Steve_Godun@rubbs1.UUCP (Steve Godun) (06/05/88)
Hmmm...Not much activity going on in the ST net these days, eh? I guess everyone 'cept me is at the shore catching some sun...sniffle... 8-) -STeve
Robert_Lisowski@rubbs1.UUCP (Robert Lisowski) (06/05/88)
I'm here (I don't like the sun much--not a big fan of skin cancer). I think that the particular system we are on is having trouble hooking up with the nets. All of the other areas are stale as well. We'll have to wait for Mr. Keyles to do something. I hear all sorts of horror stories lately about the net problems (backbone not working right, cities and whole chunks of the country being cut off from everyone else). I can't wait for the distribution system to be transferred to satellite transponders (set up 3 zones with multiline 800 numbers for the nets to call at 9600 baud, the zones transfer all the messages [and you could have PD files too] to a central office via satellite, and the central office distributes all over the hemisphere in one shot--everybody gets the broadcast in parallel!). Won't cost much either-- sat. transponders can be rented for a half hour, and that's all it takes to do all of this. With the prices of receivers coming down, each net could have a small dish and receiver for a few hundred dollars. Telephones could be used for coordinating transmissions and handling problems like nets that didn't get yesterday's stuff--so transmit an addendum for the particular net etc...
Some nets use variations of this theme already. The Fido coordinators should take a look at this message and see about upgrading. I don't know where or who they are, so if anyone does, wake 'em up and show 'em this message.
That's enough rambling for now. Hope to see this netnews section going again soon. See ya, STeve.
Rob [1:107/330] (I know, folks, that's my Fido adress)
P.S.--Netnews coordinator--This message pertains to all nets and all computers, but I don't have a better place to put it (no "net.sys.satellite" area), so leave it here. I got mail once for posting an "inappropriate" message in a netnews area (not related directly to the subject--not obscene or anything). People will see it here. I'm mainly interested in what the Atari users think about this subject.(!)