Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!telecom-request From: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Computer/Telex Interface Message-ID: Date: 23 Apr 91 15:09:30 GMT Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Organization: I.E.C.C. Lines: 38 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 305, Message 11 of 16 In article is written: > Someone was asking about a computer-to-Telex interface. These days, regular hard-wired telex machines are fast disappearing in favor of dial-in/dial-out or store and forward schemes. In the first case, you have a terminal (or a computer, it hardly matters) with a phone number known to your telex carrier. When an incoming telex call starts ringing, the telex carrier calls your terminal and delivers the message in real time. For outgoing calls, you call them in the obvious way. Store and forward services save incoming telexes until you call to pick them up. There are lots of store and forward services, MCI Mail has a telex number associated with every account, Easylink has telex numbers as an option, and all of the other online services such as Compuserve and Genie have some sort of telex gateway. The telex companies also seem to have simpler telex-only store and forward services, e.g. WUI at least used to have one that is separate from MCI Mail, as do RCA and ITT. If you want to connect your computer to the store and forward service in a better way, there are lots of options. AT&T Mail passes messages via uucp, and MCI Mail has both a single-user protocol implemented in packages like Norton Commander, Lotus Express (probably renamed since they sold it to MCI) and Desktop Express for the Mac, and a couple of mail system to mail system protocols. Speaking of Telex, when Western Union sold Easylink to AT&T last year, the press release I saw said they were selling their telex services to AT&T as well. Does anyone know if this actually came to pass and, if so, whether WU's decrepit telex network has improved any? Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl