European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 12, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                New services help slaves to ringing phones Lori Dodge want to know who that phone Call s from in some parts of the country your Telephone will Tell you a video display show the Telephone number that s i Aling you just As the phone s ringing. Want to know who the Call s for you can Tell whether a Call is for you instead of your spouse listen for your personalized Telephone ring. These arc just some of the newer services the nation s six regional Telephone companies Are offering or plan to offer. Many More Are on the Way due to changing lifestyles and the so called baby Bells Hunt for More Revenue amid heightened Competition in the deregulated phone markets. For St. Louis based southwestern Bell Tele phone co. Which serves 9.5 million Homes and businesses in Missouri Kansas Arkansas Oklahoma and Texas add on services make up about 13 percent of billed Revenue. More than half of its customers choose to have at least one of the custom features according to the company. It s a significant Revenue Stream said David Martin a southwestern Bell spokesman. They cover their costs Many times  Bel South corp., based in Atlanta anticipates about $65 million in Revenue this year from its add on services. Spokesman Terry Johnson said the company expects that amount to More than triple in two years. The most popular feature the baby Bells say is Call waiting which tells customers using a phone that there s another incoming Call and allows them to answer it. This feature is Avail Able throughout most of the country. Call  three Way calling and Speed calling also arc gaining in popu Larity and availability experts say. Costs usually Range from $2 to $ 10 a month according to the companies. The most controversial feature is caller id which displays incoming numbers on a Small video device As a Way to thwart unwanted callers. Promoted by Bell Atlantic the feature costs around $6.50 a month plus another $60 to $80 for a Small viewing device that flashes an incoming number before the phone is an swered. Businesses love this service but it has come under fire from privacy advocates and some states. A Pennsylvania court has outlawed it As a violation of wiretap Laws. So far six areas of the country have this service and As Many As 22 states Are debating whether to allow it. Some of the More unusual services in the Early stages of availability include a personalized Telephone ring. Distinctive rings allow three phone numbers to be combined on one phone line and let everyone know who is being called ring Rhin Nigg rings for dad or ring ring  for his oldest daughter. The feature already is available on some office phone systems. The baby Bells also offer the Lay person s phone  when a customer Calls directory assistance a recorded voice provides the phone number and. For a fee of about 30 cents offers to dial the number. Golem Meyer southwestern Boll s District manager of new product development said the most popular of the so called second phase of features is Call  it allows customers to automatically Call Back the last incoming Call. Call return is the most popular of the group i think because it s comparable to Call waiting Meyer said. The customer does t have to do anything. It s kind of passive when we re out in the Back Yard and we hear the phone ring we re reminded that we have that service and we have the option of answering it now or  other features include priority Call which provides customers with a distinctive ring for each of three pre selected incoming phone numbers. Phone companies say that because of the technology involved in linking Central offices number of these services won t be available to All their customers for five to 10 years. But they say the demand is definitely there our lifestyles Are demanding More control said southwestern Bell s Meyer. People arc kind of tired of having their chains pulled every time the phone rings. They have very Busy hectic lives. They put up with traffic jams stress at the office and when they get Home they want to have some control Over who they talk to and  associated Russ changing the Way America flushes Jeff Nesmith water go Ling american toilets Many of which use As much a seven Gallons per flush Are going the Way of the Gas go Lin cars of the 1970s, pushed aside by newer and More efficient models. Under pressure from environmental groups and water Short states reluctant toilet manufacturers Are offering some models that use Only 1.6 Gallons per hush. Bills pending in Congress would require that All new commodes meet the 1.6-gallon Stan Dard while research engineers work on new designs in Pursuit of a one gallon flush. A Century ago Lushing a toilet was an activity that epitomized Progress and sanitation. Hut the situation is changing and according to environmentalists and others Flushing in its pre sent form is an unacceptable extravagance. The a Orage american flushes 27 Gallons of Freshwater Down the Tramway of a commode every Day. There s a lot of water to be  said i d Sann head of the water resources project of the National wildlife federation. The eur Iron mental group has been press ing Tor several Vears for enactment of a Federal  Lon toilet Standard. Seven states Georgia California Connecticut Massachusetts new York Rhode is land and Washington have already passed Laws requiring 1.6-Galon toilets and other water saving fixtures such As efficient Shower Heads and faucets in new construction. Current models of commodes typically use about 3.5 Gallons per flush Many Homes have units from the 1970s that use up to seven Gal Lons. These toilets have lower tanks which have less Gravity pressure to achieve a clean flush and must compensate by using More water. Engineers say that the old turn of the Cen Tury models with their Wall Hung tanks High above the seat achieved better Hydraulic efficiency than today s units because the flush water achieved a Speed that made a Large vol ume unnecessary. To compensate for lower Hydraulic pressure some manufacturers have installed com pressed air systems to Speed the water flow sufficiently to initiate a siphoning action that is necessary to remove the toilet s water and re place it with a fresh Supply. Although the colliding demands of design and efficiency have held the technology of the flush at the current level of about 1.5 Gallons the theoretical limits appear to be quite Low. A Rhode Island Man has designed an electric toilet that uses a pint of water and an experimental japanese design is said to achieve a full flush with Only one cup of water. Luther h. Klount christens his silent electric toilet in Warren . I he toilet designed to flush with one pint of water. Is 12,