European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 21, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 21, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 17 a photo picture phones Are still in development stages at Many companies. Inventors still trying to perfect a picture Telephone by Bart Ziegler associated press t thousands of. Americans got what the thought was a look into the future when the american Telephone & Telegraph  its picture phone at the 1964 world s fair the Day was not too far away the phone company promised in a gush of space age optimism when we not Only would hear grandma s voice but would see her As Well during our weekly phone Call. Twenty two years later it s still just a dream. At & t does offer a picture phone service but it is available Only at special conference rooms set up in hotels. Calls must be booked in Advance Over special phone lines. But some inventors have not Given up on the idea of a picture phone that would be As easy to use As the Erma Bombeck telephones in use today. One of them is a Young Massachusetts company that Hopes its picture phones will someday become As common As desk top computers. You will be Able to do everything you can in an in person meeting except shake their hand or take them out to lunch said Thomas j. Spalding a vice president of Pic Tel corp. Of Peabody mass. Pic Tel s product introduced last month rests on a desk top As did the 1964 prototype and uses relatively inexpensive digital phone lines that Are being installed around the country. These lines primarily used for computer data transmission can be dialled like an Ordinary phone Call. A Pic Tel Call costs More than a regular Long distance Call but less than the booked in Advance Calls. Pic Tel says it s system saves too by eliminating the Cost of a studio. The heart of Pic Tel s product is a device that compresses the visual image so that it can be transmitted Over the relatively limited capacity of the digital phone lines. Pic Tel claims its method of electronically compressing the video signal is Superior to past attempts which it said caused too much distortion in the picture. The picture Quality is adequate to have a comfortable conversation with somebody Spalding said. But the picture is not perfect. A demonstration tape provided by Pic Tel snowed its head and shoulders View tends to distort motion because of a delay created by the compression technology. The 1 2 year old company is working to improve the image. Another company that offers a similar desk top picture phone service Wiscom of Campbell calif., uses a different technology to compress  signal so that it can be transmitted Over the digital phone lines. Industry analyst Elliot m. Gold of Altadena calif., said he believed Pic Tel has an Edge in picture Quality. He said its video compression technology was considered a breakthrough and that nearly a dozen other companies including several japanese electronics giants were studying it As they work on picture phones of their own. Spalding said corporations should find the picture phone attractive because it will Cut Down on expensive travel time to meetings and make it possible to instantaneously transmit documents and computer screens full of information. Despite Pic Tel s optimism some communications analysts question the future of picture phones because of the Way businesses and people operate. Even giant at & t gave up on the original picture phone concept when it found there weren t enough potential customers to make it profitable. A Large number of people said of gee i d hate to have one of those things around when i step out of the Shower or have my hair in curlers " said at & t spokesman Burke Stinson. Businesses were just As wary. The companies Back in the 1960s Felt that while it was t a bad idea How much do i really need to see George when i Converse with him to get my Point across and How much am i willing to pay Stinson said. Added Mary Johnston of the Yankee group a Boston Market research and consulting firm executive level folks really resist it. They like the face to face Contact of a  however analyst Eric Arnum of International resource development of Norwalk conn., said desktop picture phones Are an important development because they eliminated the need for a studio. To feel comfortable in a meeting you have to be on your own turf he said. Stinson pointed out that Many business people feel the interaction with colleagues before and after a meeting is just As important As the meeting itself you can t have a drink Over the phone. At & t eliminated its own network of teleconference studios last year when business did t meet projections. It entered into an agreement to offer the service at Hilton hotels instead. Arnum said he believed picture phones Are poised for a  Gold was less optimistic. I think the Market is 10 years away at least he said. It s going to take a while to bring the Price  Pic Tel s Basic system which includes five video phones costs $150,000. At & t is replacing the nation s phone wires with High capacity fiber optic cables that could handle picture transmission at Low Cost but Stinson thinks the demand won t be seen for some time. He said today s children who Are More comfortable with television than past generations could be the future Market for picture phones. W Ith All the technology around us you d think wed know More about How children Are assembled but we Don  Don t know How children can laugh and cry in the same breathless second it takes parents to turn a yes into a  we Don t know Hov a child who is 3 feet tall in a room with no chairs or ladders can leave a chocolate Han print on an eight foot ceiling. And we have never been Able to figure out what triggers those harmless minor convenient illnesses that seem to pop up and go away at whim. Many of them have no names no treatment and no prognosis. There s the test mystery  this is a temporary condition that occurs quite suddenly on the morning of a test for which a child has not studied. There is general sluggishness accompanied by vagueness. The condition worsens when someone suggests getting dressed. It leaves As mysteriously As it came. Recurrence is Likely Only if the test has been postponed until the next Day. For sheer quickness of a malady you can t beat the sunday Buffet family picnic birthday party intestinal  one moment the child will be running around with a plate stacking it with every food in sight. The next minute he will complain the food does not taste Good and he suffers from an acute loss of appetite. If it is suggested he eat what he took he threatens to throw up. The condition is temporary and usually goes away before the next meal is served. There is possibly nothing More predictable among children than the occurrence of bladder  it occurs without fail every time you Are in the Middle of nowhere and there is no bathroom within a 300-mile radius. There is dancing jumping up and Down and general whining that accompanies this condition. Few parents can explain the Holiday  for some reason every Holiday a child becomes contagious. There Are roughly 10 holidays throughout the year including the child s birthday. There Are barely enough rashes to sustain that Many holidays. In spite of not Only those Odds but the other 355 Days they could break out in a rash it always ends up on a Holiday. Children. Through All the above disorders they never lose their appetite for television. It s a Miracle in t it c 1986 los Angeles times Syndicate