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PROMISES, PROMISES... With Silicon Valley as a backdrop, President Clinton presented his four-year, $17 billion technology initiative last month, echoing many of the promises made along the campaign trail. The proposed program encourages consortium efforts between industry and government and hopes to transform the Commerce Department into a haven for R&D and budding new technologies. The plan also calls for enhancing the role of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, financing NREN--the national high-speed network--and building a bond between government and the auto industry.

HOUSE WARMING...The 13 computer industry CEOs that make up the Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP) also met with the Clinton-Gore camp to discuss their vision and recommendations for a national information infrastructure (NII). In a subsequent report, the CSPP defines the NII as integrating four essential elements: communications networks, computers, information, and people. The group also identifies actions to be taken by the government and industry to structure …