Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!pasteur!ames!lll-winken!uunet!mcvax!ukc!acorn!moncam!harry
From: harry@moncam.co.uk (Jangling Neck Nipper)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Electronic Newspapers
Summary: 1200, eckshley!!
Message-ID: <185@marvin.moncam.co.uk>
Date: 9 May 89 14:49:34 GMT
References: <2331.246511D1@isishq.FIDONET.ORG>
Organization: Monotype ADG, Cambridge, UK
Lines: 24

In article <2331.246511D1@isishq.FIDONET.ORG>, Doug.Thompson@p101.f162.n221.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Doug Thompson) writes:
 
> Phone speeds are comparable to ethernet,with 38 Kbaud transmission of text 
> being possible over voice grade lines today, 19200 BAUD being common. How do 
> you think all this news ends up on your computer for you to read? All of it 

I'm not sure where you get your stats; yes there ARE many electronic
exchanges, and yes there are getting more all the time, so in the FUTURE,
we can look forward to more or less clean lines (in the developed world,
at any rate), BUT!!! it's not universal yet, and some lines are CRAP.
One of our own local lines to the electronic exchange in Cambridge is
duff, and we get it from time to time, and our EFFECTVE rate drops to
maybe 100 baud, as opposed to the 1200 baud we normally put up with
(but not for much longer, I hope); the news arrives overnight, and
we've had 8 hour 'phone calls in the past (fortunately local...).

As I've said before, it's still limited NOW, but maybe in a few years
time there will be enough high quality lines for it to be considered
`general'.
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