ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140047
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: Associated Press
ACADEMICS LOVE THE INTERNET, but the cost of equipment and the necessary computer skills are just too much for many average Americans.
In a few years, people routinely may use the Internet to pay bills, buy concert tickets, diagnose a disease or help with their children's homework - but only if it's easier to use, experts said Wednesday.
``If your home telephone was as chaotic as the Internet, you really wouldn't use it very much,'' said James Barksdale, chief executive of Internet software company Netscape Inc.
Barksdale was among the speakers at a conference sponsored by the computer research company Jupiter Communications on how consumers will use the global public data network.
The Internet was created by academics and scientists to trade information among widely differing computers around the world. But millions of Americans now are logging on, mostly by using their personal computers and a telephone hookup to a commercial on-line service such as CompuServe, Prodigy or America Online.
Fast-growing interest in the net has prompted a scramble by thousands of businesses to set up ``sites'' where consumers can learn about their products or services or get news or other information. Other popular uses now include electronic mail and ``chat groups,'' computerized party lines where people talk, via keyboard, with others of similar interests.
However, the panelists agreed that most Internet users are still the so-called ``early adopters'' - technically savvy, intelligent and curious people who are always the first to buy into new technology.
The cost of equipment and the computer smarts needed to move around on the Internet are just too much for many average Americans, the panelists said.
``The early adopters, they like things to be hard. ... Difficulty doesn't set them back that much. They're the ones who actually know how to program their VCRs,'' Barksdale said.
In addition, obtaining information through the Internet via telephone lines can be a slow, balky process that leaves many people impatient and frustrated.
The portion of the Internet called the World Wide Web has proved the most popular so far, because it combines photos, graphics, text and audio, but much of the Web is not that compelling, said Caroline Vanderlip, president of personal on-line services for AT&T Corp.
``A lot of companies have thrown up Web sites because they're too concerned about being left in the dust,'' she said. ``They don't really know why they put these sites up; and, for most part, the content is not very exciting.''
The panelists all expect the situation to change rapidly in the next few years as technology improves the speed and quality of data transmission, and manufacturers and software writers come up with simpler gear.
The first major technical improvement, which will be introduced in a few places next year, is Internet access through cable television. Instead of plugging your computer into the phone, you'll plug it into the cable TV box, and data transmission will be many times faster.
Greg Moyer, president and chief operating officer of the cable TV and Internet services company Discovery Networks, said that before 2000, he envisions that a typical home will have four or five simple Internet boxes that can be plugged in just like a telephone.
``Frankly, for the information on the Internet to be really useful to people, it's going to have to be conveniently located, much like you have a kitchen radio, or you have a clock radio in the bedroom.''
LENGTH: Medium: 69 linesby CNB