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From: hychejw@infonode.ingr.com (Jeff W. Hyche)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.datacomm
Subject: Prodigy
Summary: Why use their software?
Keywords: garbage, trash net, hellfire
Message-ID: <1991Feb20.034644.14053@infonode.ingr.com>
Date: 20 Feb 91 03:46:44 GMT
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL
Lines: 38



	The word Prodigy in the computer world is both a scourge
and a god send.  You say Prodigy to one computer user and he will
have visions of tin plated tyrants who censor every word they
don't like (some people use the word censor and some people use
edit, I use censor).  Others think that they have broken the yoke
of hourly service charges and freed them from that bondage (not
including the $.25 mail charge).  Personally I don't agree with
their policy of censorship or only porting their software to the
IBM or MAC so I will never use their service.  But apparently some
Amiga owners do and that creates a demand for their service.  But
they refuse to port the software to the Amiga.
	Now I have a question.  Why do we have to use their
software?  I know they use special software that will only work
with Prodigy.  But why does it have to be that way.  I can count
at least a dozen PD or Shareware programs for the Amiga.  So why
can't someone write a PD front end for Prodigy for the Amiga?
	I think of no legal Prodigy could stop us from using our
on program to access their service.  Since we would have to buy
their start-up package to get a password and access information,
they would get their money and we would get the service of
Prodigy.  So as I said I see no legal way to stop us from writing
and using such a program.  A PD program could be even better than
their own software for the Mac and IBM.  From what I have heard
from some Prodigy owners you can't capture text from the screen to
a file, you can only print certain articles.
	Such a program might be difficult to write.  First you
would have to figure out the special codes that Prodigy use to
command both the system and the software.  Next a program would
have to be written to strip the password and other information
from the original program.  Since I don't know that much about how
Prodigy really works, or even that much about programming on the
Amiga (or I would try to write such a program myself) any takers?
-- 
                                  // Jeff Hyche           
    There can be only one!    \\ //  Usenet: hychejw@infonode.ingr.com
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