tohanson@gonzo (Jeff Hanson) (03/16/90)
I agree with Prof. Rogers and everyone else who has requested an e-mail hotline and I agree with Forest Baskett about his concerns about legitimate and ethical use of the Internet. I suggest a variation, HotFax. SGI sets up several fax machines connected to an 800 number to which users can fax problems/questions/etc. This has two distinct advantages over e-mail. 1. Everyone can get a fax machine. Our local sales office in Pittsburgh doesnot have network access but does have a fax machine. 2. No conflicts with networks, nor problems with bounced mail. See the Viewpoint article by John McCarthy in CACM, Dec 89 for a discussion of fax versus currently constructed e-mail. This idea was expressed to me by Troy Norcross, SGI Indianapolis, as a warm line, where non-critical problems could be addressed. I think it makes a great deal of sense, allowing problems to be submitted and solved in a less rushed fashion. -- *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / Jeff Hanson \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / * * * * * * tohanson@gonzo.lerc.nasa.gov * * * * * * / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ NASA Lewis Research Center / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ * * * * * * * Cleveland, Ohio 44135 * * * * * * * \ / \ / \ / \ Telephone - (216) 433-2284 Fax - (216) 433-2182 \ / \ / \ / *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
khb@chiba.Eng.Sun.COM (Keith Bierman - SPD Advanced Languages) (03/17/90)
In article <1990Mar16.132756.20844@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov> tohanson@gonzo (Jeff Hanson) writes:
... I suggest a variation, HotFax. SGI sets up several fax machines connected
to an 800 number to which users can fax problems/questions/etc. This has
two distinct advantages over e-mail.
How is this easier than setting up a BBS and using modems ? Several PC
companies provide such services.
--
Keith H. Bierman |*My thoughts are my own. !! kbierman@Eng.Sun.COM
It's Not My Fault | MTS --Only my work belongs to Sun* kbierman%eng@sun.com
I Voted for Bill & | Advanced Languages/Floating Point Group
Opus | "When the going gets Weird .. the Weird turn PRO"portuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) (03/19/90)
>>>>> On 16 Mar 90 23:34:19 GMT, khb@chiba.Eng.Sun.COM (Keith Bierman - SPD Advanced Languages) said: > In article <1990Mar16.132756.20844@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov> tohanson@gonzo (Jeff Hanson) writes: > ... I suggest a variation, HotFax. SGI sets up several fax machines connected > to an 800 number to which users can fax problems/questions/etc. This has > two distinct advantages over e-mail. > How is this easier than setting up a BBS and using modems ? Several PC > companies provide such services. I can think of three advantages of fax over a BBS: 1) A fax machine requires much less administrative overhead than a BBS, and can be managed without any special training. 2) Diagrams and pictures can be sent using fax quickly and easily. Currently, there is no standard for the transmission of multimedia documents over phone lines. 3) A fax transmission takes less time than the typical BBS session, which is of benefit to all parties concerned. disclaimer: personally, I think a fax line is a good idea, but my opinions are not necessarily those of my employer. -- __ \/ Michael Portuesi Silicon Graphics, Inc. portuesi@sgi.com