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From: graff@mlpvm2.iinus1.ibm.com (Michael Graff)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Info Needed on Prodigy Service
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Date: 12 Nov 90 22:26:55 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 812, Message 3 of 6


After reading the Prodigy items in Digest issues 805 and 809, I think
I'll take a stab at "this Prodigy thing."  I'm an IBMer and a Prodigy
subscriber, but I don't speak for either IBM or Prodigy.

Sandy Kyrish asks where the claim of 500,000 subscribers comes from.
My understanding is that it is the number of active userids.  Prodigy
charges a monthly rate per "household" which allows as many as six
separate userids (one for Dad, one for Mom, and so on).  So, not all
of those 500,000 subscribers are paying.  And some of them probably
don't log on very often.  But from Prodigy's point of view, it doesn't
really matter who's paying and who isn't.  They make their money by
selling the ads that take up the bottom quarter of the screen.
There's no charge for connect time.

What are people responding to with Prodigy?  For one thing, it's
accessible.  It's very easy to learn and get around.  There are no
cryptic commands as on the traditional online services like
Compuserve.  There's no charge for connect time, so there's no
pressure to keep your usage down.  The graphics are cute and fun.

David Lemson mentions MNP.  I don't think it would make any
difference.  Since Prodigy already has its own compression and
correction schemes, adding another one wouldn't help.

Glenn F. Leavell asks about Prodigy screening message content.  Keep
in mind that there are two kinds of messages on Prodigy.  There are
private messages that you send to an individual (email), and there are
public messages that you post on Prodigy's bulletin boards.  Prodigy
screens the bulletins, but as far as I know, they leave the private
mail alone.  The exception on the private mail is if a subscriber
complains about private mail received from somebody else, then Prodigy
will get involved.

Prodigy gets a lot of flap for screening messages on the bulletin
boards, but to me it seems no different from Patrick screening
messages for TELECOM.

Ken McGlothlen talks about Prodigy's slow speed.  Prodigy's new
software is noticeably faster than the previous version.  Also, your
PC hardware makes a big difference, especially processor speed.
Finally, perception has a lot to do with it.  I find it generally
reasonable on a fast XT clone.  Also, it's easy to get a list of all
the JUMPwords.  If you JUMP INDEX, there is an option on that screen
to print them all.

As for navigation, I find it generally easy to get around.  Eaasy
Sabre (that's the correct spelling - it's run by American Airlines)
used to be particularly clumsy, but they improved it a while back.  I
use it to check schedules, but I prefer to buy my tickets from a
travel agent.  The navigation of the bulletin boards is now in its
third version, much better than before, but still a long way to go.
Otherwise, most of the service is very easy to get around.

Adam M. Gaffin talks about the person who sends 1500 email messages.
I dare say, if he tried that on MCI Mail or Compuserve, he would go
broke very fast.

Tad Cook talks about how Prodigy is controlled by IBM and Sears.  I
really don't know how much actual control IBM or Sears puts on
Prodigy.  I've heard plenty of IBMers complaining about how Prodigy's
handling of the email and censorship flaps is making IBM look bad, and
IBM doesn't seem to be doing much to either distance itself or get
Prodigy to straighten up.  In any case, IBM's and Sears' control of
Prodigy is probably less than the public perception.

John Higdon asks about printing or saving information from Prodigy.
Prodigy supports printing in some, but not all, areas of the service.
It's a lot better now than it used to be.  Prodigy doesn't directly
support saving information to a file, but there are plenty of
utilities around that can redirect print output to a file.  I use one
and it works well.

As for the online encyclopedia, I understand that it's the same one
used on PC-Link, GEnie, and other services.  I've looked up a few
things in it and found it to be pretty decent.  With a print
redirection utility, I have saved some items to disk.

Jeff Sicherman mentions GEnie's new Star Services.  Unlimited text
email *is* included in the $4.95 monthly rate, and a lot of the heavy
email users on Prodigy are jumping over to GEnie.  Ironically, GEnie
announced Star Services about the same time that Prodigy announced its
new email charge.


Michael Graff