Corrections or additions?
This article by Peter J. Mladineo was published
in U.S. 1 Newspaper on April 15, 1998. All rights reserved.
From Bill Gates to Chat Rooms
Never underestimate Trenton Computer Festival’s power
to pull off surprises. In 1976 organizers Al Katz and Sol
Libes were shocked to see that the maiden festival, which also
happened to be the first computer festival ever, made the front page
of the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune.
Eight years ago Bill Gates was the keynote speaker. Katz, who
had spent the first part of the day escorting the Microsoft chairman
around Mercer County College prior to his talk, recalls honoring
Gates’request
to hide him for a few hours and stowed the multibillionaire in his
office for more than two hours with only one disturbance — a
colleague
Katz had tipped off, who popped in ostensibly looking for Katz.
“Gates was real nice,” Katz recalls. “He treated people
well. He reminded me of a John Denver-type-of-guy. He was not this
hardboiled executive.”
This year’s keynote speaker is Stacy Horn, less of a celebrity
but far brasher and more irreverent than Gates. Horn is a jaded New
Yorker, likes to curse, and plays drums in a Manhattan-based samba
band on the weekends. She founded the online community ECHO (“East
Coast Hang Out”) in 1990 and now has written a book about it,
“Cyberville: Clicks, Culture, and the Creation of an Online
Town”
(Warner Books, $23). Based in New York, ECHO is free of the mall-like
atmosphere of AOL’s chat rooms. It’s 40 percent female, heady, and
fraught with artsy types, some celebrities, and the extremely
opinionated.
The service has discussion forums for the Whitney Museum of Art, High
Times, Ms., and the Village Voice. There are no restrictions on
language
on ECHO.
Horn notes the human need to establish direct connections with the
souls of other human beings. And for that, there seems to be no better
medium than cyberspace. But for this to work in a chat room format,
she suggests, the experience has to be combined with in-the-flesh
encounters as well. While ECHO frequently is dotted with diatribes
and arguments, it also has socials where members actually get to meet
each other.
“The most important thing that I have learned about communities
in cyberspace, is that it is frequently impossible to have tolerance,
something absolutely essential to keep a community going, without
some face-to-face connection,” writes Horn. “For a community
to work you have to accept imperfection. You can tolerate a wider
range of behavior once you look someone in the face. I don’t think
it’s that you know them better once you’ve met them, necessarily,
it’s that when you get back online, you project less. And once you
meet a person, it’s harder to dismiss them thoughtlessly. You cut
them just enough slack to get over the rough spots.”
Horn speaks at the Trenton Computer Festival on Saturday, April 18,
at 11:30 a.m. The festival opens at 10 a.m. at Mercer County Community
College. Another important speaker is Donald P. Delaney, a
senior
investigator with the New York State Police who has lectured at the
FBI Academy, speaks Saturday at 2 p.m. about “Hackers and Internet
Security.”
The festival’s homage to Horn and ECHO’s “communication for
communication’s
sake” credo are evidence of a change in direction the festival
is taking, away from techie-oriented stuff and toward the endless
variety of niches that computer connectivity has created.
“The primary emphasis has shifted from a focus on the computer
to a focus on the communication between computers and between
people,”
Katz reports. “There are more talks on Internet and
commercial-related
activities than that just deal with the computer itself. That’s a
big change. Also there are talks that you wouldn’t have seen
originally
about the sociological aspects of the computer. The computer has gone
from being the domain of a bunch of technical geeks to the arts.”
Katz, a microwave engineer, has degrees from Trenton State, Rutgers
University, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He has taught
electrical engineering at the College of New Jersey for 26 years,
and organizes this festival for free. “This is part of being an
engineering professor,” he says. “If you do your job right
you’ve go to know what’s going on in the industry so you can bring
that to your students.”
This year’s event will feature yet another first: continuing education
units (CEUs) are now available for attending any of the festival’s
100 talks. One CEU can be received for each one-hour talk you attend.
The CEUs will be certified by Mercer County College’s continuing
education
department at no cost.
To get there, park at the adjacent Mercer County Park and take the
shuttle buses to the campus. $10 for two days, $5 for students and
senior citizens, preschoolers free. For more information, call
215-957-4000
or check the website at https://www.tcf.net. Register at
717-786-2260.
To receive a CEU, attend the talk, fill in the title of the talk on
a form they’ll give you, and at the end of the talk ask the presenter
to sign the form. Before the end of the festival turn in your form
along with a $2 fee for mailing at the main information booth, or
the speaker registration desk in the lobby of the Student Center.
