Welcome to the first issue of M Computing to appear exclusively on the Worldwide web. It has taken some time to get this issue together, and I’d like to apologize for the amount of time that has elapsed. Life, Y2K, and the loss of the MTA staff all contributed to the delay.
The articles in this issue are an interesting mix, with the common theme of the "front end", or data presentation layer:
Some of the more appealing parts of M Computing are nothing but stubs in this issue. Since the MTA staff was laid off, nobody has come forward to help collect information for "M Around the World" or "Industry in the News". Don Piccone was the author of the "MDC Briefs"; he’s gone, and so is the column. There aren’t any advertisements, any profiles of MDC Distinguished members, or any forms for transacting MTA business, such as becoming a member or purchasing publications. I’m hoping that those things will be added in time. If you have time to help, please let me know. We are also looking for people who can help bring previous issues of M Computing into machine-readable format for publication on the web.
I know that there are some people who are less than thrilled at M Computing’s move to web format. Plenty of people have told me that they want to be able to read it on the train, or the plane, without having to carry around a laptop. I’m afraid that for now, you’ll just have to resort to local printing. If there’s somebody out there who feels passionate enough about the hard copy issue to be willing to endow an MTA printing & postage fund, we’d like to hear from you.
Wow! We’re on the web. I knew that we could do it, I just didn’t realize how long it would take. I’ve been working towards this moment for two years, that is, ever since I took over as Executive Editor.
The internet is an awesome medium. It is also a fairly uncontrolled medium. "Information" ranges from AA (Alcoholics anonymous, and the AA college football division) to Kawasaki’s ZZ series cycles. In between there’s everything from medical advice, to sexy photos, from technical support to bigotry in all of its diverse forms. Where else could you find material that celebrates Hippocrates only as a mathematician and not as a physician? The information was great, just incomplete. Try to explain point of view and reliability of sources to a ten-year-old.
I hope you will look to M Computing for interesting and authoritative information on M. Articles in this journal are reviewed for accuracy and for potential appeal to our readers. Authors of columns are recognized experts in the field, or officers of the MTA. (Their columns, however, represent their own opinions.)
Thanks are due to many people for this issue of M Computing:
As always, we value your input. You may address letters to the editor via either email: cschell@jacquardsystems.com, or snail Mail: Executive Editor, M Computing, M Technology Association, c/o Stokes & Company, P.C. 1275 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC 20005.
Kate Schell is President of Jacquard Systems Research in Rockville, MD,
and the Executive Editor of M Computing. She can be reached via email
at: cschell@JacquardSystems.com, or through the MTA office at
202-216-0267.