Lode Goukens <starnet!apple!FPSW.UFSIA.AC.BE!PS890866> writes:
>Which subjects are covered?
A number of business, finance, news, sports, and weather topics from various
information providers (wire services, USA Today, etc.), plus a kind of bulletin
board service of sorts. Also, US and Canadian securities quotations are
are provided.
>What computer systems or operating systems are supported?
IBM PC and Apple Macintosh. I believe that the Amiga was supported at one time
but is not supported now. There may have been others which were supported in
the past as well. Anyone have a more definitive answer for this?
Some of us are using our own software to access X*Change data on UNIX systems
by formatting the X*Change messages as Usenet Netnews articles and then reading
them using any of the available newsreader applications.
>Is it profitmaking?
The basic service, called "X*Change", is provided by X*Press Information
Services Ltd. (XIS), which I assume is a for-profit corporation. Other
services are also offered by XIS, such as more advanced securities quotation
services and software products for tracking quotations. Anyone else care to
comment on XIS and it's other services?
>Are there problems with the small difference between cables for cabletelevision
> and computercable? One cannot use computercables for cabletelevision.
I'm not sure that I know what you're asking, but I'll answer something and hope
for the best. X*Change is distributed over the cable TV system. I don't know
what form the signal takes, but it is modulated at carrier frequencies which
can differ from one cable TV provider to another. Mine comes in at 73.00MHz.
To connect your computer, you need a special modem which has an input for the
cable TV line (regular 75 ohm coax) and an output for the demodulated data
stream (RS232 through a DB25 connector).
>Is there a distribution via satellite?
I'm not aware of any distribution to end-users via satellite. XIS may use
satellites for distribution to cable providers, though. Hmmm....
>Do cable companies charge the service?
There is an initial charge for the modem and software: US$150 at the moment.
I haven't heard of any of the cable providers charging a monthly fee for the
X*Change service. It is usually offered as part of the basic cable service.
>How many users has X*Press X*Change?
I have no idea.
>Is there a magazine about X*Press? Or a newsletter? ARe there manuals and boo
>ks about it?
None that I know of. I got my X*Press package many years ago (it was US$49
then! :-) and it came with a very skimpy manual. I don't know what is provided
now. Comments from others?
I hope this information helps. If you are looking at setting up such a system
in Europe, you may want to contact XIS directly. Last I heard, their address
and phone numbers were:
X*PRESS Information Service, Ltd.
4700 South Syracuse Parkway
Suite 1050
Denver, Colorado
80237 USA
Phone: +1 303 721 1062
Fax: +1 303 779 1228
-- -Brian Smithson brian@grot.starconn.com