RFC 372

NOTES ON A CONVERSATION WITH BOB KAHN ON THE ICCC 🎀

okay so this is NWG/RFC #372 (NIC 11022) 💖 it was written by Richard W. Watson from SRI-ARC and dated 12-JUL-72 📅 the header doesn't list a category or status, and it doesn't obsolete or update anything. it's basically Richard's notes from a chat with Bob Kahn about the ICCC meeting demo, so let's get into the tea ☕✨

What is the physical environment going to be like? 🏨

Bob got the Georgetown Ballroom at the Hilton Hotel 🌸 it's 3000 square feet, probably about 75x40 (Bob doesn't know the exact dimensions yet 🙈)

a carpeted false floor is getting installed, and there's gonna be a partition for an area showing a movie on resource sharing, running more or less continuously 🎬

there won't be booths in the normal sense, but the details aren't worked out yet. Bob expects tables around the room holding 1 or 2 terminals each, plus low 4 ft. partitions to break up the space 🧚

Who will man the booths? 💅

Bob presently expects lots of terminals to be unmanned, though manufacturers could have a sales rep 💼

there will probably be people from net sites at some of them, from time to time, demoing their programs 🔥

they talked about needing lots of experts from the network around to answer questions and help people. Bob is totally into it but hasn't had time to pull a group together yet, and it's uncertain if enough people will volunteer. his first approach got lots of interest, but people had other things to do 😭

When will the equipment be on the floor and available to try there? ⏰

the conference is Tues-Thurs Oct 24-26, but the room is only available from the 22nd, which is so rude 💀 that's a short window to install the floor, TIP, terminals, phone lines, etc. Bob will try to get the room the previous Wed or Fri, but he doesn't know yet.

Bob would love a working demo with terminals and resources at BBN in Aug 🦋

What resources are presently committed? 📦

• UCLA Klinerock will have some network measurement stuff to demo 📊
• Stanford AI has indicated they'll have some programs to demo 💻
• Utah Tony Hearn will have his Reduce program to demo, Berry Wessler plans to demo something, and Harvey Greenfield has some sort of medical program 🩺
• RAND indicated interest before the recent shakeup, but their status is now not known 🤷‍♀️
• SDC will have some natural language programs and their data management systems 🗂️
• MIT Vezza and Kahn are looking into having some hardcopy device, such as a Photon, attached to a GE TS system 🖨️ Al has some other things to demo too ✨
• Bob has contacted a bunch of non-net sources, like the NY Times (data base), Eastern Airlines etc., but has no definite commitments yet 🗽✈️
• We at ARC will of course have a number of things to demonstrate 💜

this ARPANET demo is the only show at the conference. Larry Roberts has invited the ASIS people over for Thurs afternoon 🎀

the TIP has never been tested with 64 terminals so far 😬 but they're going to put as many terminals on as possible during July and test the terminals to be supplied for the conference. starting about Aug 1, Bob expects to start testing to see which terminals work with which resources and what glitches exist 🔧

I asked Bob if we could have enough space for an ARC NIC booth with an IMLAC TI and room for people to watch our demos 🙋‍♀️ Bob saw no problem there. IMLAC has committed 2 terminals, and we can have one. TI hasn't indicated they plan to loan a terminal for the show. Hiram French is the man from IMLAC who's supposed to call us 📞 if there are more than 64 terminals, or the TIP can't support all of them, they'll have to schedule terminal connections to the TIP 🗓️

Who's coming? 🎟️

Bob isn't sure who'll be at the conference. its theme is networks and their impact on society, implications for regulation, etc., so there should be a broad spectrum of people 🌈 he'll send me a program 💌

What documentation, signs, etc. will help people? 🪧

we talked about what kind of documentation help, signs, etc. will be around to help people connect, use resources, and generally understand what the demo is all about 🧠

Bob's present picture is:

• large 2x3 signs in the lobby outside the main lecture room directing people to the demo 🚪
• some signs inside explaining what's happening ✍️
• a card with some TIP commands and resources 🃏
• a brochure with actual scenarios of resource usage 📖
• the movie 🍿
• some people on the floor as the main sources of help 🫶

we talked about the need to coordinate all of this with NIC documentation, and our desire to help design it all 💅 Bob and I are tentatively planning to get together here the weekend of July 7 to plan this. we need to have thought things through ahead of time about what we think should be done 🧩

Budget 💸

ARPA, except for Bob, doesn't seem to have set up any budget for this show, except for what their contractors are essentially willing to give as part of their ongoing research. so he has a very difficult job pulling off such a large show without more help than he seems to have gotten so far (these are my conclusions, not statements of his) 😤💀

[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ] [ into the online RFC archives by BBN Corp. under the ] [ direction of Alex McKenzie. 1/97 ] 🎀