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Technology in the 21st Century:
A Revolution in Communications, Education & Information
Student Handout
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BARRY DILLER
Barry Diller is Chairman of QVC Network and one of the most influential forces in the American entertainment. He dropped out of both Stanford and UCLA and started his career as a mail clerk at the William Morris Agency. In 1967, he joined ABC as a programming assistant and went on to pioneer the development of made-for-TV movies and mini-series. In 1974, Diller jumped to Paramount Pictures and helped make films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and TV shows such as Taxi. He got the idea to start a fourth network, joined FOX as chairman, and created a satellite-delivered national program service to broadcast affiliates across the nation. Diller helped develop innovative, sometimes controversial programming, including In Living Color, Married...with Children and The Simpsons. He then purchased the QVC Network, the home shopping cable network.
GLENN R. JONES
Glenn R. Jones is Board Chairman of Jones Intercable of Englewood, Colorado. He purchased his first cable television in 1967 with $400 borrowed against his Volkswagen. Realizing that the key to success in the cable industry was finance for the capital-intensive task of buying equipment and supporting the negative cash flows during the construction phase of new systems, Jones became the first to organize public limited partnerships to raise capital to finance cable acquisitions. His limited partnerships have raised more than $1 billion for the purchase of cable properties. Jones is one of the largest cable television operators in the United States.
DR. MARVIN MINSKY
Dr. Marvin Minsky is Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is heralded as the "Father of Artificial Intelligence" and a "Twentieth Century Renaissance Man." Dr. Minsky is one of the most influential leaders in the computer science community. He is striving toward the exciting, real promise of artificial intelligence which may become "an incredible tool for extending man's intellect further than was ever dreamed, lifting human creativity itself to new heights of achievement. Minsky is forging a man machine symbiosis that could represent the next great development for mankind, equivalent in its portent, perhaps, to walking erect or building the first tool."
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The world is in the midst of a telecommunications revolution that, if successful, will forever change the way most Americans receive information and the way they work. A fast, flexible information network or highway is essential for the United States to compete effectively in a global economy.
On the simplest level the revolution is most evident in the merge of the computer, television and telephone. The same wires that transmit phone service can carry cable television, if the government will allow it.
Driving this explosive merger are some rather simple technological advances:
- The ability to translate all audio and video communications into digital information.
- New methods of storing these digitized data and compressing them so they can travel through existing phone and cable lines.
- Fiber-optic wiring that provides a virtually limitless transmission pipeline.
- New switching techniques and other breakthroughs that made it possible to bring all this to neighborhoods without necessarily rewiring every home.
- Who will shape the "information highway?" What role should the government have in regulating and controlling telecommunications?
- What should the highway consist of: a huge cable system bringing shop-at-home services and video on demand; a huge computer bulletin board; or a highway devoted to business uses? In the end each consumer will be voting with remote control.
- The objective of this program is to explore what this revolution will mean to our nation and most importantly to the life of each student.
You may already be familiar with the leaders in computer technology and telecommunications fields. Conduct a brainstorming session to review who they are and what their individual contributions are to technology in the 20th century.
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The following places are important to any discussion regarding computer technology and telecommunications. Use this assignment as a geography quiz by locating the places on a map and describe their significance below:
- Cambridge, Massachusetts:
- Denver, Colorado:
- Hollywood, California:
- Kirkland, Washington:
- New York City, New York:
Studying computer technology and telecommunications may not seem relevant to your future today, but they represent stepping stones to a meaningful career. A knowledge of these subjects will help you decide what is most interesting to you. This is very important because most people spend one-half of their waking time on the job. Investigate the following careers related to science and medicine. Find out what the person does on a daily basis, the educational and work experience required and where the work must be performed.
- Accounting
- Business Administration
- Customer Service
- Computer Programmer
- Engineer
- Installer
- Legal
- Marketing
- Programming
- Sales
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