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From: ssc!tad@beaver.cs.washington.edu (Tad Cook)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: TDD Cost and Technology Issues
Message-ID: <8524@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 1 Jun 90 07:20:04 GMT
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In article <8413@accuvax.nwu.edu>, mcb@presto.ig.com (Michael C.
Berch) writes:

> but are deaf people going
> to be stuck with 45.5 baud forever?  I can't imagine that given
> today's miniaturization of components and automated manufacturing
> techniques, a device can't be built that will communicate at least 2
> orders of magnitude faster at an order of magnitude less cost than
> TDDs of the 1970s...

Sure, it's EASY to use faster modems.  The problem is, you have to
communicate with all of the other TDDs that are out there.  For the
past few years they have tried to improve on this by adding 300 bps
ASCII modems to TDDs.  Of course, for keyboad-to-keyboard chatting,
this may be academic, as most folks don't type much faster than 45
baud (60 WPM) anyway.  ASCII has the advantage though of allowing full
duplex.

> Is anybody working on this, from the standards side, or the technology
> side?

EIA was working on it, but they gave up.  They found that Crown and
Ultratech are the only manufacturers, and they have been building
their stuff for years with no standards at all, other than nominal
frequencies (1.4 KHz Mark, 1.8 KHz Space) ... no tolerances for
the receiving or transmitting ends.

Last year I installed a 2400 bps modem in a new PC clone that a
hearing impaired friend bought.  Up until then she had been using 45
baud baudot, and ocasionally half-duplex 300 baud from her TDD to my
computer.

What a revealation for her when we communicated with split screen,
full duplex, and 2400 bps for the first time!  Instead of manually
switching from receive to transmit on the TDD, she could now see typed
text coming from me on the top of her screen, and she could type her
responses at the bottom.  Pretty soon we were both typing at full
speed simultaneously, and for the first time she experienced something
like a NORMAL conversation with a hearing person!

In article <8453@accuvax.nwu.edu>, roy@phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith) writes:

> with stylus (or a mouse) for sending simple drawings and a 512 x 512 x
> 1 bitmap screen for showing what is being drawn.  Such a device built
> today shouldn't cost any more than a Teletype(tm) did 20 years ago,

Remember that the Teletypes of 20 years ago weren't purchased new by
the hearing impaired ... they were old surplus machines that were
retired from service and given away.


Tad Cook   Seattle, WA    Packet: KT7H @ N7HFZ.WA.USA.NA   Phone: 206/527-4089 
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