Articles submitted for publication in the Dun Valley News since: March '99 | February '01 | February '02 | February '03

The following article was prepared for publication in the December 2000 edition of the Dun Valley News.

Communication and the World Wide Web.

A decision on new domain name suffixes was reached in California on 16th November. The board of directors whittled the 44 applications down to just 7. A curious mix of restricted and open name spaces will provide the basis of this experiment that is attempting to expand the Domain Name System. Over 500 people remotely attended the meeting via the Internet and there are any number of opinions as to whether it will work or not. A video archive and full transcript has been posted on the Website at ICANN.org and the debate continues. As an exercise in communication the week long round of meetings has been a useful lesson. Remote participants were invited to ask questions via email and/or live audio. Can you imagine Parish Council meetings being organised in this way?

The British Government has indicated its intention to make Parish Councils more meaningful. The forthcoming Rural White Paper is expected to include measures that will devolve more power and funding to Parish Councils, provided they can demonstrate competence and credibility. In an attempt to encourage younger people to become members of PCs the qualifying age will be lowered from 21 to 18. Environment Minister, Michael Meacher, stated recently that 'people don't stand for election because they don't think they will make a difference'. As well as more control over planning applications PCs will be expected to play an active role in tackling 'social exclusion' within their communities.

The Community Web Initiative

By the time the Dun Valley News is published the sixteenth and final meeting of the year will have been held. The organisers believe that this has proved to be a worthwhile project and will be making plans for the New Year. We must thank Community First and CRISP in Devizes for funding twelve Village Hall hirings at West Dean and RECOMMIT in Salisbury for loaning the computers. No doubt there will be a few more households online after the Christmas and New Year holidays so perhaps there will be an opportunity to publish some interesting local information on a Website near you! Tel: 341405 with ideas.

The following article was prepared for publication in the November 2000 edition of the Dun Valley News.

What's in a name, a word, or an acronym?

From the moment that we are born our identities begin to evolve. Parents will probably have spent as long as the gestation period conjuring with alternatives. Once the decision is made our 'handle' may well influence the way that we are treated by our fellow human beings. Through school and college we get used to being referred to by name, acronym and abbreviation.

Considering the number of individuals in the world the chances of having a truly unique name are remote. It is against this background that the Internet domain name system (DNS) is evolving. As usual, whenever something captures people's imaginations, there are scores of other people looking for ways to charge a fee for something which we should already 'own'.

And so it is that the United States Government, who are credited with inventing the Internet, have formed a QUANGO for managing the way that identities are created on the World Wide Web (WWW).

ICANN, the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers, are charged with finding a way to expand the number of available 'name spaces'. So far, the result has been 44 applications from 'registrars' seeking to run alternative registries. A non-refundable fee of £35,000 accompanied each application. The Directors of ICANN are in the unenviable position of having to decide the winners and losers. Some of the directors even have an interest in the outcome!

For twenty-five years, seven alternative name spaces have proved more than adequate and the introduction of over 250 country specific spaces should have satisfied demand. But the clamour for more spaces has only increased.
Yours sincerely, RichardParsons.co.uk.

The Community Web Initiative

Well done RobertKey.com! Well done Salisbury.gov.uk! If you're in the sixty percent of people who don't know what I'm talking about then you need to get along to King George's Hall, West Dean, on the second or fourth Thursday of the month to find out. There is absolutely no obligation or cost involved.
The Community Web Initiative wants to see every Village Hall in the Country hooked up to the Internet. Make this the excuse for neighbours to meet face to face on a regular basis. Throw away your cars and walk or cycle to the Village Hall!

Come to West Dean on Thursday, 9th November, 9:00am to 5:00pm and/or take a trip to Swallowcliffe Computer Club leaving at 6:30pm.

On Thursday, 23rd November, the facility will be available from 9:00am to 5:00pm and from 6:00pm by appointment only. Tel: 01794 341405.

The following article was prepared for publication in the October 2000 edition of the Dun Valley News.

Community Web

By the time this is published Community Web will have held twelve meetings in King George's Hall at West Dean and helped nearly one hundred people to understand the benefits of computers and the Internet. Community First and CRISP, who paid for the hire of the Village Hall, are now prepared to fund a further six meetings. To justify the spending of public money on any project, evidence that a maximum number of people have benefited is needed. In February this year a constitution for Community Web was prepared that pledged to hold twenty meetings during the first year culminating in an AGM on 22nd February 2001. The organisers would very much like to know how this facility could better serve the local community. Whether you have attended or not we want to hear from you! How can we achieve the maximum return from this offer of funding? Should this facility be made available at other locations? The Village Hall at West Dean has been provisionally booked for the second and fourth Thursdays of the next three months. Should these meetings go ahead? Please contact us by eMail or telephone with your point of view. richard@theparish.net or 01794 341405.

