From: jvilhube@diana.cair.du.edu (Jan Vilhuber)
Newsgroups: nyx.misc,du.general,co.general
Subject: Re: FYI - USWest wasting our money again
Date: 14 Sep 92 17:01:16 GMT
Distribution: co
Organization: University of Denver, Denver, Colorado

In article <1992Sep12.172128.25954@bvsd.co.edu> rlucas@bvsd.co.edu (Richard Lucas) writes:
>	As I understand it, the French were largely introduced to the
>possibilities of dial-up communications through Minitel. Given the age of
>the Minitel system, I suspect that they didn't have as large an embedded
>base of modem users as we have now. What we have in this country is far
>different than what existed in France when Minitel was started. We have a
>large embedded base of computer users with modems, and the number is
>constantly growing. The standards developed seem to have been largely
>ignored by the USW system; the impression I get is that USW is proposing a
>system that might have been reasonable either several years ago (given our
>level of sophistication then) or if we had a comparable situation to France
>at the time of Minitel's start. Neither situation is the case. The result
>is that even moderately sophisticated modem users are reacting negatively
>to the USW proposal. If we want to spend extra money, we want it to be on
>something that will go along with what we've already invested in. A new
>proprietary system is hardly where we want our money to go. If "new" users
>of such a system get hooked on it, and want to expand their experience
>into other areas, they'll find their initial investment is pretty useless.
>
Not quite true. You can use your computer and your modem. You don't need
to buy or lease or rent or anything the proprietary terminal.
As for the speed, that is limited by only two things: your modem,
and the modems at the pad you are dialing in through. Our machine
(Unix BTW) runs at 9600 and the the network (Digipac I believe) runs
at least 19.2 internally. So if you have a 9600 baud modem, and the
pad you dial in through has one too: voila!
In other words.. you can use what you got. Dos/ windows/ mac.. whatever,
and since videotex is not very complex I could probably
program an emulator for any other computer as well (given time
to research and get familiar with that particular computer).

Of course I need to make and attack ad-hominem here, since you sound more like 
a legal than a technical type (did I catch that wrong?). But never mind that.

If MCI and all the others don't hire Bell-exp'd people, where are they?
In the longdistance business. Granted I don't know about the business and 
I'm not arguing the business practices and all. We are in our niche,
they are in theirs. And as was said before.. where's the YP competition?

But I'm not here to defend US WEST. I like to defend the stuff I worked with
and helped with (even if not programmed or designed). I KNOW about eds
and vidtex, so I talk about that. I don't know about business dealings
other than the ones I mentioned, so I don't. And if my working for
US WEST makes it look bad on the resume, so be it. I have the best of
both worlds, being dual-national, so if no other american company will
ever hire me (other than Bells) so be it. I'll go to some other country.
(although I highly doubt that what you said is the case to the extent that 
I think you argued, so I'm not worried). And besides. What I'm doing right 
now is a lot of fun, but I don't feel like doing it for the rest of my life.
I don't like corporate stuff. I'd rather go off to grad school within
the year.

And I should mention somethibng else, before someone labels me an expert
on US WEST. I've just started working here, and it may very well be that the
dept. I work for is the only good one. Beats me. The people here are good,
open-minded, and a pleasure to work with. What happens higher up
or anywhere else, I have no clue (I just work here, right?).

-- 
 Jan Vilhuber            | Internet: jvilhube@du.edu or jvilhube@[130.253.1.4]
 (The skydivin' Bass)      | Bitnet  : jvilhube@DUCAIR
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Newsgroups: co.general