⇩ I < ⇩ ⇦ -- % -- ⑧⑧⑧Article for A.U.G. (Scotland) by Howard Key⓪
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Subject: Electronic Communications⓪
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Written on ST Word (whichəI'məstill getting the hang of as I only got⓪this machine a fortnight ago).⓪
⓪♪③⑧⑧⑧Using aəmodeməandəaəphone line computers can talk to each other,⓪but since we control the input to computers it isəa way for us to talk⓪to each other.əTo me,əplayingəa computer at a game is boring after a⓪while as it hasəbeenəprogrammed to react to a specific situation in a⓪certain way and the role of the player is mainlyətrialəandəerrorəto⓪guessətheəwayətheəprogrammer set it up.əIt's much more fun to play⓪other people asəthis adds the X factor of unpredictability.əGetting a⓪group of people together for several hours to playəa game is difficult⓪which is where 'comms' comes on the scene.⓪♪③⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧Therearevariouslevels;'BulletinBoards'(BBs)are⓪often run by a single person who probably has only one phone line which⓪also has to be shared with voice calls.əApartəfrom a PD Library there⓪is generally littleəelse.əAtətheəother end of the scale is the huge⓪American owned Compuserve which claims to have hundreds of thousands of⓪users. I declined their offer of a 'free' months trial because I didn't⓪want to tempt myself into being hooked -ətheir costs areəhorrendously⓪expensive working out at something like £10 per hour all told.⓪♪③⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧LastəsummerəIəwasəinterviewedəbyəaəmarketresearchperson⓪about my opinionəofəBritishəTelecom.əToəcut a long story short,əI⓪explained in detail why in my experience BT are the pits. The interview⓪lasted half-an-hour. Three months later as a follow up I was asked if I⓪had altered my opinion.əTo their surprise (and mine) Iəhad to explain⓪that I didn't think BT couldəgetəanyəlowerəbut they had.əI have no⓪quarrel over the payment ofəany bill,əbut my increased disatisfaction ⓪was mainly due to the ridiculous and corrupt way that BTəclosed down ⓪theirəsubsidiary 'Micronet'.əI could write a volumeəonəBTəandəthe⓪attitudeəof their staff but the point I wish to make here is that out⓪of the ashes of Mnet rose Silicon Village. ⓪♪③There are two types of system:əthe majority of BBs and also Cix use⓪'scrolling' rather like many .Doc files.əSV and Prestel use 'viewdata'⓪whichəisəaəseriesəofəseperate pages or 'frames'.əI feel much more⓪comfortableəusingəviewdataəasəitəisəsimilarəalmost to teletext -⓪viewdataəalso has the advantage of colour and graphics whichəcantəbe⓪displayed onəscrolling.əSoftware is needed but this is available from⓪the PD Library;ə'Vanterm' is a very goodəprograməfor scrolling (also⓪Uniterm)əandəforəviewdataəthereəisə'Starterm','Atariview'əand⓪'FlyingStart'.əIronically,əaəcomment I've heard frequently from many⓪users of all types of computers including PCs is that the best viewdata⓪s/w available is for the humble Spectruməunless you're prepared to pay⓪really big bucks but all of the aboveənamedəprogsəareəadequateəfor⓪getting online unless you`re into uploading frames etc.⓪♪③At the risk of putting Fraserəout of business (only joking) one of⓪the most popular features of boards is the ability to 'download' progs⓪via the modem and phone line onto your own disks. ⓪
⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧⑧Electronicmailinvolvestypinginyourmessageandthe⓪recipientəwill receive it within a second even if he is atətheəother⓪end of the country.əThose who useəE-mail often refer to Her Majesty's⓪Royal Mail as "snail mail" and someəthinkəthatəsending disks through⓪the post is out of date.əIfəyou are not online when someone writes to⓪you you are told 'There areəXənewəmessagesəforəyou'əwhen you next⓪logon.əEmailəisəusedəforəprivate talk but most boards haveəpublic⓪'chatlines' where your message again appears almost instantaneously and⓪everybody can see it.əOtherəareasəusually have a section for Letters⓪which are updated on a daily basis.⓪♪③Help is often available for the techno-boffins orəevenətipsəonəa⓪particular game.əSome ofətheəlargerəsystems have specific areas for⓪each type of comp[uterəandətechnical news is updated daily while most⓪of the news in magazines from newsagents can be up to 2 months old.⓪♪③The badənewsəisəthatəcommsəcan become an expensive hobby (but I⓪justify it as it keeps me out of the pub);əaəmodeməwilləcostəabout⓪£150+ and then there is your phone bill -əa heavy user will have bills⓪of £200 per quarter! ⓪♪③⑧⑧⑧A final word about modems;əgenerallyətheəfasterətheəbetterəand⓪speedəisəmeasuredəinə'baud'ərateəwhichəisətheənumberəofəbits⓪transmitted per second.ə1200 or 2400 baud is a reasonable speed.əJust⓪as printers shouldəbeəEpsonəcompatible you wont go far wrong if your⓪modem is 'Hayes compatible'⓪
