Possibilities - Letter From Phil 8/92

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
           (303) 699-6872      Fax
           (303) 699-8222      BBS
           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

LETTER FROM PHIL 8/92
---------------------

*** From August 1992 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1992 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

Letter from Phil
by Phil Becker

It is traditional to divide computer applications into major categories such 
as word processing, spread sheets, databases, and communications.  Indeed the 
first three of these categories have been the source of many computer success 
stories.  To further define and understand the computer industry other 
categories have been proposed from time to time, such as utilities and system
software (e.g. DOS).  But there is no question that communications is the 
category that is both the most interesting and the most poorly understood. 

The primary reason for this is that unlike databases or spread sheets there 
isn't a single focus for the category of communications.  In my QUE book 
"Introduction to PC communications" I discussed only the areas of 
communications of primary importance and still I ended up with over 20 
chapters covering everything from modem based communications to LANs.  Within 
just the sub-category of modem based communications there are terminal 
programs, remote control programs, LAN async servers, remote host programs, 
and of course the BBS -- each addressing a very different application range, 
but all falling under the category of communications. 

Historically the media has had great difficulty covering computer 
communications.  This tremendous range of applications and the resulting lack 
of focal points is the reason.  There is no single answer to the question 
"what can you do with PC communications?"  Those who use this technology 
regularly generally fall into rambling responses which end up being "nearly 
anything you want" and the outside observer goes away feeling that there is no 
hope of ever getting a handle on what the excitement is all about. 

It has taken 10 years for the communications category of LANs to be 
"understood" by enough people to make it worth writing about.  But throughout 
that period you never saw a successful attempt to write "the LAN story."  
Instead you saw stories of LAN products like adapter cards, discussions of 
token ring vs. baseband, etc.  Either you knew why these were important or you 
were lost.  After 10 years, most people have formed a general idea of what a 
LAN is and what it can do, but not because they were ever told in any succinct 
way.  Rather the "shared experience" has grown up and we just sort of know 
what a LAN is about. 

BBS technology is just now reaching that same point.  It is about to become a 
recognizable category of communications like LANs.  Today the media is making 
valiant attempts to tell "the BBS story" and such stories have even made the 
New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.  Last fall PC Magazine attempted a 
comprehensive review of BBS software which generated the largest quantity of 
mail they ever received on a single article, but left nearly every reader 
feeling like they missed the point.  This is inevitable -- imagine an attempt 
at a comprehensive review of Netware, LANtastic, Network O/S, and maybe three 
or four other LAN managers.  A technology with such far reaching impact just 
can't be presented this way successfully. 

This is why I'm so excited about ONE BBSCON this month.  For the first time 
all the major players in the BBS industry will be in one place and those who 
attend can absorb the idea of how BBS software solves problems.  I am certain 
that over time this will create a change in how BBS software is covered by the 
press, and how it is understood by the public at large. 

Meanwhile you can see the impact of new hardware such as high speed modems, 
and you will still read the BBS equivalent of the LAN adapter review when 
these products are compared without any indication of why you need one.  But 
the BBS is about to become a full fledged software category at last, and that 
means we should also begin to see the understanding of what a BBS can be used 
for spread. 

Imagine, soon you may not have to struggle to answer the question "what is a 
BBS for anyway?"  And you can be sure that will mean that BBS software will 
get better than anything you ever imagined... 

- END -
PS0892-1
Rev. 8/92

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
or your organization.