— Peter J. Mladineo
Here is a sampling of classes, by day and location:Top Of PageSaturday SessionsGraphics classes in CM 107: 10:15 a.m., “MoreonPopular Paint Programs,” Leonard Sragow; 12:45 p.m., a computergraphics film show with Douglas Dixon and Jeff Posdamer,both of the David Sarnoff Research Center; 3:15 p.m. “DedicatedGame Machines, featuring Zelda ’98,” by Roger W. Amidonof the DX Computer Company; and 4:30 p.m., “Computer Graphicsfor Multimedia,” with Philip Sanders of the College of NewJersey.Networks and modems in CM 108: 10:15 a.m.,”Telephonesand Computers,” James Miller of Devonshire Software; 12:45p.m., “Modems in the Information Age,” Cass Lewart,electrical engineer and author, “The Ultimate Modem Handbook”(Prentice Hall, 1997); 2 p.m., “Intranets,” William H.Leatham, webmaster, Federal Deposit Insurance Company, FDIC; 3:15p.m., “Introduction to Network Hardware,” Scott Vincent,executive board member of the Amateur Computer Group of New Jerseyand co-director of the computer festival.Internet classes in LA 234: 10:15 a.m.,”InternetFor Your Dream Job, New York or London?” Donald Hsu, ITprofessor, Dominican College; 12:45 p.m., “Loyal InternetCustomers– On-line Communities for Business,” Christopher J.Roberts,Keynote Software Inc.; 2 p.m., “Should You Put Your Business onthe Internet?” Urban LeJeune, America’s Town Square andauthor, “Netscape & HTML EXplorer,” computer best seller.Internet classes CM 109: 10:15 a.m., “InventoryControl Systems,” Carla Gentili; 12:45 p.m., “DoingBusiness on the Internet in 1998,” James Coe, cybercommando;3:15 p.m., “Literature On the Internet,” Matthew Paris,Poets For City Schools and co-director of the Internet publishingwebsite, “New York Writers Cafe”; 4:30 p.m., “Using theInternet as a Marketing Vehicle,” Rick Elbanna, OnlineMarketingNetwork.Internet classes in CM 110: 10:15 a.m.,”ArchitectsFinding God In Cyberspace: Using The Web to Study, Practice, andResearchReligion,” Leona Seufert, Star Quest; 2:00 p.m.,”BeginnersGuide To The Internet,” Michael Siegel, post-productioneditor, ABC-TV; 4:30 p.m., “Tips on Creating Web Pages,”SolLibes, founder, Amateur Computer Group Of New Jersey, andcoordinator,Princeton PC Users Group.Internet classes in LA 237: 10:15 a.m., “MicroMethodsSoftware Tools for The RF Engineer,” Gerald Harrison, MicroMethods; 12:45 p.m., “Internet for the Common Man,” MartinRosenblum, Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey; 2 p.m.,”Hackersand Internet Security,” Don Delaney, senior investigator,New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation.Desktop publishing and graphics classes in LA 239:10:15a.m., “Image Scanning for Newsletters,” Victor Belanger,vice president and COO, Linearizer Technology; 12:45 p.m. and 2 p.m.,”Desktop Publishing for Beginners,” Walter Salm, editor,U.S. Tech; 3:15 p.m, AutoCAD Users Group, J. William Klotz,Johnson & Johnson Consulting Engineers; 4:30 p.m., “Authoringfor DVD Video and DVD-ROM,” Jay Yogeshwar, Front PorchVideo.Operating systems classes in MS 215: 10:15 a.m.,”PoweringLaptops/Cellular Phones with Gel Cell Batteries,” HankLopez,Bell Atlantic; 12:45 p.m., “Troubleshooting Windows Problems,”David Soll, Omicron Consulting; 2 p.m., “An Introductionto Microsoft Foundation Classes,” James Gimpel, GimpelSoftware;3:15 p.m., “Windows NT Clusters,” Bob Branchek, BobBranchek Associates; 4:30 p.m., “Linux for NEWbies,” PeterFillingham, Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey.Hardware classes in MS 214: 10:15 a.m.,”HardwareBuilding and Maintenance,” John Hill, Philadelphia AreaComputer Society; 12:45 p.m., “Controlling The World From YourPC,” Paul Bergsman, Philadephia Area Computer Society;3:15 p.m., “Porting UZI to the Zilog