N e w s l e t t e r

An Exercise in Democracy in Cyberspace

by Tran Thong ([email protected])

As an expatriate Vietnamese, I have always felt an urge to do something to help the poor land of my birth. As many other expatriate professionals, over the past 19 years (such a long time!), due to the political situation in Viet Nam, I have chosen to sit on the side line but I have always told myself that, when the conditions are ripe, I will try to do something to help the unfortunate people in Viet Nam. It is still a controversy in my mind as to whether right now (September 1994) is such a time.

Anh Minh in an open letter to the members of VACET on August 26, 1994 and in a letter to the Administrative Committee of VACET on August 31, 1994, proposed that VACET consider joint projects with a number of organizations in Viet Nam. The safe course for members of AdComm would have been to ignore this request, until a "proper" time. An alternative would be for VACET to start discussion with such organizations without the general membership being aware. Even among AdComm members, this subject of discussion has always been a controversial issue. Given the emotional nature of this, I decided, after consultation with a number of AdComm members, to put this to a vote of the whole membership looking for a mandate. Given the expected flak that whoever wrote the question to be put to the members will receive, I decided to take it upon myself to write the question:

Should VACET start discussion with technical organizations in Vietnam on joint technical projects

The words were carefully chosen to make sure that everybody understood that this is only a first step which is limited to discussion only. VACET was not to make any commitment at this time. Knowledge is power and since talk is cheap, we should at least learn more before going beyond the talking stage.

I should mention that I do recognize that being the presiding officer of VACET, there is a potential conflict of interest in being also the one writing the question. However, since I did not come up with the original request, anh Minh did, I believe I am on safe ground to INTERPRET his request. The normal procedure would have been to assign the task of writing the question to another member of AdComm. But this would be an unfair burden on that member due to the emotional nature of this vote. "Noblesse oblige".

Any way, after getting inputs from AdComm, the ballot measure was put out on Thursday Sept 8, 1994 around 10:26. By 11:55 the debate has started. The very rapid feedback never ceases to amaze me. I requested anh Minh to write a short explanation of his proposal that was published that day. A clarification of the (very condensed) question was posted on Tuesday Sept 13.

By Monday September 12, the debate was getting very heated. Two major issues came up: challenges, that were seconded, to the ballot 50+% majority requirement, and the 6 month cooling off period should the vote be NO. The anonymous "Miss FAIR" saved the day with her referral to Robert's Rule of Order late Monday evening. In a telephone conversation, she pointed out to me that, since there was a legitimate motion on the floor and that it was seconded, according to RRoO we should recognize it. The following day, I invited Anh Phuong, the original proponent of revisiting the above two issues, to write the questions to be put to a vote to allow members' inputs to these 2 issues. By Thursday a first draft of the initiative was presented to the AdComm. The final draft was delivered on Monday the 19th and a two day balloting was started on Tuesday the 20th.

In spite of our effort to proof everything that was sent out to the members, we goofed and published the wrong address to send the vote. This information was broadcast to members and the correct address was published within an hour.

Lessons Learned

As a professional, we should always strive to learn from our experience. I learned the following

1. When in doubt, in a democratic society, be open. I believe the vote gives AdComm a clear mandate. I am glad that we called for a vote instead of burying the issue or carrying on a hidden agenda.

2. Especially with emotional issues, we need to provide an outlet for the silent majority. In this case, the anonymous "Miss FAIR" came up with Robert's Rule of Order that helped quiet down a lot of the emotional discussion and provided a means for settling the issue. In the future, on major ballot issues, we need to provide an anonymous posting service. This service cannot be automated but should be impartially moderated to keep the issues relevant. I do apologize to one VACET member who sent me an article for anonymous posting, that I misread and did not post. One can only scan so much mail without being overwhelmed. Probably we need 2 focal points for anonymous posting: one for the pro view and one for the con view. The moderating persons only need to be impartial and do not necessarily have to agree with the point of view he/she is helping present.

3. Reasonable people can agree if an accepted standard is used as a reference. When it became clear that an initiative ballot is being prepared for the 2 issues mentioned above, I notice that our members became less vocal and waited for the initiative to be presented. And then the vote proceeded smoothly without any recrimination.

