Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!ccwf.cc.utexas.edu From: awessels@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Allen Wessels) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm Subject: Re: WANTED: America Online OPINIONS Message-ID: <49432@ut-emx.uucp> Date: 23 May 91 20:49:13 GMT References: <1991May22.065212.29985@agate.berkeley.edu> > <1991May23.024406.3740@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <1991May23.125934.10345@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> Sender: news@ut-emx.uucp Reply-To: awessels@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Allen Wessels) Organization: The University of Texas at Austin Lines: 28 In article <1991May23.125934.10345@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> dorner@pequod.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Dorner) writes: >One thing I don't hear people saying is why they bother to pay >for these services when they have the Internet. What do you get >from AOL that you don't from the Internet? I don't use AOL, but I do use CI$ in spite of what is offered on the Internet. More companies make official announcements and press releases on CI$ than on the Internet. More reps post more frequently on CI$. Bug fixes are availabe in dedicated vendor forums. In my experience, there are more high-end users who respond to posts on CI$. Most of the major Mac mags have an editor or writer that read and respond regularly. I've seen more niche products discussed on CI$, and new products are also usually discussed before I see similar topics on the Internet. CI$ also has online conferencing, and the Mac forums sponsor a monthly guest poster. John Sculley was the listed guest a few months ago. (I hedge because not much beyond standard press release stuff was posted.) This friday (if my memory serves), a special conference (basically like IRC) about 7.0 with Apple reps will be run. Finally, CI$ has a pretty broad spectrum of users, and it "feels" richer in terms of topic breadth and the number of people who bridge topic areas. The downside is the $ of course. I know people who spend hundreds of dollars monthly in connect time. I get by on $50 a month with Navigator, CI$'s automated comm program.