Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!mit-eddie!attctc!pollux!bjc
From: bjc@pollux.UUCP (Betty J. Clay)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: What Is Compuserve
Message-ID: <15983@pollux.UUCP>
Date: 29 Oct 89 16:34:04 GMT
References: <10228@venera.isi.edu> <8910230337.AA14494@en.ecn.purdue.edu>
Reply-To: bjc@pollux.UUCP ()
Organization: Department of Electrical Engineering; S.M.U.; Dallas, TX, 75275
Lines: 49

In article <8910230337.AA14494@en.ecn.purdue.edu> bevis@EE.ECN.PURDUE.EDU (Jeff Bevis) writes:
>In article <10228@venera.isi.edu>, schur@venera.isi.edu (Sean Schur) writes:
>>that so-and-so is on CompuServe. What is CompuServe? Where is CompuServe? How
>>do I get on CompuServe?
>>
>...Can you afford CompuServe? :-)
>
>+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
>| Jeff Bevis  (bevis)				     "But I don't like spam!" |




Have you investigated the costs of CompuServe?  Membership is almost always
free, since CompuServe SnapPacks (free trial memberships) are packed in
almost every modem, sometimes in magazines, and otherwise made readily 
available.  I have not seen other networks offering free signup.   The
connect fees?  There is a local CompuServe node available to about 85% of
the people in the U.S., so no telephone charge except for 30 cents per
hour that CompuServe charges for its own packet-switching network.  Then, as
with every other service, there are connect fees.  Please notice that on
CompuServe, the price is the same 24 hours a day.  This is NOT true for
any of the others, to my knowledge.  The connect fees are $6 per hour at
300 baud (excellent for conferencing or for reading and answering messages
while online), and $12.50 per hour at 12/2400 baud, to be used for up and
downloading lots of information in a hurry.
 
CompuServe offers good service.  It is fast and easy to get around.  Its
B Protocols are fast and accurate.  There is an automated software package
made just for CompuServe (Whap, Library 16 of AmigaTech Forum) that will
sign you on, do all of the uploading and downloading of Email, messages, and
software, and then sign you off to do the reading and other slow work offline
saving lots of money.  
 
If you compare CompuServe's prices with those of other information services,
and consider the fact that they are the same 24 hours a day, you will see
that they are not very different from the others.  During the day, they are
far lower than most.  At 2400 baud they are about the same during evening
hours.  One exception - some networks offer lower rates to those who have
PCPursuit, but then you have to add in the costs of PCPursuit in order to
fairly compare the prices.

Betty

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Betty Clay
.........texbell!pollux!bjc
         CompuServe   76702,337
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