779 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
779 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
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NETWORKS AND COMMUNITY : feb 8, 1994
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Networks and Community is devoted to encouraging
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LOCAL resource creation & GLOBAL resource sharing.
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The 7th report of 1994 is the 13th weekly survey.
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-------------------------------------------------
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coverage in this issue included :
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LEGISLATION CANADIAN NET NEWS DISCUSSIONS NEW SERVICES
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TRENDS CLIPPER CHIP BACKGROUND REPORT
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---------------------------------------------------
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LEGISLATION
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===========
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The CLIPPER CHIP CONTROVERSY
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The Clinton Adminstration - bowing to pressure from the
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Intelligence Community - has decided to go ahead with the clipper
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chip proposal.
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Those interested in opposing this plan can participate in the
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following activities. And hopefully, all of you are interested.
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---------------------
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CLIPPER PETITION
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On January 24, many of the nation's leading experts in cryptography
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and computer security wrote President Clinton and asked him to
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withdraw the Clipper proposal.
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The public response to the letter has been extremely favourable,
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including coverage in the New York Times and numerous computer and
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security trade magazines.
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Many people have expressed interest in adding their names to the
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letter. In response to these requests, CPSR is organizing an
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Internet petition drive to oppose the Clipper proposal. We will
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deliver the signed petition to the White House, complete with the
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names of all the people who oppose Clipper.
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To sign on to the letter, send a message to:
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Clipper.petition@cpsr.org
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with the message "I oppose Clipper" (no quotes)
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You will receive a return message confirming your vote.
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Please distribute this announcement so that others may also express
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their opposition to the Clipper proposal.
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In only 48 hours, over 2,400 people have signed on to tell the
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President what they think of the Clipper proposal.
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If you need more information on clipper ftp/wais/gopher to cpsr.org
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/cpsr/privacy/crypto/clipper for a large selection of docs on the
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proposal.
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------------------------------------------
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EFF [ the electronic frontier foundation ] offers something *you*
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can do to support freedom and privacy. *Please take a
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moment to send e-mail to U.S. Rep. Maria Cantwell
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(cantwell@eff.org) to show your support of H.R. 3627, her bill to
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liberalize export controls on encryption software.*
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"I urge you to write to Rep. Cantwell today at cantwell@eff.org.
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In the Subject header of your message, type "I support HR 3627."
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In the body of your message, express your reasons for supporting
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the bill. EFF will deliver printouts of all letters to Rep.
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Cantwell. With a strong showing of support from the Net community,
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Rep. Cantwell can tell her colleagues on Capitol Hill that
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encryption is not only an industry concern, but also a grassroots
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issue. *Again: remember to put "I support HR 3627" in your
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Subject header.*
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This is the first step in a larger campaign to counter the efforts
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of those who would restrict our ability to speak freely and with
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privacy.
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The lack of widespread commercial encryption products means that
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it will be very easy for the federal government to set its own
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standard--the Clipper Chip standard. As you may know, the
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government's Clipper Chip initiative is designed to set an
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encryption standard where the government holds the keys to our
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private conversations. Together with the Digital Telephony bill,
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which is aimed at making our telephone and computer networks
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"wiretap-friendly," the Clipper Chip marks a dramatic new effort
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on the part of the government to prevent us from being able to
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engage in truly private conversations.
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P.S. If you want additional information about the Cantwell bill,
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send e-mail to cantwell-info@eff.org. To join EFF, write
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membership@eff.org. For introductory info about EFF, send any
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message to info@eff.org.
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The text of the Cantwell bill can be found on the Internet with the
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any of the following URLs (Universal Resource Locaters):
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ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/Policy/Legislation/cantwell.bill
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http://www.eff.org/ftp/EFF/Policy/Legislation/cantwell.bill
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gopher://gopher.eff.org/00/EFF/legislation/cantwell.bill
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It will be available on AOL (keyword EFF) and CIS (go EFFSIG) soon.
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-------------------------------
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IN ADDITION - ONE CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE IS INTERESTED IN DIRECTLY
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HEARING FROM THE PUBLIC.
