#Professor in communication technology at Webster University
Henri Slettenhaar has extensive knowledge of communication technology. He joined
the European Center for Particle Research (CERN) in 1958 to work with the first
digital computer and was involved in the development of CERN's first digital
networks. His US experience began in 1966 when he joined a team at the Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) for 18 months to build a film digitizer.
Returning to SLAC in 1983, he designed a digital monitoring system, which was
used for more than 10 years. For nearly twenty years now he has been teaching
information technology at Webster University, Geneva. He is the head of the
Telecom Management Program created in Fall 2000. He is also a consultant for
numerous organizations.
In 1992, Henri Slettenhaar founded the (Swiss) Silicon Valley Association (SVA)
and, since then, has been constantly networking between Switzerland and
California, taking study groups to Silicon Valley. These study tours include
visits to outstanding companies, start-up, research centers and universities in
the Silicon Valley and in other high-technology areas such as San Francisco, Los
Angeles, Finland, etc., with the aim of exploring new developments in
information technology such as the Internet, multimedia, and telecommunications.
Participants have the opportunity to learn about state-of-the-art research and
development, strategies and business ventures through presentations and
discussions, product demonstrations and site tours.
*Interview of December 21, 1998
= How did using the Internet change your professional life?
I can't imagine my professional life without the Internet. Most of my
communication is now via e-mail. I've been using email for the last 20 years,
most of that time to keep in touch with colleagues in a very narrow field. Since
the explosion of the Internet, and especially the invention of the Web, I
communicate mainly by e-mail. Most of my presentations are now on the Web and
the courses I teach are all web-extended. All the details of my Silicon Valley
Tours are on the Web. Without the Internet we wouldn't be able to function. And
I use the Internet is as a giant database. I can find information today with the
click of a mouse.
= How do you see the future?
I think I'll be relying more and more on it for information and activities
related to my work. As for languages, I'm delighted there are so many offerings
in the original language now. I much prefer to read the original with difficulty
than getting a bad translation.
= How do you see the growth of a multilingual Web?
I see multilingualism as a very important issue. Local communities that are on
the Web should principally use the local language for their information. If they
want to present it to the world community as well, it should be in English too.
I see a real need for bilingual websites.
*Interview of August 23, 1999
= What do you think of the debate about copyright on the Web?
It is an important issue and will be solved like in the past with all new
technologies.
= How do you see the growth of a multilingual Web?
There are two main categories on the Web in my opinion. The first one is the
global outreach for business and information. Here the language is definitely
English first, with local versions where appropriate. The second one is local
information of all kinds in the most remote places. If the information is meant
for people of an ethnic and/or language group, it should be in that language
first with perhaps a summary in English. We have seen lately how important these
local websites are -- in Kosovo and Turkey, to mention just the most recent
ones. People were able to get information about their relatives through these
sites.
= What is your best experience with the Internet?
Getting pictures directly from space (Jupiter).
= And your worst experience?
Information overload. I get too much and I do not have the tools yet to get only
what I want.
*Interview of August 30, 2000
= What has happened since our last interview?
The explosion of mobile technology. The mobile phone has become for many people,
including me, the personal communicator which allows you to be anywhere anytime
and still be reachable. But the mobile Internet is still a dream. The new
services on mobile (GSM) phones are extremely primitive and expensive (WAP =
Wait and Pay). See my article about Finland (in French).
= How do you see the growth of a multilingual Web?
Multilingualism has expanded greatly. Many e-commerce websites are multilingual
now and there are companies that sell products which make localization possible
(adaptation of websites to national markets).
= What do you think about e-books?
I have a hard time believing people would want to read from a screen. I much
prefer myself to read and touch a real book.
= What is your definition of cyberspace?
Our virtual space. The area of digital information (bits, not atoms). It is a
limited space when you think of the spectrum. It has to be administered well so
all the earth's people can use it and benefit from it (eliminate the digital
divide).
= And your definition of the information society?
The people who already use cyberspace in their daily lives to such an extent
that it is hard to imagine living without it (the other side of the divide).
*Interview of July 8, 2001
= What has happened since our last interview?
All I can come up with is the tremendous change I am experiencing with having a
"broadband" connection at home. To be connected at all times is so completelely
different from dial-up.
I now receive e-mail as soon as it arrives, I can listen to my favorite radio
stations wherever they are. I can listen to the news when I want to. Get the
music I like all the time.
Today for instance, I heared the comments and saw the score board of Wimbledon
tennis in real time. The only thing which is missing is good quality real time
video. The bandwidth is too low for that.
I now have a wired and a wireless LAN (local area network) in my home. I can use
my laptop anywhere in the house and outside, even at the neighbors and still
being connected. With the same technology I am now able to use my wireless LAN
card in my computer when I travel. For instance during my recent visit to
Stockholm there was connectivity in the Hotel, the Conference center, the
airport and even in the Irish Pub!