ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, April 25, 1996               TAG: 9604250006
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: B-8  EDITION: METRO 
COLUMN: Computer Bits

HEY, WOW! HAVEN'T WE MET SOMEWHERE BEFORE?

COMPUSERVE'S NEW ON-LINE SERVICE bears a resemblance to Microsoft Bob. Its strongest selling point is the price, at $17.95 a month for unlimited access. Problem is, there's not much to keep you occupied.

The package says WOW! in large, bright letters. But as I put CompuServe's new on-line service through its paces, I found myself calling it ... Bob.

Microsoft Bob, that is. Don't you remember? It was a piece of software introduced with much foofaraw back in 1994. Bob was a "social interface'' designed to work with Windows and turn computing into child's play. Of course, Windows itself was supposed to be child's play, but never mind.

In its way, Wow is a fairly bold venture by CompuServe, an attempt to make up some of the ground it's lost to America Online in the past couple of years. While CompuServe focused on the needs of serious computer buffs, AOL created an on-line service with plenty of wholesome Middle-American content and a good-looking, simple user interface. And it worked. AOL blew past CompuServe to become the top on-line service.

It's a pleasure to see stodgy old CompuServe lace up its Reeboks and get back into the game. But can Wow restore the company's former dominance? I wouldn't bet on it.

To run the Wow software, you must have a CD-ROM drive and the Windows 95 operating system. A Macintosh version is in the works. CompuServe estimates that there are about 5 million Wow-capable computers in American homes. But that leaves another 28 million computer-equipped households that can't use the new service. Wow is simply writing them off, and going after first-timers with new, hot machines. This is probably not a bad idea, since anyone who's used computers for a while will find Wow far too primitive.

Wow's user interface is smart, sleek and simple. All the usual services are included - news, sports, personal finance, entertainment, home improvement and so forth. Everything the service has to offer can be reached with a few clicks of the mouse.

But Wow is so simple partly because its content is so sparse. For instance, there are none of the specialized computer forums where CompuServe and AOL users can get detailed information on hundreds of hardware and software products. Instead, Wow's computer section contains little more than a few product reviews. And Wow's other databases are equally shallow.

Partly, this is because Wow is so new. Like the Microsoft Network in its early days, there's just not a lot happening yet. But Lex Crosett, vice president of technology development for CompuServe, told me that Wow would never offer the rich, deep information found on other on-line services. ``This is not a service for the power user,'' said Crosett.

Wow's strongest selling point is the price. At $17.95 a month for unlimited access, it's one of the cheapest on-line services in the land. By comparison, AOL or standard CompuServe costs $9.95 a month for five hours, and $2.95 for each additional hour.

Yet this great price is only a bargain if you're a heavy user. And I couldn't imagine spending very many hours on Wow.

- HIAWATHA BRAY, The Boston Globe

Net stops

* The National Association of Home Builders has a "home" on the Internet where it posts all kinds of information including buying and remodeling tips, and financing instructions. http: www.nahb.com.

* The Automotive Information Center, a provider of new vehicle product information, is displaying Car Care Council information on its AutoSite web page at http://www.autosite.com. It can also be viewed at http://www.autoshop-online com.

* Computer users worldwide will be able to access the first-ever underwater web site, view a live scientific expedition of marine ecosystems of the southern coast of Florida and chat with scientists living in an underwater laboratory when they call up the homepage of the Jason Project at http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/JASON.html. It can also be reached at http://aquarius.eds.com. Support software can be downloaded at http://www.edswest.com/jason.

To contribute to this column or to comment, call 981-3237 or 981-3393 or send E-mail to skelly2180@AOL.COM or rtimes1@roanoke.infi.net.

LENGTH: Medium:   82 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  COMPUSERVE. The first copies of Wow, the new on-line 
          service software from CompuServe, are inspected by Matt Piper, 
          quality control supervisor. color.