hdt@sunybcs.UUCP (Howard D. Trachtman) (05/15/84)
[]
It appears to me that there are some sites that have the capability of
calling each other up more frequently if the opportunity would arise.
Would there be any merit in have some kind of ExpressMail facility that
would enable one to get mail through as soon as possible? I see a minimum
of three problems (1) implementation (perhaps, trivial) (2) who will
pay for the extra long distance call (the BIGGIE) (3) who will have access
to send out such messages, and how will this access be controlled (I'm not
a fascist, but ...)
--
Howard D. Trachtman SUNY/Buffalo
allegra!{rocksvax|watmath}!sunybcs!hdt (UUCP) {watmath preferred}
hdt@MIT-MC.ARPA (ARPA)
US Snail: 2080 Niagara Falls Blvd./Tonawanda, NY 14150-5545
Phone: 716-693-3076 home; 716-826-0774 workfair@dual.UUCP (Erik E. Fair) (05/17/84)
I think that this will overload both the capacity for computing cycles
and for good will at the sites identified as being `ExPressable'. I
find UUCP mail service provide by the network to be excellent. Where
else can I get a letter to Europe in a single day? When I write Snail
mail to my relatives in Norway, it takes upwards of 10 days to get
there...
The network will get faster with time & technology. 2400 baud modems
for example, have started appearing at reasonable prices, and I expect
that a number of 2400 baud backbone links will start appearing in the
next few months.
In addition, the phone service market is heating up. A new service just
announced itself on Monday in the Wall Street Journal (yes, I read
it daily. It has good stuff in it often enough. No I don't wear a
pinstripe suit!). It's called ARGO, and it appears to be a consortium
of companies with a dedicated satellite network. They have announced a
flat rate of $0.26 per minute to all cities in their network. The
rational is that costs the same to bounce it off a satellite no matter
where you're going in the US, so why charge more for distance? I have
no more details than that, because I have not been able to get through
to their sales department for further info. The number, should any of
the rest of you be interested in investigating it, is 1-800-431-2746
The point is that technology is making communications better and faster
all the time, and all we have to do is wait for it to become
`affordable'. Where ever that threshold is for the network at large, I
don't know, but there was a time when 1200 baud modems were $1500 and
this network did not exist...
Erik E. Fair ucbvax!fair fair@ucb-arpa.ARPA
dual!fair@Berkeley.ARPA
{ihnp4,ucbvax,cbosgd,decwrl,amd70,fortune,zehntel}!dual!fair
Dual Systems Corporation, Berkeley, California
P.S. I have no connection with ARGO in any way shape or form.
I'm just a curious as you are to see them deliver on their
claims...