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" Leahy's office said he *wants* to hear from the
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public on the matter of holding hearings. Any and all comments
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on the viability of the program, any concerns the public has,
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should be sent to Leahy immediately, a staffer said. Leahy can
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be reached at: Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC 20510;
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Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Technology and Law
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Subcommittee said he would likely hold hearings "on the serious
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issues raised" by Administration's announcement that it would
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urge private sector to voluntarily adopt its Clipper Chip
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technology. "Basically, what this means is that the United
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States Government will hold the two keys to unlock any private
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communication coded with this program," Leahy said. Citizens and
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potential foreign customers aren't likely to see Clipper "as the
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solution to privacy and security concerns," he said."
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his phone number is 202-224-3406.
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----------------------------------------
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The recently posted summary from the Electronic Public Information
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Newsletter contained several items of interest to the free-net
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movement. We need unrestricted access to government information and
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the depository library program is a major force for providing that
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access. .......................
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PUBLIC PRINTER ATTACKS NTIS FINAL RULE ON STEI: In a letter last
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week (1/27) to the head of the National Technical Information
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Services (NTIS), Public Printer Michael DiMario attacked NTIS's
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final rule on agency transfer of scientific, technical, and
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engineering information (STEI) to NTIS, while at the same time
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inviting the agency to enter into an agreement with Government
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Printing Office (GPO) to assure STEI is distributed to the nation's
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depository libraries. DiMario told NTIS Director Don Johnson that
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NTIS, in the final rule [Federal Register 1, Jan. 3, 1994, pp.
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6-12], included new provisions related to the Depository Library
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Program (DLP) without consulting GPO, which by statute is
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responsible for the program. "We are dismayed that these new
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provisions have been introduced as a final rule without
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consultation or coordination with GPO," DiMario wrote. "....
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SENATE PANEL TO HOLD HEARINGS ON GPO: The Senate Rules and
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Administration Committee will hold hearings on Feb. 3 and 10 on the
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Government Printing Office as referred to in H.R. 3400, the
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National Performance Review, and Joint Committee on the
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Organization of the Congress. A representative of the Office of
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Budget and Management and Public Printer Michael DiMario are
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scheduled to testify on Feb. 3. It is believed that Sally Katzen,
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Director of the OMB Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
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and possibly Deputy OMB Director Alice Rivlin will testify for OMB.
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Other interested parties are being invited to testify on Feb. 10.
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For more information on the complete ELECTRONIC PUBLIC
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INFORMATION NEWSLETTER and subscription rates contact:
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James McDonough epin@access.digex.net Tel/fax: (301) 365-3621
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------------------------------------------
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THE WINNER OF LAST WEEKS FLAME WAR OF THE WEEK CONTEST
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is available for examination.: Legislation on National Knowledge
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Strategy.
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[ strangely enough the providers do not want additional on line
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comments ] Your off-line comments are solicited. A draft is at
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<gopher gopher.oss.net>, or <ftp ftp.oss.net>. Got to articles by
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rds and down to "National Knowledge Strategy Act of 1994".
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Comments received prior to 1600 ST on Friday would be especially
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helpful, but comments at any time welcome.
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------------------------------------------
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NETWORKS AND COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER - NOW AVAILABLE ON LINE
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Eric S. Theise <verve@well.sf.ca.us> - The Internet Domain Editor
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for the well has kindly offered it space.
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gopher://gopher.well.sf.ca.us:70/11s/Community/communets/net.com
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CANADIAN NET NEWS
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=================
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GOVINFO IS A DISCUSSION FORUM FOR CANADIAN GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
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at all levels of government. The forum is established on the
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DEC/VAX MAILSERV facility at the University of Saskatchewan.
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To subscribe, send the message SUBSCRIBE GOVINFO (YOUR NAME) to the
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following address: MAILSERV@SASK.USASK.CA
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To post messages to GOVINFO, address them to GOVINFO@SASK.USASK.CA
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More information on MAILSERV commands may be obtained by sending
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the message
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HELP to MAILSERV@SASK.USASK.CA
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If you have any questions or need assistance, contact:
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Andrew Hubbertz hubbertz@sklib.usask.ca (306) 966-5989
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------------------------------------------
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ALSO OF INTEREST - A RECENT REGISTRANT IN THE CANADIAN DOMAIN
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Organization: Canada Communication Group - Groupe Communication
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Canada
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Type: Federal Government Agency
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Description: Group responsible for distribution of Canadian
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Federal Government information in machine-readable form.
