Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-sd!hp-sdd!hplabs!ucbvax!cs.umass.EDU!KROVETZ
From: KROVETZ@cs.umass.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: The Future of Networks
Message-ID: <8811211958.AA12050@crash.cs.umass.edu>
Date: 21 Nov 88 18:48:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 33

I can see two possibilities for bringing networks to the
average consumer: cable tv, and the phone system (perhaps
they will be merged in the future).  In terms of cable tv,
I know of one relevant experiment: Stargate.  This is a
system for transmitting USENET articles over the vertical
blanking interval of WTBS (Ted Turner's Superstation).
The vertical blanking interval is the black line you see
if your picture starts to roll.  If you adjusted the vertical
hold, you could actually see the bits being transmitted!
I remember that a decoder was developed at a cost of about
$500, plus an annual subscription charge.  The intent of 
the system was to lower the phone bills for sites that had
a lot of traffic.  I don't know if the system is still in
use.

  As far as the phone system, we already have systems like
Compuserve, Fidonet, and USENET (anyone want to speculate
on what's going to happen to network traffic if the NeXT
machine becomes as popular as MACs?).  The major limitation
on using the phone system is the currently low baud rate.  With
the introduction of ISDN, home lines will have 64KBaud
transmission rates.  Does anyone know when such services
will be offered to the average consumer?  How much are
they expected to cost?  

  One of the most interesting questions to me is how can
issues of copyright be dealt with if the average consumer
has a 64Kbaud network connection?

-bob

krovetz@cs.umass.edu or
krovetz@umass.bitnet