JP\/18\/INDO<\/p>\n
Is a local computer show better than the big one?<\/p>\n
Johnny Stovall
\nContributor
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Hunting season, harvest and Thanksgiving were yearly events in
\ntimes past. Now computer shows get equal or greater attention
\nby moderns.<\/p>\n
The Chinese like to begin the new year with a new shirt. And
\npeople all over the world have started putting more emphasis on
\nhow to make their schools or businesses better. Computer shows
\nhappen all year long but there are more of them and the
\nattendance is better this time of the year.<\/p>\n
In fact there are so many that you can't attend them all. So
\nhow do you choose from among all the exhibitions?<\/p>\n
Comdex in Las Vegas and CeBit in Hanover during the spring
\nhave become the largest events. But you may want to attend a
\nlittle local computer show in addition or instead.<\/p>\n
Neither Las Vegas nor Hanover can accommodate everyone in the
\nworld. Both places are expensive. IndoComtech, which is staged in
\nJakarta and which just finished on Sunday, is free -- if you can
\nresist emptying your wallet on all the bargains inside. Even
\ncomputing magazines like the Jakarta-based InfoLinux were on
\nsale.<\/p>\n
I had been spending a lot of time downloading stuff from the
\nInternet in order to build my own customized Operating System
\n(OS). This was a lot faster than writing every line of code and
\ndebugging it for a year like we did back in previous decades.<\/p>\n
But the May issue of InfoLinux has the most complete easily
\nmodified OS I have ever seen and it is on sale for only Rp
\n15,000.<\/p>\n
You will spend hours downloading and learning all of the stuff
\nnecessary to modify it to take out all of the games and foreign
\nlanguages you don't know, in order to put in all the things you
\nwant so that you can carry your own self-booting OS on a CD with
\nwhatever programs and data you need most.<\/p>\n
I got the October edition of InfoLinux with the CD and concise
\ninstructions on how to do this for only Rp 20,000, which is Rp
\n3,800 less than the list price.<\/p>\n
One of my greatest interests is in teaching. There were
\nworkshops at such a low cost that I couldn't resist. Even when
\nyou know something, you know it better after you have had someone
\nelse teach it to you again.<\/p>\n
In the 1970s and 1980s, I solved several of the world's most
\ndifficult computer problems. One of the solutions was showcased
\nat two of these big computer conventions.<\/p>\n
But in the fall of 1977, I made the biggest mistake of my
\ncomputer career. Richard Stallman was a young professor at MIT
\nand he had just written the emacs editor.<\/p>\n
He invited me to spend the afternoon seeing the MIT computer
\nlab. But we spent nearly all of the time looking at emacs. I
\nthought I needed more money to help the world solve more
\ndifficult problems. He wanted to give software away free.<\/p>\n
I thought it would be impossible to attract the talent
\nnecessary to make a great contribution if the software was given
\naway free. I also thought there must be many things in the MIT
\ncomputer lab more important than a text editor that could also
\nfunction as a programming language, an OS shell and who knows
\nwhat else.<\/p>\n
I was really wrong. Thousands of the most brilliant minds in
\nthe computer business have put the very best of their abilities
\ninto making open-source free software better than most commercial
\nproducts.<\/p>\n
I purchased the commercial editors running under DOS and
\nWindows, which were most like emacs but they weren't as good at
\nthe start and every year emacs' improvements far outstripped the
\ncommercial products.<\/p>\n
The contributions Stallman and the Free Software Foundation
\nhave made are growing like the light of the rising sun. By
\ncomparison my contributions are like a few grains of sand casting
\nsmall shadows.<\/p>\n
Why? Because I just did a few disjointed projects while they
\norchestrated a unified movement in a single direction.<\/p>\n
What does all this have to do with computer shows? I spoke
\nwith Stallman and other members of the Free Software Foundation
\nat the last Comdex. That is why this article is being typed and
\nspell checked using emacs.<\/p>\n
At Comdex, I also met the leaders of AMD and Tiger Direct.
\nThey helped me get on the best path in the area of hardware.<\/p>\n
The bottom line is this. If you need to solve world-class
\nproblems go to world-class conventions. It is the best place to
\nmeet world leaders showcasing the best that they have.<\/p>\n
But if you just need to solve local problems, go to local
\nconventions. You are sure to find some of the best local people
\nshowing off some of the best they have, answering quick questions
\nand offering discounts.<\/p>\n
If you think you can solve all of your problems yourself, go
\nto the conventions. You may find that you can get even more
\naccomplished more quickly by being part of the best movement with
\nthe best leaders going in a single direction.<\/p>\n
Johnny Stovall, PhD, is the former director of Yayasan
\nPendidikan, Pelatihan dan Sosial Doktor Stovall.<\/p>",
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