Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 exptools 1/6/84; site ihlts.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!harpo!ihnp4!ihlts!lied From: lied@ihlts.UUCP (Bob Lied) Newsgroups: net.misc Subject: Re: ESS Call Waiting design, also, Demon Dialer info Message-ID: <380@ihlts.UUCP> Date: Sat, 3-Mar-84 19:15:22 EST Article-I.D.: ihlts.380 Posted: Sat Mar 3 19:15:22 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 4-Mar-84 04:41:21 EST References: <5897@decwrl.UUCP> <272@qplx.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL Lines: 39 The following is just my opinion, and is not necessarily the opinion of my employer, or any living, rational person. I think that the reasons that switching systems don't offer more complex reasons are these: 1. The overhead of adding all these services is unacceptable to the people who have to buy and maintain switching systems. When you consider the cost of a simple ESS, and the complexity required to maintain the reliability expected of one, it is not surprising that customer features are few and far between. Most of the new features that go into ESS's are not for the benefit of the consumer, but for the aid of the people who have to run the switch and the telephone network. 2. Many of the features previously mentioned (speed calling/refuse calls/ wake-up calls) are best done within the telephone equipment in your home. There's no reason why the local switching center should perform all these when simple hardware from Radio Shack can do it. 3. The telephone sucks as an input device. When features get more complex, those 12 TOUCH-TONE(tm) keys just don't cut it. How can you sell features that require complex combinations of digits when some people refuse to make long distance calls because they're confused about dialing 1 or 0 first? 4. Switching systems as we know them are about to become obsolete. ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) will replace all that flash-hook/dial *77/enter 14-digit code crapola with packet signaling. All those neat-o features become a lot easier to do (and a lot easier to use) when you have a network of computers talking to each other. It's a ways off for Joe Schmoe in his suburban manse, but it's the goal that telecommunications is heading toward. Further discussion should probably be directed to fa.telecom. Bob Lied ihnp4!ihlts!lied "That's life -- you can tell by the way it sucks."