines have taken part in developing the new computer li- brary.
The Search Is Simplified
In 1989, Thinking Machines enlisted the support of Dow Jones, Apple Com- puter Inc. and the KPMG Peat Mar- wick accounting and consulting firm to design the computer library, called Wide Area Information Servers, or WAIS (pronounced ways). The sys- tem permits computer users to quickly search through a huge vol- ume of information even if it is stored at several distant locations.
The system lets users conduct searches by typing common English phrases instead of more complicated computer commands. While current systems like Dialog and Nexis re- quire users to specify precisely the information they want, the new sys- tem can respond to a user's infer- ences. It initially presents a sample list of documents. The user chooses one or several, and then a "relevance feedback" program presents other documents most like the ones select- ed.
"This solves the problem of how to
It will soon be possible to search through millions of items in seconds.
get to the information you need, get- ting not too much and not too little,''' said Esther Dyson, editor of Release 1.0, a computer industry newsletter.
This is a sharp contrast to the way services operate today, Ms. Dyson said. A computer user may need to call seven or eight separate data bases depending on the kind of infor- mation needed.
The WAIS system lets users of Apple personal computers harness a network of Thinking Machines super- computers and smaller "server" computers to search data bases stored by Dow Jones, KPMG and sev- eral corporations and universities. Users can also read electronic mail, enter their corporate electronic li- braries and summon up a wide vari- ety of documents, newspapers and magazines.
A 'Corporate Memory'
At Thinking Machines, the WAIS system serves as a "corporate mem- ory," allowing employees to retrieve memos, documents and other inter-
nal information. Employees who may not be working together can shai e ex- pertise.
"If someone did something in Los Angeles and I'm silting in San Fran- cisco, I may not know about the work," said Robin Palmer, a senior manager at Peat Marwick.
WAIS delivers information over the Internet, a collection of 2,600 high- speed public and private computer networks. This Governmenl-spon- ' sored system of data highways is rap- idly being, improved and .'turned to commercial uses.
The market for software that- al- lows the rapid retrieval of computer- ized text is small but growing, ac- cording to industry analysts. In 1989, the United Slates had fewer lhan 60,000 users; by the next year, total sales were about $120 million. The Delphi Consulting Group expects the market to grow to 160,000 users and $235 million by 1992.
"Information retrieval technology is starting to spread from supercom- puters all the way down to personal computers," said Brewster Kahle, a Thinking Machines scientist who has led the WAIS experiment.
The WAIS system is built on a procedure for retrieving information developed by librarians who initially set out to computerize their card catalogues. The procedure — known in the field as Z39.50 — now has the support of the Library of Congress, Apple, Sun Microsytems Inc., Next Inc., Dow Jones and Mead Data Cen- tral.
In the future, a special directory or»
Spreading Information
The Wide Area Information Servers system provides a broad range of information by linking users to many independent sources The information can be in the form of sound, words or pictures.
Electronic text libraries
Office network
Electronic card catalogue
Source: Thinking Machines. Corpora —
Small business
"white pages" will keep an up-to-dale list of all the separate sources on the network.
Apple has its own electronic library project, borrowing its name, Rose- bud, from (he movie "Citizen Kane." The three-year-old project is based on the WAIS system, but adds features including the ability for a user to de- velop a personalized electronic news- paper.
Rosebud uses special programs —
called "reporters" — that let custom- ers specify the kinds of information and news they want to retrieve from the WAIS system every day. Re- searchers at Apple's Advanced Tech- nology Group said that in the future the necessary retrieval software might be a standard part of a comput- er's operating system.
They expect improvements in the Internet computer network to greatly lower the cost of information
searches, promoting the introduction of many new services. The Govern- ment proposes to expand and im- prove Internet by financing a Na- tional Research and Education Net- work, or NREN, that could extend a high-speed computer links into schools and communities across the country.
"With things like NREN, evcrlhing could change overnight," said Tun Oi en, an Apple researcher.