stv@qantel.UUCP (Steve Vance@ex2499) (07/11/85)
San Francisco Examiner, July 8, 1985 (Posted to USENET with permission)
TELECONFERENCING IS LIKE A BACK-FENCE CHAT
By J.E. Ferrell, of the Examiner Staff
When word spread that Wilbur and Orville Wright were soaring in a flying
machine over North Carolina, people generally reacted by asking: What
use is there for such a contraption?
When the telephone was invented, people couldn't understand why anyone
in Chicago would want to call someone in Detroit. What could you
possibly have to say, after you inquired about the weather?
So it is these days with teleconferencing networks, electronic back
fences where people meet and chat with each other via their computers.
What possible reason would one have to correspond with another person
over a computer, when all you have to do is pick up a telephone, or chat
face-to-face at the next PTA meeting?
Stewart Brand, that bellweather of society, founder of the "Whole Earth
Catalog," the "Whole Earth Review" (the continuation of CoEvolution
Quarterly") and the "Whole Earth Software Catalog," knows the answer.
And the answer--not to get too cute here--is in the WELL, or Whole Earth
Lectronic Link.
The WELL is the "kind of thing coffee shops were supposed to be about,
but are pretty hard to find these days," says Brand, 46, as he leans
back in a stuffed chair at this desk in a small second-story office in
Sausalito. His computer is at the center of his desk; the telephone is
to the right. Bookshelves and pictures of ships and the ocean surround
him.
Within the WELL, people can find that coffee-shop atmosphere "on-line
with enormous convenience," says Brand. "People have very little time
to get at each other. This medium has made that time getting at each
other irrelevant."
The WELL, so far, is 350 people in the Bay Area and growing. They
include some well-known computer wizards such as Lee Felsenstein,
designer of the Osborne Computer; and John Draper, a.k.a Captain Crunch,
the phone phreak who designed the blue box used to make illegal and free
long-distance telephone calls and more recently author of the popular
EasyWriter word processing program.
The group also includes avid auto mechanics, musicians, attorneys,
health care professionals, writers... people from nearly any profession
or lifestyle imaginable.
They gather electronically to share information and ideas. The "garage
conference" (conference is much too formal a word to describe this), for
example, lists cars for sale by WELL subscribers, where to get used cars
and parts, where to get appraisals and recommendations on repair shops.
A "garage conference host"--not a member of the WELL staff--monitors the
contributions and helps direct people to sources of information.
In fact, only three people on the WELL staff, headed by system operator
Matthew McClure, oversee the 32 conferences, which cover such topics as
medicine, politics, science fiction, law, and, of course, computers.
Their job is mainly to keep the computer running with a minimum of
glitches.
"The WELL is a utility," says Brand. "Not a publisher. The
participants are responsible for their own words."
Those words have been humming along on the WELL for the last couple of
months now. This is how it works.
By using a personal computer and a modem to hook into the WELL's
computer by telephone, you drop in on a conference to see what people
have been adding to a particular topic. You can type in your own
comments, or just lurk about silently. On the medical conference the
other night, for example, one subscriber dropped a question in the
consumer advice sub-conference: where can I get information about
contact lenses, and does anybody know an inexpensive place to get them?
In the next couple of days, he received a passel of responses, including
personal experiences with contact lenses, a name of a good consumers'
guide to contact lenses, the name of a consumer health organization
which provides information, and a couple recommendations on where to
find reasonably priced lenses.
Going to the WELL is similar to fishing: throw out your comment or
question and you come back with an answer--or two or three--hooked to
your electronic line. You can add your comments to any conference, or
send personal messages to other WELL subscribers' mailboxes any time of
the day or night. It costs $2 an hour and $8 a month, charged to your
MasterCard or VISA. Any normal charges for telephone use also apply,
and are duly noted by Pacific Bell.
The WELL is rudimentary, still cranky (it wouldn't let me sign off last
week) computer network. "Your readers should be warned that the system
is still taking shape," says Brand. "The fun is getting to be a pioneer
and taking part in its shape."
But it is the seed of things to come. The WELL is to future computer
networks what Omnibus or Playhouse 90 were to television: early forms
that look quaint and old-fashioned now.
So what will the future "Miami Vice" of computer networks look like?
