On San Francisco TV this morning there was a 2-3 minute piece on using the Internet as a way to get around long distance charges.
They were highlighting a system named Quik (sic), or was it Quick, and one other, but I did not catch the name.
Anyway, the phone was plugged into an external modem sized box that had a liquid crystal readout and that box was the one plugged into the phone jack. The TV reporter had a partner on the other end in San Jose (hooked up also by live video feed) try to call him.
The phone rang, the reporter picked up the phone and the readout told him to wait while the box made the IP connection....the box at the other end did the same. 90 seconds later, no connection. 120 seconds, a connection.
The reporter said, "It sounds like you are underwater being strangled by 10 mermaids..." And then everyone laughed, especially the sports reporter. And then when he mentioned that each box cost $300 and you needed two, there was more laughter with the following quote: "shows us how far we still have to go".
So, what can we learn from this? Other than TV reporters make odd statements when they don't have a script.
A system that doesn't reflect the above quality will gain more respect than this.
Regards,
Duncan
PS There was mention of Internet phone systems that did not require any additional equipment, but alas, FTEL was not mentioned. Nor were any else. |