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Admin-Name: Roddy Duchesne
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Admin-Title: Manager, Electronic Products
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Admin-Postal: Canada Communication Group, Electronic Publications
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Admin-Phone: +1 613 956 5782
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Admin-Mailbox: admin@ccg-gcc.ca
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Tech-Name: Roddy Duchesne
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Tech-Title: Manager, Electronic Products
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-----------------------------------------
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CANARIE IS LOOKING FOR PROPOSALS
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NOTICE of Pending Request for Proposal
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Operational Network Product / Services
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January 27, 1994
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It is the intention of CANARIE Inc. to release a Request for
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Proposal (RFP) on February 1, 1994 relating to the following areas
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of interest. It is expected that the RFP will close on Tuesday
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February 22, 1994. This is a notice pre-announcing the RFP only.
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The CANARIE Inc. Operational Network Product / Services (ONPS)
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Committee has identified as a funding priorities the development
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of capabilities to facilitate the Access, Presentation, and
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Exchange of Information on the operational network as follows:
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Information Provider Capability - For the following information
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categories, CANARIE Inc. will provide funding in support of
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developing and implementing an information provider capability.
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Note that CANARIE Inc. will not necessarily fund projects relating
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to all of these categories and that CANARIE Inc. will consider
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information provider projects which may not readily fit into any
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of the identified categories.
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Cultural Information
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Educational / Education Administration Information
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Not-For-Profit Information
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Commercial Information
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Information Presentation / Interaction Product Development
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CANARIE Inc. will assist with the development of products which
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enhance user access to and/or interaction with information
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available on the operational network.
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Note that projects may overlap the two general categories of
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Information Provider and Information Presentation / Interaction
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Product Development.
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Parties interested in submitting a proposal should provide contact
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information including name, postal address, e-mail address (if
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applicable), telephone number and facsimile number via facsimile
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or e-mail to Mr. Rod Anderson at: wcsrda@ccs.carleton.ca
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Fax: (613) 722-1997
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----------------------------------
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CANARIE : In recent posting to com-priv, Canarie has been assaulted
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for policies that it probably will be forced to change under the
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new rules to be developed in Canada. Internally, Canarie member
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NSTN (the provincial network in Nova Scotia) has opened offices in"
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Ottawa, and is actively attracting members away from ONET, and"
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competing with Hookup, UUNET Canada and the other providers
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operating in that most lucrative of all Canadian markets. This is
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in violation of the existing informal operating agreements against
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cross competition.
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In a recent posting - Vinton Cerf - the father of the Internet
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wrote:
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> for all practical purposes, if you purchase Internet access
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> from a provider who does NOT exact any restrictions from
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> users (e.g. UUNET/Alternet, PSI, CERFNET, SPRINTLINK, etc)
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> then you can make use of the system for any purpose.
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> The NSFNET backbone limitations are going to evaporate
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> shortly since NSF is getting out of the backbone service
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> business anyway. I suggest you just plunge in assuming
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> the system is essentially free of restrictions.
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As noted above the electronic boundaries between commercial and non
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commercial nets have almost disappeared in the U.S. It will happen
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in Canada too.
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DISCUSSIONS
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===========
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I have added the COM-PRIV listserv to my monitored group. With this
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addition, I may have a weekly winner for my new FLAME WAR contest.
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Participants in the best flame war of the year will be personally
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rewarded with a CERTIFICATE from Networks & Community. A very high
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standard has already been set by last year's award winners - the
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inter listserv battle between cypherpunks and cypherwonks.
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NPTN LISTSERV announced 7 new committees had joined. A complaint
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was made about a commercial company seeking a grant along with a
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public television station for the available community network
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funding from PBS. [ if PBS can't tell the difference between a
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private company and a community based effort - we are all in
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trouble ]
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Little else of vital interest appeared on the listservs.
