Less challenging than the event data collection system, but critical for detector operation, is the slow control system for controlling and monitoring the myriad of support systems necessary for data taking. These include high and low voltage systems, gas mixing and monitoring, environmental conditions in and around the experiment, the cryogenics plant, and CESR conditions. A detailed inventory is too large to document here. We lump these together under the heading of slow controls. An important component of this is the shift operators interface. CLEO III will be moving away from VAX-based systems and their Q-bus. Many of the interfaces to the above slow control items will need to be re-invented. This presents an opportunity to take a new approach using distributed intelligence. For example, the present gas mixing system and the high voltage program share the same computer as the operator interface. These systems and others could be operated as autonomous systems using a distributed compute environment. This could be based on VME processors running a real-time operating system networked with Ethernet. Another approach would use PC's running Lab Windows or PC Spuds where the hardware is inexpensive, the development environment is friendly, and the graphical tools make complex, informative displays easy to code.