New computer link widens N.Z.'S scope

Press, 24 September 1980, Page 12

New computer link widens N.Z.'S scope

By our computer reporter Competition has ’ entered the supply of information obt a i ned from the enormous resources of United States computer databanks by way of the Post Office’s' telephone service Overseas Access Service for Information Systems (0.A.5.1.5.). 0.A.5.1.5. lets New. Zealand computer terminals link through the telephone system to two huge public information networks in the United States, Tymnet and Telenet. . Tymnet’s scores of information sources range through universities, hospitals, finance firms and one databank that can supply on-line selections from about a million and a half articles drawn from more than 70 publications, including the “New .York Times.”

Telenet offers a 'Similarly diverse range; some of its suppliers specialise in court cases, historical abstracts, ■ and international patents. • 0.A.5.1.S began 12 months ago and now has more than 50 subscribers in New Zealand, five of them in the South Island. It is accessible to firms with a computer or a computer terminal and a modem to link the device with the telephone network. The Post Office also has an experimental public booth in Wellington and, if there is sufficient demand, booths will be opened in other cities. The booth is similar to a public telex booth, allowing those without computer facilities access to the system. Answer Access, Ltd, of Nelson, trading under the name, Dataccess, has lately been pressing into the field, retailing 0.A.5.1.S information. One of the four principals of Dataccess, Mr Phil Harris, said in an interview in Christ-

church that his firm had an Olivetti terminal in Nelson and ;was using this as the basis of the: service; it had about 50' “members” in Nelson.. Asalesman is now soliciting' for customers in- Canterbury.

Mr Harris’s main associates in Answer - Access, Ltd, are Mrs Kevin Ihaia, Mr Michael Bailey, and Mr Keith Hunt. The four are Aucklanders, but Mr Harris and Mr Hunt.’also have interests on the West ; Coast, including the Brighton coalmine, which Mr Harris said they had . been instrumental in re-opening. Dataccess charges customers $95 a year and, on top of this, a fee each time information is sought. The $95: also entitles customers :to , a newsletter. Mr Harris said that he could not be specific on the use fee, but it covered the 0.A.5.1.5. and United States charges and as well a mark-up for Dataceess. - J-

He maintained that the Dataccess service would be of use to firms with computer terminals but no programmers, as well as to users without terminals; Independent sources say that a programmer is not needed to link a terminal into 0.A.5.1.5. Part of the Datacccess surcharge is for expertise, and it is widely accepted that guidance is needed foi 0.A.5.1.5. users. Otherwise the Would-be user can be floundering to find the right databank source and perhaps flummoxed by the system’s jargon.

There is at least one cheaper source of help than Dataccess: 5.A.T.1.5., the business information service sponsored jointly by the Government and local bodies. In Christchurch it is based at the Canterbury Public Library. A trained assistant there helps S.A.T.I.S. members to obtain information

through 0.A.5.1.5. using a University’ of Canterbury Library' terminal. S.A.T.I.S. charges its members $2O a year, and this (as is in the instance of Dataccess) provides other information services. However, S.A.T.I.S. does not add a mark-up to 0.A.5.1.5. and United States supplier charges. Training is also available for potential users of 0.A.5.1.5. for example. Lockheed/Dialogue, one of the huge information sellers in the Tymnet system, offers U-day seminars to New Zealand customers, instructing them on how to search for information in its databases.

.. Non-specialist seekers of information will probably rarely seek access to O.A.SJ.S., but they have indirect access to O.A.SJ.S. through public libraries, which. could use the facilities of the NationaT Library if necessary. It is expected that for a person using a Post. Office public booth, knowing what; he wants, how to find it, and seeking items from a narrow range, the price may be about $6 or seven. This would cover all costs including airmail of bulky information from the United States. The New Zealand Post Office charge for the 0.A.5.1.5. service is 60 cents per kilocharacter (1000 characters) and, in addition, 20 cents a minute for the connection to the data base. The United States, supplier’s charge is additional. It ranges from $l5 an hour to $lOO an hour, depending on the database. The transmission rate is 300 information bits a second (about 250 words a minute). For bulkier information the databanks provide an airmail service at a cost which typically is 10 cents a page.