4. In this electronic age, issues can be resolved very quickly in a group of reasonable professionals. Considering the fact that we did not get going until the e-mail to AdComm of anh Minh on 8/31, it is amazing that we were able to put out a ballot measure by 9/8 and have most of the points of view, pro and con, presented by the second week, judging from the low level of discussion, and have an initiative ballot thrown in as extra by the second week. Think how much more productive this world could be if national and international issues can be resolved this quickly and bloodlessly! I would like to thank anh Thao for putting the vote counting team together, chi Huong, anh Thanh Binh, anh Binh, and other vote counting team members for the excellent job they did in such a short period of time.

5. VACET needs to adopt Robert's Rule of Order.

In conclusion, let me say that I am proud of VACET. This voting experience has reconfirmed my opinion that it is possible to have a democracy in cyberspace. Like a control feedback system, quick feedback helps avoid undesirable oscillation (this statement qualifies this article as technical!).

At the time of this writing, the main balloting has not been completed. What ever its outcome, I believe that VACET will be able to live with it and we have become a stronger organization for participating in this exercise in democracy. It is my sincere hope that this has also been a positive experience for all our members worldwide.

Any way, all of you should be proud of being pioneers in cyberspace democracy.

* ( Here is the vote results )

From: Binh Thanh Nguyen ([email protected])

VOTES SUBMITED: 150

VALID VOTES: 141 INVALID (VOID): 9

YES: 84 (59.57 %) NO : 43 (30.49 %) ADCOM: 14 ( 0.99 %)

There is one blank vote (thus not counted ) with comments submited to [email protected]. To protect voter's identity and decision while reserving voter's right to voice his/her concerns, VCT (Vote Counting Team) decides not mark this vote.

Vietnamese Technical Terms Discussions Summary (Condensed)

by Binh Pham ([email protected])

Technical terms issues have always been important to the Vietnamese. They have been discussed and acted upon at various times and at various places. However, results from those discussions have not been recorded nor widely distributed, thus little intelligence has been passed from one group to another, and the Vietnamese synergy has not had chance to materialize.

In May 1994, on the VACET forum, Vietnamese technical terms issues were raised and had been emotionally discussed for over two months.

Being discussed were three main choices:

A. Foreign, technical terms SHOULD be translated into Vietnamese. B. Foreign, technical terms SHOULD NOT be translated into Vietnamese. C. Foreign, technical terms SHOULD BE translated as much as possible into Vietnamese, and the rest been adopted/adapted.

Proponents for choice (A) stated (1) The Vietnamese want to protect the viability of its language and the pride of the its people; (2) The Vietnamese approach is efficient for the masses. [The majority of the Vietnamese are not computer-literate, technical, nor fluent in foreign languages].

Proponents for choice (B), the opposite of choice (A), stated (1) The foreign language approach is efficient for technical students and scholars; (2) Translated Vietnamese terms (such as pha^`n cu+'ng, pha^`n me^`m) can neither be universally agreed in time nor sound natural.

Acknowledging both the strengths and weaknesses of both choices (A) and (B), proponents for choice (C) advocated the middle ground that combined the strengths of both choice (A) and (B), and that neutralized their weaknesses.

In the end, it seemed that choice (C) prevailed: we should translate what we can and adopt/adapt what we cannot.

One contributor said "I believe this is the only conclusion, for now and the future. What can we do when we *can not* (due to resource limitation,...) translate? The answer is to adopt/adapt. (Rejection is not a good idea). On the other hand, partial translation has been going on for years in VN and abroad. We can not undo this (partial) translation."

Furthermore, the discussions had helped raise VACET members's awareness and appreciation of the translation issues. A working group is being formed to consider related projects such as Technical Terms Dictionary.

If you would like to contribute to those projects, please contact Dr. Viet-Dung Hoang ([email protected]) or Hung Ho ([email protected]).

