With the approval granted this past November, detailed implementation plans are now being developed. 1997 has seen three other areas of progress. The IEEE network that links the IEEE servers at Piscataway and elsewhere, and the connection to the Internet, have been strengthened and reconfigured to enhance reliability and security and to enable future increases in capacity as needed. The second area is that of converting IEEE information to a form whereby it is accessible over the Internet. This is a huge job that's being planned and coordinated by the IEEE staff.
Errors are down, response rate is up.
The coming years should be exciting ones for IEEE members. We can look forward to seeing results from these 1997 planning and prototyping activities. But we need to be careful. There are differing views as to how we use Internet technology. In my view, IEEE membership must have its advantages for the IEEE to survive.