I'm not really sure, but I'm certain they'll be as invisible and as
integral to our daily lives as the telephone is now.
Imagine how computer networks might fit into education: When your
daughter enters third grade, you and she will also enter the third grade
network, where parents and teachers can "chat" daily about homework and
school activities, and students can work electronically together on
projects.
When you move into a new neighborhood, you'll automatically join the
neighborhood network to find schools, dry cleaners, libraries and be
able to participate immediately in local concerns without having to
search out groups or attend scores of drawn-out meetings.
More immediately, Brand and McClure are looking into expanding the WELL
into home banking; putting the Whole Earth Access Company's catalog on
and letting people shop electronically; putting the Whole Earth Software
Catalog on line; adding regional databases; and maybe even getting
Ticketron on-line. "It's a thought," Brand mused. "We haven't talked to
them yet.
"The number of opportunities exceed the resources to pursue those
opportunities," he said with his winsome smile. As he did with the
"Whole Earth Catalog," Brand is providing the table and is letting
others bring the vittles.
"This is a place for entrepreneurs. We're putting out a medium where
people can try all sorts of stuff. It's likely to grow at a pace that
makes sense that way. Besides," he boasts proudly, "planning is a dirty
word in my vocabulary."
-------------------
[Note: for more information, you can call WELL at (415) 332-4335.]
--
Steve Vance
{dual,hplabs,intelca,nsc,proper}!qantel!stv
dual!qantel!stv@berkeley
Qantel Corporation, Hayward, CAhav@dual.UUCP (Helen Anne Vigneau) (07/11/85)
=> San Francisco Examiner, July 8, 1985 (Posted to USENET with permission)
=>
=> TELECONFERENCING IS LIKE A BACK-FENCE CHAT
=> By J.E. Ferrell, of the Examiner Staff
=>
=> <article deleted for brevity>
=>
=> [Note: for more information, you can call WELL at (415) 332-4335.]
=>
=> Steve Vance, Qantel Corporation, Hayward, CA
What's more, I understand from a well-placed source who shall remain nameless
(not at WELL) that WELL is in the process of joining USENET.
Helen Anne
{ucbvax,ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs,decwrl,unisoft,fortune,sun,nsc}!dual!hav
If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music he hears,
however measured or far away.lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) (07/12/85)
Sounds like a BBS to me. Or like the conferences that SOURCE and several other organizations run. They are all generally limited by their facilties so volume isn't too much of a problem. Of course, since they have your credit card number, and presumably other information about you as well, they can pin an illegal message on the poster him or herself pretty easily. Of course, as the volume of noise increases (how much of their capacity is being wasted by messages about the New Coke right now?) they'll probably find themselves forced into the choice of moderating the discussions or losing subscribers who don't want to wade through all the muck. On any centralized system, the time it takes to "wade" is significant to others as well as to the "wader," since it ties up dialup or other access lines for extended periods, blocking out other users. --Lauren--
jeff@rtech.UUCP (Jeff Lichtman) (07/15/85)
> Of course, as the > volume of noise increases (how much of their capacity is being > wasted by messages about the New Coke right now?) they'll probably > find themselves forced into the choice of moderating the discussions > or losing subscribers who don't want to wade through all the muck. > --Lauren-- This reminds me of what Yogi Berra once said about a famous New York restaurant: "That place is so crowded that no one goes there any more." -- Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.) aka Swazoo Koolak {amdahl, sun}!rtech!jeff {ucbvax, decvax}!mtxinu!rtech!jeff
jpm@bnl44.UUCP (John McNamee) (07/16/85)
> Sounds like a BBS to me. Or like the conferences that SOURCE > and several other organizations run. ... Of course, as the > volume of noise increases (how much of their capacity is being > wasted by messages about the New Coke right now?) they'll probably > find themselves forced into the choice of moderating the discussions > or losing subscribers who don't want to wade through all the muck. If CompuServe is any guide, people do not leave junk messages except in areas set aside for them. When you are paying by the second to use a service, you think twice before posting. I can't remember the last time I saw garbage in a technical SIG on CompuServe (in particular, I have yet to see any discussion of New Coke). Let me point out that there are SIGs where such junk is probably talked about, but I don't spend my time on them so I don't have to see it. -- John McNamee ..!decvax!philabs!sbcs!bnl44!jpm jpm@BNL44.ARPA "MS-DOS is a communist plot"
jtb@kitc.UUCP (J. Burgess) (07/17/85)
The WELL sounds a lot like Compuserve. They have SIGs or Forums
which are run by SYSOPs (who have editorial control, but don't
seem to use it much). And there are National Bulletin Boards,
but I've never used them.