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NEW SERVICES
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============
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USNONPROFIT-L MAILING LIST IS READY
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The nonprofits mailing list is set up and ready to broadcast:
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to subscribe, mail to : majordomo@rain.org
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in the message, type : subscribe usnonprofit-l (no name
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necessary)
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messages to the list go to: usnonprofit-l@rain.org
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The USnonprofit list is a discussion group for issues facing
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nonprofit organizations, and the people in the less-advantaged
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sectors of society that they serve.
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Particularly encouraged are *action-oriented* discussions :-).
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For more info write to Thomas Andrew Newman <newmant@CSOS.ORST.EDU>
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--------------------------------------------
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THE COMMERCE BUSINESS DAILY IS AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE VIA THE CNS
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gopher! (gopher cscns.com)
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For information about CNS, write to info@cscns.com, or call
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customer service at 800-748-592-1240.
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-------------------------------------
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FREE S. D. I. ON THE INTERNET
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[selective dissemination of information]
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In the most exciting positive announcement of the past week
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Tak Woon Yan tyan@Woodstock.Stanford.EDU
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announced a free Netnews Filtering Service
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"I'd like to announce the Stanford Netnews Filtering Service, a
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personalized netnews delivery service. You subscribe to the service
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with profiles that describe your interests. Netnews articles (from
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newsgroups available to our local news host) that match your
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profiles (based on content, regardless of which newsgroups they
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fall into) will be sent to you periodically via email.
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You can access the service from Mosaic:
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http://woodstock.stanford.edu:2000
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The service also supports email access. To get the instructions on
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the email interface, send a message with the word "help" in the
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message body to netnews@db.stanford.edu
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Here is an example to give you some ideas of how the service works.
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Say you subscribe to the service with the profile "online
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information services." Then periodically you will receive email
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messages like this:
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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Subscription 1: online information services
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Article: misc.activism.progressive.11965
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From: hn0003@handsnet.org
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Subject: HandsNet WEEKLY DIGEST 1/15-21
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Score: 84
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First 15 lines:
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HANDSNET WEEKLY DIGEST January 15 - 21, 1994
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News from HandsNet's Information Forums
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HandsNet is a national, nonprofit network connecting
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organizations working on social and economic justice issues.
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Members use HandsNet to make new contacts, work collaboratively and
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to find and publish information, news ....
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Article: ca.politics.38420
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From: rlm@helen.surfcty.com (Robert L. McMillin)
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Subject: GOV-ACCESS #5:Cal.Emergency Svcs.online + Net-fax + MINN
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Pub Info Net
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Score: 82
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First 15 lines:
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Jan. 22, 1994
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CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES INFO AVAILABLE ONLINE
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<a recent exchange of messages>
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The state Emergency Digital Information Service is working fine
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Telnet to telnet oes1.oes.ca.gov 5501
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....
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The profiles are like queries in WAIS, i.e., plain English text (no
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boolean AND, OR, NOTs). After you receive useful articles, you can
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feed them back to the service to improve your profile. You can also
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adjust the frequency of delivery, the volume of articles, and the
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length of subscription.
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Hope you find the service useful. Questions, comments to
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tyan@cs.stanford.edu.
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---------------------------
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REALLY IMPROVED INTERNET ACCESS:
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John Doyle, Washington & Lee University, doylej@liberty.uc.wlu.edu
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wrote to say his new service is ready for use. I mentioned it in
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a prior issue. This is a database of high-level sites throughout
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the Internet. gopher to:
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liberty.uc.wlu.edu 1020 or WWW to http://liberty.uc.wlu.edu:1020]
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It includes subject and geographic access to resources. There is
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even access to a searchable usenet news reader.