ABOUT VACET

Information About VACET-AdCom (Board Members and Staff) ([email protected])

o Chairman: Dr. Tran Thong ([email protected])

o Advisors: Dr. Huynh Thiet Dung ([email protected]) Dr. Ha Thuc Tri ([email protected]) Dr. Cao Huu Tri ([email protected]) Dr. Vuong Gia-Tong ([email protected])

o Vice-Chairman (Administrative Affairs): Mr. Le Mong Thao ([email protected])

o Assistant Vice-Chairman (Administrative Affairs) Mr. Pham Binh ([email protected])

o Library Officer: Mr. Vuong Quoc Anh (Ly) ([email protected])

o Information Officer: Mr. Tran L. Chuyen ([email protected]) Ms. Tran Phuong Mai ([email protected]) Mr. Pham Doanh ([email protected]).

o Systems Officers: Mr. Le Van Trung Tin ([email protected]) Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh ([email protected])

o Administration Officers: Mr. Vu Duy Huy ([email protected]) Ms. Nguyen T. V. Huong ([email protected]) Mr. Nguyen Le Duy ([email protected]) Ms. Le Nicole ([email protected]) Mr. Tran Luu Tung-Duong ([email protected])

o Vice-Chairman (Technical Affairs): Dr. Hoang Viet-Dung (Jack) ([email protected]) o Assistant Vice-Chairman (Technical Affairs) Dr. Nguyen Minh Nhat ([email protected])

o Technical Affairs Officers Mr. Le Trong Nga ([email protected]) Mr. Le Phuoc Toai ([email protected]) Mr. Ta Dac Anh ([email protected]) Dr. Vo Ta Duc ([email protected])

o Vice-Chairman (International Affairs): Dr. Anson Binh ([email protected])

o International Affairs Officer Mr. Nguyen Tu Hao ([email protected])

o President of Engineering Society: Dr. Tran Van Hai ([email protected])

o President of Computer Society: Dr. Vu Anh Phuong ([email protected])

VACET ACTIVITIES

by Hoang Viet-Dung ([email protected])

Weekly Technical Column

The idea of broadcasting technical and semi-technical information on a weekly basis was on the agenda for quite sometime, we in the Technical Affairs group never seem to find time to act on it.

Starting next week, we will have a column for each day of the week, each devoted to a subject we feel is of interest to most of VACET membership. As you will see, the theme for each column is general enough to accept many diversified subjects. We expect these columns to be short and precise, and enjoyable to read.

On Monday, we will have the column ** [SCIENCE FOR EVERYONE] **. We expect this column to cover subjects in micro-biology, in chemistry and physics, in astronomy, or just about everything in between. Anh Duc Vo ([email protected]) will be leading this column.

On Tuesday, the subject will be ** [EVERYDAY ENGINEERING] **. We are hoping that thi engineering catch-all technical column will allow all of us the opportunity to learn about the "other" engineering disciplines (non-communication, and non- computer engineering). We are actively looking for a VACET member to take on the leading role for this column, preferably a non-communication, non-computer engineer. Please note however that this column will cover topics in communication and computer sciences. Anh Hai Tran ([email protected]) and anh Viet-Dung Hoang ([email protected]) will be responsible for this column.

On Wednesday, ** [PC MEANS PERSONAL] ** will be the hot topic. Anything that deals with personal computer from Intel Pentium to Microsoft Windows will be covered here. Anh Anh Ta ([email protected]) will be leading this effort.

On Friday, we will go semi-technical with the column on ** [MARKET THYSELF] **. We expect to provide VACET membership with information on writing resume, pointers for a better interview, or anything that deal with holding on to a job, or skill required for moving up the management ladder. Anh Thong Tran ([email protected]) will be in charge of this column.

Like all other VACET activities, participation by the members is crucial. Comments and constructive criticisms are always welcome. But more than that, we will need the readership to send in inputs to these technical columns, and volunteers to write and edit. Our goal is to have 3-4 people per columns. Please direct your comments and inputs to the appropriate person in charge of the column.

If you have any general comments please direct them to Viet-Dung Hoang ([email protected]).

