From the Editor: IBM and the Internet Go to the Olympics

By Betty Hawkins



For the 1992 Olympic Games, the much-talked-about innovation was the broadcast of the Games in their entirety on cable TV. Oh, sure, people would pay to watch hours of "milling around" and "also-rans"! Well, that was one idea that didn't fly.

What's the biggest, most visible advance in information technology since 1992? If you didn't answer "the Internet" or at least "the information superhighway," then you've been in some sort of news warp for the last four years. You'll be able to get up-to-the-minute information on all the 1996 Olympic Games on the Internet!

IBM, the worldwide information technology sponsor of the 1996 Olympic Games, in partnership with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG), has developed the official Olympic Web site (http://www.atlanta.olympic.org). Billed as a "virtual venue" for Olympic fans, the Web site today contains information on the upcoming events, including participating athletes, schedules for team competitions, pictures of Olympic sporting and cultural events, and other breaking pre-Olympic news. In addition, using a secure electronic commerce application developed by IBM, you can now purchase tickets through the Web.

IBM is also working with ACOG to plan and implement one of the most advanced information technology infrastructures ever built. With reliability and usability critical, the specifications for this solution are far more stringent than for most of IBM's commercial clients. The systems have to work. And they have to work for the thousands of volunteers who will be using them. OS/2 Warp and OS/2 Warp Connect PC clients and servers are responsible for calculating, ranking, and distributing scores to scoreboards, TV commentators, satellite feeds, other venues, and the entire Olympic community.

Whew! That's a lot of requirements for something that is only going to last a little over two weeks! The amazing thing to me is that what we didn't even dream four years ago, we take for granted today.

Think ahead four years--"the year 2000," "the turn of the century," "the millennium"-- whatever you want to call it. What we only dream of now will have long been a reality, while the completely unimaginable will be emerging technology. I don't know about you, but I am breathless with anticipation. We are truly living in the greatest of times. So let's celebrate this summer as the world comes together in Atlanta to compete, to make friends, and to anticipate the future. The Future for Personal Systems In the coming months, we are planning to bring you more information on developing applications, on client/server products, and on network-centric computing. If we aren't covering your interest areas, let us know.

Betty Hawkins, Editor