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(root menu)
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<search> Search:
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<menu> Menu: Subject
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<menu> Menu: Type (Telnet, Gopher, WWW)
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<menu> Menu: Geographic
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<menu> Recent Additions (date coded entries)
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<document> [Netlink Server - This Item for Help]
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<menu> [Netlink Server - Please Leave Comment or Error Report]
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----< Other Major Internet Services >----
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<search> High-Level Search of Gopher Menus (no field searching)
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<menu> Veronica Search of Gopher Menus
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type x WWW (WorldWideWeb Browser - Lynx)
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<menu> USENET Newsreaders
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<menu> WAIS
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<menu> BITNET Mailing Lists/Listservs Archive Searches
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<menu> Archie FTP Site Searches
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<menu> Clearinghouse of Subject-Oriented Internet Resource
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Guides (UMich)
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<menu> Netfind Email Address Searches
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<menu> "Phone Books" at Various Institutions
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<menu> Local Times Throughout the World
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<menu> Hytelnet (Telnet Login to Sites)
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-----------------------------------------------
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BASIC WEB INFO AVAILABLE
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This is an announcement of a series of postings starting January
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17, 1994, on the newsgroup embnet.net-dev in order to provide an
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introduction to the World-Wide Web project. The goal is to answer
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the very basic questions as what is the World-Wide Web, what is
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available on the Web, what software is required to access the Web,
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and how to get and install the software. It is not intended to
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guide people who want to provide information to the Web. Its for
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those who have access to the Internet and are interested in
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obtaining and setting up the programs needed to access the Web.
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Previous experience with network retrieval tools are not essential
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but knowledge in the use of FTP would be an advantage.
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Anyone who is interested in receiving these introductionary
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postings but cannot read the newsgroup embnet.net-dev can send an
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email request to www@comp.bioz.unibas.ch.
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----------------------------------------
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NCSA MOSAIC FOR MICROSOFT WINDOWS VERSION 2.0ALPHA1 RELEASED
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NCSA Mosaic is a network navigational tool that will
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allow you to easily access networked information with the click of
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a button. The Internet is the primary source of this world wide
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information and the amount of available information is literally
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exploding. Mosaic is capable of accessing data via protocols such
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as Gopher, World Wide Web, FTP and NNTP (Usenet News) natively, and
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other data services such as Archie, WAIS, and Veronica through
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gateways. NCSA Mosaic was designed to provide its user
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transparent and seamless access to these information sources and
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services.
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Mosaic is a product that will retrieve and display a wide variety
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of data types. These types include text, images, movies and audio.
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Version 2.0alpha1 of Mosaic is available via anonymous FTP on
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NCSA's FTP server, "ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu"(141.142.20.50), in the
|
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directory "/PC/Mosaic". The file is wmos20a1.zip.
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--------------------------------------------
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YOU CAN NOW VIEW INFORMATION ON THE RURAL DATAFICATION PROJECT
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on-line, using Gopher and the World Wide Web.
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Via Gopher: gopher.cic.net
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CICNet Projects and Gopher Servers
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Rural Datafication Project
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Via WWW: hhtp://www.cic.net/
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-----------------------------------
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TRENDS
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======
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Serious concern over network related social issues is growing in
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the US. In its 'Agenda for Action' document, the Administration has
|
|
set forth a positive vision of what the NII can be," said Dr.
|
|
Roberts. "To achieve that vision, however, the government must
|
|
play a major role in the design, development, and regulation of the
|
|
network."
|
|
|
|
CPSR [ computer professionals for social responsibility ]
|
|
has recommended that the Administration adopt the following
|
|
policies:
|
|
|
|
o Promote widespread economic benefits by evaluating the NII's
|
|
economic success using measures that reflect its impact on the
|
|
society as a whole, not merely the profits of NII investors and
|
|
service providers.
|
|
|
|
o Evaluate the social impact of the NII by conducting periodic
|
|
reviews as the NII is implemented and used to guarantee that
|
|
it continues to serve the public interest.
|
|
|
|
o Guarantee equitable and universal access through an appropriate
|
|
mix of legislation, regulation, taxation, and direct subsidies.
|
|
|
|
o Promote the development of a vital civic sector by ensuring
|
|
resources, training, and support for public spaces within the
|
|
NII where citizens can pursue noncommercial activities.
|
|
|
|
o Promote a diverse and competitive marketplace in terms of the
|
|
content carried over the NII.
|
|
|
|
o provide access to government services and information over the
|
|
NII.
|
|
|
|
o Encourage democratic participation by ensuring full public
|
|
disclosure, and actively promoting democratic decision-making
|
|
and public participation in all stages of the development
|
|
process.
|
|
|
|
o Actively facilitate the seamless connection of America's NII
|
|
with the information infrastructures of other nations by
|
|
working to resolve such issues as security, censorship,
|
|
tariffs, and privacy.
