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Sent from: CORNWELK@gm1.nigms.nih.gov (Cornwell, Kay) > COOLUM, AUSTRALIA, 1996 MAR 13 (NB) -- Netscape Communications within six > months will build voice software for making low-cost long distance calls > via the Internet into its Navigator program, the company's co-founder and > vice president of technology, Marc Andreesen, said at a technical forum <SNIP> He predicted phone companies would find much of their equipment "rapidly becoming useless". Interesting thing to say, considering that for MOST of us phone equipment is our only means by which to connect to the net. I don't see cable modems for sale, ISDN is a phone company service. Useless? Not anytime soon. Kay kc5@nih.gov alisonplays@msn.com [ mod's note: i agree that cable modems have a lot of problems, and i personally *abhor* ever taking sides with Andreesen or even giving him press, but at this point the cost/tariff structures associated with "long-distance" service are a fiction imposed by governments, fueled by enormous lobbying monies. AT&T used to strong-arm employees into pay-check withholding contributions to their lobbying PAC to help pay for this, when i worked there eight years back. sure, the local/central office-based equipment for switching calls remain vital, and *some* kind of lines need to carry packets over long hauls, but there's a whole lotta new space-heater technology available from ATT/NT/NTT/BT/etc. once netelephony takes off...that's just one former Bell-Labbies' opinion; what does the rest of the list think? - pxn ]