Date: Tue, 03 Oct 1995 02:14:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Doctor Bob"
To: TOURBUS@colossus.net
Subject: TOURBUS 10/03 - TV Listings Online
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\___/ \___/ "Why Surf When U Can Ride The Bus?" \___/
Today's Stop: What's On Tonite
Television... it's either the best thing since sliced bread or the bane
of civilization. But you have to admit - it's still a lot easier to surf
the Channels than the Net. Can you imagine having to enter
http://www.pbs.com/TV/shows/MacNeil-Lehrer_NewsHour.html
just to watch a show? Don't laugh - it could happen if the cable
companies get their wish to merge cyberspace with TV-land. "Honey, where's
the laptop? It's almost time for Geraldo and I can't find the blasted
thing. Ah here it is... now what's the URL for that show? Oh, forget it."
It'll be a while yet before you can find your favorite show on the Web (hey,
it could take 6 weeks just to download "60 Minutes" at 14.4) but there is
already a convergence of Internet and television going on.
"What's On Tonite" (on the Web at http://tv1.com/wot) is an interactive
television programming guide. The goal, according to New Century Productions,
is "to add value to the TV experience by making viewers more aware of their
programming choices."
Sounds just a little pompous, but you can't deny this is one slick service.
The electronic TV listings come in various formats, including the classic
grid format, time schedule, program category or channel lineup.
Now Playing
-----------
Upon arriving, you simply click on the map to indicate what region you're
interested in, and then choose a day of the week to view. If you opt for
the "grid" format, it's just like looking at the TV listings in the
newspaper, only better.
To illustrate, here's a snippet that from the listings for Friday, October
6th, from 6pm - 8pm:
Chan 6pm 6:30pm 7pm 7:30pm 8pm 8:30pm
---- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
ABC ABC News ABC News ABC News Local Baseball
Programming
CBS CBS News CBS News CBS News Local Dweebs The Bonnie
Programming Hunt Show
PBS Reading Ghostwriter MacNeil/Lehrer Washington
Rainbow News Hour Week Review
A+E Police Story Rockford Files Biography
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A quick click on "Rockford Files" will reveal the following astonishing
details:
A+E .... ROCKFORD FILES .... 7-8pm ........Series/Crime-M
"Battle of Canoga Park". Rockford's gun, stolen from his cookie jar,
is found at the scene of a homicide. CC.
Hmmm... The News is looking pretty good at this point.
Gotta Have It
-------------
"Sure that's fine," I hear you say... "But I'm staying in a cheesy motel
on the West Coast and I have no idea when The Munsters are on because
you don't get a complimentary newspaper for $26 a night. Can this fancy
tv-on-the-web thingie solve my dilemma?"
But of course! Help is just a few clicks away. Try the SEARCH feature,
enter Timezone: PACIFIC, Days: ALL, Hours: ALL, Category: Series-Classic
and then put "Munsters" in the Title Search box. A mere tap on the Submit
button et voila:
Time: 8pm Fri Oct-6
NICK .... THE MUNSTERS .... 8-8:30pm .... series-c/Sit
"Come Back Little Googie". Grandpa tries to turn Eddie's nasty pal
into a rabbit.
They don't call 'em classics for nothing, pal.
But Wait, There's More!
-----------------------
If firing up the old web browser is just too much effort, or if you're
still on an unpaved stretch of the infobahn, you can get this stuff by
e-mail too.
What's On Tonite! LITE is a free, daily electronic publication of TV
listings delivered via Internet e-mail. It is available at no charge to
anyone with an Internet e-mail address, but you'll have to tolerate the
occasional commercial I am told.
To get your free subscription send Email to: circulation@paperboy.com
with a blank Subject line, and the first line of the body must contain:
subscribe edition
Editions are: Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific
For example, if Alice Johnson, a Colorado resident in the mountain time
zone wanted to subscribe, she would send the following message:
From: alice@outwest.net
To: circulation@paperboy.com
Subject:
subscribe mountain
Adabeetdebeet, That's All Folks
-------------------------------
In the immortal words of our friend Porky, see you Thursday! -Bob
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TOURBUS - (c) Copyright 1995, Patrick Crispen and Bob Rankin
All rights reserved. Redistribution is allowed only with permission.