|
|
|
|
o Guarantee the functional integrity of the NII by establishing
|
|
critical technical requirements including ease of use,
|
|
widespread availability, full functionality, high reliability,
|
|
adequate privacy protection, and evolutionary expansion.
|
|
|
|
The recommendations follow from a yearlong review of the NII
|
|
conducted by CPSR. The process included collecting more than 1,200
|
|
suggestions for NII policy from network users across the country,
|
|
drafting a report, holding special chapter meetings on the NII in
|
|
Berkeley, Boston, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., and having a
|
|
multiple-draft review process by the membership.
|
|
CPSR is planning a conference next April in Cambridge,
|
|
Massachusetts, on the future of the NII, The Directions and
|
|
Implications of Advanced Computing. The conference will
|
|
investigate at a more specific level how to achieve the principles
|
|
in the CPSR report.
|
|
|
|
CPSR's NII paper is available electronically by sending email to
|
|
listserv@cpsr.org. In the message write the command
|
|
GET CPSR NII_POLICY or you can also FTP/WAIS/Gopher
|
|
cpsr.org:/cpsr/nii_policy.
|
|
|
|
For a hard copy of the paper or for more information about CPSR ,
|
|
call 415-322-3778 or write to cpsr@cpsr.org.
|
|
|
|
BACKGROUND ON THE CLIPPER CHIP PROPOSAL AND ITS BENEFITS
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------
|
|
[ This is a serious matter, but I couldn't resist throwing some
|
|
irony into the subject- ed ]
|
|
|
|
This proposal is best understood in the context of the history of
|
|
the western intelligence community.
|
|
|
|
The ability to secretly intercept the communications of others has
|
|
been vital to covert action since the earliest days of
|
|
international telecommunications. When the first transatlantic
|
|
cable was laid between Britain and the U.S. in 1927; its operations
|
|
where monitored by secret agreement between both countries.
|
|
Britain would capture and analyze all calls coming from the U.S.
|
|
and the Americans would do the same with british traffic. Relevant
|
|
material would be sent back to each other. This allowed both
|
|
countries to honestly proclaim they were not spying on their own
|
|
citizens, while benefiting from the fact that someone else was.
|
|
|
|
By the end of the second world war; a war that the allies won
|
|
primarily because of strategic advantage gained from superior
|
|
telecommunication interception; the english speaking powers agreed
|
|
to create a multinational agency to capture all the information in
|
|
the world. Every newspaper, radio broadcast, t.v. transmission, and
|
|
international telegraph or phone call was to be captured and
|
|
recorded and stored for possible future analysis.
|
|
|
|
That agreement is still in place. The publications of the FBIS [
|
|
Foreign Broadcast Information Service ] are an example of the
|
|
publicly disclosed results of the joint monitoring program.
|
|
|
|
Today, Canada intercepts private communication in the U.S. and vice
|
|
versa. This is not illegal. Each country's laws forbid it from
|
|
invading the privacy of its own citizens. These same laws
|
|
intentionally provide no such protection for the communications of
|
|
other nations.
|
|
|
|
The Internet began as a service of the U.S. military. It is
|
|
impossible to believe that national security considerations were
|
|
not incorporated into its design. To this day the highest level
|
|
technical meetings on Internet design in the U.S. can only be
|
|
attended by individuals with security clearances.
|
|
|
|
The Internet is above all an international network. Messages travel
|
|
around the globe in fractions of a second. From an intelligence
|
|
perspective this amounts to providing an unwanted window on the
|
|
U.S. to the rest of the world. A disloyal government employee could
|
|
encode a document - and send it over the internet to anyone in the
|
|
world. An illegally distributed document, once securely encoded may
|
|
be captured, but unless it is crackable, the government would be
|
|
hard put to determine the nature of the damage done to its security
|
|
interests, because it could not determine what document it had in
|
|
its possession. The recent decision of the Department of Defence
|
|
to end Internet access for most of its employees is grounded in
|
|
these considerations.
|
|
|
|
Similar considerations arise for companies that depend on technical
|
|
secrets for their market advantage, or that wish to be certain that
|
|
their strategies can not be discovered by competitors.
