"Almost 2001" is a segment on NBC Nightly News with Tom
Brokaw. The segment was launched on Monday, December 27, 1993
as the title of a 5-part series on Telecommunications and
Technology reported by George Lewis. Plans are for the
segment to reappear as part of the Nightly News on an
occasional basis in the future.
In launching this series, we have announced an e-mail address
available for anyone with access to the Internet:
nightly@nbc.com [not case-sensitive]
Like the Internet has grown with the enthusiasm of users,
this WELLgopher space was launched with the same kind of
eagerness to share information. At the request of viewers
and Internet users, who wanted to know what we were saying
even if they didn't have a chance to watch the broadcast,
we are posting copies of our scripts. These are not
official transcripts.
What happens after the series and how long this space will
continue to be active, we don't know yet.
script-1
SERIES PRODUCERS: Stone Phillips:
ALAN KAUL TONIGHT WE BEGIN A WEEK-LONG SERIES
NINA ZACUTO CALLED "ALMOST 2001" - A LOOK AT
THE COMMUNICATIONS REVOLUTION.
PART OF IT HAS ALREADY ARRIVED.
TONIGHT THE INFORMATION SUPER
HIGHWAY AND ONE OF ITS MAIN
THROUGHFARE'S, AN ON LINE
NETWORK CALLED INTERNET. IT'S
PART OF A GROWING TREND THAT
PROMISES DRAMATIC CHANGES IN OUR
LIVES. HERE'S NBC'S GEORGE LEWIS.
================================================================================
VIDEO: (George Lewis narrates) of Clinton, Limbaugh and Idol and
"president@ whitehouse.gov"
CLINTON WHAT DO PRESIDENT CLINTON...
LIMBAUGH CONSERVATIVE RADIO PERSONALITY RUSH
LIMBAUGH...
IDOL AND ROCK STAR BILLY IDOL HAVE IN
COMMON?
SUPER INTERNET ADDRESSES: THEY'VE ALL GOT ELECTRONIC MAIL
PRESIDENT@WHITEHOUSE.GOV" ADDRESSES ON COMPUTER SYSTEMS LINKED
"70277.2502@COMPUSERVE.COM" TO THE INTERNET...A GLOBAL HOOKUP THAT
"IDOL@WELL.SF.CA.US" PERMITS COMPUTERS TO EXCHANGE
INFORMATION.
GRAPHIC: IN 1981, ONLY 213 COMPUTERS WERE HOOKED
TO THE INTERNET. AS THE NEW YEAR
1981-------213 BEGINS...AN ESTIMATED TWO AND A HALF
1989----80,000 MILLION COMPUTERS WILL BE ON THE
1992---727,000 NETWORK, SERVING AS MANY AS 20 MILLION
1994-2,500,000 (EST) PEOPLE.
MONITORING SIGNALS THE SEPARATE TECHNOLOGIES THAT BROUGHT
US TELEPHONES, TV AND COMPUTERS ARE NOW
BEGINNING TO MERGE.
MITCHELL KAPOR--ELECTRONIC (SOT) "I actually think that five
FRONTIER FOUNDATION years from now we're not going to have
distinct cable and telephone
industries. We're...it's going to be
one industry, and they'll be companies
carrying bits, little pieces of
information from point A to point B."
GRAPHIC: PHONE/CABLE MERGERS PHONE AND CABLE TV COMPANIES ARE
SCRAMBLING TO FORM STRATEGIC ALLIANCES.
"BELL ATLANTIC/TCI--$33 BILLION BELL ATLANTIC AND TCI...
S.W. BELL/COX CABLE $4.9 BILLION SOUTHWESTERN BELL AND COX CABLE...
U.S. WEST/TIME-WARNER $2.5 BILL." U.S. WEST AND TIME-WARNER CABLE, ALL
GANGING UP TO REWIRE AMERICA.
