ASC X3 Name Change

[Lynn Barra]

NEWS RELEASE 

Accredited Standards Committee*
X3, Information Technology

*Operating under the procedures of the American National Standards Institute
X3 Secretariat, Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association (CBEMA)
1250 Eye Street NW, Suite 200, Washington DC 20005-3922
Telephone: 202-737-8888 (Press 1 Twice)  FAX 202-638-4922

Contact:  Jean-Paul Emard		202-626-5740

ANSI-Accredited Standards Committee X3, Changes its Name

Washington, DC:  (May 18, 1994)  Accredited Standards Committee X3 has a new name -- ASC X3, Information Technology.  This name reflects the broadening scope of voluntary standardization in technologies that have been emerging and converging under the umbrella term "Information Technology."  X3 is accredited 
by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop national information technology standards with most of the X3 technical committees serving as the U.S. technical bodies for corresponding international work.

For more than thirty years, X3 has been producing American National Standards under the title Information Processing Systems. X3 standards were base standards - such as ASCII Code, Hollerith Punch Cards, and programming language COBOL.  As technology has evolved, standards development has moved from basics to the interlocking pieces of the National Information Infrastructure (NII).  Some of these interlocking pieces include Generic Coding of Moving Pictures and Associated Audio Information (MPEG 2), Optical Digital Data Disks, Data Compression, Object Management, Distributed Data Interfaces, Computer Graphics, Database Language SQL, Security Techniques, Smart Cards and many programming languages including Smalltalk, C++, and Xbase.

Jim Converse, Eastman Kodak Company, X3 Chair, notes that "the convergence of the technologies which are enabling the information revolution and the information superhighway increases the value of X3 standards.  This name, scope and mission statement change is only the most outwardly visible indication of the changes going on within X3 to develop these needed standards in a higly effective and efficient manner.  We invite all interested parties to learn more 
about the work of X3."

X3 also adopted a new scope and mission statement to reflect its broader range of activities and highlight its goal to develop and promote the use of IT standards through an effective process that strengthens U.S. leadership in the global standards arena.

X3's next meeting will be held June 7-8, 1994 in Washington, D.C. For further information contact Jean-Paul Emard at 202-626-5740 (email: 75300.2666 at compuserve.com)