Job Advice Service

An upcoming service that VACET is planning to start is Job Advice. We are currently planning to kick off the service at the beginning of October 1994. More details in the [MARKET THYSELF] column coming to you on this info-bahn on 9/30/94. One of the service we will provide is personal resume coaching. Given that VACET has about 300 members, and at any given time 5-10% may be job searching, we need volunteers to read and critique resumes. If you have 5+ years of professional experience and have participated in recruiting activities, as our collegaues from Down-Under would say, "we want your brain, mate" (with the proper accent). We are especially interested in volunteers from outside the U.S. and from disciplines like Chem E, CE, ME, etc..

Please e-mail to Tran Thong at [email protected]

NEW TECHNOLOGY

DESKTOP VIDEOCONFERENCING: A HOT EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
by Le Mong Thao ([email protected])

Desktop videoconferencing is an emerging technology that is gaining widespread acceptance within the government and the private sector. This technology is becoming a key business tool for the 1990s and plays an integral part of the information superhighway. Desktop videoconferencing is gaining widespread acceptance because of the need for a more productive work environment.

Designed to run on a personal computer (PC)-based platform, desktop videoconferencing systems are meeting the challenge of providing varied applications. This technology is employed by a broad spectrum of users to facilitate cost effective communication with key individuals or groups regardless of their geographic locations. The desktop videoconferencing technology takes advantages of the windows multi- tasking environment. It allows users to maintain a live face-to-face videoconference while accessing many other applications, such as spreadsheets and word processing on their desktops.

A desktop videoconferencing system has three basic parts to the screen: the video window, collaborative workspace, and "Hollywood" squares (i.e., pictures from different locations can be simultaneously display on the screen in the format of grid type). A user at a site is able to manipulate images, annotate text, etc., in real time. A user can take "snapshots" of information and sends it as an image or a text file, while the video portion and audio connection stay active.

A desktop videoconferencing systems, either analog or digital, can be used by an organization as an enterprise-wide solution. An analog system can provide voice, real color images, and graphics at an analog bandwidth up to 4.5 MHz. A digital desktop videoconferencing system offers more flexibility than an analog based-system. Some digital system allows integrated voice, video and data to be transmitted between remote locations within seconds using ISDN-BRI (128 Kbps) or Switched 56 Kbps services. Desktop videoconferencing systems use digital PC White Board Windows applications that can operate on either a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) through video hub switches, multipoint control units (MCUs), DSU/CSU/ modems or codecs for hands-on interaction between a point-to-point or a multi-point conference. The use of video hubs in a private telecommunications infrastructure eliminates the monthly access and usage charge associated with the use of the Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) and Interexchange Carrier (IXC).

Desktop videoconferencing systems are good tools for staff meetings, project meetings, trouble shooting/crisis resolution meetings, financial planning meetings, product development meetings and customer support and training sessions. The desktop videoconferencing capability is crucial to businesses that have to analyze visual information rapidly. As a result, better decisions can be made with lower expenditure of resources. Desktop videoconferencing reduces costs that are easy to identify. Business exchanges can occur between executives or staff at different locations, thus reducing the expense and time delays inherent in travel.

Today, there are many manufacturers of desktop videoconferencing equipment. Some of these manufacturers are ABL Engineering, Inc. (Menor, OH. 216-974-8585), Acer America Corp. (San Jose, CA. 408-432- 6200), AT&T (Basking Ridge, NJ. 908-953-7521), British Telecom Videotelephony Services (London. 44-71-239-1512), Compression Lab Inc., (San Jose, CA. 408-922-4610), Datapoint Corp. (San Antonio, TX. 210-593- 7511), Fujitsu Ltd (Tokyo, 81-33-735-1111), GTE Vantage Solutions (Chantily, VA. 703-818-5540), IBM (Contact local sales), IBM U.K. (London, 44-81-995-1441), Insoft Inc. (Mechanicsburg, PA. 717-730-9501), Intel Corp. (Santa Clara, CA. 408-765-4483), National Semiconductor Corp. (Philadelphia, PA. 215-387-6002), InVision Systems Corp. (Vienna, VA. 703-506-0294), Mitsubishi Electronics America Inc. (Santa Clara, CA. 408-732-6928), Northern Telecom Inc. (Richardson, TX. 214-684-8639), Novell/Fluent (Provo, Utah. 801-429-7000), and Olivetti U.K. (London. 44-71-728-3409).

