[Air-l] ICT's Timeline: thanks and answers

[Julian Hopkins]

Dear Jeremy,

You said:

" The only question which remains is : has it been used as tool by
journalists and/or information management profesionals ?"
--> As regards the ZX80, and descendents, the answer would be no. These
computers were primarily used as gaming computers (I think), most likely by
young men/teenagers. The point by Elizabeth remains extremely pertinent
though - the cultural context needs to be taken into account. 

You also said:
"I sustain the thesis (in very short) that profesional Information mediators
(i.eJournalists and Information managers in companies) played the role of
obliged relay of infrmation until recent years. The emregence of
technologies (devices and tools) has permitted to those profesionals'
audiences to avoid that relay by consuming, managing and producing
information on their own."

--> This approach seems like an interesting and fruitful one. As I said
above, the ZX80 and descendents would not be directly relevant here. But
since your overall approach seems to be that by putting computing power in
'non-professional' hands is bypassing these mediators, then understanding
how computers became so ubiquitous would require some explanation of the
mass-market aspect of it, I think.

You said:
" About databases, I don't consider them as an exclusively IT thing
but my initial hypothesis is that they permitted to develop IT tools; Am I
wrong ?"

--> um... I don't know really :) I suppose you must be right somewhere, and
a lot of the internet (e.g. Google. eBay, etc.) is probably just a nice
interface sitting on a huge 'back-office' database. 
 
Regards,

Julian

++++++++++
Julian Hopkins
Lecturer
HELP University College - ADP
Kuala Lumpur
tel: +60 3 2095 8791 x2913
email: julianh at help.edu.my