2. Message Handling Systems:

a. Telex:

Telex is the service, which enables user to transmit and receive printed messages over a telephone line. Users have to be telex subscribers, with their own telex equipment and code number, in order to send or receive messages. The telex service started in 1930 and from the mid 1970s it developed significantly as an international message transmission system. Data transmission speed as compare to other methods of telecommunication is very slow and only a restricted set of characters can be used in messages.

b. Fax:

Fax machine connected to a telephone, uses computer technology and communications links to send quality graphics, charts, text and handwritings almost everywhere in the world. The sending material (paper) is placed in the fax machine at one end, where it is digitized. Those digits are transmitted across the miles and then reassembled at the other end to form identical version of the original. All this activity takes only minute or less.

Personal computer users can send and receive faxes directly by means of a fax/modem. The only missing ingredient in the scheme is paper. Fax is not only faster than overnight delivery services, but it is also less expensive. Fax contributes to problem solving by sending documents to member of the problem solving team quickly and easily, regardless of their geographic location.

c. Teletext:

Teletext is a system for supplying commercial and other information through existing television networks. The data such as news, weather, sports reports, stock market data, airline and train schedules, TV guides etc. is transmitted via a television channel at the same time that the channel is being used to broadcast conventional television.

d. Videotext (Viewdata):

Videotext or Viewdata gives a home user access to information in databases via a personal computer or converted television set. The method of Access is via telephone lines, coaxial cable, or optical fiber.

Videotext is similar to Teletext in that it provides electronic reference to material but there are two main differences.

Firstly it is available to subscribers only.

Secondly it provides two-way communication. This means that users can interrogate the data held in the system and also supply information to it. The system uses a combination of telephones, computers, television, and communication networks.

e. Electronic Mail:

E-mail is the process of sending messages directly from one computer to another. In this system the sender transmits the message over the telephone network to a central computer, which allocates disk storage to act as an electronic mail box for each user. Using a password for secret purposes the user then can collect the message when required.

Several optional features of E-mail are

If you want everyone in the firm with a terminal to read the message, it is placed on an electronic bulletin board, which everyone can access.

If you want to receive confirmation when the recipient retrieves your message, it can be sent as registered mail.

If you do not want the recipient to route the messages to others in the network, you can send it as private mail.

Advantages:

Speed: (electronic transmission is almost instantaneous)

Economy: (no speed for stamp, labor, paper)

Efficiency: (a message is prepared once but can be sent to thousands at the touch of a button)

Security: (access can be restricted by the use of password)

Document can be retrieved and stored to word processing and graphic packages.

Electronic delivery and receipt can be requested.

Manners For E-Mailers

Never forget you are dealing with real people, even if you cannot see them, so do as you would be done by. Do not forward inappropriate comments on the relationships of strangers. Would you want the world to read about your own? Like a letter, an e-mail benefits from an opening greeting and a sincerely-type sign off. You will be judged on"'-how you express yourself. When first making contact, formally is the safe option. It is wrong to break the law just because you can get away with it online. Copying music, programs and images without permission is theft. Fill in an e-mail's subject box, anyone dealing with a large volume of e-mail will be grateful to be able to assess it at a glance and find it again in a hurry. Ask before sending large attachments such as picture files or video clips, They take a long time to download and, if they exceed the inbox limit, can stop the recipient receiving mail. Avoid clever formatting. Bold, centered text might look impressive on your screen, but 9 times out of 10 it will be vague by the recipient's program. Beware of sending e-mail to big groups listed on incoming messages: do you really want to Reply To All? Does everyone you know (and some people you do not) really want to read every joke you receive? Forwarding chain e-mails and fake virus warnings will not win you friends. Stay cool. Everyone benefits from good manners. If someone forwards a virus, point out the error of their ways but do not Reply To All. If some aspect of computing confuses you, the chances are you can find the answer in one of the web's lists of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). It Is rude to waste a helpdesk's time simply because you cannot be bothered to deploy a search engineer read. the manual.

Disadvantages:

The necessity for users to have a terminal close at hand, otherwise messages can't be received or sent.

Electronic mail handles only one-way communication. However, if you desire two-way conversation, you must either send multiple e-mail messages back and forth or use another medium.

The limitation of only being able to communicate with registered users, but not with other parties.

f. Voice Mail:

A voice mail system enables a regular voice message, sent over the phone, to be digitally stored at the receiving location. When accessed, the message is converted back into voice form. These are used by an increasing number of organizations and often employ software that runs on the organization's private box exchange (PBX) equipment, rather than on the organization's host computers.

Voice mail systems require a computer, disk storage, and voice mailboxes that are similar to E-mailboxes. However, the sending and receiving instrument is the telephone. Like E-mail messages, digitized voice messages can be played back, sent along to one or more other members of the organization, saved, or deleted. As it is sent along from person to person, a message can usually be; voice-annotated by anyone handling it.

With voice mail, one person calls a voice mailbox rather than a personal phone number. In stand-alone voice systems, the message is simply stored, awaiting pick-up by the person receiving the message; in integrated voice mail/PBX, the message receiver has the option of picking up the phone. People can usually access their voice mailboxes from any telephone (both inside and outside the organization). The telephone keypad is used to listen to messages in the mailbox, save them, delete them, or send them to others. This permits field representatives or traveling executives to maintain contact with the home office and to keep up with their messages. Salespeople can use these systems to enter orders over the telephone from the customer's office. Some universities are using voice mail systems to enable students to register for classes. All of these applications can provide organizations with a competitive edge.

Is voice mail just a fancy answering machine? They serve similar purposes, but do not use the same storage techniques. A voice mail system translates the word of message into digital impulses, which it then stores on disk, just as any other data.

g. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI):

Paper handling is the bane of organizations. Paper must be transmitted, filed, and stored. It takes up much of people's time and requires the felling of considerable number of trees. Is there a way to accomplish the same business tasks without using the paper?

One answer lies in business-to-business transactions conducted via computer network. Electronic data interchange (EDI) is direct electronic exchange between organization's computer systems of standard business documents such as invoices, purchase orders.

Businesses use a great deal of paper in transmitting orders. One method devised to cut down on paperwork is electronic data interchange (EDI). EDI is a series of standard formats that allow businesses to transmit invoices, purchase orders, etc. electronically. In addition to eliminating paper-based ordering forms, EDI can help to eliminate errors in transmitting orders that result from transcription mistakes made by people. Since EDI orders go directly from one computer to another, the tedious process of filling out a form at one end and then keying it into the computer at the other end is eliminated.

Many firms use EDI to reduce paperwork and personnel costs. Some large firms, especially discounters, require their suppliers to adopt EDI and, in fact, have direct computer hookups with their suppliers.

h. Electronic Fund Transfers: Instant Banking:

Using electronic fund transfers (EFT), people can pay for goods and services by having funds transferred from various accounts electronically, using computer technology. One of the most visible demonstrations of EFT is the ATM, the automated teller machine that people use to obtain cash quickly. For example, make payments to a supplier, or pay salaries into employees' bank accounts, or transfer funds from one bank account to another account by sending electronic data to his bank.

Electronic funds transfers are not limited to transfers between institutions and individuals. Banks and other financial institutions transfer funds among themselves electronically, on both the national and international level.