University Daily Kansan, July 10, 1985
Page 5
Computer
continued from p. 1
The VAX computer will be used for academic services, he said.
"We had insufficient processing power on both sides," he said, referring to administrative and academic computer needs. "We had more requests for computers than we could handle."
Niebaum said the computing service officials wanted a computer that would be compatible with the VAX VMS operating system because many faculty members were getting software that was VAX compatible
He said that was the reason Honeywell Inc. protested in May and considered filing a protest against the state of Kansas.
Ed Evans, branch manager of the St. Louis business cell, office, said in May that Honeywell was preparing a protest against the state of Kansas on the grounds that bid specifications for the purchase of two computers at
Susan Eich, spokesman for Honeywell's main office in Minneapolis, refused to say whether Honeywell had taken any action.
KU were too specific to allow competitive bidding.
Niebaum said, "Honeywell was protesting the bid for the VAX system because they did not have a machine that met specifications."
Another reason the specifications included a VAX operating system was that there were already VAX systems compatible with the system installed, he said.
The Center for Research Inc. and the departments of physics, medicinal chemistry and computer science have have VAX systems. The Bureau of Child Research has received a VAX computer, Niebum said.
Niebaum said the VAX 8600 system would cost $857,602.
Tourist booths steered to computers
Two May KU graduates have devised an idea that may rid tourist information booths of brochures and pamphlets forever.
Staff Reporter
By Gina Kellogg
Their service, called TravelVision, gives travelers in Kansas immediate access to information on lodging, restaurants, tourist attractions and even weather forecasts in the state. The information can be obtained at tourist information centers on the highway system throughout Kansas.
Sam Gilliam and Greg Grimm, electrical engineering graduates, along with Jim Brewster, Shawne Anderson, create an idea for an on-line computer system.
The students started working on the idea about two years ago, Gilliland said.
"Originally we wanted to do it for
Lawrence, but we talked to John Myers, the director of economic development for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, and he said we should do it statewide," Gilliland said recently.
"This type of system needs to be driven by a large network of inquiries." Mvers said.
Myers said he suggested the statewide system because it would be of better use to a community if the tourists coming to the area knew what was available there before reaching their destination.
Gilland said, "We were putting together what we thought would be useful to travelers bureaus and easy use. We were really excited about it."
Gillianl is president of the company, DataDelv, 2104 W. 23rd St., that the three formed to market their product. Grimm is vice president and Brewster is software engineer.
Chris Stanfield, assistant director of the Travel and Tourism Division of the Kansas Department of Economic Development, said TravelVision said the computer system was simple for tourists to use.
"It provides instantaneous information on a number of tourist attractions," he said, "rather than having tourists stand and go through 90 brochures, many of which they may not be interested in. They can punch the button on their computer will show them what's on their route that may interest them."
The computer then will print out that information for tourists, he said. Right now, the computers can be found at the Bonner Springs-Kansas City tourist island on Interstate 70, in goodland and in the
rotunda of the Capitol in Topeka, Gilliland said.
A system is planned for a tourist center in South Haven, near Wichita, but will not be installed for another six months. Gilliland said.
"Until the South Haven site gets up, we'll probably put a system in Wichita or Fort Scott as a temporary location," he said.
The company also is planning to place a system in either Dodge City or Liberal.
Stanfield said the state didn't pay any of the cost of the system so none would be passed on to tourists.
Gilliand said, "We provide the system, and the information on the computer relating to state-operated facilities, free of charge to the state. In return, the state gives us the room to put the system in."
Phones
continued from p. 1
evening or night usage. Two percent is about the worst he can do."
Sid Coursin, media relations manager for GTE Sprint, said his company also offered volume discounts that varied according to the percentage of day, evening or night calls.
Take, for example, the three-minute call from Lawrence to St. Louis placed during the evening. If a customer's total evening calls amounted to less than $20 a month, the call would cost 49 cents with GTE Spirt. If the customer's bill was betweensize, the cost would be 44 cents, a savings of 10 percent, according to rates provided by Coursin.
Dialing dilemma
would offer the greatest savings is not easy because many factors are involved, such as the time when the customer places most of his calls. Consumer's Checkbook, a non-profit group in Washington, D.C., offers a computer service to analyze telephone bills.
Robert Krughoff, president of the group, said, "The service can save customers 25 percent of the cost of the system and they would otherwise be using AT&T."
Trying to calculate which company
Customers submit two or three months of the long-distance portion of their telephone bills and, for a fee, Consumer's Checkbook provides a comparative cost analysis of the different long-distance services, he said.
If the telephone bill is less than $10 a month, the fee for the analysis is
$10. An average bill of $40-$70 would cost $30 to analyze and a bill of over $100 can cost $75 or more.
In the past, AT&T's competitors charged a monthly service charge and required a minimum dollar volume of calls a month. That is no longer the case with most long-distance companies.
MCI has no monthly service charge and no monthly minimum charge. Parker said.
Coursain said GTE Sprint did not have a monthly service charge, but it did charge a minimum of $5 a month, whether any calls are placed.
For customers such as Glenda Cummins, Lawrence senior, whose long-distance charges range from $2
to $3 a month, a change to GTE Sprint might not be worthwhile.
Cummins said, "My understanding is it really only makes a difference if you make a lot of long-distance calls."
However, for most KU students, especially those from out of town, long-distance bills could easily exceed the $5 minimum that GTE Spint charges. Patel, for instance, said her bills averaged $55 a month.
Comparison shopping
their decisions on whether a company appeared to offer the cheaper service. But he warned that might not be wise.
"We have been getting a number of calls," he said. "It's been difficult to advise consumers because they might be getting a cheaper rate with companies other than A&T, but we are trading off quality of service."
Clyde Chapman, director of the Lawrence Consumer Affairs Association, 819 Vermont St., said he thought that many customers would base
Nichols said customers who did not select a long distance service by July 27 would be assigned to AT&T by default.
He said a recent decision of the Federal Communications Commission did not affect Lawrence customers now. The FCC ordered telephone companies to distribute an equal number of those customers who failed to designate a long-distance company to all the other available companies. Nichols said the decision only applied after Nov. 1.
"Eventually, well into 1866, we possibly will go back and send new ballots out at the people who decide whether the decision has not been made yet."
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