New Directions Radio

Image Gallery

Issue # 74 - March/April 1982

Copthorne Macdonald is the inventor of slow-scan television . . . a method of amateur radio transmission that allows ham operators to hoth hear and see each other during shortwave broadcasts.

I suddenly realized, not long ago, that my personal computer now gets a good many more long distance phone calls than I do! And, to be honest, I felt a bit put out at first. After all, the beast's only attraction is that it contains the latest New Directions Radio On-Air Bulletin (see the NDR column in MOTHER NO. 72—and the note at the end of this one—for more information about that "electronic magazine"). I guess it'd be pretty foolish to actually be jealous of a computer . . . especially since I built the thing myself and typed in every letter it contains. Still, I've been quite impressed by the whole phenomenon!

I suppose novelty might be a factor, or just plain curiosity ... but frankly, I suspect that we humans are information freaks, whose desire for knowledge is just as real as are our cravings for specific foods. The fact is that most of us want what we want when we want it, and—when the urge is for information—some folks are clearly willing to pay the price of a long distance call to get it.

My second suspicion is that the future has already arrived at my house, and that what's happening here is beginning to take place in many other homes, too. "Teleinformatics" is the new umbrella term which covers the marriage of telecommunications and computercontrolled data retrieval. It may eventually become a household word, and if it does, it'll be accompanied by the names of such commercial information utilities as Prestel, Telidon, Telenet, MicroNet, The Source, and Infotex.

Of course, large corporations are working to create a boom in this area . . . and cash in on it, as well. And where the information in question is of widespread interest, they'll no doubt succeed. I, however, find the blossoming of individual and club activity in this area particularly exciting. Literally hundreds of small personal terminals have already been turned into group-access information banks.

COMPUTERIZED BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS

Many such devices are set up to serve as Computerized Bulletin Board Systems. These data storehouses work on the same principle as does the bulletin board in your local supermarket: You can look at messages left by other people, or leave your own. Ads, notices of coming events, poems, and almost any other type of special interest material can be posted. A "menu" on the terminal screen (or, sometimes, a more complex indexing scheme) is usually provided to help a user find items of interest, and screen instructions furnish information about how to leave messages.

Each CBBS has a particular focus and a "personality", which emerges as the various users make their contributions. Since many people who own data terminals today are electronic hobbyists, it's not surprising that computer hardware is frequently the topic of discussion. But there are many other subjects dealt with by CBBS users too, including astronomy, commodities, ham radio, music, aviation, genealogy, and more.

Long-time readers of this column may recall my 1974 report, in MOTHER NO. 27, which described Berkeley, California's Community Memory system . . . a generalpurpose bulletin board setup that used a large central computer for storage and retrieval. It was a darn good system at the time, too . . . but the plummeting cost of computers and computer memory has since made a more decentralizedispecialized approach feasible. Today almost any interested group can afford to establish its own CBBS . . . allowing the avid computer hobbyist to turn his or her "toy" into a socially useful tool.

The ongoing computer conference is simply a variation on the CBBS theme. In this case, the object is to share ideas with other people on a particular subject. Someone will start the ball rolling by entering a statement. Then others add their comments. If the topic is stimulating, and if enough interesting people get involved, the process can go on indefinitely. If not, the conversation simply ends. It's a totally honest procedure, because boring conferences dwindle away as a result of their own dullness!

Now it's all well and good for me to talk about the hundreds of computer bulletin boards in operation, but you probably want to know where they are! Well, one way to find out is to call a CBBS that lists other CBBS's. Yes, these "catalogs" really exist . . . and one is operated by Novation Inc., a manufacturer of phonelike modems. If you have a 300-baud ASCII ter minal and a standard 300-baud originatemode modem, merely call 2131881-6880. When the phone answers and the tone comes on, connect your modem and type a carriage return. A menu will appear on the screen and guide you from there. Request "Directories Available" first, and then "Free Dial-Up Computers in U.S.".

Another such list appears in The Community Computerist's Directory. This publication is a must for folks who are experimenting with homegrown teleinformatics. Issued twice a year, its Bulletin Board section is just one of several worthwhile features. The directory also contains "White Pages" (organized by state), in which individual computerists have list their personal interests, skills, and projects. The "Yellow Pages" section cat. alogs computer hardware manufacturers, sources of used equipment, software houses, computer book and magazine publishers, and newsletters. There's also a feature—arranged geographically—that lists clubs, user groups, and associations.

A year's two-issue (plus updates) subscription to the publication is $10. Be sure to include your own (free) 25-word White Page listing when you order. (For $5.00 extra—or $15 total—you can expand that listing to 500 words.) Write to: Communi. ty Computerist's Directory, Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box 405, Forestville, California 95436.