Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!datapg!sewilco
From: sewilco@datapg.MN.ORG (Scot E Wilcoxon)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Electronic Newspapers
Message-ID: <4200@datapg.MN.ORG>
Date: 7 May 89 03:23:18 GMT
References: <8905031352.AA16555@mica.berkeley.edu> <174@marvin.moncam.co.uk> <2907@viscous.sco.COM>
Reply-To: sewilco@datapg.MN.ORG (Scot E Wilcoxon)
Followup-To: comp.society.futures
Organization: Data Progress, Minneapolis, MN
Lines: 33

harry@moncam.co.uk (Jangling Neck Nipper):
>Are we talking about news over the 'phone, or having the newspaper deliverer 
>chuck us a ROM thro' the letterbox?  Until 'phone line speeds are comparable
>to ethernet, it's just not going to be practical, is it?  The average, 20
>page full size (ie, not tabloid - does it have a name?) newspaper must
>require several megabytes, including pictures, and ROMs ain't that cheap
>either, so what *are* we talking about here???

Well, the X*PRESS (Englewood, CO) modem on the table next to me has been
giving me a 9600 bps data stream from the cable TV system for many months.
ASCII news, weather, sports, financial.  Many retransmissions during each
day.  Your computer just collects the stuff and when you're ready you can
look at it.  Newspaper?  Last time I looked there were contributions from
USA Today as well as other sources.

There aren't many pictures in most papers, and NAPLPS graphics could
create those at fair resolution easily.  Pictures might be repeated only
a few times a day.

This almost constant 9600 bps can carry a lot of data each day.  Just
look at how much goes through USENET feeds daily, often at slower
rates.

Several people have suggested using a TV channel for data.  That cable
is not restricted to TV format signals, as people listening to FM
radio stations from cable are aware.  I don't know what signaling
method is recognized by the X*PRESS modem (manufactured by M/A-COM,
a name well known in the industry) , but there are many RF signals
sent through these systems.
-- 
Scot E. Wilcoxon  sewilco@DataPg.MN.ORG    {amdahl|hpda}!bungia!datapg!sewilco
Data Progress 	 UNIX masts & rigging  +1 612-825-2607    uunet!datapg!sewilco
	I'm just reversing entropy while waiting for the Big Crunch.