nettime: Self-intro

[Steve Cisler <sac@apple.com>]

I have been online for about 11 years, and the WELL in California was
my first home, but it has been awhile since I was excited about finding
a collection of information. Oddly enough, it's mainly text...no plug-ins,
no graphics...no real need for high bandwidth to enjoy it. I learned about
the site <www.desk.nl/nettime/> from someone else on the WELL who
had seen a posting I made about the Second Luddite Congress earlier this
year in Ohio. And that led to my subscribing to this list.

I'm unsure what the etiquette is on this list, but I want to introduce myself.

My background is in public libraries, but I went to Apple Computer in 1988
to start a grant program called Apple Library of Tomorrow. We made grants
to all sorts of libraries and some museums up until the beginning of this year.
>From 1993 to 1996 we have focused on community networks where libraries
have played a crucial role in the formation of local information infrastructure.

I consider the building and control of the First Mile to be a chance for local
citizens to feel some sort of ownership as the Net explodes in industrialized
and developing countries.  By First Mile I mean the most important connections:
the ones from homes, schools, local businesses, libraries, and non-profits to
the larger network and to each other. These are usually called 'Last Mile', but 
I consider sites like Smithsonian, Apple, CNN, Deutsche Telekom, and HotWired 
to be the Last Mile sites. These get more attention, but they are actually less
important.

We have helped sponsor conferences in community networking since 1993,
including Ties That Bind in 1994 and 1995, and the recent conference on
Community Networks in Taos, New Mexico, in May 1996 <http://laplaza.
taos.nm.us for papers and background info>

My current interest is the way local cultures and communities are reacting
to the spread of the Internet. This has taken me to the Second Luddite Congress
in Barnesville, Ohio; The Assyrian Community Networking Conference in
San Jose, California; Internet World in Mexico (this week), and I have
lectured on this topic in Cuba, Turkey, Chile, and Venezuela. 

Currently at Apple I am working on a proposal to petition the U.S. Federal
Communications Commission to free up 300 Mhz of spectrum for public,
no-license use. The initial reaction has been good, but there are many
technical issues to be clarified by respondents before they will allow 
medium distance, outdoor use. For more info, see
http://www.atg.apple.com/Research.html. I'll be doing a talk on this at
the 1996 Internet Society meeting in Montreal later in June. Shortly,
all the papers will be online <www.isoc.org>

So far, I have read a few papers in the nettime archive: 
-New Delhi symposium on new technologies
-Next 5 Minutes conference
-Some Points of Departure
-Access For ALL FAQ

I look forward to reading the rest and in participating in this list.

Steve Cisler
Network Outreach
Apple Computer, Inc.
sac@apple.com

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