TELEX and UNIX

[zemon at felix.UUCP]

The easiest way to let your Unix system communicate with
Telex terminals is to subscribe to Western Union
Telegraph's EasyLink system.  I just spent a couple of
months learning that this is virtually the only way to do
it effectively (unless you want to lease your own Telex
line and adaptor hardware -- modems won't do it).

If you want to communicate with USA Telex terminals, then I
strongly recommend EasyLink.  For international
communication, any of the competitors will probably do just
as well.  We have used MCI Mail (alias Western Union
International -- no relation to WU Telegraph) successfully
for international traffic but are very dissatisfied with
the domestic service.

The basic problem is that there are a number of competing
telex communication networks.  If you attempt to send mail
to a Telex number, almost everybody *assumes* that the
number is on the Western Union Telegraph network.  Routing
messages across networks requires explicit action on the
operator's part and may not work.  For instance, Western
Union Telegraph ("real" Telex) subscribers have a lot of
trouble sending messages to MCI Mail (domestically located
Western Union International) telex numbers because the
numbers are too long.

    Art Zemon
    FileNet Corp.
    714/966-2344
    ...!{ucbvax,decvax}!trwrb!felix!zemon
    Telex I: 383902 FILENET CM