SPGDCM%UCBCMSA.Berkeley.EDU@UCBVAX.BERKELEY.EDU.UUCP (01/29/87)
MSG:FROM: SPGDCM --UCBCMSA TO: NETWORK --NETWORK 01/28/87 21:47:23 To: NETWORK --NETWORK Network Address From: Doug Mosher <SPGDCM at UCBCMSA> Title: MVS/Tandem Systems Manager (415)642-5823 Office: Evans 257, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 Subject: video telephones To: Telecom@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU Macy's here, and a catalog house like DAK or JS&A, both sell the same brand of a form of videophone for about $1000 I think. What it does is allow the sender to see yourself on a tiny screen. When you decide you want to "freeze" a picture, you push a button. Then if you like what you see you can push "send". The single small B&W frame is then sent over the voice line in several seconds, while voice is shut off (shame they didn't at least multiplex that). Uses regular, not even 64KB, phone lines. A gimmick perhaps. But it works on cheapo lines; it costs only a tiny fortune; it has the interesting effect of allowing you to decide whether to be seen and how and how often. It is being marketed in dept stores so there's a chance of compatibility with others (be smart and be the last, of course...) From one point of view it could be called a form of fax service. Such things could have some interest in such applications as: dating or dating services; certain types of model and ad agencies; perhaps certain design services; some types of commerce (e.g. car parts places could show pix of the part; many related applications like that) and of course some subset of phone-porn, escort-services, cooperative dirty callers, etc. If almost everyone else had these, and/or if there were some cheap sleazo 976 numbers to play with, I might buy one. So never-never and $70,000 and suchlike comments may be unnecessarily negative, wot? Thanks, Doug % video telephones