Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!netsys!vector!telecom-gateway From: goofy!apple.com!sac@apple.com (Steve Cisler) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Yes! Directory Assistance via Modem Message-ID: Date: 8 Apr 89 16:44:54 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Organization: Apple Computer, Inc. Lines: 24 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 129, message 7 of 11 At the end of March there was some discussion of white page listings on CD-ROM. US West and Nynex have done this. Both were in attendance at the recent Microsoft CD-ROM conference in Anaheim, California. Nynex had a hospitality suite and their product was being shown on the exhibit floor. Silver Platter announced a competing product 'at a fraction of the cost' of Nynex's disc which runs around $10,000. I was very impressed with the speed and the scope of the product. It was broken in two geographical areas: New England and New York (perhaps just the metro area rather than the whole state). It allowed you to look by name, address, phone number, zip code (I think), and by 'neighbors'. So many credit agencies call libraries to ask for 'nearbys' --people who live near the subject of the call--that this was an important feature for the RBOCs clients. Considering the amount of work that libraries do for the telcos--extended 411 service: they will look up addresses if they have the time--each RBOC ought to make these available free of charge to the reference desks of many libraries. Most will find the price way too high. The RBOCs also want to have a common interface to their discs, and maybe even one search engine. Given the compeititve nature, it may not happen. But it would be to their advantage if it did. Steve Cisler