Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!sun-barr!newstop!sun!amdahl!key!jsp
From: jsp@key.COM (James Preston)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: America Online
Message-ID: <1249@key.COM>
Date: 21 Nov 89 01:17:32 GMT
References: <29969.2562DE85@cmhgate.FIDONET.ORG> <1385@rodan.acs.syr.edu>
Reply-To: jsp@penguin.key.COM (James Preston)
Organization: Key Computer Laboratories, Fremont
Lines: 32

In article <1385@rodan.acs.syr.edu> wwtaroli@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Bill Taroli) writes:
>I have been online a number of times recently and have found that the 
>facilities offered are good, but since navigation through the system can
>get confusing and because of the high number of facilities offered.. one  can
>find themselves lost, if you will.

I hope this doesn't sound derogatory in any way, but how can you get lost?
Everywhere you go just opens a new window.  All you have to do is keep closing
windows, and you get back to the main screen.  What could be simpler?

I was "lucky" enough to get my free Prodigy time and my free America Online
time at about the same, um, time, so it was natural to compare them.  I found
that Prodigy mostly just annoyed the hell out of me.  Not even counting the
time it takes to draw all the cute pictures (which get old really fast), I
found that trying to get around was downright frustrating.  There are, what,
two? three? different ways to navigate?  And they don't look or work at all
the same.  I wanted to back up an "item" on my path, and couldn't find any
way to do it other than going all the way through and back around again.  That
thing with the "menus" is supposed to be able to get me anywhere, but it
never seemed to get me to the same opening screens as those I got following
my path.  Grrr.

America Online, on the other hand, as has been mentioned, is totally Mac-like.
You really don't need any documentation, just click where you want to go, and
follow the windows back to see where you've been  My only (small) complaint 
is that it's a little _too_ hierarchical; I get a little tired of having to 
go down six windows before getting to the substance.

My advice is:  If you have a Mac (and you like the interface) take America 
Online over Prodigy.

--James Preston