LA PLAZA--NEWS FROM THE MOUNTAIN Volume 1, Number 1 March 1994 As a new feature of the La Plaza TeleCommunity, we are publishing a monthly newsletter to help keep La Plaza supporters up-to-date on the progress of your community-based network. La Plaza has developed rapidly since its inception in early August of last year. We have accomplished many of our goals, and we have received recognition for our efforts at all levels of government, at the community level, and by industry. Of course, we have a long way to go before you can call into La Plaza and experience the enormous resources of the Internet and your local community network. In this first issue of La Plaza--News From the Mountain, we will provide an overview of our accomplishments to date in chronological order, and then where we go from here. Subsequent issues will keep you up to date on the relevant happenings at La Plaza of the previous month., and any important news articles which bear on community networks. We would also like to encourage you to provide input to this newsletter in the form of articles of interest to the La Plaza community. You may send articles, comments, and criticisms to the La Plaza office, or by email (after all, this is a computer network) to: Richard W. Bryant, Editor, and Director of Projects & Development La Plaza TeleCommunity 115 Civic Plaza Drive Taos, NM 87571 Direct Tel/fax: 505-758-1919 rbryant@hydra.unm.edu ************************************************************************ July, 1993--Telluride Infozone Conference In July of 1993, four members of La Plaza, Spiro Antonopoulus, Richard Bryant, Patrick Finn, and Barbara Lazar, participated in the Telluride Institute's Idea Festival on its nascent "Telluride Infozone." We owe a large debt to this conference, as it was one of the seminal events which helped define the concept that we now call La Plaza. In fact, the name "La Plaza," as an electronic plaza metaphor for the original Taos Plaza, was a meeting of the minds of four os that happened at this conference. We had the privilege to meet a number of extraordinary individuals in Telluride who have had a tremendous influence on the development of La Plaza. These include: Anne Branscomb, Harvard University; Lewis Branscomb, Harvard University; Steve Cisler, Senior Scientist at Apple Computer; Richard Civille, Director of the Center for Civic Networking; Dave Hughes of Old Colorado City Communications; Richard Lowenberg, Telluride Institute; Sherrie Rabinowitz and Kit Galloway of the Electronic Cafe International*; Howard Rheingold, author; Randy Ross, American Indian Telecommunications; Eric Theise, The Well and consultant; Debbie Thomas, US West Communications; and Gene Youngblood, Moving Image Arts and author. Contact with these individuals in-person, online, and by telephone provided us at La Plaza with invaluable information, insights, and help throughout this project. These contacts led to many more contacts over the last 7 months. We cannot thank these individuals enough for all that they have brought to La Plaza and community networking. September, 1993--La Plaza Files for NM State Corporation Status In September, La Plaza filed and received its New Mexico State Corporation papers. October, 1993--La Plaza Files for Nonprofit, 501(c)3, Status In October, La Plaza filed for federal nonprofit, 501(c)3, status, and we are currently awaiting confirmation of nonprofit status. In the mean time, La Plaza arranged for a nonprofit umbrella with the High Mesa Foundation. October, 1993--Los Alamos National Laboratory/La Plaza Meeting Another important event occurred near the end of October, 1993. We received an e-mail message from Greg Shannon of the C-3 Division at LANL, inviting La Plaza to attend a meeting C-3 was holding in Los Alamos concerning C-3's Digital Village project. Two of our members, Paul Cross and Patrick Finn, attended the meeting, which turned into a growing relationship between the Lab and La Plaza. One of the first joint efforts between LANL and La Plaza was the development of a prototype demonstration of the La Plaza Telecommunity concept. This demonstration was showed first at the La Plaza Telecommunity Summit meeting in December. Subsequently, the "demo" was demonstrated in Washington, DC with attendees from all levels of the federal government, including the White House. In early November, Greg Shannon of C-3 and Richard Bryant of La Plaza, attended the Berkeley Roundtable for International Economics Technology Summit in San Francisco. This meeting was Chaired by Ronald Brown, Secretary of the Department of Commerce. The 800-plus attendees included other high-level Administration officials such as William Perry, Secretary of Defense, Arati Prabhakar, Head of the National Institute of Standards and Technology; high-level executives from major U.S. companies including AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, IBM, Xerox, and others. We saw to it that most of these individuals left the conference with the La Plaza Telecommunity summary in hand. LANL also has generously loaned La Plaza computer equipment. It has provided online accounts at LANL for research purposes; it has given La Plaza $5,000 to help support development; and currently, we are jointly defining the major considerations and problems for the development of novel software to run La Plaza and other community-based systems. November, 1993--La Plaza Offers First Internet Course In late November, 1993, La Plaza offered its first Internet course, taught by Eric Theise. The two-day course was taken by over 30 people over the Thanksgiving weekend. December, 1993--La Plaza Telecommunity Summit Meeting The La Plaza Telecommunity Summit meeting was held on Thursday afternoon, 2 December 1993. The Summit was the first major outreach to the Taos community to describe the La Plaza project, give the LANL/La Plaza demonstration, and solicit community input. The Summit was attended by over 100 individuals, some of whom came from as far as North Carolina (IBM) and California (Apple Computer). Presentations were made by representatives from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Apple Computer, Senator Pete Domenici's office, the State of New Mexico, the Town of Taos, the University of New Mexico, and La Plaza. The LANL/La Plaza