News the next field?

Press, 28 November 1979, Page 17

News the next field?

By

NEILL BIRSS

The New Zealand information industry may be catapaulted into the computer age next year. The Christchurch-based computer firm. CBL Holdings, is investigating a system of computer-bank-io-tele-vision-set information. It could begin in 1980. Such systems are well advanced overseas. In Britain, the Post Office runs a Viewdata service, linking adapted television sets to telephone lines so that words can be transmitted from data banks. In two other systems, Teletext uses television signals to supply text on home screens. France has a similar service, Antioche, the Canadians and Japanese are developing systems, and there are ’ fragmented developments in the United States. "We are investigating a public data base," Mr David Page, general manager, of CBL, told a conference of the firm’s customers recently. In an interview, he enlarged on the announcement. The idea, he said, was that computer data would become available to the man in the street, though initially the service would probably be directed mainly at businessmen. Airline timetables, details and times of package tours, company information and possibly share transactions might be typical data available at the beginning. Real estate notices, sales catalogues, and perhaps even racing information might also soon be included. CBL envisages using a password system, which could be built into circuitry, so that the market would be segmented. For instance, it would then be possible to have information available to doctor customers only. The advantages of such a television text system are that it be very quickly and easily updated and vast amounts of information can be held for customer access. Whole libraries can be transcribed into electronic data and held for easy reference. Initially it is likely that only words would be transmitted, but illustrations might come fairly soon. The service would entail

"small money” for the customer. It would mean a device costing about $lOO added to the television set, and perhaps, for an average family making fairly frequent use of the service, up to a hundred dollars a year in meter fees, registered on calling up an item. The potential is vast. Educational services, foreign data banks, and news services could be provided. Advertisements of some types could be catered for, Mr Page envisages, thus giving the system a second income source. Theoretically, transmitting text through screens is already more economic than traditional publishing, James Martin, in his book, “The Wired Society’’ (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1978), says that in the United States, about $5OOO million a year is spent on newsprint, production, and distribution of magazines and newspapers. He calculated that the same information could be sent in text via satellites to home television sets for less than $2OO million a year. Using television .or telephone cables for transmission would also be a fraction

of the cost of traditional publishing. Mr Page says he cannot yet disclose planned transmission methods. "But if everything is satisfactory, we hope to have a pilot scheme late next year.” The computer facilities

for the scheme would be provided by CBL’s five PDP 11-70 s at its branches and five new 11/70s it will buy next year. Mr Page sees the service as a natural development for CBL. From its beginnings in Christchurch in 1965, it has shown a bold, innovative spirit. It has had to. Its main competitors are multinationals and there is no Government protection.

CBL was in the batchprocessing field with its big ICL computers fairlv early, but in the last two years revenue from this business has levelled off. The firm adapted to ti tn e-shariqg activities with the purchase of the 11/70 computers, des cribed by Mr Page as being of “midi” range. It still has big customers like the 5.1.M.U., the Christchurch City Council, and Fletchers, but it has put its terminals into ever smaller businesses as plunging prices have enabled more firms to buy their own processors. Now CBL has customers like four-man law practiceand service stations as well as the big clients. To Mr Page, the man in the street is thus a logical next stage of the firms market. The plan also reflects predictions of crys tal-ball gazers that computer bureaux will increasingly be data bankers. CBL, with a paid-up capital of $626,000 an ex pected turnover of $7 million for 1979, 2W employees, and an entrepreneurial spirit, should be a front-runner in the newe-: electronic information medium.