Content area
Full Text
Software developers at IBM's UK Laboratories, in Hursley Park, Winchester, plan to deliver products within the next two weeks that use networking technology that they hope will turn desktop computers into all-purpose communications devices that could replace telephones.
By March, IBM plans to release the first product based on this work: Person-to-Person/2 (P2P), a software package designed to let OS/2 users participate in on-line conferences using shared electronic "chalkboards" and real-time, full-motion video. "Right now, when you want to talk to someone in real time, you pick up the phone," said Barry Aldred, manager of Advanced Communications Modeling at the Hursley laboratories. "When we've succeeded, you'll turn to your keyboard. We want to replace the telephone."
Person-to-Person/2, Version 1.0 will at first run only under OS/2, but IBM plans versions for AIX, Microsoft Corp.'s Windows. and Apple Computer Inc.'s System 7, officials said.
Because so much of the information that people need to share and discuss with co-workers is on computers, Aldred said it makes sense to leave it there and let people have meetings via the PC. Further, they should be able to share-in real time --documents, spreadsheets; images, mail, sound, and video.
COLLABORATING WITH PCs. With P2P, a user might call up two colleagues in remote offices, launching the "chatline" feature to let all three type messages that are instantly displayed to each other. A document could be placed in the "chalkboard," enabling all parties to read and mark up the file. A remote pointer would be used to draw attention to various details while a conversation...