demonstration was presented, as well as live Internet demonstrations of electronic mail, video conferencing, and information resource searching. December, 1993--Apple Computer Awards La Plaza Equipment Grant The Apple Library of Tomorrow awarded to La Plaza an equipment grant valued over $15,000. The equipment includes: one Quadra 610; one Quadra 840av; one 14-inch color monitor; one 16-inch color monitor; one PowerBook 180C; one networking laser printer; and local-area network equipment. Apple Computer also donated two complete AV desktop computer systems to the Harwood Library in support of La Plaza's collaboration with the library. La Plaza owes a great deal to Steve Cisler, Senior Scientist at Apple, for his continued support, encouragement, and the above equipment. December, 1993--La Plaza Testifies at Department of Commerce Hearings A representative of La Plaza, Dr. Richard W. Bryant, was invited to testify on the concept of Universal Service for the National Information Infrastructure (NII) at a Department of Commerce hearing, sponsored by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in Albuquerque on 16 December 1993. The NTIA is the government entity that is overseeing the development of the "information superhighway." This hearing was the first of several being held around the country in order to obtain input on the crucial issues surrounding the development of the NII. La Plaza Office Opens at UNM Taos Education Center La Plaza and the UNM Taos Education Center have developed a close collaborative relationship over the last six months. The Taos Education Center provided La Plaza with an office in December. We are also collaborating on using the Center's computer lab for training and the La Placita pilot-project development. Kudos to Dr. Augustine Martinez, Director, for his continuing support. January, 1994--La Plaza Awarded Small Business Grant from Los Alamos National Laboratory La Plaza signed a Technical Consulting Services Agreement, valued at $75,000, with the Industrial Partnership Organization at Los Alamos National Laboratory in late January, 1994. This funding will remain within LANL's C-3 Division in order to support technical consulting activities with La Plaza to help define the basic software problems for the graphical interface of the La Plaza system. In addition, some of the award is being used for the development of the La Plaza prototype demonstration and for supporting the T1, high-speed data line installed at La Plaza office located at the University of New Mexico Taos Education Center. Thanks to C-3 people--Vance Faber, Bonnie Yantis, Greg Shannon, and Grizz Deal. February, 1994--State Funding Bills Pass All of us at La Plaza wiped our brows and gave sighs of relief upon hearing that the two bills introduced into the New Mexico State Legislature to help support La Plaza were passed with flying colors in both the House (Rep. Frank Peralta) and Senate (Sen. Carlos Cisneros). Both bills were pegged at $500,000 each. However, after the legislative budget paring knife took over, the total funding for the project has been cut, but at press time, we do not know the exact amount. Nonetheless, it appears that La Plaza will receive some state funding for development. Thanks to everyone who called or wrote their legislators. February, 1994--New Internet Class Being Held by La Plaza Marty Meltzer is teaching a basic Internet course on Monday evenings at 7:00 PM at the University of New Mexico Taos Education Center. This free course is being used to help develop the curriculum for a more extensive Internet course or courses to be held at the Taos Education Center for credit. These courses should be offered in the 1994 Fall Session. The course is still open to those who would like to sit in. Currently, there are approximately 12 to 15 students at each class. Stuart Farley, Buck Little, and Richard Bryant also are helping out with the development of the course. If you have any questions, call Marty at 758-1836. February, 1994--Fortune Magazine Interviews La Plaza for Major Article Fortune Magazine interviewed La Plaza in mid-February for a major article on the Atomization of Business Using Computer Technology and the Internet. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? La Plaza--Phase I The next major step in the development of La Plaza is Phase I, the first step leading to the ultimate La Plaza system which we are currently putting together at the UNM Taos Education Center. We are gathering equipment and components and are awaiting permission to utilize the T-1 data line that has been provided by LANL. Because of the large demand for online services in Taos, it was decided in December to attempt to develop Phase I of the La Plaza system as soon as possible. This system, as envisioned, will utilize the UNM Taos Education Center Computer Laboratory during times that UNM computer classes are not being taught. Use of Phase I will require successfully completing the Internet course, or otherwise demonstrate Internet expertise. We are currently in the process of acquiring the necessary equipment to set up the system. However, one of the major problems that we now face, is finding technical personnel to keep the Phase I system running. Anyone willing to provide technical assistance, particularly those with expertise in LANs and networking, are requested to contact Paul Cross at 758-1836. Fundraising--Local and National Currently, La Plaza is involved in a major fundraising campaign both locally and at the national level. Although the long-term funding view appears very good. We are in need of short-term funding in order to maintain the momentum of the project until the longer-term funding becomes available. Fundraising staff of La Plaza, headed by Richard Bryant and including Linda Moscarella and Jim Ulmer, is involved in community outreach programs to update the community on our activities, as well as to solicit new short-term community funding. We are making presentations to community and business groups, the public schools, and private individuals. We are currently writing numerous grant proposals for long-term funding, and we are very encouraged by the responses of the funding organizations which we have contacted. However, none of this funding will happen before mid-year. End .