... computer consulting and training specialists
... computer consulting and training specialists
NEW YORK
-- Few people knew anything about the World Wide Web two years ago. Now it's the
most important force in computing, poised to profoundly influence society for
years to come. It began
in 1989 as a tool scientists used for collegial communication, then gained mass
appeal in 1994 after a breakthrough made it simple to use. In the United States and other
computer-saturated countries, gangly " http:// " Web
addresses are now ubiquitous postscripts in advertising, news stories and
packaging. Thousands of
companies, many quite small, have formed to put information on the Web,
transforming it into an enormous electronic library where data on almost
anything can be found -- as long as you have a personal computer. But a new stage in Web evolution
is emerging. The first financial transactions are happening with people buying
books, CDs, plane tickets and even stocks on the Web. Computer-like machines
priced as low as $200 will come this fall, allowing many more people to connect.
About 24 million people
in the United States, 12 percent of the population over age 16, accessed the Web
at least once from March to May, says a survey by Intelliquest, an Austin,
Texas, research firm. It found 35 million connected to the broader Internet or
online services during that period. With so much development momentum,
the Web in a decade or so may be so common that people won't think about it.
Like the phone system on which it relies, the Web will just be there. The Web
is nothing more than a universal agreement on a way that one computer can
display data from a second and then jump to data from a third, fourth and so on
without complex commands.
That notion of easily linking data, regardless of a computer's type or location,
can change the way people create and organize information. It's leading some
businesses and institutions to rethink how they function. The Web cannot now be relied on to
transfer the trillions of dollars that flow daily through banks, corporations
and governments. But in time, some believe society's most complex structures,
such as the stock trading and representative government, will be altered by the
Web. "There's no doubt
the boulder is rolling. The world is changing before our eyes," said Andrew
Klein, who founded Spring Street Brewing Co., the first company to sell its own
stock on the Web, and Wit Capital Corp., which will help others do the same.
The first big changes
have been in the technology industry. Firms that didn't have Web-related
products a year ago, now do. Even computer games have been modified so a player
can record a favorite move and place it on a Web site, where other fans can talk
about it. Media firms and
other companies that produce information have found the Web is a way to reach
customers. Dozens of new magazines and newsletters circulate only on the Web.
"I didn't even have
Internet access at my old job," said Amy Goldwasser, managing editor since
January at Charged, a Web-only magazine devoted to the action life depicted in
hobbies like mountain biking and inline skating.
The Web was born when Tim
Berners-Lee, a programmer at the European Particle Physics Laboratory, conceived
the technical standard that allows data to be linked. It began to take off in
early 1994 after a program called Mosaic, created by University of Illinois
students, gave the Web a graphical look and simpler commands. Initially, information published
on the Web had to be written with special programs to create the electronic
links. Now, ordinary word processing, drawing and spreadsheet programs have been
modified to create the links. The next wave of innovation is
centered on weaving animation, sound and video into Web documents. Sun
Microsystems Inc. created a programming language called Java that has fostered
these improvements. A
technique has been developed for sound, such as a radio broadcast or concert, to
be heard via a Web page the moment it is happening. The quality is only fair but
developers are making progress. Faster connections, such as cable TV lines, will
help. It has even become
possible to deliver a video signal through the Web, though the picture is jerky.
That also will improve with more development and faster connections. A few
companies like VocalTec Inc. are adapting audio and video technology for
conferencing online.
Such progress sounds nice
though impractical right now for most people. But it is very important to
companies with complex data systems. Connections in corporate networks
are faster than phone lines that most people at home use to connect to the
Internet and Web. That makes advances in Web technology practical in corporate
settings. More important,
Web technical standards reduce the difference between computers. Information
produced for a Web page can be used equally well on a IBM-compatible PC, Apple
Macintosh or engineering workstation. Most companies have a variety of
computers. Before Web specifications became entrenched, it was inefficient to
share information among them. The term "intranet" is used to describe corporate
data systems that adopt Web technical standards, overcoming design barriers of
divergent machines. By
sharing information regardless of the type or location of computer,
organizations can change how they work. Federal Express Corp., for example,
takes package orders and pickup requests over its Web site, saving money because
customers make fewer calls to its 800-line. Electronic Data Systems Corp., a
huge computer services and consulting firm, helped a client design a way for
employees to report expenses on an intranet. "I think the recognition of
potential is extremely broad" in large companies, said Butch Winters, president
of EDS' internet and new media business. But he added, "Most organizations don't
know how to develop meaningful criteria to measure the impact." Lotus Development Corp. studies
the changes in customers of its Notes product, which also transcends differences
between computers, through a subsidiary called the Lotus Institute. "Once you open up a shared or
collaborative space, you provide context for discussion of issues that,
previously, folks lower down in an organization weren't privy to," said Chris
Newell, the institute's managing director. Armed with more information, he
said, employees gain confidence.
Even though the Web has
become mass-marketed, it remains inaccessible to most people. Web use is shaped
not just by the gap between technological "haves" and "have-nots," but the gulf
between people and companies needing all the information they can get and those
who do not. Insurance
Providers of Missouri Inc., a small high-risk auto insurer in Springfield, Mo.,
has an Internet connection but little practical use for it. Co-owner Lawrence
Mammen has looked at how big insurers market themselves on the Web and decided
doing the same thing wouldn't bring new business. Only a few dozen of the 300 city
workers in Loveland, Colo., with PCs on their desks use the Internet. "There's a
lot more people on the verge of wanting access," said Tom Iwanski, microcomputer
support specialist for the city government. But there are other priorities, such
as a new document imaging system, to be attended first. Cost is the big issue for many
consumers who have heard about the Web. In September, Sony and Philips will sell
a $200-$300 device that lets people interact with the Web using a TV. Other
companies are racing to do the same. For Sony executive Jim Bonan, the
reason to make such a product lies with what he sees as the Web's paradox:
"Never has something gotten so much attention while remaining a mystery to such
a vast group of people."
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