LA PLAZA--NEWS FROM THE MOUNTAIN Volume 1, Number 5, August 1994 >From the Editor Summers for most businesses and organizations tend to be slow. People go on vacation, there are a lot of BBQs, camping, fishing, and other such events. The folks at La Plaza, though, have been working remarkably hard over the summer to bring dial-in access to the Taos region. Its not here yet, but we are getting significantly closer. More about La Plaza developments later. The newsletter is available online or in hard copy. If you do not already receive "La Plaza--News From the Mountain," please let me know, and I will gladly add you to our subscription list. Richard W. Bryant, Editor, and Director of Projects & Development La Plaza TeleCommunity P.O. Box 1828 El Prado, NM 87579 Direct Tel/fax: 505-758-1919 rbryant@hydra.unm.edu ***************************************************************** Information in this newsletter may be freely distributed, but it must include a reference to the source: La Plaza--News from the Mountain Vol x, No. y, Month, Year. All rights reserved. R.W. Bryant, La Plaza Telecommunity, 1994 ***************************************************************** CORRECTION--What Hath God Wrought? Don Osborn (don.osborn@ssc.msu.edu) pointed out that it wasn't Alexander Graham Bell who said "What hath God wrought?" but Samuel F.B. Morse who tapped out the phrase on his telegraphy set on May 23, 1844. LA PLAZA GETTING CLOSER TO DIAL-IN SERVICE As mentioned in the last issue of this newsletter, La Plaza received an interim server through our SBIR award with Los Alamos National Laboratory. Currently, the machine is being configured and is being readied for dial-in access. We are still waiting on certain equipment to arrive, but everything is essentially on schedule. The La Plaza system address is: laplaza.taos.nm.us When ready, email addresses will take the form of: rbryant@laplaza.taos.nm.us LA PLAZA PERSONNEL TO TEACH BASIC INTERNET COURSES AT UNM-TAOS Two sections of a Basic Internet course will be taught at the University of New Mexico--Taos Education Center during the Fall, 1994 semester. One section will be taught in the evening by Marty Meltzer and the daytime section will be taught by Richard Bryant. They will be for credit, as a four- credit laboratory courses. Anyone interested in taking these courses must register for them by 11 August 1994 at the UNM--Taos Education Center. These courses are not listed in the UNM--Taos class schedule, so please tell your friends and neighbors about the class. Each section will be limited to 15 students, so don't delay. For more information on registration and class schedules contact UNM--Taos at 505-758-7667. For information on course content, call Richard Bryant at 505- 785-1919. LA PLAZA PARTY AND VIDEO In the last issue of "News from the Mountain," the La Plaza party and "La Plaza--The Movie" were said to be scheduled for 10 September 1994. Because of some scheduling problems, this event will be pushed into October. At present, a date has not been set, but you will be informed when we have a new time. LA PLAZA STILL NEEDS MODEMS AND TELEPHONE LINES La Plaza stills needs high-speed modems and telephone lines so that local dial-up access can be provided. This is not an advertisement, but MacWarehouse (1-800-255-6227) has "Magnum 144," 14.4 baud modems (p. 22, order no. MOD 0183) on sale for $99.00.***HINT- HINT*** For those who would like to donate a high-speed modem and telephone line, the total cost for one-year sponsorship would be approximately $700 to $800. Most of this cost is due to telephone line charges. A measured-service business line for one year, including all set-up charges, is $584.47. The monthly charge, including all taxes is $36.24 per month). Remember you donation is tax deductible, and tax time will be upon us quicker than one might imaging. LA PLAZA DISCUSSES COMMUNITY NETWORKS WITH MAJOR FOUNDATIONS During a recent trip to New York City, La Plaza Vice President, Richard Bryant, contacted several major foundations based in the region. These included: The Carnegie Corporation, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Markle Foundation, and the Annenberg Foundation. Unfortunately, none of these charitable foundations showed any interest in community networks. This was particularly surprising for the Markle Foundation and the Annenberg Foundation. Markle's major emphasis is on media and they funded "Senior Net" at about $600,000. Annenberg also funds, at a high level, a number of media-related projects--yet no interest in community networks. One of the problems appears to be a general lack of knowledge concerning community nets, despite all of the information superhighway talk in the media. Of course, most of the discussion in the media is related to commercial activities and regulatory matters. When was the last time you read about a community network in the New York Times or any other major newspaper? Although community nets are beginning to provide many services throughout the U.S. and other parts of the world, very little attention has been paid to these organizations. To editorialize a bit, perhaps it is time that anyone with any foundation contacts ring them up and start educating these people about community networks. Once the major foundations realize the potential that community nets can have in education, community advancement, healthcare, and other areas, perhaps they will begin providing some funding to support these worthy endeavors. LAP*LAP*LAP*LAP*LAP*LAP*LAP*LAP*LAP*LAP*LAP*LAP*LAP*LAP .