|
|
|
|
Ordinary citizens also value privacy.
|
|
|
|
Of course - the internet isn't the only problem technology. Digital
|
|
cellular phones will soon be voice activated and may weigh less
|
|
than an ounce. The same disloyal government employee will then be
|
|
able to capture and encode a document. Then, with the aid of a
|
|
cellular modem, broadcast it to any point on the globe.
|
|
-------------------
|
|
|
|
A good situation for a national intelligence service is one in
|
|
which your own communications are untapable, while everyone else's
|
|
are easily accessed. The ideal situation exists when everyone
|
|
believes that their own systems are secure - when they are in fact
|
|
not secure.
|
|
|
|
The clipper chip proposal - if universally adopted - would appear
|
|
to provide the U.S. government with a nearly ideal solution to a
|
|
crisis that has arisen in connection to the Internet.
|
|
|
|
The crisis arises from the fact that cheap secure encryption
|
|
software and now hardware has become globally available for the
|
|
first time; from Albania to Zaire everyone who owns a computer can
|
|
guarantee their own privacy. In essence - the cat is already out
|
|
of the bag and a desperate effort is underway to stuff it back in.
|
|
|
|
Accepting that a genuine problem exists. Is the Clipper chip
|
|
proposal a reasonable solution. If it is not a reasonable solution,
|
|
are their other - better approaches. Or, will one have to accept
|
|
the fact that the nature of the struggle for advantage through
|
|
technical espionage has changed.
|
|
-------------------------------
|
|
|
|
WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND WHO ARE THE LIKELY
|
|
BENEFICIARIES
|
|
|
|
The Clipper Chip proposal is an excellent solution if you are a
|
|
foreign company or nation interested in obtaining competitive
|
|
economic advantage over the United States. I expect that foreign
|
|
governments will begin lobbying immediately for adoption of the
|
|
proposal in the U.S. Here is why.
|
|
|
|
It will not prevent them from using effective encryption outside
|
|
of the U.S.
|
|
|
|
The United states represents only about 18% of the global market
|
|
place but it currently dominates in several hardware and software
|
|
categories.
|
|
|
|
These include supercomputers, network software and hardware,
|
|
desktop software, cpu chips, most categories of business software
|
|
for all classes of machines.
|
|
|
|
With adoption of these proposals - each of these categories will
|
|
become easier to gain market share in outside of the U.S.
|
|
Intel and Microsoft and Novell along with IBM, Thinking Machines
|
|
and Wais should all see significant declines in their market share.
|
|
|
|
Network Service providers like AT&T or Sprint should be easy to
|
|
defeat as they try to sell services in external markets.
|
|
|
|
If similar legislation is also passed in the area of cellular
|
|
communications, we can expect to see a dramatic decline in the
|
|
market share for Motorola products as well.
|
|
|
|
In the future as research on encryption techniques comes to a
|
|
standstill in the U.S. Foreign firms will be able to develop
|
|
optimized encryption standards that will meet the demands for the
|
|
emerging Multimedia market. Multimedia vendors seeking product
|
|
protection need efficient encryption standards to allow protection
|
|
of property rights. Encryption standards that slow down
|
|
transmission or minimize the effectiveness of compression
|
|
techniques will help guarantee the success of foreign firms.
|
|
|
|
SHOULD FOREIGN FIRMS REALLY SPEND MONEY ON LOBBYING.
|
|
|
|
Yes, despite the past history of success by the intelligence
|
|
community in crippling U.S. competitiveness in overseas markets in
|
|
areas like desktop computing and database software, and despite
|
|
that community's success in making U.S. companies the final
|
|
entrants in the Vietnames market and the China market; you can not
|
|
count on the continuing willingness of the American people to
|
|
accept these impediments.
|
|
|
|
In addition U.S. passage of this legislation may actual improve the
|
|
competitive advantage of a well prepared nation or corporate group.
|
|
U.S. history is replete with examples of trusted individuals who
|
|
have used intelligence information for private gain or sold it for
|
|
other reasons.
|
|
|
|
When men like former the multimillionaire Director of the CIA,
|
|
William Casey, had to be stopped from using intelligence
|
|
information for personal gain by Congress; there are probably few
|
|
serious limits the corruptablity of intelligence community staff.
