About this Issue

With this, the June posting of Interface, we conclude another academic year of publication.

In this issue we call for applications for two Berglund Fellowships for 2005-06 and for a special project for which we are soliciting proposals.  See the announcements at: http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2005/04/proposals.php

As our audience and editorial staff has grown, so has the size of the publication.   For this issue we have a rich variety of articles on a wide range of topics.

Our lead off article, by Kathleen Holder, - “The Card Catalog... Discarded” found at http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2005/04/0405.php is a perspective on the changes that the Internet and computing have bought to libraries everywhere.  Kathleen, a former journalist, now works at the University of California, Davis.  We think you will see Kathleen’s experience uniquely prepared her to write this fine piece.

One of the consistent stars in our editorial firmament has been Leonard D. DuBoff, a Portland attorney.  Of all of the specialized professions that contribute to important issues affected by and affecting the Internet, attorneys willing to write on a regular basis are the most difficult to find.  Leonard gives offers highly relevant and timely advise in discussing the legal implications of the Schiavio case in his article “Plan for Eternity “ found at: http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2005/04/duboff.php

This issue sadly marks our last contribution from

Kevin Kawamoto of the University of Washington.  Kevin has been with us for several years and has consistently drawn the largest audience of all our regular contributors for his column related to the impact of the Internet on health issues.  We are very sorry that “Health Information for Health-Conscious, Resourceful People” found at http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2005/04/kawamoto.php is his last contribution. Kevin, however, will continue to be associated with the Berglund center and we look forward to his future contributions in other sorts of activities.

A very knowledgeable contributor, William Vanderbok, with credentials from both the high-tech industry and academia, presents the results of his own systematic inquiry into Voice-over-Internet applications and providers.  His piece, “You NEED to know about VOIP” is found at: http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2005/04/vanderbok.php  We like to think that all our articles have the capability of changing or at least influencing our readers’ lives in immediate ways.  In this issue, this piece best exemplifies this hope.  This article could change the way in which you communicate via telephone.

Our game editor, Chris Pruett, compares the relationship between audience and production quality in the film and video game industries in “Humorous Diatribe Aimed At Disenfranchised Romantics 25 And Up”  See it at: http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2005/04/pruett.php

Our year-end editorial review discusses the major issues we see affecting the Internet over the last year, and in the near future.  It is found at: http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2005/04/edit.php

Our reviews in this issue are of two very different books.  One, Michael Drummond's Renegades of the Empire, found at: http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2005/04/drummond.php takes a close and quirky look at the firm arguably at the center of the high-tech industry, Microsoft.

Our second review reflects our continuing attempt to present materials relevant to the industry and the impact of the Internet in and from Asia. Ted Fishman's China Inc., found at http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2005/04/0405.php is an extremely important recent book dealing with the development of the Chinese economy and its present and future impact upon the lives of Americans as both workers and consumers.

As always, we hope that you will find this issue of Interface both useful and entertaining, and that you will look for our next posting, in September.

Jeffrey Barlow
Editor, Interface