mallory@ide.uucp (Kevin Mallory) (12/05/89)
I don't know about any of the rest of the MAC users out there, but I'm not at all satisfied with Prodigy for the MAC. It took me a full week of futzing around to get it to work. Their support organization knew NOTHING about macs. I was told to: 1) remove all INITs 2) turn off ram cache 3) don't use Multifinder 4) When all else fails, don't use prodigy from my hard disk but use it from the supplied floppies. I think this is ridiculous! After much futzing around it does work, with ALL of my inits (INCLUDING a screen saver), ram cache on, and on the hard disk. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with Multifinder. The support people asked me to 'try it with one init at a time, and send us a list of those that work'. I asked them if they were asking me to debug their software for them. (They don't have a list of inits which work and which don't). They said no (HAH). To top all of this off, I posted a note on the prodigy mac bulletin board flaming about the support issues (not to mention the non-maclike interface). 2 other users replied... I tried to reply only to find that the message had been LOCKED for replies. When I asked for an explanation of why it was "locked for replies". I was told that it wasn't locked. When I went back to try to reply again, I found that it was GONE (along with the replies). I have since sent another message asking why my message was deleted. I feel very strongly that I have been CENSORED. I think that IBM and Sears, and Prodigy needs to re-read the US constitution, especially the part about freedom of speech. When my free month runs out, so long prodigy! +____________________________________________________________________________+ | IDE Interactive Development Environments sun!ide!mallory | | Kevin Mallory mallory@ide.com | | 595 Market Street, San Francisco, CA | | The comments made herein are mine and do not necessarily reflect the | | opinions of my employer.... | | | | Remember this: | | "If you can find some place you like better than Tuna, MOVE! | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
lsr@Apple.COM (Larry Rosenstein) (12/07/89)
In article <244@ide.UUCP> mallory@ide.UUCP (Kevin Mallory) writes: >I think this is ridiculous! After much futzing around it does work, with >ALL of my inits (INCLUDING a screen saver), ram cache on, and on the hard >disk. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with Multifinder. The first thing I did when I got the software was to figure out why it crashed under MultiFinder. It turns out the problem is that they allocate a 280K or so non-relocatable block when you try to connect, and don't check to see if this succeeds. The program has no SIZE resource, so its default partition size is 384K. If you increase the partition size to 750K, then it will work. You won't be able to switch out of the program, since they don't support menus. However, if you have >1 screen, you will be able to click in windows on the other screen. That would be a big mistake because Prodigy doesn't handle suspend/resume or update events, and part of what they do to take over the screen is to remove the menu bar and to modify the low memory GrayRgn. (In the latter case they replace the region handle with a region in their heap, which means if the application crashes GrayRgn will be invalid.) You can prevent any switches by using ResEdit to change the WIND/130 resource in the program. Set the procID to 1, to make it a modal dialog. >the message had been LOCKED for replies. When I asked for an explanation >of why it was "locked for replies". I was told that it wasn't locked. >When I went back to try to reply again, I found that it was GONE (along This is pretty sad. I had thought that Prodigy was open-minded about this, sine they were allowing people to post messages talking about America Online. -- Larry Rosenstein, Object Specialist Apple Computer, Inc. 20525 Mariani Ave, MS 46-B Cupertino, CA 95014 AppleLink:Rosenstein1 domain:lsr@Apple.COM UUCP:{sun,voder,nsc,decwrl}!apple!lsr
mec@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (michael.e.connick) (12/07/89)
Prodigy will run under MultiFinder if you set the memory size large enough. ----------------------------------------------------- Michael Connick mec@mtfmi.ATT.COM 201-957-3057 AT&T Bell Labs MT 3F-113 (Dept. 79153)
boeheim@lindy.Stanford.EDU (Chuck Boeheim) (12/07/89)
I didn't have any problem with loading the program, but I did spend a lot of time trying to get it to work with my Hayes compatible Concord Data Systems Series II 2400 baud modem. After monitoring the line, I found that they were sending very complex settings commands to the modem, apparently trying to set every possible modem configuration that they could find in the manual. To begin with, they send an ATEE1E4 string to the modem, and appear to use the checksum response to index the modem table in the file MODEMS.TXT. (Was that the file name? I'm at work now and that stuff's at home.) Well, the Concord modem doesn't respond to an E4 directive. I tried various combinations of altering the EE1E4 string with a sector editor (it's imbedded in the program), and changing the code lines in the MODEMS.TXT file. I succeeded in getting it to send some different sequences, but it appears to be too dependant on the responses, since it kept saying that I could not connect to the service. So I dragged out my old Hayes 1200 modem and used that. Presto, it was on in a flash. (Strange, that old modem doesn't implement that E4 directive either. What gives?) So I sent a note to their HELP99A mailbox giving a description like this one and asking for their help in using my faster modem. I received only the disappointing response that 'the Concord modem is not supported by this service.' In my opinion, their program is trying to be too clever by far in configuring the modem, and by doing so they are shutting themselves off from a large section of the market that owns modems that are only slightly less than 100% Hayes compatible. I'm not locked out since I have a modem that works, but I have to recable the Mac, and put up with the slower speed. I'll weigh the value of the service they provide when deciding to keep it after the trial period, but the inconvenience and their responsiveness will certainly be a factor in that decision. -Chuck Boeheim Stanford Linear Accelerator Center