marvit%hplpm@HPLABS.HP.COM (Peter Marvit) (10/22/87)
Barry brings up many interesting points as offspring from the recent (ahem) US-USSR flamage. I will address only one with anecdotal information. He wonders, as do I, whether electronic bulletin boards, messaging systems, et al will become commonplace and pervasive in our society. I would say a qualified "Fer shur" but believe that it will be of a quite different form than the current computer-literate population understands and that the content will generally not be of great intellectual import (as if to say this is). Barry reminds us of the MiniTel -- an experiment in France where *every* telephone subscriber in Paris is *given* a tiny terminal with full keyboard. Calls placed through the MiniTel are charged by the unit, I believe, quite similar to the Source and other pay-as-you-go services here in the U.S. Capabilities include directory assistance (of course), home "delivery" of ComputerWorld (in French), ticket reservation for theatre (fairly new feature) and, of course, the ever popular bulletin boards. I don't yet know about the rated "success" of the system as a whole; when I saw it two years ago, it was still in its infancy though recent reoprts have shown quite a growth in usage. The most striking aspect, to me, is the incredible popularity of the "pink" lines -- the French equivalent to our "blue" channels. The messages range from shy to quite explicit to downright pornographic. Massage and escort services openly advertise on this public access channel, to the consternation of the more conservative memebrs of the establishment. In the United States, 976-xxxx numbers, which have charges of 25 cents to several dollars put on your phone bill, are bug business and accessible to anyone with a phone. The dial-a-sex numbers, at least in California, gross more than all other 976 nummber *combined*. Some of the more popular lines are the "party" phones which allow random people to talk, moderated by a knowing operator (sound familiar netters?). My conclusion, obviously, is that the more primal desires of participants in the future electronic conference call may outnumber the merely social/intellectual/etc... However, I consider this actually a temporarily part of the evolution of communicating system. The French example is interesting in that many of the "new netters" are unpracticed in expressing their thoughts in writing; writing is by nature quite difficult anyway. Yet, there were the tentative and illiterate attempts of a person striving to communicate with others -- laudable in any form. The local example of publicly accessible network [name escapes me] set out by placing terminals in strategic public locations in Berkeley: Whole Earth Access store, library etc. As far as I could tell, it enjoyed limited sucess; I place the blame on its limited accessibility. If "terminals" were as ubiquitous as phone booths or ATMs, we would start to see the pervasivenss of e-comm as Barry suggested. Unfortunately, this may be a chicken/egg problem. I think the French showed us one way of providing broad access in one swell foop. Perhaps pervasive electronic communication isn't as far away as that, though. Consider the use of telephone answering machines, by both business and individuals. We see batch communication, albeit from one individual to anotehr, to be access and re-accessed at the recipient's leisure. New features, currently offered by private VoiceMail vendors and eventually offered by Ma Bell, allow for distribution lists for voice messages! I would prefer the resurgence of the written word, but welcome the inmproved communication channels, whatever their form. This is open to the abuse a la solicitors of today, but the point is that future developments may not mean a "terminal in every kitchen." Temporarily suspending this rambling while typing on a home terminal which is connected to a machine 50 miles away at a high tech firm, Peter Marvit ARPA: marvit@hplabs.hp.com Flesh: CentralxFulton in S.F.