UKTONY@cup.portal.com (08/21/90)
FREE TERMINAL OFFER
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Mnematics Videotex and U.S. West are giving away 200 terminals.
The terminals are being given away to introduce you to Mnematics
Videotex, an international online information service and Community
Link, U.S. WEST's gateway service that provides access to Mnematics
and other online services.
If you qualify, you get a terminal (described below) NO STRINGS
ATTACHED!!! There is no obligation of any kind other than to meet the
requirements set forth below.
*****
Even if you do not qualify, you may know someone who does, so please
pass this information on!
*****
WHO QUALIFIES:
* You must live in the Omaha, Nebraska area
* You must be a U.S. WEST Customer
* You must NOT be a Mnematics Videotex subscriber or user
* You must NOT be a Community Link user
* You must show ID and pick up your terminal in Omaha
* This offer expires the end of August, so get moving!
HOW TO GET THE TERMINAL:
---> * Send EMAIL to:
mneuxg!service@uunet
...!philabs!mneuxg!service
...!lamont!mneuxg!service
* Include the name, address, and home phone number of the
elegible individual.
* Qualifying individuals will be mailed a certificate for the
terminal. You simply pick up the terminal in Omaha as directed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TERMINAL:
The terminal being given away is the Phillips M2. This terminal is
designed to handle Minitel and VT100 ("ANSI") formats. It has a
built-in 1200 baud modem. You plug it into a grounded outlet, plug in
a modular telephone connection, and you're ready to go online. The
screen is 9" diagonal, and can display 80 columns by 24 rows and 16
shades of grey in Minitel mode. It has a chicklet type keyboard
suitable for casual use of online services, mounted in a drawer that
conceals and protects it when the unit is not in use. The foot- print
is about 12 square inches. It has a screen-saver function, can
autodial one telephone number (or you can dial any number using the
numeric keypad). The terminals are brand-new and unused. They
currently sell for $150 or more.
This is a no-cost way to introduce someone you know to the online world.
Caveats:
* 7 bits, even parity, 1200 baud **ONLY**
* Single-chip design, not suitable for hardware
hacking and/or modification
* No RS-232 interface
SUMMARY:
* First come, first served.
* When they're gone, they're gone.
That's all there is to it.
Mnematics Videotex
722 Main Street
Sparkill, NY 10976-0019
(914) 365-0184 mneuxg!service@uunet
...!philabs!mneuxg!service
...!lamont!mneuxg!service
Since 1983
"The people you've been wanting to meet are online with Mnematics"
Mnematics Videotex is a Service Mark of Mnematics, Incorporated
Community Link is a Service Mark of U.S. WEST
[Moderator's Note: This sounds almost too good to be true. Will
someone in the Omaha area who takes up these folks on their offer
please get back to us with details? Is it for real? PAT] mark@motown.altair.fr (08/22/90)
In article <11087@accuvax.nwu.edu> the Moderator writes: >[Moderator's Note: This sounds almost too good to be true. Will >someone in the Omaha area who takes up these folks on their offer >please get back to us with details? Is it for real? PAT] These terminals have been offered to clients of France Telecom (the French national telephone monopoly) for five years now, under terms even more liberal than those in Nebraska. The program had some trouble getting off the ground, but is now considered a major success. At first the idea was that the Minitel terminals would be used essentially for directory lookups, and that the money saved in printing directories would more or less pay for the terminals. Income from Minitel services such as electronic shopping, train and air reservations and the like (these are privately-run and charged somewhat like 900 numbers) was not predicted to amount to much. The directory replacement idea didn't work as well as planned, since people demanded the hard-copy directories anyway. What turned the tide was the advent of message services, and in particular the "pink" ones (soft-core porn), for which the French public seems to have an unlimited budget. The pink message services were a two-year fad and have now faded out somewhat, but they did the trick: The Minitel is now firmly anchored in the French way of life, and service income from the average user far exceeds the couple of hundred dollars that the termnals are worth. I use mine a lot to log in to my work computer from home, via Transpac. It's cheaper than buying a PC (especially at French prices). My guess is that USWest and Mnematics are counting on a similar scenario in Nebraska. Note that in France, and I presume in Nebraska (the USW posting was cagey on this point), the terminal remains the property of the telco; only the *use* of the terminal is offered for free. In any case, however, the economics of home terminals can be an excellent investment for a telephone company. Mark James <mark@bdblues.altair.fr> or <mark@nuri.inria.fr>
"J. Eric Townsend" <jet@karazm.math.uh.edu> (08/22/90)
In Houston, if you subscribe to U.S. Videotel (Minitel in the States, essentially, but with no "Rose" services and severe restriction of users) you get a terminal for "free". Base cost is $14.95/mo. I cancelled several months ago, and they still haven't asked for their cheesey Minitel terminal ... :-) (This is the really old, non-anything else, V.23 only terminal.) J. Eric Townsend -- University of Houston Dept. of Mathematics (713) 749-2120 Internet: jet@uh.edu Bitnet: jet@UHOU Skate UNIX(r)