VN NEWS IN BRIEF

Following is an article written by a student from Vietnam, who is presently studying abroad. The article presents an overview of the current situation of employment of computer science graduates in VN.

Va`o di.p Tua^`n le^~ Tin Ho.c la^`n thu+' 4 ddu+o+.c to^? chu+'c ta.i Saigon, to^i co' nghe no'i to+'i vie^.c VN ca^`n 20 nga`n programmers cho mo^.t ne^`n co^ng nghie^.p software . To^i kho^ng nho+' r o~ chi? tie^u na`y ddu+o+.c dde^` ra cho to+'i na(m na`o , 2000 hay 2010. Du` sao nha^n di.p na`y , co' le~ chu'ng ta ne^n trao ddo^?i ddo^i chu't suy nghi~ ve^` mo^.t ne^`n Co^ng nghie^.p Tin Ho.c cho VN. Vi` vie^'t vo^.i, to^i mong ca'c ba.n tho^ng ca?m cho ca'c thie^'u so't ve^` ca'ch vie^'t va(n trong ba`i na^`y\.

No'i to+'i mo^.t ne^`n co^ng nghie^.p pha^`n me^`m, kho^ng the^? kho^ng dde^` ca^.p to+'i ddo^.i ngu~ nhu+~ng Computer Engineer, Science , programmer, ca'c Analysts ... O+? VN, ddo^.i ngu~ na`y o+? dda^u ra va` hie^.n nay ddang thu+.c hie^.n nhu+~ng gi` ?

Co' the^? no'i ngay ra(`ng dda so^' lu+.c lu+o+.ng chi'nh xua^'t pha't tu+` ca'c nguo^`n dda`o ta.o trong nu+o+'c , ddo' la` ca'c chuye^n gia co' ba(`ng Bachelors tu+` ca'c tru+o+`ng DDa.i ho.c vo+'i chuye^n mo^n la` Computer Science, Engineering hoa(.c co' mo^.t chu't gi` lie^n quan to+'i Computer ( Cha(?ng ha.n tru+o+`ng DDA.i ho.c Kinh te^' co' khoa Toa'n Kinh Te^' cung ca^'p ca'c course ve^` programming ....) . Sau khi to^'t nghie^.p, ho. co' ddu+o+.c mo^.t ca(n ba?n ve^` computer kha? di? ddu? de^? thie^'t la^.p ca'c application nho nho? trong ca'c li~nh vu+.c kho^ng ddo`i ho?i kie^'n thu+'c chuye^n mo^n sa^u. Cha(?ng ha.n , ngu+o+`i sinh vie^n mo+'i ra tru+o+`ng co' the^? kie^'m ddu+o+.c mo^.t job ta.i mo^.t co^ng ty na`o ddo'. Co^ng ty na`y mua mo^.t ma'y PC va` ro^`i giao anh ta cho pho`ng Ke^' toa'n . Ngu+o+`i nha^n vie^n mo+'i na`y se~ la`m vie^.c chung vo+'i nhu+~ng ke^' toa'n vie^n dde^? thie^'t la^.p mo^.t accounting application cho rie^ng co^ng ty. Va^.y la` theo na(m tha'ng anh ta tro+? tha`nh mo^.t designer/programmer . Ne^'u la` mo^.t co^ng ty lo+'n, ho. se~ la^.p ha(?n mo^.t pho`ng ma'y ti'nh, ca'c programmers la`m vie^.c chung vo+'i nhau .

