lan@bucsb.UUCP (Larry Nathanson) (11/04/88)
This is getting rediculous already. What follows are replys to various
complaints that I've heard. (Not quoted)
#1) That the credit card billing is unfair: I don't agree. You have ample
time online, to view an itemized (by user name) bill, for the current and
previous months. If you ache too much to spend $.30 to read it, you
can save it to disk, and look at it later. If you disagree with the bill,
you could always tell the credit card co to stop the charges. This holds
true for all credit card purchases. This saves Quantum (Quantum is the
company running Applelink- Apple supplys support, and some resources to
Quantum) from having to generate and mail bills, and hire a billing staff.
You never lose contact with your money - you always have control.
I don't see the problem.
#2) The jerkiness of incoming data- In menus it is very apparent. However
it lasts a second or two, and most people should be able to deal with it.
In a way, it is helpful- It's a pause that will allow you to select an
option before the menu is complete. While the rest of the menu feeds in,
it goes straight into the option you requested. In text boxes, the words
form word at a time, until the box is filled. You then see nothing, except
for a bar on the right, which indicates that the box is filling.
#3) Why would 20 people want to sit in a chat room, at $6/hour? It's because
of who those 20 people are. I've talked with apple development engineers,
I knew of the Claris buyout of Styleware before it hit the public. If you
have a technical question, why not ask Bill Ptylovany??? (BillP) He just
wrote most of the software involved...I've asked Steve Wozniak
questions about his
ambition to teach 3rd grade, and he's talked about his divorce... I've
talked with Scottie S. a 13 year old boy with terminal lukemia (he died
last Friday :'( Every so often you see the editor of some magazine
floating by.. I was chatting with Dennis Doms, about why they chose
GEnie as a home base for open-apple... They have game shows that are a
real blast- Trivia, a Wheel of fortune look-alike, a Jeopardy game, and
lot's more...
It's a great medium of communication. But it doesn't stop there. It's
the people that make it so much fun. I'd suggest that those who are having
problems with the physical workings of Alink, ask them online- there are
hired "Guides" whose job it is to only answer questions. If you can't
find a guide, then you can look to a customer rep, a forum leader, or for
most problems, even other users who have had similar experiences. While
you may wish to discuss the shortcomings of Alink on the net, the chances
of finding answers to your problems is remote.
If you are looking at Alink as only a new program to run, you have a
very distorted point of view. Alink is real time communication, with
real people. You are not just running software. The point of Alink is
that you ARE in that room, even though the people may be thousands of miles
away.
If you're on Alink- send me mail! Name is 'Zapwig'...
-Larry Nathanson
lan@bucsf.bu.edu
Zapwig @ Applelink
--
__!__ A soul in tension that's learning to fly |'| Larry Nathanson
-----o----- Condition grounded but determined to try |'| 617/375-7020
" " Can't keep my eyes from the circling sky |'| 140 Bay St Rd #203E
Tounge-tied and twisted, just an earth-bound misfit, I |^| Boston, Mass 02215