PICTURE PHONES FOR EVERYONE ON HORIZON

The next time your mother says, "Look at me when I'm talking to you," it may be over the telephone.

Phone conversations of the future will be face-to-face, say project coordinators with local phone companies. In fact, in some circles, they say, it's already happening.

Shannon Hamra, the Internet development coordinator with LDD Net, said that so-called "picture phones" are available with Internet access, special software and a digital camera.

It's as simple as going online and clicking on another person who is online. When the other person "picks up," she said audio and visual are provided through computer speakers, a camera, and a monitor.

"It's really fascinating and really interesting, but right now it's a novelty," Hamra said. "But it's on the horizon for everyone. It's coming."

Hamra said that there are advantages to having a video phone in both business and at home.

It totally eliminates your boundaries, she said. "You can have virtual offices," she said. "If I work for a company in Louisiana, I can meet with my boss in New York without ever getting on a plane."

Employment will no longer be limited to hiring people close to where the company is located. With video phones, you can work from anywhere.

"There are people today who say that in five years, all telephoning will be on the Internet," Hamra said. "There's really so many possibilities. That's the great thing about it. It's the future."

Donna Burk, area manager affairs for Southwestern Bell, points to Integrated Digital Services Network as the cutting edge of electronic visual communication.

ISDN offers a clear image of two parties and is transmitted by buried copper wires to houses and businesses, Burk said. And she said it can transmit three to four times faster than modems.

There are several test sites all over the state Burk said, including the Chamber of Commerce in Cape Girardeau.

"It really saves us a lot of time," said Mitch Robinson, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association. "We don't have to drive to Jefferson City for a 30-minute meeting; we can just do it right here."

A deaf person could communicate through sign language with ISDN and prisoners arraigned under this system never leave the jail cell for court proceedings, Burk said.

The technology also allows two parties at separate locations to work together on a single document, Burk said. Either party can make changes to the document while consulting with one another, and still be in two different states, she said.

Video conferencing is also accessible for those who want to hold meetings with people in different areas, she said.

She said she could see ISDN being beneficial in the health-care industry, retail business, financial institutions, government, and education.

"I can see it saving time and a lot of travel expenses," Burk said. "It will save time wasted in airports, airplanes and taxicabs. It will also improve communications, because people will be able to meet more frequently."