Nhu+ng kho^ng pha?i chuye^n gia na`o cu~ng co' may ma('n ddu+o+.c di.p a'p du.ng nhu+~ng kie^'n thu+'c phu` ho+.p vo+'i tri`nh ddo^. cu?a mi`nh . O+? Saigon hie^.n nay ca'c co^ng ty tu+ nha^n co+? trung va` nho? xua^'t hie^.n nhie^`u. Ca'c co^ng ty na`y cu~ng mua PC, nhu+ng pha^`n nhie^`u chi? du`ng nhu+ la` mo^.t Text Editor , va` ngu+o+`i co' ba(`ng BE, BSc ddu+o+.c xem la` mo^.t nha^n vie^n dda'nh ma'y. DDa'ng buo^`n thay, con so^' nhu+~ng ngu+o+`i na`y chie^'m mo^.t ty? le^. cao . Ba.n se~ ho?i ta.i sao ca'c sinh vie^n mo+'i ra tru+o+`ng na`y la.i cha^'p nha^.n mo^.t co^ng vie^.c nhu+ va^.y . O^`, o+? VN hie^.n nay , trong do`ng lu~ nhu+~ng ngu+o+`i tha^'t nghie^.p ca'c ngu+o+`i mo+'i ra tru+o+`ng chi? ca^`n job, ho. pha?i kie^'m so^'ng tru+o+'c dda~ . DDo^'i vo+'i ho. ba(n khoa(n ve^` mo^.t tu+o+ng lai to^'t dde.p ho+n cho chuye^n mo^n , va` cho ne^`n Tin Ho.c quo^'c gia la` mo^.t vie^.c qua' ddo^~i xa vo+`i . DDo' la` mo^.t y' tu+o+?ng vo^ cu`ng xa xi? .

O+? tre^n la` nhu+~ng ngu+o+`i la`m co^ng vie^.c Computerize cho mo^.t va(n pho`ng, mo^.t xi' nghie^.p . Nhu+~ng ngu+o+`i ddo' du` i't hay nhie^`u cu~ng chu+a the^? coi la` lu+.c lu+o.+ng sa(~n sa`ng cho ne^`n Co^ng Nghie^.p Tin Ho.c VN . De^? VN co' ddu+o+.c mo^.t Software Engineering thu+.c su+. , ta pha?i du+.a va`o lu+.c lu+o+.ng nhu+~ng Professional Programmer/Designers , nhu+~ng ngu+o+`i xem vie^.c la^.p ca'c Softwares la` mo^.t nghe^` chuye^n nghie^.p . Ha~y xem qua lu+.c lu+o+.ng na`y va` mo^i tru+o+`ng ma` ho. la`m vie^.c ...

O+? Saigon to^i bie^'t ddu+o+.c 2 co^ng ty thie^'t la^.p ha(?n hoi mo^.t bo^. pha^.n thu+.c hie^.n ca'c pha^`n me^`m . Vo+'i ddo^.i ngu~ tre^n du+o+'i 20 - 30 programmers, ho. thu+.c hie^.n ca'c dich vu. cung ca^'p Customed-tailored applications cho ca'c xi' nghie^.p trong nu+o+'c, ddo^`ng tho+`i co' ho+.p ddo^`ng vo+'i nu+o+'c ngoa`i la`m vie^.c trong mo^.t du+. a'n na`o ddo' . To^i kho^ng bie^'t ro~ ta^`m mu+'c ca'c du+. a'n vo+'i nu+o+'c ngoa`i lo+'n to+'i dda^u , va` co' a?nh hu+o+?ng gi` to+'i co^ng nghie^.p Tin ho.c cu?a quo^'c gia hay kho^ng . Nhu+ng mo^.t nha^.n xe't to^i tha^'y ddu+o+.c la` ddo^.i ngu~ programmers kho^ng o^?n ddi.nh . Mu+'c thu nha^.p tha^'p kho^ng xu+'ng vo+'i co^ng su+'c la`m vie^.c tri' o'c la` nguye^n nha^n chi'nh chie^'n ca'c programmers de^~ nghi? vie^.c dde^? la`m cho mo^.t co^ng ty nu+o+'c ngoa`i na`o ddo' vo+'i ddo^`ng lu+o+ng cao ho+n va` co^ng vie^.c ddo+n gia?n ho+n . Mo^.t so^' kha'c chuye^?n sang thu+.c hie^.n ca'c di.ch vu. cung ca^'p PC cho ca'c xi' nghie^.p nho? hoa(.c gia ddi`nh . Ho. kho^ng co' mo^.t ba(n khoa(n gi` khi tu+` bo? co^ng vie^.c cu?a mo^.t programmer .

DDo^.i ngu~ programmers kho^ng o^?n ddi.nh, co`n mo^i tru+o+`ng la`m vie^.c thi` sao ?