All these are \Commercial/ attempts to do something like USENET.
In fact, it makes me wonder ...
When/how/where will USENET be gatewayed onto some commercial system?
John
--
John Burgess
ATT-IS Labs, So. Plainfield NJ (HP 1C-221)
{most Action Central sites}!kitc!jtb
(201) 561-7100 x2481 (8-259-2481)frodo@wcom.UUCP (Jim Scardelis) (07/21/85)
> The WELL sounds a lot like Compuserve. They have SIGs or Forums > which are run by SYSOPs (who have editorial control, but don't > seem to use it much). And there are National Bulletin Boards, > but I've never used them. > > All these are \Commercial/ attempts to do something like USENET. > In fact, it makes me wonder ... > When/how/where will USENET be gatewayed onto some commercial system? > > John Burgess > ATT-IS Labs, So. Plainfield NJ (HP 1C-221) There is a company called "Korsemeyer Electronics" that uses access to Usenet as one of its marketing points. The trouble is that the hidden costs make it so expensive that it is cheaper to buy a Unix Micro, like the IBM AT, Altos 586, or AT&T 7300. -- Jim Scardelis uucp: {vax135|ihnp4}!timeinc!wcom!frodo ARPA: 1891@NJIT-EIES.MAILNET@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA "The opinions expressed herein are those of my computer, and not necessarily those of myself, Warner Computer Systems, or any other computer or company along the line. "
john@sol1.UUCP (john) (08/02/85)
In article <150@wcom.UUCP> frodo@wcom.UUCP (Jim Scardelis) writes: >> The WELL sounds a lot like Compuserve. They have SIGs or Forums >> which are run by SYSOPs (who have editorial control, but don't >> seem to use it much). And there are National Bulletin Boards, >> but I've never used them. >> >> All these are \Commercial/ attempts to do something like USENET. >> In fact, it makes me wonder ... >> When/how/where will USENET be gatewayed onto some commercial system? >> >> John Burgess >> ATT-IS Labs, So. Plainfield NJ (HP 1C-221) > > There is a company called "Korsemeyer Electronics" that uses access >to Usenet as one of its marketing points. The trouble is that the hidden >costs make it so expensive that it is cheaper to buy a Unix Micro, like the >IBM AT, Altos 586, or AT&T 7300. > >-- > Jim Scardelis >uucp: {vax135|ihnp4}!timeinc!wcom!frodo Jim and others may be interested to know that Korsmeyer Electronic Design, Inc. has drastically reduced the fees on our UNIX timesharing service THE SOLUTION. We have discontinued CPU charges altogether, and have removed connect charges for those not accessing over a packet network. (Tymnet). Non-Prime subscribers now pay a flat monthly fee of $25.00 for unlimited usage. Prime subscribers pay a flat monthly fee of $100 for unlimited usage. 64K of FREE disk storage is now also provided per month. There is also an excessive uucp transfer surcharge of .03 cents per Kchar which only covers our phone costs. (first 2.5K per day free). Those connecting via Tymnet will be billed a hourly surcharge. For non-prime subscribers, (7a-6p their local time), this is usually either $1.95/hr or $2.75/hr. with a small percent, in very small cities paying a maximum of $5.00. This is as much as a 900% fee reduction over our old rate structure. Prime-time subscribers will pay a surcharge of from $6.75/hr to $9.25/hr, again with a small percent paying as much as $13.75/hr. 2400 baud access is now available from several major cities at no extra cost. There is a FREE demo available via multiple phone lines in rotary: 402/483-7881 login: free passwd: demo (300/1200 baud) [ Take what I say in a different way ] [ and it's easy to say ] [ that this is all confusion ] John Korsmeyer @ THE SOLUTION EMAIL: {akgua,ihnp4}!sol1!john