zellich@stl-07sima.army.mil (Rich Zellich) (02/21/91)
From today's {St. Louis Post-Dispatch}:
Mail to Troops
UMSL COMPUTER SYSTEM SENDS LETTERS TO GULF
Letters from home have taken on a dedicedly high-tech cast in this
high-tech war. Now people can send mail to the Persian Gulf by comput-
er - at no cost, thanks to a service set up locally by the University
of Missouri at St. Louis.
The system, part of a natinwide effort called the MailStorm Project,
is open to anyone with a computer, a modem and the name of a soldier
in the gulf. The messages are transmitted over an electronic bulletin
board system at UMSL's School of Optometry, which in turn transmits
the mail through a network that includes bulletin board operators in
Saudi Arabia.
Delivery time has been averaging about 48 hours. The UMSL system can
take two calls at a time, for 24 hours a day.
Here's how it works:
* Call the bulletin board at 553-6475.
* Select and enter a password. Once you've selected a password,
you use the same one each time you send a message.
* Follow directions from the system.
Virginia Hick
[The above phone number is in area code 314. I called it to make sure
the PD printed the right number; a modem answered, but I didn't try to
log in to verify it any further. -RWZ]lemson@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (David Lemson) (02/22/91)
zellich@stl-07sima.army.mil (Rich Zellich) writes: > The system, part of a natinwide effort called the MailStorm Project, > is open to anyone with a computer, a modem and the name of a soldier > in the gulf. The messages are transmitted over an electronic bulletin > * Call the bulletin board at 553-6475. > [The above phone number is in area code 314. I called it to make sure > the PD printed the right number; a modem answered, but I didn't try to > log in to verify it any further. -RWZ] This is the Optometry Online BBS, an IBM PC. It is running Opus, connected to FidoNet. I believe this is the same SaudiNet service that we've heard about that's just a FidoNet Echo that's Echomailed to a BBS in Saudi Arabia. Also note that Optometry Online supports USR HST modems up to 14.4 bps. Not sure on V.32. And they have lots of good IBM files, too! David Lemson U of Illinois Computing Services Student Consultant Internet : lemson@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu UUCP :...!uiucuxc!uiucux1!lemson