Cho to+'i nay, o+? VN chi? co' ca'c PC ddo+n le?, co`n ca'c tru+o+`ng DDa.i ho.c , ca'c co^ng ty lo+'n lie^n ke^'t ca'c PC tha`nh LAN. Va^.y tho^i. Kho^ng co' mainframe, kho^ng co' ma.ng UNIX . Ma.ng INTERNET cho to+'i nay chi? la` truye^`n data theo phu+o+ng thu+'c UUCP, va` o+? Saigon theo nhu+ to^i nghe no'i la.i ca'ch dda^y 3 tua^`n , chi? co' 2 nodes co' the^? nha^.n ddu+o+.c e-mail . Vo+'i mo^.t mo^i tru+o+`ng nhu+ va^.y, ca'c programmers chu? ye^'u su+? du.ng ca'c ngo^n ngu+~ tha?o chu+o+ng tho^ng thu+o+`ng tre^n PC : C , Foxpro .

Mo^.t ddie^?m ca^`n pha?i dde^` ca^.p to+'i la` hie^.n nay VN chu+a co' lua^.t so+? hu+~u ba?n quye^`n co' the^? a'p du.ng thu+.c hie^.n co' hie^.u lu+.c . Ca'c softwares tu+` nu+o+'c ngoa`i ddu+a va`o ddu+o+.c che'p mo^.t ca'ch tu+. do thoa?i ma'i. DDie^`u na`y la`m cho ngu+o+`i su+? du.ng co' ddie^`u kie^.n su+? du.ng ca'c softwares mo+'i nha^'t vo+'i ca'c version mo+'i nha^'t : Windows 3.1 , Microsoft Word pha?i la` 6.0 , LAN 4.1 ... kho^ng ai nghi~ to+'i chuye^.n pha?i bo? tie^`n ra dde^? mua software. To^i nghi~ ddie^`u na`y co' khi'a ca.nh kho^ng hay cu?a no' : Ca'c co^ng ty Software nu+o+'c ngoa`i co' le~ to? ra nga^`n nga.i la^.p ca'c dda.i ly' cung ca^'p softwares , ca'c programmers co' ta`i na(ng cu~ng kho^ng nghi? to+'i vie^.c design/implement mo^.t software na`o ddo' .

Trong so^' ba'o PC World tha'ng 12/1993 do Trung ta^m Tho^ng tin khoa ho.c & co^ng nghe^. mo^i Tru+o+`ng xua^'t ba?n , co' dda(ng y' kie^'n cu?a Dr. Hansjorg Lehner ( Thu.y Si~ ) ve^` co^ng nghie^.p pha^`n me^`m VN. Xin tri'ch mo^.t ddoa.n nhu+ sau :

" ... Ma(.c du` vie^.c sa?n xua^'t pha^`n me^`m ddo'ng mo^.t vai tro` ra^'t quan tro.ng nhu+ng chu+a mo^.t no+i na`o dda.t dde^'n tri`nh ddo^. sa?n xua^'t pha^`n me^`m co^ng nghie^.p . Cho to+'i nay, tu+`ng pha^`n me^`m va^~n co`n ddu+o+.c sa?n xua^'t mo^.t ca'ch thu? co^ng : sa?n xua^'t tu+`ng pha^`n mo^.t ma` kho^ng co' su+. la('p ghe'p o+? mu+'c to^? chu+'c cao ca'c tha`nh pha^`n kha'c nhau cu?a pha^`n me^`m - mo^.t dda(.c tru+ng cu?a quy tri`nh co^ng nghie^.p . ... "

Nha^n lu+.c la` vo^'n quy' nha^'t. DDu+o+.c di.p ddi du ho.c ra nu+o+'c ngoa`i, to^i co' mo^.t su+. so sa'nh : ngu+o+`i VN mi`nh ve^` Computer kho^ng he^` thua su't ba?n li~nh ca' nha^n vo+'i ba^'t ky` mo^.t quo^'c gia na`o [ Nha^.n xe't na`y co' le~ la` thu+`a vo+'i ca'c ba.n :-))) ... ]. The^' nhu+ng mo^i tru+o+`ng o+? VN cho to+'i nay va^~n la` la.c ha^.u, tu.t la.i qua' xa .

