Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!spool.mu.edu!agate!sandstorm.Berkeley.EDU!dburr
From: dburr@sandstorm.Berkeley.EDU (Captain_Picard)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm
Subject: Re: WANTED: America Online OPINIONS
Message-ID: <1991May24.095335.17483@agate.berkeley.edu>
Date: 24 May 91 09:53:35 GMT
References: <1991May21.160855.21767@oakhill.sps.mot.com> <4179@polari.UUCP>
Sender: root@agate.berkeley.edu (Charlie Root)
Organization: Starfleet Command, USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
Lines: 31

In article <4179@polari.UUCP> tonym@polari.UUCP (Tony Mann) writes:
>In article <1991May21.160855.21767@oakhill.sps.mot.com> rjacks@austlcm.sps.mot.com (rodney jacks) writes:
>> [ request for info about AOL ]
>>
>>***********************************************************
>>**  Rodney Jacks                                         **
>>**  Motorola Inc, Austin, Texas                          **
>>**  E-mail:  rjacks@austlcm.sps.mot.com                  **
>>***********************************************************
>
>AOL is both amazing and disappointing.  It has a complete Mac interface,
>including multiple forum windows open simultaneously. It  makes it easy
>to understand the system. It makes other BBS interfaces seem ugly and archaic.
> Surprisingly, the system almost never feels sluggish.
> 
>Unfortunately this ease of use has a price. Some operations tedious  are quite as there are few "shortcuts".  To compound the problem, 
>there are no batch operations,
>limited automation facilities, and almost everything must be done on-line.
>Also, X-Modem is used for file transfers, even though they could have used
>a faster protocol considering that you have to use their software.

Really?  AOL uses Xmodem?  The way my modem lights flash, it looks more
like Zmodem, because AOL doesn't acknowledge after every "block" -- most
of the data transfer is being done from AOL to the Mac , with the "send
data" light blinking only once every few minutes or so.  also, the protocol
has a pretty good error recovery -- a couple of times my roommate picks up
the phone during downloads, and it doesn't crap out.
===============================================================================
Donald Burr, Univ. of California,Berkeley | America Online: DonaldBurr
INTERNET: dburr@ocf.Berkeley.EDU          |_Compu$erve:_72540,3071_____________
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