Internet has a bright future, but cyberspace is still cramped<\/p>\n
By Lawrence Pintak<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): It's' time for an Asian cyberspace reality
\ncheck.<\/p>\n
"Log on to the future." "Getting the most from the Internet."
\n"Commuting through your computer." It's tough to open a business
\npublication these days and not get wound up about the World Wide
\nWeb.<\/p>\n
So why is it I can't actually get much business done
\nelectronically?<\/p>\n
I may not be able to hack my way into the National Security
\nAgency's Crays, but computers and I have had a love-hate
\nrelationship since that first IBM 286 I bought back in 1982. And
\nif 15 years wandering around the developing world as a TV
\ncorrespondent taught me anything, it was that I didn't want to
\npay the phone bills myself.<\/p>\n
So, when I came out here a few years ago, e-mail was a pretty
\nobvious choice. I quickly learned how Alexander Graham Bell must
\nhave felt: Neat technology, but nobody to call.<\/p>\n
Don't get me wrong. I have had some nice electronic exchanges
\nwith old friends I reconnected with, thanks to CompuServe's
\nmembers directory. But business? Well, let's review.<\/p>\n
One of the world's largest telecommunications companies was a
\nclient. Naturally they use e-mail, right? So why did I get stuck
\nspending a Saturday morning installing e-mail software on the
\nlocal managing director's computer? (He never used it).<\/p>\n
Or then there was the time we and our affiliate in Hong Kong
\nwere rushing to finish a major proposal that would be presented
\nin Jakarta the following morning. My Hong Kong colleague e-mailed
\nme the document for comment as he ran for the plane. It was in my
\nelectronic mailbox minutes later, in gibberish. His computer
\nspoke Internet. Mine spoke CompuServe. The salutation was crystal
\nclear. It said that if I had any problem reading the
\ncontent, I should contact an e-mail address in the U.S. for
\ninstructions. I did. The response came eight hours after he
\narrived in Jakarta with a hard copy.<\/p>\n
Another major company we deal with was recently electronically
\ncrippled. It seems one of their employees quit. He was the one
\nwith the CompuServe account.<\/p>\n
Even the cyber-savvy can end up cyber-boobs. Up in Scotland,
\nwhere they are serious about saving money, one far-thinking firm
\nset up a company-wide e-mail system linking its three offices. A
\ncertain money-saver, until they got the phone bill. It seems the
\ncomputers were ringing each other up to say "hi" every three
\nminutes, 24 hours a day, for an entire month.<\/p>\n
One publication in the U.S. to which I contribute is forever
\nfull of articles about the new electronic world and it's impact
\non business. The last time I e-mailed them an article, they e-
\nmailed it right back, asking me to fax it.<\/p>\n
And that's when I can get access to cyberspace.<\/p>\n
Half the time, the local CompuServe connection here in Jakarta
\nis not interested in an interface. And when it is, at 9600 baud
\nand a hefty local surcharge, one might be tempted to question the
\nboasts of electronic cost-efficiency.<\/p>\n
The local Internet provider is marginally better. But I'm
\nthinking of having a redial button surgically implanted. Once on-
\nline, we Jakartans are treated to the Information Age equivalent
\nof watching paint dry as some designer's idea of a graphic
\nexperience battles its way through the local, rain-drenched,
\ncopper wires.<\/p>\n
Still, it is an improvement over CompuServe. If I wanted my
\nelectronic fix bad enough -- or feared I might actually have some
\n(perish the thought) important e-mail -- there was no choice but
\nan overseas call. With it came the joy of watching the minutes
\ntick by as the server uploaded the really unnecessary images that
\nconstitute the "user-friendly" environment, at three bucks a
\nminute.<\/p>\n
I tried Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. I finally settled
\non a server in California. A few weeks ago, a colleague in
\nSingapore -- much to my shock -- announced that instead of
\nfaxing, he was going to e-mail me a document later in the day.
\nOver the next day and a half, I checked my mailbox four times,
\nvia California. On my phone bill. And he was going to fax it to
\nme. Free. What was it I was saying about saving money?<\/p>\n
We're talking CompuServe here. I tried for six months, and it
\nwas only recently that I actually got on the Internet itself.
\nI tried through CompuServe, but it didn't work. So I bought a
\ncomputer magazine (US$12) which said the old version of
\nCompuServe's software made it difficult. So, I dutifully dialed
\nup CompuServe (via California) and ordered the new version. No
\ndice. Electronic roadblocks at every click.<\/p>\n
The heck with CompuServe, I decided. I'll go direct. So I
\nspent 25 minutes on-line clocking up long distance charges --
\nwhile enduring the Information Age version of placing an order
\nwith an imbecile -- and downloaded a copy of Netscape Navigator.<\/p>\n
No more messing around. It was all there. Or so I thought. But
\nthe sucker wouldn't even install. It wanted a "winsock." And I
\nleft mine on the sailboat I used to own.<\/p>\n
Where are the carrier pigeons when you need them?<\/p>\n
Still, as someone in the corporate communications business, I
\nhave to admire the hype. One recent advertising section entitled
\nAsian Cyberspace left me proud to live on the cutting edge:<\/p>\n
"While some industrialized Western nations struggle with the
\nfinancial hurdles of how to integrate and upgrade their existing
\ncopper-wire networks," it intoned, "nations such as China,
\nSingapore and Indonesia can transform a community almost
\novernight from just a few old, shared telephone lines to high-
\ntech broadband connections for everyone."<\/p>\n
A friend faxed the article to me. He couldn't access his e-
\nmail.<\/p>\n
Lawrence Pintak is senior advisor to Pintak Corporate
\nCommunications, a full service corporate communications firm in
\nJakarta.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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