Media moguls and software giants gathered in the Yard last week to lecture about hot on-line topics at the second biannual Harvard Conference on Internet and Society (HCIS).

The conference featured addresses by the CEOs of Oracle, IBM, Sun and America Online, as well as by Microsoft Executive Vice President Steven A. Ballmer '77, and Esther Dyson '71, a leading computer analyst and former Crimson executive.

Stephen G. Breyer, a Supreme Court Justice, and Matt Drudge, the creator of the online newsletter which first broke the Monica Lewinsky scandal, were among the participants in a series of panels which featured everyone from science fiction writers to university professors.

Participants from more than 30 countries paid $1295 to hear this all-star lineup, though spots were available to students and representatives of non-profit organizations for discounted rates.

"The focus of the conference was on an obviously vital question--whether the Internet will drive a deeper wedge between the rich and poor," said Charles R. Nesson '60, Weld professor of law and chair of the conference.

But panels, which were organized into five tracks--education, business, law, community, and technology and public policy--strayed from this theme into other controversial computer topics.

Indeed, both Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Sun CEO Scott G. McNealy '76 used the conference as a platform to attack Microsoft, which is currently the subject of a Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit.

"I think the long-term outcome [of the Justicedepartment suit] is that you feel like you have achoice on your desktop, and I don't mean Windows98 versus Windows 95," McNealy said.

He added that he felt Microsoft's decision todistribute its web browser, Internet Explorer, forfree was clear evidence of antitrust violations.

"Is there any of my economics professors herewho can tell me that zero is not predatorialpricing?" he said. "It should be case closed. Thejudge should say 'Done.'"

Ballmer, Microsoft's executive vice presidentand a member of Harvard's Board of Overseers,countered by saying that Microsoft is simplyproviding people with products they want.

"I feel comfortable that we will prevail duringthe course of the lawsuit because I know that ourposition is the right position," he said,addressing the conference by video cybercast.

"What we're doing is very muchproconsumer...and all the competition laws in thiscountry were written to make sure that consumersgot better value, more innovation, [and] betterproducts every year," he added.

Conference speakers also addressed the issue ofgovernment regulation of the Internet, withspeakers from Drudge Report Editor Matt Drudge toAmerica Online CEO Steven Case arguing forself-regulation.

While Drudge said that the only limit onInternet postings should be their author'sconscience, Case said "there should beprivate-sector groups that come together to createa code of conduct" to which site providers wouldvoluntarily adhere.

Although the themes were disparate, Nesson saidthe topics were linked by their importance to thecreation of a "commons" on the Internet in orderto prevent computers from driving a wedge betweeninformation haves and have nots.

"The commons to me is a place where ordinarypeople can go more or less for free and create andlearn and play, and do it with tools that arereally good and open," he said.

On the Internet, Nesson suggested, creatingsuch a commons would involve strong encryption,limited government regulation, and free and opencompetition.

The Power of a Name

Nesson said part of the reason the conferenceis able to attract top-of-the-line speakers isbecause it fills a unique niche.

"There are bigger conferences, but mostconferences are project oriented, and this is ideaoriented," he said.

But, according to Nesson, it doesn't hurt to beHarvard, either.

"The Harvard invitation itself is verypowerful," Nesson said. "People like to comehere."

The University's wide range of resources alsohelped the conference attract industry leaders,according to Linda L. Greyser, Associate Directorof Programs in Professional Education and co-chairof the conference's educational track.

"A whole range of fields are covered at theconference," she said. "If any individual schooldid it, it would be much more narrow."

Nesson said the conference tried to attractrepresentatives of four major groups: establishedcapital, venture capital, non-profit organizationsand academia.

The conference "attracted a very substantialmix" of participants "including plenty of bigplayers," Nesson said.

The conference's infrequence may also make it amore important event.

Holding the conference every other year,Greyser suggested, allows organizers to focustheir resources on one conference and spendadditional time organizing.

A Lasting Impact?

Despite its success engaging industry leadersin dialogues on important topics, the conference'sorganizers say their event's true success shouldbe measured by the kinds of change the conferencebrings about, rather than the kinds of change itdiscusses.

"What's important about the conference is whatcomes after it," Nesson said. "A lot ofconferences you go to and have a good time andcome back in a couple years and talk about thesame problems."

Nesson says he wants the conference to be avehicle to address the issues the conferenceraises, rather than merely explore them.

"We're at the end of what you might think of asthe second industrial revolution. At the end ofthe first, we built libraries and parks. It's timeto build the common spaces in cyberspace," headded.

Nesson regards the conference's website athttp://cybercon98.harvard.edu as one step towardcreating a commons.

The site contains video recordings of many ofthe conference's speakers in addition todiscussion areas for selected topics.

To extend the conference's global reach, Nessonsays he is planning to have the site translatedinto Chinese and posted on a site in China