From: zyda@aquarius.cs.nps.navy.mil (Michael Zyda)
Subject: Re: IND: (1) Media Lab take a drubbing, (2) American industry behind
Date: 5 Feb 92 21:26:52 GMT
Organization: Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey CA



There is a clear slam to the Media Lab for lack of publication in
this group. I must respond. There are few places where real-time,
interactive 3D papers LIKE virtual worlds systems can be published.
ACM Transactions on Graphics has a dismal record for publishing,
with some papers taking 4 years+ to see the light of day. Why
would anyone involved in a highly changing environment ever
send a pub there?

The SIGGRAPH conference in the summer does better but then there
is the problem of virtual world images being not as spectacular
as those folks who really can put the warts on the back of the
hand. So papers on real-time, interactive 3D can go there but
the competition is stiff.

Where can one publish this stuff? The every other year conference
entitled the "Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics" is the place.
I chaired this symposium in 1990 and the Media Lab is putting
this on for 1992. But this is only every other year and only
25 or so papers.

Staff for mailing out tech reports? I stuff all my own envelopes
and I expect that this is low priority for most folks, even those
plush guys at the Media Lab. So please, don't say they aren't
publishing. They are. They are trying. Its just hard to find
(perhaps) for some.

     mz

[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  I don't think remember anyone in this group
specifically faulting the Media Lab (well, I am growing old and my
brain cells could be faulty).  The main "attack" was an article
published in BUSINESS WEEK and excerpted here as an example of a
growing backlash against high-tech research in the U.S., ironically
just when business leaders and politicians are calling for more, 
not less, R&D investment.  Michael makes good points which all 
researchers in this field have to deal with now, or will have to
deal with in the future.  Technical reports are difficult beasts,
expired before they are distributed in some cases.  What other
means are at our disposal to disseminate knowledge about our work?
-- Bob Jacobson]