LAYING CABLE IN CALIFORNIA, PACIFIC BELL IS SPENDING
16 BILLION DOLLARS TO INSTALL
FIBER-OPTIC CABLE WHICH REPLACES THE
OLD COPPER WIRING OF THE PHONE SYSTEM..
TRANSMITTING SIGNALS ON BEAMS OF LIGHT
OVER STRANDS OF GLASS THINNER THAN
HUMAN HAIRS.
(Steve Harris, Pacific Bell:)
"We can put anything we want over
that fiber, and millions of
conversations is certainly feasable."
(LEWIS) "And hundreds of television
pictures?"
(HARRIS) "Hundreds. Absolutely
hundreds of television pictures."
(LEWIS) "And millions of bits of
computer data?"
(HARRIS) "More bits than you can
bite."
APPLE COMPUTER VIDEO (NARR) A PROMOTIONAL VIDEO PUT OUT 5
YEARS AGO BY APPLE COMPUTER EVISIONED
PEOPLE TALKING TO THEIR COMPUTERS AND
TO ONE ANOTHER THROUGH VIDEOPHONE LINKS
BY THE YEAR 2005.
(voice of actor)
"Hello Mike...what's up?"
GTE GUY (LEWIS) IT'S ALREADY COMING TRUE. IN
CERRITOS, CALIFORNIA...VIDEOPHONE
SERVICE IS PART OF AN EXPERIMENT
STARTED BY GENERAL TELPHONE AND THE
LOCAL CABLE COMPANY.
WATCHING TV THERE ARE ALSO INTERACTIVE TV CHANNELS
WHERE PEOPLE ORDER MOVIES ON DEMAND...
INSTEAD OF DRIVING TO THE VIDEO STORE.
SCREEN WITH S.A.T. INFO HIGH SCHOOLERS CAN GET PRACTICE
QUESTIONS FOR THE SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE
TEST.
THESE NEW SERVICES ADD ABOUT 10
DOLLARS A MONTH TO THE AVERAGE CABLE TV
BILL.
PACIFIC BELL VIDEO (Actor) "Good morning Mrs. Johnson."
(Actress)"Hello, Dr. Alvarez."
(LEWIS) THIS PACIFIC BELL VIDEO
SHOWS A DIVERSE GROUP OF
PEOPLE USING THE NEW TECHNOLOGY. BUT
SOME COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WONDER HOW THE
LESS ADVANTAGED ARE GOING TO AFFORD IT.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SCENICS AND IN SPARSELY POPULATED RURAL AREAS,
WILL PHONE COMPANIES INVEST THE
ESTIMATED ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS PER
HOUSE TO UPGRADE THE LINES?
(GEORGE LEWIS ON CAMERA--TELURIDE, CO)
"One remote community that wants
to make sure it has an on-ramp to the
information super-highway is Telluride,
Colordao. 9000 feet high up in the
Rockies. Here they have a project
called 'info zone."
PEOPLE & COMPUTERS (NARRATION) IN THE BASEMENT OF A 102-YEAR
IN BASEMENT OLD BUILDING, THEY'RE DESIGNING A 21ST
CENTURY COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM.
(RICHARD LOWENBERG--TELLURIDE INST)
"It's small radio transmitter-
receivers and antennas connected to
people's home computers and it allows
them essentially to have better than,
better service than the phone company
now offers."
HI TECH WORKERS (LEWIS) THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY IS
GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY WE WORK,
CREATING JOBS THAT DON'T EXIST TODAY...
ELIMINATING SOME OTHERS.
KIDS & COMPUTERS IT'S GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY WE
LEARN...
WATCH INTERACTIVE FOOTBALL AND THE WAY WE SPEND OUR LEISURE TIME.
HIGH TECH WORKERS BUT WILL IT CREATE A WIDER GULF BETWEEN
THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD THE NEW
TECHNOLOGY...
L.A. SKYLINE AND THOSE WHO CAN'T?
GEORGE LEWIS, NBC NEWS, LOS ANGELES