UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Wednesday, March 15. 1995 7A 'Phone calls' possible on Internet The Associated Press NEW YORK — Richard Haus has a new trick with his computer. From his San Francisco-area home, he scans a list of people on the screen and clicks on a name. Suddenly, a voice comes through his speakers, and Haus and the person he has reached begin to talk. "I've had a pretty clear connection to Italy," Haus said. "I've talked to people in the Netherlands and lots of different places." The beauty is, the conversations don't show up on his long-distance bill. Haus is among the first to use the Internet for phone-like conversations. He and the people he talks to each have bought a $50 software program that turns a voice into digital data and then back into a voice the other end. It's the same thing long-distance companies do with their computers. Two companies just started selling such software, and another has plans to do so this summer. Researchers at Cornell University are testing, with other schools and hospitals, software that allows video conferences through the Internet. The sound quality is not as good as the phone, though it can be with the right sound board inside a PC. In addition, people can't talk simultaneously, so conversations end up being like CB radio. And you can only talk with those who use the same kind of software. While the conversation may be free, the cost of a computer and monthly Internet connection are far higher than a telephone. And, of course, computers aren't nearly as widespread, mobile or easy to use as telephones. For those reasons, the big long-distance companies don't fear a stampede of people making calls through the Internet. Besides, a large portion of the Internet is built on phone networks, providing revenue for phone companies. "It doesn't approach the same level of quality and reliability as you get on the voice network," said Patricia Parseghian, a technician at AT&T Corp.'s 'Bell Labs. Some experts, noting long-distance telephone rates as low as a dime a minute, wonder if the idea will ever take off. "I don't expect to do my voice communications over the Internet. Just because it's technically possible doesn't mean it's feasible or justifiable," said Howard Anderson, managing director of Yankee Group, a Boston consulting firm. But it may appeal to people who already own PCs and have Internet connections, such as parents with children at college or companies with offices overseas. Martin Horton, Fort Worth, Texas, resident, said he would like to use it to converse with his parents in England, but since they did not have a PC, would aim for his son and daughter in the Northeast. "At the moment, it's a novelty," Horton said. "I'm trying to introduce my friends to it." Both Horton and Haus were testusers of Internet Phone, a new program by VocalTec Inc. of Northvale, N.J. The $50 software works with personal computers that run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. Electric Magic Inc., of San Francisco, has developed a similar program, called Net Phone, for owners of Apple Macintosh computers. It costs about $85 for two copies. But Internet Phone and Net Phone don't work with each other, meaning a Macintosh owner can't converse with someone who owns a Windows PC. By June, Camelot Corp., of Dallas, plans to sell Pick, a Windows program it says has better sound and allows both people to speak simultaneously. Bug bombs blast through playwright's old apartment The Associated Press Flames from a water heater ignited the insecticide spray, firefighter Norman Woodridge said yesterday. NEW ORLEANS — Six "roach bombs" caused an explosion that injured two people and wrecked the French Quarter apartment where Tennessee Williams wrote "A Streetcar Named Desire." Cheron Brylski, who had just rented the third-floor apartment, had set off the aerosol cans of insecticide in the 8-by-10-foot kitchen Sunday, Woodridge said. The recommended treatment is one can for a 20-by-30-foot room. The blast blew out windows and the kitchen ceiling and buckled the apartment's floor and walls. It also blew the front door of the threestory building onto a passer-by. Brylski and the passer-by suffered cuts and bruises. Williams lived in the apartment in 1946-47 while writing the play that won him the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for drama. He died in 1984. LOOK FOR THE BONUS STICKERS FILL YOUR CARD QUICKER TO WIN! CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH W A C E C T I P T TOOOD STAMPS AND MANUFACTURER'S COUPONS FRESH LEAN SPARE RIBS FULL SLAB ALL PURPOSE RUSSET POTATOES 20 LB. 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BEFORE 9 PM ADULTS $3.00 (LIMITED TO SEATING) SENIOR CITIZENS $3.00 Crown Cinema VARSITY 1015 KASSAIS HUSEITS 841 5191 Hoop Dreams PG-13 h78 4:45,8:00 HILLCREST 925 IOWA Hideaway $^8/13$65 5:00; 7:15; 9:35 Forrest Gump $^{PG-13}/142$ 4:45; 7:15 The Manger $^{8/14}$ 9:45 Roommates $^{PG/9}$ 4:45; 7:30; 9:45 Man of the House $^{PG/5}/14$ 7:15; 9:35 Outbreak $^8/13$ 4:45; 7:20; 9:50 CINEMA TWIN 3110/OWA 841-5191 $1.25 Neil PG13/113}$ 5:00, 7:20, 9:40 Richie Rich PG16/85}$ 5:00, 7:30, 9:40 SHOWTIMES FOR TODAY ONLY If drinking imported beer is your idea of culture... THE LYRIC OPERA OF KANSAS CITY can help you. in The Lyric Opera's "Student Rush" program where a $4 ticket cost gets you a seat at ARIADNE and to the free Opera Preview. Just think, you're getting all the culture without the empty calories. Four bucks won't buy you a six pack, but it will get you a seat at The Lyric Opera's performance of ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, March 11, 13, 15, 17 & 19. 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