The following article was prepared for publication in the September 2000 edition of the Dun Valley News.

finding stuff on the net

OK, so you've got connected and now you want to see what all the fuss is about. The first thing you'll see is a little box with a button called 'search'. Yes, you're expected to type a word that represents what you are looking for and so you type 'holiday'. Of three million documents the first few don't seem to be very helpful so you type 'sunshine holiday'. That's better, only sixty thousand documents except that most of them seem to be in Australia! 'sunshine holiday uk' returns only thirteen thousand documents and the first page is showing Websites in Cornwall and Hampshire. Maybe this Internet thingy will have its uses after all......

Of course, before something can be found on the net it first as to be compiled and published. Come to the Community-Web facility at King George's Hall, West Dean on 14th and/or 28th September, 9:00am to 9:00pm and contribute to the information that will be published about this locality. Alternatively, visit http://www.theparish.net/ and use the response form provided. If you think that is a bit of a mouthful just type 'theparish' into one of those little search boxes or call Richard on 01794 341405.

The Whiteparish and Landford Link Scheme
serving
Sherfield English, Alderbury, West Dean, East Grimstead and Nomansland
Charity No.1064297
DO YOU NEED HELP?
We aim to assist where other services are not available such as Surgery appointments, collecting prescriptions and in other ways.
CALL US ON 01794 884390 CAN YOU HELP US?
We need volunteers to help with this worthwhile and important service We promise not to make too many demands upon your time For information on how you can help call us on 01794 884390

First published in the March 2000 edition of the Dun Valley News.

The Community Web Initiative

The 'computer awareness' day in King George's Hall, West Dean, on 10th February was well supported. As a result a second 'computer awareness' day is being organised for 24th February. Entitled 'The Internet: a Curse or a Benefit?' the objective of the event is to demonstrate how access to the World Wide Web can easily become a part of everyday life.

The doors will be open from 2:00 to 8:00pm to anyone who wants to come. Although there is no charge for coming there will be a collection on the day towards the cost of hiring the Hall and the refurbished Internet ready PCs provided by RECOMMIT in Salisbury are for sale. For convenience the day is divided into three sessions commencing at 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00 pm.

There will be an Internet connection and several computer workstations for visitors to familiarise themselves with the ubiquitous mouse and basic computer applications. This is by way of the 'IT for All' CD-ROM initiative. Please communicate feedback to Richard Parsons on Tel: 01794 341405. Internet Website at www.theparish.net will also contain up to date information on future scheduled events.

The following article was prepared for publication in the November '99 edition of the Dun Valley News.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

As more people become familiar with e-mail and the Internet, businesses are realising that they cannot afford to dismiss the World Wide Web as just another passing fashion. No longer is the circulation of information the preserve of newspaper groups and publishing houses. Government bodies are finding that the Internet can revolutionise methods of communication; important documents can be published quickly without the associated printing and distribution costs. No longer is it necessary to rent warehouses to store paper based documents; the technology exists to reduce the reliance on paper.

And yet, resistance to change is evident in all walks of life; the Law Society still requires all documents to be stored on paper; the Health Service produce dozens of hand written documents every day. Even Education Departments have failed to grasp the significance of the need to teach HTML, the language of the Internet. It often seems that the advantage of new technology is just not being harnessed. Don't let the technological revolution pass you by!

Anyone unfamiliar with how to browse the Internet or communicate by e-mail can take advantage of a FREE BBC WebWise taster session in Salisbury. Just FreePhone 0800 100 900 for details. If the thought of spending large amounts of money to gain access to the Super Highway is off putting call the author, free of charge, on 0800 596 9669. A firm in Salisbury is refurbishing Pentium PCs to enable low cost access to the Internet.

First published in the March '99 edition of the Dun Valley News.
Since publication Euphony have introduced a limit to their 'free local call' programme.

The Future - Embracing the Power of the Internet

Computers - The Internet - Information Technology.

As technologies converge the power of the Internet becomes more apparent. Ultimately, the combination of television and telephone will provide interactive information gathering for all. However, for the present it is the Personal Computer, connected to the Internet, that is the focus. Public Libraries are unlikely to be replaced immediately but already searching for a book can be conducted 'online'. Having recently discovered a library book on Cobol, the computer programming language, I was able to join an online news group where the merits of this particular subject are discussed. From there I was directed to an Internet website in San Jose, California. My computer then downloaded an application complete with manuals in a little over two hours. At 1p per minute the cost of acquiring 25 Megabytes of information was less than £1.50p. Searching the Internet is a bit like mining for gold; the occasional nugget of valuable information is buried under megabytes of irrelevancies. Often, one is directed to an Internet address from a news group or website to find the solution to a particular problem. One time, a search for 'telecoms' revealed a company prepared to absorb the cost of local telephone calls. Euphony will allow customers to make an unlimited number of local calls, in the evenings and at weekends, of ten minutes duration, completely free of call charges. The savings are possible because Euphony does not have to pass on the cost of advertising, which has been minimised by, literally, using 'word of mouth' to spread the message!

For those already connected to the Internet I have created a Website in conjunction with Brian Bason at Lockerley Green Shop. The address is http://www.lockerley.net

The plan is to make it a valuable source of past, present and future information about the area including a business and service directory.
Please e-Mail: lockerley@firstalpha.co.uk to contribute.

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