Marriage between PC and Telephon: Unity in similarity<\/p>\n
By Zatni Arbi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The recent hike in the cost of making a
\ntelephone call in this country is has created a lot of public
\noutcry. Its impact on us, computer users, is far from negligible.
\nCertainly many of us are having a second thought of joining the
\nInternet now, especially those, like myself, who have to pay for
\ntheir own monthly telephone bills.<\/p>\n
When talking with some insiders in the telecom business, I was
\ntold there were at least three reasons for this increase. First,
\npretty soon local calls would no longer be subsidized by the more
\ncostly long-distance calls. This was accounted for, in part, by
\nthe slight drop in the long-distance rates. Another reason was
\nthat there was the plan to break up our telecommunications
\nprovider into a number of divisions, much like the divestiture of
\nAT&T in 1984. This means that each division has to be able to
\nmaintain its own operation. The last reason for raising the rates
\nwas, as they put it, to increase revenues.<\/p>\n
The first two reasons, in my opinion, were reasonably
\njustified on the condition that our telecom providers continue to
\nimprove their efficiency. However, I lament the third reason --
\nif it was true, because we all know that telecommunications has
\nsocial and economic aspects that strongly affect the country as a
\nwhole. In other words, concentrating on increasing the revenues
\nof some government enterprises at the cost of economic
\ndevelopment of the people as a whole is, to put it mildly,
\ncontrary to the definition of providing telecommunications
\nservices that is commonly used in international telecom society.<\/p>\n
A number of research in the field of telecommunications have
\nfound a positive correlation between the rate of economic growth
\nof a region with the level of telecommunications availability in
\nthat region. True, it may be a chicken-and-egg situation, but why
\nnot lay as many eggs as possible now so that there will be even
\ntually a lot of chicken?<\/p>\n
Enough about the development of telecommunications in this
\ncountry. For now let us concentrate on the marriage of the
\ntelephone and the PC, which has already taken place but most of
\nus still haven t heard about yet. Certainly, the marriage will
\nhas influence on our purchasing decisions, in spite of the rate
\nincrease in telephone usage.<\/p>\n
Until today, all that we know is that the telephone network
\ncan be connected to our PC via an equipment we call modem. The
\nword stands for modulation demodulation, and basically what it
\ndoes is convert the analog signal used by the telephone network
\ninto the digital signal used by the computer. Attached to the
\nserial, or COM, port of our PC, the modem allows us to connect to
\nanother computer across town or across the globe through the
\ntelephone networks.<\/p>\n
In the last two years, vendors have included fax capability
\ninto the modems. But things are changing. The bonds between the
\ncomputer and the telecommunications network is no longer limited
\nto the COM-based fax\/modem connection.<\/p>\n
Caller ID<\/p>\n
Here's a service that s going to become available throughout
\nthe U.S. shortly. The first time I heard about it was back in
\n1990. When someone makes a telephone calls, his ID -- basically
\nhis phone number -- is sent to the receiving party. If the called
\nparty has a phone equipped with Caller ID display, he will
\nimmediately know who the caller is. He then can make a decision
\nto pick up the handset and talk, or switch on his answering
\nmachine, or route the call to another number. This will save him
\nfrom having to waste his time listening to sales pitches from
\ntelemarketers.<\/p>\n
Having had to deal with so many rude callers who have dialed a
\nwrong number and ended up calling my number, I wish we also had
\nthis service here in Indonesia. I bet it would transform the way
\npeople talk on the telephone, As it is the anonymity of today's
\ntelephone system that gives them the opportunity to ignore manner
\naltogether.<\/p>\n
To go back to our theme today, you might ask what Caller ID
\nhas to do with computers? Well, most people consider Caller ID
\nresponsible for the marriage between the computer and the
\ntelephone. Particularly in the service industries, Caller ID has
\nprompted the creation of certain computer applications that help
\ncut service time. Let s suppose you want to order a handbag
\nyou've seen on a catalog from a mail-order company. You call its
\ntoll-free number. The moment a sales representative picks up your
\ncall, her computer will take your Caller ID and process it. The
\nsoftware on it will retrieve all data associated with your phone
\nnumber. Within seconds, all data about you -- your name, address,
\nyour credit card status, and perhaps previous purchases -- will
\nbe displayed on her screen. All you have to do is place your
\norder, and she will be able to determine in real time whether
\nyour credit card still has sufficient funds to cover your order.
\nIf you have ever placed an order over the phone, you'd know how
\nmuch time this will save. Just think about it: You wouldn't have
\nto repeat your name, address, telephone number, credit card
\nnumber, etc. You'd avoid the possibility of error in the process,
\nas well.<\/p>\n
CTI<\/p>\n
Here's a new buzzword, folks. It stands for Computer Telephony
\nIntegration. It's not difficult at all to see that this new
\ntechnology is the results of the marriage between computer and
\ntelephony. At the moment, when people talk about CTI, they' ll
\ntalk about TAPI and TSAPI.<\/p>\n
TAPI, Telephony Application Program Interface, is meant to
\nprovide an interface between your PC and the telephone network.
\nThe fruit of Microsoft-Intel joint venture, this interface allows
\ndevelopers to add direct telephone support to Windows application
\nprograms. Not surprisingly, Windows 95 will incorporate support
\nfor TAPI. If you have a NetWare-based network and a PBX already,
\nyou can take advantage of TSAPI, an API from Novell and AT&T.
\nBoth enable the computer to control both dialing, answering, and
\ntransferring calls. They also enable the computer to setup con
\nference calls, too.<\/p>\n
If you have a PBX-based telephone system at your office or
\neven at your home, you'll know that most of the features are
\nunused because of the complexity of their operation. If all the
\nbuttons and combinations of them are represented by more readily
\nunderstood menus on the screen, you'd be able to make use of your
\nexpensive PBX more optimally. That's just one of the advantages
\nof CTI.<\/p>\n
SideKick for Windows, a reincarnation of one of Borland's
\nmasterpieces that we reviewed sometime ago, is the first personal
\ninformation manager that is Caller ID-ready. So, if you had the
\nCaller ID service available and SideKick running on your PC, the
\nmoment somebody called you all his data would pop up on the
\nscreen -- provided you had it in your database.<\/p>\n
Data and Voice modem<\/p>\n
If you're thinking of buying a new fax modem this year, wait
\nfor a while. 1995 will witness the influx of a new breed of modem
\nwhich will transmit voice and data in one call. In other words,
\nusing this next generation fax\/modem, you can talk and transfer
\ndata on one single line without having to disconnect and re-dial.
\nIt's really good news for telecommuters and home-based consult
\nants. So, you'll be able to say, Hold on, let me now fax you the
\ndraft I've been working on, and after the fax is sent you'll be
\nable to resume your discussion. In Jakarta, once you get
\ndisconnected, you may not be able to get connection immediately
\nwhen the trunk lines get overloaded.<\/p>\n
The switching mode is made possible by a standard from Radish
\nCommunications. Called VoiceView, this standard has been accepted
\nby many vendors, including AT&T which already has its own
\nproprietary method for achieving the same -- or even better --
\neffect. Microsoft is also saying that Windows 95 will provide
\nsupport for VoiceView.<\/p>\n
Of course, when broadband Integrated Services Digital Network
\n(ISDN) were available, VoiceView wouldn't matter anymore. The
\nintegrated, 2B + D will easily deliver simultaneous -- not
\nswitched -- voice, data, and video into the office premises. But,
\nboy, it might be a millennium before we have ISDN cables running
\ninto our houses here in Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/marriage-between-pc-and-telephon-unity-in-similarity-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}