moynihan_r@apollo.COM (Robert Moynihan) (10/19/89)
- Okay, I finally did it. Last week I purchased an Amiga 500 with a few assorted extras: RAM upgrade, extra 3.5" disk, printer, & modem. What I want to do now is join some kind of bulletin board or other sort of network. Compuserve is the only one I can think of off the top of my head, I'm sure there are others. I also wouldn't mind considering some way to get into internet from home. Portal comes to mind here, is Portal nationwide, or limited to a specific area? Anyway, my fellow Amigites, I seek your help. If you use Compuserve, Portal, or anything similar to interface with some nationwide (or even New England area) network, let me know what you use, what you think of it, what you get out of it, how to join, and how much it costs. If you know of any I should avoid like the plague, I'm interested in hearing that too. Thanks in advance for your help. Is anyone going to say "Welcome to the club?" Bob ============================///==================================== moynihan_r@apollo.hp.com /// LaForge: "Fifty? You were bluffing!" Hewlett-Packard Co. \\\/// Worf: "Klingons never bluff." Apollo Systems Division \XX/ LaForge: "Yeah, right."
magik@sorinc.PacBell.COM (Darrin A. Hyrup) (10/22/89)
In message <46522e61.d3a6@apollo.COM> Robert Moynihan <moynihan_r@apollo.COM> writes: >What I want to do now is join some kind of bulletin board or other >sort of network. Compuserve is the only one I can think of off the >top of my head, I'm sure there are others. I also wouldn't mind... GEnie is my current network of choice. In general its faster, and for the most part has just as much information available as does CompuServe. Besides that its a LOT less expensive per hour. Another choice might be BIX (Byte Information Exchange) which Commodore uses to directly support developers and users. There are plenty out there! Delphi, Portal, Quantum, Prodigy, and many more. One I think will be a real up and comer soon is a network called "Summit". It offers a multitasking user interface (so you can like read a BB section and be downloading and uploading in other windows, with one modem! I believe you can use 4 windows simultaneously via some type of software controlled X.25 or something (Similiar to Matt Dillon's DNET)). >think of it, what you get out of it, how to join, and how much it >costs. For GEnie you call up a local node and sign up online. You need a special ID and password which are generally available in many magazines, or I might be able to dig one up too. I signed up a long time ago, but I think its a $25 subscription fee, which gives you a manual and a few hours of non-prime time usage credit. Rates are (for non-prime time): 300 baud $5/hr 1200 baud $6/hr 2400 baud $10/hr (I think?) Prime time charges a $10/hr surcharge to those numbers, or something like that. For BIX you can sign up over Tymnet. Call your local Tymnet node, and type `BIX' when it asks for the service. Then type `new' when BIX asks for your username. From there it prompts you for everything. Prodigy costs $9.95 a month for flate rate useage, and they have been sending out flyers all over the place for new subscriptions. Beyond that, I have no idea how to find subscription information. For the others, I don't have any idea. But you might check out one of the books or magazines about online services that many bookshops carry. They usually have all the subscription info. >If you know of any I should avoid like the plague, I'm interested >in hearing that too. I haven't heard anything good about Prodigy, in fact I've heard some open complaints about them. Considering you (presently) need a Mac or IBM to use their interface, you don't need to worry about it. >Bob Hope that helps. Darrin -- Darrin A. Hyrup // AMIGA Enthusiast rencon!esfenn!dah magik@sorinc.PacBell.COM \X/ & Software Developer pacbell!sorinc!magik ========================================================================== "Speak little and well, if you wish to be considered as possessing merit."
sparks@corpane.UUCP (John Sparks) (10/26/89)
This may be considered a commercial by some, but information was asked for and I am giving it. I would have used Email, but I think that the info might be of general interest to others. I will keep it short. >In message <46522e61.d3a6@apollo.COM> Robert Moynihan <moynihan_r@apollo.COM> writes: >>What I want to do now is join some kind of bulletin board or other >>sort of network. Compuserve is the only one I can think of off the >>top of my head, I'm sure there are others. I also wouldn't mind... If you don't mind calling long distance, you might want to check out our information system: DISK (Digital Information Systems of Kentucky) Features: 6 phone lines. 24 hour access. Personal account and password. Online multi-player games. Full Usenet News and Email access. Download SIGs for most major computers (we have about 15 megs for Amiga at present). Multi-user chat program (like the CIS 'CB simulator'). Inexpensive: Our rates range from $1 an hour for the timed account and from $9.95 up to $24.95 a month for our flat rate accounts. The phone number is in my signature. call and we'll give you a free 3 hour account. Login as 'demo' press return when asked for a password. We are trying to support Amiga as much as possible. If we can get DNET working with SYS V, we will offer it for use with our system and our member's Amigas. -- John Sparks | {rutgers|uunet}!ukma!corpane!sparks | D.I.S.K. 24hrs 1200bps ||||||||||||||| sparks@corpane.UUCP | 502/968-5401 thru -5406 Help fight continental drift.