OPENING AND WELCOME
by Patrick J. Finn

I would first like to thank you all for coming.  What we are discussing
here today is something that will touch the lives of everyone here and
generations to come.

Change is something that is not always easy to deal with and as we move
closer to the millennium, the rate of change in our lives seems to have
accelerated.  Here in the Taos Valley all we have to do is go outside
and look at the mountain to experience change.  Every minute of every
day the mountain looks different.  Somehow this ever changing landscape
has formed a people that are adaptable to change.  Through the mud and
the snow we still go about the duties of our day to day lives. The rich
mix of cultures in Taos has given us the opportunity to be open and
accepting of differences in each other.

Through out history, inventions have changed the way we live our lives.
In the Middle Ages it was gunpowder, then came the printing press, which
made possible the democratic nation-state.  Then came the steam engine
in the 18th Century, beginning the Industrial Age.  More recently the
telephone and the television have opened our eyes to worlds we have
never seen.

And now the use of computers has fundamentally changed the way we
communicate and exchange information.  Today we are in the midst of
another major transformation, one made possible by telecommunications
networks.  Both the political and social fabric of our lives will be
dramatically altered.

However, it is not gigabits and modems that are the heart of this change
... it is the people ... it is the dynamic of community and
communication ...it is people coming together, whether from across town
or around the world.  In the last few months, while working on this
project,  I have seen people coming together that would never had a
reason to be in the same room.  But because of this new technology and
concern for their community they have come together in a way that I
have never seen in Taos before.  When you think of the possibilities of
Los Alamos National Labs and the Taos Pueblo coming together on a project
it brings this point home.

It is very exciting; the support has been phenomenal ... people working
long hours without pay to bring something very special to their
neighbors.  When our forefathers built the original Plaza many years ago
they couldn't have dreamt that someday Taosenos would be carrying on
discussions across tiny threads of wire and glass.  And here we are
today building a new Plaza.

In many ways it is like bricks and boards of old, only our bricks are
modems and our boards T1 lines.  What will happen on this Plaza will be
the same.  We will sell wood, talk about politics, trade secrets, and
take care of one another.

La Plaza will reflect the lives of those who live in Taos.  There is no
way it can be otherwise.  Because it will be accessible to everyone
through public computers located around town, information and
communication will be provided for every citizen.  It is the mission of
La Plaza to create democratic access for all Taosenos.

Because we are on the cutting edge of of what is happening nationally,
Taos is being set up as model community for the nation.  Through our
collaboration with Los Alamos National Labs, UNM, and others, we are
creating a system that can be used anywhere in the country.  For example
if a small town in Tennessee or people in Harlem or Watts want to create
a network for their community, they can take our basic system and tailor
it to their needs.

We are a special community with great cultural diversity and, to be
frank, we are at the right place at the right time.  Consistently the
doors have been opened for us.  Every piece is falling into place.
Chance?  Maybe.  A lot of hard work?  Absolutely.

What is this new Plaza and how will it work?  You'll see that in a few
minutes.  But as leaders in this community we have a responsibility.
The sign of great leadership is to be able to see how the decisions we
make today will affect generations to come.  We have the opportunity, we
have the skill, and we have the manpower.  Where we go from here is up
to you...each and every member of this community.

I would like to share something with you that I found on a system called
IndianNet, a network for Native Americans:

   "In the days when the circle was complete, the two legged would
    dance for any reason at all, but always to celebrate life.  They
    would wear gifts of the four legged and the winged ones, and in
    that way would draw their brothers and sisters into the circle.
    The circle of the dance is the circle of life -- the great wheel of
    the universe -- the medicine wheel of all existence -- so go to the
    drum in humility. What the grandfathers have ordained you must do;
    and as long as we do this, we will live, and the circle will be
    complete and strong."

When I was in Telluride last summer for a telecommunity conference, I
walked into the room and thought I had gone to a different country.  I
could barely understand what people were saying.  They were talking a
different language.  You might call it technobabble.  So bear with me
and like any language you will begin to understand what it all means as
you hear it more and more.  By the end of this meeting you might find
yourself using words like terabit, T1, NTIA, and NII.  Good luck!


THE INFORMATION AGE AND TELECOMMUNITIES
by Patrick J. Finn

What is a community network?  A community network is a system where
people exchange information and communicate with each other.  It is done
with computers hooked to telephone lines by something called a modem.  A
modem translates the signals from a computer across telephone lines to a
modem and computer at the other end.

When you have lots of people talking to lots of other people using
computers you have a network.  This can be done across town or around
the world.

A community can also mean a global community.  Now here is one of those
technobabble words to remember: Internet.  The Internet is a network of
networks that spans the globe.  It is important to remember that these
lines go both ways.  To quote Mitchell Kapor, Chairman of the Electronic
Frontier Foundation:  "None of the interactive services will be
possible, however, if we have an eight lane superhighway rushing into
every home and only a narrow footpath coming out."  La Plaza wants eight
lines in both directions.  That means that we have something to give the
world community as well.

Locally, the type of information you can access is seen in this chart.
Everything from health care to government documents.  Again, it is
important to remember that not only can you get information but you can
give information as well.  For example, if you are having a garage sale
you can put that information on the system.  If you are Gayle Martinez
running this Convention Center you can put the whole calendar of events
on the system.  Then someone who wants to hold a seminar can get that
information to see when this room is available.

You will see a demonstration of this in a few minutes.  I do ask that
you remain open and try to envision the ways that you would be able to
use La Plaza.  You will get a lot of information today, that's our
business.  We have provided you with our white paper that gives all the
details of La Plaza as well as reference materials for you individual
areas of interest.  And please stay after for some hands on
demonstrations.