<MX>

<MX> is the resurrection of a "underground newsletter" originally published in Bell Northern Research (now NORTEL) under the name "Business Systems Newsletter". The publication ran from November 1983 to December 1986. Behind the rather boring title were two individuals who wanted to share thoughts on various emerging technologies that interested them. The technology which triggered the newsletter was a Hyperion Computer, a small "portable" desktop computer designed and built in Nepean. The entire newsletter was put together and "published" on this computer, because it was possible. By the end of 1986, up to 200 employees including vice-presidents, had subscribed to the newsletter.

"As We May Think - Atlantic Monthly - July 1945"

Ten years later, in 1996, the idea surfaced to resurrect this newletter, publishing on the WWW. The trigger this time was a article published in 1945 in The Atlantic Monthly written by Vannevar Bush. In this article, Vannevar Bush was trying to look ahead to determine what all the scientists and technologists were going to do now that the war was ending. His prophetic writings saw the emergence of information technology, webs of information, and some sort of information processing device he thought might be a desk with information processing capability. He called the device a MEMEX.

This newsletter is entitled MX in honour of this prophetic view. It will explore themes and ideas that interest the two principals who hope you find it entertaining, educational and above all fun.

Featured Newletter:

• Connections and Named Trails

View the Computer World XML Articles written by W. Hugh Chatfield I.S.P.

• The beginnings of a new world
• Tag sets, DTDs and protocols
• A trail is worth a thousand thoughts
• XML provides scaffolding for linking document trails

Vannevar Trails

A Vannevar Trail is what we have called a named information trail containing a set of information on a particular topic. These are particularly useful for "storage" of knowledge and intelligence as it is gleened from the general background of the Web.

We provide these as interesting and potentially useful trails for others, much as Vannevar Bush described these in his 1945 Atlantic Monthly article entitled: "As We May Think".

Interested readers may engage in an online conversation at MX2-Discussion.