About this Issue

The December issue of Interface, which caps off our fourth year of publication, offers a holiday spread of articles and reviews.

Glee Cady, who writes on privacy and security, offers “Those Who Are Upright,” both a historical survey of privacy legislation, and an appreciation of a personal friend and major figure in the area of privacy, the attorney Ron Plesser, who died recently.  http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2004/06/cady.php.   Glee is the author of Protect Your Digital Privacy, which she wrote with Pat McGregor (See review at: http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2003/06/cady.php ).

Our prolific Gaming editor, Chris Pruett, who has extensive experience in the gaming field in both Japan and the United States, offers “Balancing Game Mechanics and Narrative.” In this piece Chris describes the challenges facing game designers who aspire to produce both successful games, and artistic ones. http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2004/06/pruett.php

Kevin Kawamoto, author of our feature on Health issues presents the conclusion of a two-part piece, “Learning About Health Care Policy” found at: http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2004/06/kawamoto.php

Keaton Nguyen presents the conclusion to his series on keitai (Japanese for cell phone).  In the conclusion Keaton discusses “Keitai: The Industry and its Players.” http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2004/06/nguyen.php

Our editor, Jeffrey Barlow, discusses the recent astonishing business transaction, the purchase of the Personal Computing Division of I.B.M. by Lenovo, a Chinese company.  In his editorial, “China Boots Up,” Jeffrey argues that this deal presages major changes, not only in the industry, but also in international relations in general. http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2004/06/edit.php

Our book reviews discuss two contrasting books, either one of which would make an excellent holiday gift for those interested in the Internet and its impact.  First is David Crystal’s English as a Global Language,” http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2004/06/crystal.php. Crystal is widely regarded as the authority on the development and growth of English, and his inquiry into the future of English is rooted in a history of the impact of technology and politics on the language.

The second book under review is a useful how-to, Preston Galla’s “eBay in a Snap.” http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2004/06/gralla.php eBay is, of course, one of those factors driving the spread of English, and Galla offers good advice for both experienced and novice users of eBay. If you are still looking for that holiday gift, start with Galla’s work.

Interface will not appear in January as our staff is engaged in research and recreation.  Several of our editors will be spending the period in China, and we promise that the February issue, which will begin our fifth year of publication, will be a particularly interesting one.

We hope that you will find this issue of Interface both good and useful reading and that you enjoy a wonderful holiday season.

The Berglund Center for Internet Studies

Pacific University