The Design and Implementation of NewsPeek:
An Interactive News Gatherer for
Future Communication Systems

by
Fen Labalme

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Science
at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
August 1981

Thesis Supervisor
Nicholas Negroponte, Professor of Computer Science

Abstract

This thesis describes work done at the Architecture Machine Group at MIT in the field of Media Technology. An interface to an information intensive network is discussed and proposed. A prototype implementation of such an interface has been designed and built and is currently being used as a test bed for the development of a future Home Communication Set.

Introduction

We are, as inhabitants in the modern world, being continuously bombarded by news and other information. As concerned citizens, we try to weed through this vast amount of data in order to become better informed about the issues of current social and personal interest. Today, we accomplish this goal by watching network news broadcasts, listening to the radio, reading one or several of the various printed forms of media generally published daily or weekly, or by word of mouth from friends and acquaintances. Each of these methods of communication has its advantages and disadvantages, but none of them is (comprehensively) adequate to do the job required today of information retrieval, communication and dissemination.

I say that word of mouth is powerful mainly because it is generally the best method of quickly and accurately conveying ideas. This is so because of the immediate feedback that one receives from a listener, and because of the two-way path of communication that exists and is conspicuously absent from the other methods of communication/information retrieval mentioned above.

This thesis proposes the development of a new form of information retrieval which incorporates hopefully the best of all the possible avenues of communication. It would consists of a personal computer of fair to substantial power connected over some communication channel (telephone lines, light guides, satellite) to electronic libraries, schools, shopping centers, banks and other users, as well as, of course, entertainment stations. In essence, it would be an extension of both the television set and the telephone, facilitating a bi-directional interchange of data. Such a system could be called an HCS, or Home Communication Set, a term coined by John Wicklein, the current president of the Public Broadcasting Network, in hos book Electronic Nightmare.

Recently, the philosophy of System Design has been changing along with new advances of technology that are serving to dramatically lower the cost and space requirements of computing power. An awareness of the need to supply user flexibility without tieing up channels of communication with redundant or simply useless information has helped pave the way for the current dogma of distributed processing. This concept incorporates a small, perhaps personal computer with user needs built in, or better, specified by the user, and a clear, quick, and precise communication protocol between it and other computers which are connected to it through a network. This allows the user to be in control of the way she is interacting with the system, and thus gain confidence and efficiency in its use.

Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly economically productive for a company to compile and provide to the consumer large data bases of information, such as news, weather, legal codes, or even classroom instruction. This last is made possible, and the others more useful, due to the bi-directional transmission capabilities of the system. This exciting prospect, that of being able to transmit a reply to an article or make a statement on an issue, as well as receive information from a great variety of sources, will help to open up a whole new world of learning and information.

However, a tool which can provide unlimited access to informational resources can be used as well as terribly abused. To ensure that malicious misuse of such a system is kept to a minimum without placing undue and possible dangerous restrictions on how it is to be used, there are several important issues which should be kept in mind during the design of a large scale integrated system.

All of the above guidelines should be completely adhered to or we lay ourselves bare to manipulation and exploitation for the good of some special interest group. As people begin to learn how to use the system for learning and dissemination of information, and with these precepts as a foundation, we will be able to move towards a better informed public, decentralization of decision making, and perhaps a more coherent public policy along socially useful lines.


This work was supported by a grant from the Office of Naval Research.