Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!usc!apple!mips!prls!pyramid!leadsv!zech From: zech@leadsv.UUCP (Bill Zech) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: PRODIGY? Summary: Re: PRODIGY Message-ID: <8637@leadsv.UUCP> Date: 11 Nov 89 02:23:18 GMT References: <19530001@hpsemc.HP.COM> <89312.175024DSB100@PSUVM.BITNET> Organization: LMSC-LEADS, Sunnyvale, Ca. Lines: 39 I have subscribed to PRODIGY for over a year, and I use it typically once a day. I also subscribe to CompuServe and BofA HomeBanking, and obviously read USENET. So I'm kind of an on-line junkie.... Prodigy is certainly slower than reading USENET, but remember that Prodigy is on-line, whereas USENET is batch oriented. Also, Prodigy is graphics-based, so the bandwidth requirements are higher. Try getting a weather map from USENET! There are many bulletin boards, and more are always being added. In fact, there is often better information available on it than USENET because the target audiences tend to be more specific, and you don't find the stupid flame wars that often tie up this net. News reports, weather, sports, etc. are all updated very often, and so are more current. USENET reaches me typically with two days delay. I've used the buying services once, and sometimes request product literature from the ads. But I mainly use it for E-mail with some friends, and for just general entertainment. The fixed fee of 9.95/mo makes it reasonable to spend lots of time wandering around in it. Also, the fees drop if you pay in advance, just like magazines. It works out more like $8/mo. You can save a lot of money in phone bills alone if your out-of-town friends and relatives are online. If you really want to do banking from home, BofA's system is probably better, because it ties in automatically to a full- featured personal accounting system, so your PC can do most of the work. (Monogram Software's $&Sense, and MoneyLine). I was originally quite disappointed with Prodigy, but as I have witnessed lots of changes and improvements, I feel it's worth sticking with it for the time being. As long as it continues to improve, great! If it stagnates, I might drop it. -Bill