From: aburt@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu (Andrew Burt)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: USWest - Helloooo, is Anyone in There?
Date: 10 Sep 92 16:02:52 GMT
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 700, Message 5 of 11

I'd like to talk to someone at USWest about this deal I've been
reading about in the paper, some sort of on-line directory /
cooperative thing with the French -- can someone suggest a contact at
USWest I could talk to who's involved in this?

Today I just read in the {Rocky Mt. News} that it will be $15/month +
$.15/minute for -- are you ready -- nothing more than an on-line
phonebook.  (You get software, or for $300 flat or $12/month more, a
simple terminal.)  Supposedly just unveiled for Minneapolis.

Excuse me, but have we entered the 1970's yet?

Unless people are awfully gullible (I hope not), or this is a whole
lot better than it sounds (I hope so), this ain't gonna fly.

Reason #1: Maybe at $.50/month it would work.  Geez, I pay $14/month
for one phone line!  Your average person is not going to shell out
this much when phone books are virtually free (and mostly easier to
use).  How often do you REALLY look things up in the phone book or
call directory assistance?  If it were worth $.10 to look something up
(about what it's worth to me on-line), this implies I need to look up
150 items a month.  And if one search takes a couple minutes (to wade
through the clunky menus) this is already at $.30 a search.  If I use
this "a lot" and look up 100 items a month, I'm looking at $45/month
for this!  Fubar.

Reason #2: Services that DO get away with charging $15/month offer one
whale of a lot more, e.g., even lowly old Prodigy is a better deal.
I'd sooner spend my bucks on Compu$erve.  (And if you've followed my
posting history, you know I think they charge too much, considering
how much is available on the Internet for much less, e.g., via Nyx for
$0, or CSN at $2/hr.) [Let me admit my prejudice here is that
information should be and can be cheaply (if not freely) accessible;
and that information access is a necessity, not a luxury.]

Reason #3: Videotex.  Blech!  I think MS-windows and X have proven
that even non-computer-geeks can read decently small size fonts on
screens; we don't need to regress to the middle-ages here with 40
character wide screens (which the picture showed; or is it 32?).  (As
for the "transmission speed" argument, I'd rather it be just a
straight ASCII text interface; either that, or use it as grounds to
justify ISDN for homes.)

Reason #4: Another Propietary Program.  Presumably we won't be able to
dial in with Procomm, or telnet in via the internet.  Bag it right
there.  It'll be too limited for real use (as they always are), buggy,
clunky ...

Reason #5: Limited access.  How are folks in LA going to look up my
phone number in Denver?  They can telnet or dial into our public
library card catalog for free, mind you.  [telnet pac.carl.org]

My recommendations are:

1) Make it free initially, raise to $.50/month, even $1/month later.
   Forget any hopes of selling it for more than 1/10th the price
   of a phone line.

2) Use modern methods of connection, such as telnet or a simple
   dialup; or use X.  If you want to offer videotex, offer the others
   first.

3) Find some competent people who know how existing services work,
   especially the internet; I'm guessing by the choice of videotex
   and pricing that someone involved in this is highly incompetent.

Ok, flames on ...

Andrew Burt 	aburt@du.edu


[Moderator's Note: Actually, you are not the only person with some
serious questions/complaints about this service. By sheer coincidence
I received another article on the same topic today from Jack Winslade
and it appears next. I'm sure to get REplies and will run them over
the weekend as space permits.  PAT]