Z180,” Harold Bower,ZSDOS Development Team; 4:30 p.m., “Super CPU-128 For theCommodore64/128,” Marvin Auerbach, Bronx Users Group.Programming classes in MS 211: 10:15 a.m.,”Introductionto Java — Step by Step,” David Moskowitz, ProductivitySolutions; 12:45 p.m., “Year 2000/Cobol Programmers/SAP,”Nalit Patel, Roseland Computers; 2 p.m., “Java Technology:Past, Present and Future,” Frank Greco, CrossroadsTechnologies;3:15 p.m., “Introduction to C++,” Mike Redlich andJamesCarr; 4:30 p.m., “Introduction To Local Area Networks,”Michael Vartanian, PACS.Business applications classes in MS 207: 10:15a.m.,”Lotus Notes A Messaging and Groupware Platform,” MikeBarlow, Bright Ideas Software; 12:45 p.m., “Automating YourAccounting System,” John Corbett, Brookdale Computer UsersGroup; 3:15 p.m., “Software Engineering and Business ObjectModeling,”Brian Berenbach, DMR TRECOM.In MS 205: 10:15 a.m., “Introduction to OracleDatabases,”Ari Kaplan, consultant; 12:45 p.m., “Electronic Commerceover the Internet,” Olivia Whiteman, president, CakewalkConsulting, and founder, Business Initiatives in Java’s OnlineUniverse;3:15 p.m., “Java and Electronic Commerce,” OliviaWhiteman.Education classes in MS 204: 10:15 a.m., “TheRoleof the High School Technology Coordinator,” Liz Dunbar,academic coordinator, Baltimore City College High School; 12:45 p.m.,”Indecent Exposure: Protecting Kids From Net Threats,”DavidMinster, Elizabeth Arden North America: 2 p.m., “How to bea Technology Mentor,” David Moskowitz, ProductivitySolutions;3:15 p.m., “Conducting Computer-Mediated BrainstormingSessions,”Donald Egolf, University of Pittsburgh.Top Of PageSundayGraphics and applications classes, in CM 107: 10:30a.m., “More on Popular Paint Programs (& their place incyberspace),”Leonard Sragow; 11:45 a.m., “Introduction to OracleDatabases,”Ari Kaplan; 1 p.m., “3D Animation in Astronomy,”LonnyBuinis, Raritan Valley Community College planetarium.Communications classes in CM 108: 10:30 a.m.,”Introductionto Network Hardware,” Scott Vincent, Entex InformationServices,and festival co-director; 1 p.m., “Search for Extra TerrestrialIntelligence,” Allen Katz, electrical engineering professor,College of New Jersey.Internet and word processing classes in CM 110:10:30a.m., “Online Privacy and Security,” J.D. Abolins, MeydaOnline (BBS); 11:45 a.m., “How to Become a Certified InternetMarketing Consultant,” James Coe, consultant; 1 p.m,”LotusNotes A Messaging and Groupware Platform, Mike Barlow, BrightIdeas Software.Internet classes in CM 109: 10:30 a.m.,”Introductionto Windows NT,” Brenda Bell, Web Warren; 11:45 a.m.,”Usingthe Internet as a Marketing Vehicle,” Rick Elbanna, OnlineMarketing Network; 1 p.m., “Year 2000/Cobol Programmers/SAP,”Nalit Patel.Hardware classes in LA 234: 10:30 a.m.,”ControllingThe World From Your PC,” Paul Bergsman, Philadelphia AreaComputer Society; 1 p.m., “Word Processing to Typesetting,”Neil Sanford.User group sessions in LA 237: 10 a.m., genealogyspecialinterest group, Frank Warren, Amateur Computer Group of NewJersey; 11:45 a.m., Apple 2 User Group forum; 11:45 a.m., Apple 2keyboard repair; 1 p.m, Apple 2 user Group forum.In LA 239: 10:30 and 11:45 a.m., PC Users Forum,JoAnneHead, Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey; 1 p.m., Atari 8-bitUsers, Robert Ely, Jersey Atari Computer Society.In MS 215: 10:30 a.m., Macintosh User Groups, AllanMigdal, Princeton Macintosh Users Group; 11:45 a.m., Power PCUser’sForum, Moe Comeau, Main Line Mac Users Group; 1 p.m., DECRainbowusers and enthusiasts, Herman Hinitz.Graphics class in ES 130: 10:30 a.m., “3DGraphicsfor Beginners,” Phyllis Roney, Princeton Plasma PhysicsLaboratory.nPrevious StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