|
|
And the clipper chip proposal is based upon trusting the keys to
|
|
chip's security system in the hands of low paid bureaucrats. Men
|
|
who may include among their ranks individuals like the Walker
|
|
Family who sold satellite intelligence secrets to the Russians for
|
|
peanuts.
|
|
|
|
The real danger here is that the U.S. might actually begin work on
|
|
improved encryption standards for incorporation in U.S. made
|
|
products. Such activity would create market advantage for American
|
|
companies.
|
|
|
|
ISN'T IT A DANGER TO OTHER COUNTRIES AND COMPANIES IF ENCRYPTION
|
|
THAT IS NOT BREAKABLE IS IN WIDE USE?
|
|
|
|
Not really. The Soviet Union and Israel managed to coexist with the
|
|
United States even though the U.S. was incapable of breaking their
|
|
codes. Both countries were themselves unable to break US coded
|
|
communications. Both countries successfully employed spies and
|
|
informants to obtain material and information that was otherwise
|
|
protected from decipherment. Both countries shared intelligence
|
|
information obtained from the U.S. So this raises the possibility
|
|
that foreign firms or nations could unite in obtaining economic
|
|
advantage over the US.
|
|
|
|
Because plans must be turned into action - existing national
|
|
technical means are sufficient to guarantee the physical security
|
|
of the U.S.
|
|
|
|
AREN'T THERE OTHER REAL BENEFITS TO THE US FROM THE ADOPTION OF
|
|
SUCH SYSTEMS?
|
|
|
|
Well, if the U.S. government adopted the clipper chip standard for
|
|
all its internal communication. It would be able to gain some
|
|
control of untrustworthy employees who wished to use technical
|
|
means in subverting the US. People like Jonathan Pollard who simply
|
|
physically removed documents from their safe storage sites, would
|
|
of course be unaffected. Similarly the Walker family was exposed
|
|
only because of a family feud.
|
|
|
|
WHAT ABOUT ORGANIZED CRIME ETC.
|
|
|
|
The US government's inability to prevent the ongoing success of
|
|
organized crime despite the availability of wire taps and
|
|
informants is a testimony to the intelligence of these criminal
|
|
organizations. Implementation of the clipper chip proposals will
|
|
not result in any change in their successful strategies for
|
|
avoiding monitoring.
|
|
|
|
ISN'T THERE ANYONE WHO WILL DEFINITELY BENEFIT FROM THIS?
|
|
|
|
Yes, some company will get the contract for these chips.
|
|
==============================================
|
|
|
|
ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS: this issue arrives a day late so that I
|
|
could include late breaking information on the Cipper chip issue.
|
|
|
|
A recent post to communet correctly noted that the editing of this
|
|
newsletter is poor. I would welcome any OFFER TO EDIT this
|
|
publication. I already spend 10 - 15 hours a week on it and just
|
|
can't spend any more.
|
|
|
|
==============================================
|
|
NETWORKS and COMMUNITY is a public service of FUTURE DATA; a
|
|
partnership of researchers and research system designers.
|
|
For commercial services contact Gwyneth Store - circa@io.org
|
|
|
|
Net facilities for the preparation of this newsletter are provided
|
|
by the DISTRIBUTED KNOWLEDGE PROJECT - York University - Canada
|
|
|
|
Back issues are archived through the kindness of the staff at
|
|
the WELL : gopher ----> well.sf.ca.us ->networks -->community
|
|
|
|
"subscriptions" are available through the generosity of the
|
|
listowner for the RRE NEWS SERVICE: subscribe by sending e-mail to
|
|
rre-request@weber.ucsd.edu) with a SUBJECT LINE
|
|
reading "subscribe <firstname> <lastname>".
|
|
|
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Additional distribution is assisted by the managers and owners of
|
|
NET-HAPPENINGS, COMMUNET, & the CANADIAN FREENET listservs
|
|
|
|
This newsletter is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN and may be used as you
|
|
see fit. To contribute items or enquire about this newsletter
|
|
contact Sam Sternberg <samsam@vm1.yorku.ca>
|
|
.
|
|
|