telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) (03/18/90)
[From ont.general: Bell Canada put a flyer in three major papers on Wednesday promoting their new service, ALEX.] dave@lsuc.on.ca (David Sherman|LSUC|Toronto) writes: >Does Bell really have a lot of service providers signed up? >I note also it's "subject to CRTC approval". >Anyone have the inside scoop? I don't have an inside scoop, but last fall I participated in part of the market research for it (and got $50 for 2 hours of my time). They say the thing plugs into your phone jack (didn't say if it was the existing one, or a new one). About 40 of us (between 20-40 years of age) sat in a lecture-type room and a real slick guy gave us a presentation. They had two TV's, a videodisc player, and a Mac with a joystick. The Mac controlled the videodisc and thus the video. The laptop model shown in the ads looks more practical. Concept we were shown was this: - use the joystick to pick things off a main menu: Banking, Games, Real Estate, Shopping, Movie Rental, News Headlines - For banking you select your Bank (we were told ours was CIBC), and a list of pending bills, with due dates, pops up (Rogers, Bell, Gas). Pick and point to the bills you want to pay, and presto, it's sucked out of your account. He said Rogers and Bell would submit their electronic invoices to the "main computer". Oh ya, you needed to enter a secret code, and if you needed HUMAN help, you could hit a button talk to a Customer Service-like person, real-time. - Headlines involved the top headlines from various networks. We got to watch bits of ABC News Nightline. This was quite irritating to watch because the refresh rate was about twice a second. Ted Koppel's mouth looks quite funny in freeze frame. On the bottom of the screen, while he was reading the "grabber" for the story, menu subtopics appeared such as background info on the Labor Union (if the story was about a labor union). The idea of "only watching what you want more of" is a good one (like NN's Subject menu) but the picture really sucks. I'd wait for ISDN :-). - Real estate: a cross between the freeze-frame things on Rogers at present, and the News coverage described above. You could also hit the magic button and talk to a live Realtor. - Movie Rental: previews of movies (at the bad refresh rate), and ordering. Use VISA/MC to pay, and they guarantee 30 minute delivery (ya right). - Grocery Shopping involved "walking" thru the aisles and picking your products. Products on sale we shown first (Maxwell House Coffee) then you could click to other brands. Something like 3 hour delivery. I picture a small warehouse with lots of little people running around, bagging your order :-). - Storytelling. This one really got me steamed. If your child wants to hear a bedtime story, you can pick a story from a menu and THE ACTUAL AUTHOR will read the story to him/her. It was a good idea, but I figure if you've got the time to click a few buttons, you should have time to sit down with your kid and read. - Video games. This was slightly interessting, and I know the D&D CS types will get a kick out of it. You can "sign up" to play a game and if someone wants to play you they will notify you to come to your terminal and challenge them. We played 4x4 truck racing (I should say, the videodisc showed us it). We didn't actually play with anything, we just answered questions. I wouldn't pay for any of it, but by the support some of the other people in the group gave it, it might work. Comments I can remember: "Can you order beer?" - no "It'll make us a nation of couch potatoes" "It's great, you don't have to leave your house for anything" "F*ck, those games are bitchin" (same guy as the beer question) "Good for the disabled who can't get out that often" "I prefer to pick out my own produce at the grocery store" "Do you have to push the button after you move the stick?" If anyone orders ALEX, please let me know what it's really like. Thanks. Doug Eastick -- eastick@me.utoronto.ca