Word: modems
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Interchangeable. Compatibility is what we call it now. We used to wonder whether a certain pair of people might be compatible, now the question is whether the serial ports on the back of one's computer will match with those on a modem. Of course there was no hardware compatibility problem with the babies. Linda Boggeri was able to breast feed Chloe Amzallug without mishap...
...executives are nonetheless confident that they can polish their corporate performance. Sales edged up in recent months, and the company plans a hefty advertising campaign during the remainder of the year. The Apple II series will receive special attention, along with a host of new products. Among them: a modem that is some 30% cheaper than other phone-line hookups now on the market, and a new printer...
...fees that range from $5 to $15 a month, customers who apply for home banking receive floppy disks that enable them to link their personal computers via modem and telephone line to their bank's computer. After punching in a secret password, the home banker can display his current balances, confirm that deposits have been properly credited or call for an up-to-date listing of all the checks that have cleared. Ask a question about banking services, and the answer will be on the screen the next day. Bills from merchants who join an ever expanding roster provided...
What augurs well for banking a la modem is the hearty endorsement of most of its pioneer users, who tend to overlook the minor deficiencies in the systems. Robert McDermott, who runs a construction service company, keeps five different accounts at Chemical Bank, including his money-market and retirement funds. "It makes juggling accounts more manageable," he says. "You can be more daring." Kathryn Dallam, a secretary at IBM, rationalizes the $12 monthly cost of her Pronto service, claiming that home banking saves her $20 a month in stamps, envelopes and transportation costs. And Investment Banker Stodder blames himself...
...more difficult to assure. A moment's reflection on the Sloan-Kettering case described above shows why; whereas ten years ago access to computers was limited in most cases to users who could get into a terminal room, today anyone with an inexpensive personal (or "micro") computer and a modem (a device that allows computers to communicate over telephone lines) can access the majority of computers in the United States. [Its computer security] becoming more and more critical because we're getting our computers all hooked together through local and national networks; its also getting harder and harder because...