mwang_pay (07/28/82)
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
SEMINAR ACTIVITIES
INFORMATION SYSTEMS SEMINAR - Tuesday, August 3, 1982.
Brian Botten of Extel Computing Ltd., London, UK,
will speak on "Videotex - Looking for a Business
Home."
TIME: 3:30 PM
ROOM: M&C 5158
ABSTRACT
Videotex systems, including Prestel and Telidon,
were originally touted for home use, but recently
there has been a shift in emphasis towards uses in
business. Banking and electronic directories have
been two of the more promising applications, whereas
education and home entertainment still have not pro-
ven themselves. The real success of videotex, howev-
er, is still a large question mark: after ten years
there is still little by way of real money earning,
yet now more and more businesses (including mainframe
manufactures such as IBM and DEC) are entering the
arena.
The discussion will concern itself with a brief
review of business videotex developments. Aspects of
videotex will be rated with respect to their utility
in business: in particular, transactional facilities
rank high and graphics plays a very limited role.
The recent introduction of videotex/videodisk links
may prove to be a particularly useful development.
July 28, 1982