Celebrities Reflect About the Internet in Network World's 15th Anniversary Issue; Sam Donaldson, Steve Young, Kermit the Frog, and Other Notables Share Views About the Internet.

Business/Technology Editors

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 2001

Commentary about the power of networks and the Internet from veteran TV newsman Sam Donaldson, former San Francisco 49ers star quarterback Steve Young, Kermit the Frog, and others are highlighted in Network World's 15th anniversary issue this week. Here's what a few high-profile individuals had to say about what the Internet has meant for them and the world at large.

Sam Donaldson: "I was oblivious. I got my first computer in 1996, and that's late according to the experts. But that's not as bad as a certain former president (Bill Clinton) who still can't type! When that furor started with Col. (Oliver) North and e-mail was erased ... at the time I thought: what the hell is e-mail? So you ask how come I'm doing this, I mean, I'm in the twilight of my career. I've really gotten hooked on this. I recently had on Jack Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway's grandson, who read some of Ernest's works. I never could sell this to the producers of "20/20." I believe in the future, everything will go on the Internet, including television. There won't be anymore television affiliates as we know them -- you'll have ABC News on the Web. How far out? It could be five years, 10 years, I'm not sure, but it will happen. ... It's shrinking the world."

Kermit the Frog: "Well, I really love surfing the 'Net. It took me a while to get online (the swamp where I live didn't get DSL service until recently), but now that I'm hooked up, I love it. And of course, I use the Internet for e-mail -- it helps me keep in touch with all of my friends who live around the world. Still, there is a downside. Miss Piggy has discovered that the Internet is probably one of the best ways in the world to spread rumors. She finds it especially convenient to e-mail her press releases directly to the tabloid reporters. In fact, just the other day I saw a report online that said Miss Piggy and I were going to have children. I'll take this opportunity to categorically deny that Piggy and I are going to have...um... tadpigs."

Steve Young: "The best thing you can say about the Internet is that it's leveling the playing field for everybody. I'm really excited about what it can do for education. Think about broadband. Think about the possibilities of delivering information to your home. The way that we go to school is going to change dramatically once we get the broadband delivery of content. My dream is to be able to deliver K-12 educational content around the world for free. One of the biggest costs in education is infrastructure -- the bricks and mortar to build a school. We've thought it through where all you need is the generator to power the laptops every night and download from the satellite and you've got a school."

Alan Dershowitz: "Among people who have access to the Internet, who are really sophisticated on the Internet -- my students, my peers -- it has really leveled the playing field enormously. I can no longer come into a class and use my superior knowledge gained over my 40 years of teaching as a real advantage because all of my students are sitting in class with their little Internet hooked-up computers. And when I say anything in class, they check up on me... Everything is accessible. They know better than we do how to use the search engines. Within 10 years, they have become better researchers than we academics have. In fact, when I want information, I have to hire young students because they do it better than any of us."

Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci: "Innovation has defined the American identity for more than 200 years. The imagination and hard work of our nation's greatest minds have produced history-changing inventions, from the telephone to the automobile to the supercomputer, and most recently, to the Internet. All of these innovations changed how we live and how we work. We use e-mail to instantly and inexpensively correspond with friends across the world. We monitor the stock market and buy and sell shares on-line. News of devastating natural disasters reaches us instantly. One measure of a public school is how many classrooms are wired to the Internet. But perhaps the most significant impact of the Internet has been its effect on our economy. Today's information-based economy is producing an unprecedented level of prosperity. "

For detailed interviews with these and other celebrities, plus more insightful predictions of important up-and-coming network technologies, log on to Network World Fusion at http://www.nwfusion.com/anniversary/.

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