Ngoa`i nhu+~ng Bachelors ddu+o+.c dda`o ta.o tu+` ca'c tru+o+`ng DDa.i ho.c , co`n nhu+~ng lu+.c lu+o+.ng na`o co' the^? go'p va`o con so^' 20,000 programmers ?

Be^n ca.nh gia'o du.c DDa.i ho.c, o+? Saigon co`n co' ca'c lo+'p Trung Ca^'p Tin ho.c va` ca'c lo+'p da.y nghe^` buo^?i to^'i . Ho.c vie^n ca'c lo+'p Trung ca^'p theo ho.c trong 12 tha'ng, va` ddu+o+.c trang bi. ca'c kie^'n thu+'c dde^? su+? du.ng PC nhu+ la` mo^.t operator tha`nh tha.o . Ca'c lo+'p da.y nghe^` buo^?i to^i cu~ng va^.y . DDo^.i ngu~ na`y chi? ddo'ng go'p va`o so^' lu+o+.ng ca'c users cu?a nhu+~ng apllications. Va^.y tho^i .

Cho to+'i nay, nha` nu+o+'c dda~ dda^`u tu+ gi` cho co^ng nghie^.p pha^`n me^`m ?

Du+. a'n ma.ng INTERNET ddu+o+.c thu+.c hie^.n o+? mu+'c ddo^. khie^m nhu+o+`ng. Co`n gi` nu+~a ?

Cu+? ho.c sinh du ho.c nga`nh CS , ddo' la` mo^.t tie^'n bo^. , the^' nhu+ng chi? la` muo^'i bo? bie^?n so vo+'i chi? tie^u 20,000 programmers . ... Cha^'m he^'t ? Kho^ng le~ chi? co' va^.y tho^i sao?

Ca'c co^ng ty nu+o+'c ngoa`i thi` sao? Ngay lu'c le^.nh ca^'m va^.n ddu+o+.c ba~i bo? , ba'o chi' co' ne^u tin ca'c Co^ng ty Microsoft, IBM, DEC, DELL , ... sa(~n sa`ng nha?y va`o thi. tru+o+`ng VN . Cho to+'i nay, to^i chu+a ddu+o+.c bie^'t mo^.t tie^'n bo^. na`o nu+~a. Ca'c dda`n anh kho^?ng lo^` na`y cu~ng chi? o+? mu+'c ddo^. sa(~n sa`ng. Mo^.t ngu+o+`i ba.n ddang thu+.c hie^.n di.ch vu. cung ca^'p PC no'i vo+'i to^i ra(`ng : IBM & Microsoft chu+a tha^.t su+. cho.n ddu+o+.c ngu+o+`i ho+.p ta'c ve^` phi'a VN . DDu'ng kho^ng ?

Co' le~ ba`i vie^'t dde^'n dda^y kha' da`i. To^i xin cha^'m du+'t o+? dda^y . To^i ra^'t mong nghe ddu+o+.c nhu+~ng ddo'ng go'p cu?a ca'c ba.n . Nhu+~ng nha^.n xe't cu?a to^i, cha('c cha('n la` phie^'n die^.n va` nhie^`u thie^'u so't. Mong ca'c ba.n tho^ng ca?m ma` bo? qua cho.

A lot of thanks for your patience to read!

A student from VN

IN THE NEXT ISSUES

Here are some of the topics that may appear on our future issues. Please participate by sending us your inputs and articles. E-mail them to Le Trong Nga at < [email protected] >. The deadline for input submission for the next issue is 10 January 1995.

- VACET & Technical Journal [ Forum ]

- Summary of Technical Discussions on VACET

- Summary of VACET Weekly Columns

- Abstracts of Papers by VN Professionals

- Status of VACET Technical Library

- Current Status of Technical Journals in VN

- IT Industries in VN

- VN Technical News Briefs

- Introducing VN Technical Companies

- Survey of Technical Newsgroups

- Technical Papers & Book Review

... << please suggest other topics >>