THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 18, 1995 TAG: 9512160176
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: DoubleClick
SOURCE: Richard Grimes and Roger Grimes
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
Doubleclick authors Richard and Roger Grimes of Virginia Beach happen to be twin brothers and computer authorities. Their discourse on life in the computer lane appears every other week in Hampton Roads Business Weekly.
Richard: Lots of people ask us whether they should buy a modem for their PC and hook up to the Internet or one of the several online services.
Roger: Yes.
Richard: That's the shortest response I've ever heard from Roger. That might have actually hurt him. But he's right. Having a computer without a modem is like having peanut butter without jelly, crime without punishment, Sigfried without Roy. . .
Roger: Sigfried without Roy?
Richard: That's right, Roger. I'm talking the death of high culture. Once connected with a modem, any online service provides access to hundreds of information databases. You can download a million free files, send e-mail, and argue about meaningless things in chat rooms.
Roger: The big question, naturally, is what service should people connect to? The debate is whether to choose from among CompuServe, American Online, Prodigy, Microsoft Network, or just freely surf the Internet.
Richard: Then again, you can do like the Grimes clan does and subscribe to them all.
Roger: Wow. What a great idea. Instead of paring our reader's options down to one or two economical choices, we can instead assume they're independently wealthy and can subscribe to all of the services. What are we waiting for? Let's send this baby off to the editors.
Richard: What can I say - I'm a problem solver. Actually, I didn't realize you had to pay for this stuff. Has it been this way a long time?
Roger: Using the Internet, usually means paying one monthly fee for a large amount of hours per month or a bit more for unlimited use. The Internet monthly fee ranges from $10 to $25. Online services, like American Online and Prodigy, cost a minimum of $8 to $10 per month plus $2-$4 per hour for an average number for hours beyond normal monthly use. And using special services, like Internet browsing, can cost extra.
Richard: Luckily, most of the online services let you sample their services without actually signing up. But if you don't have the time to sign up for a free membership with each service, just read this column. A general rule of thumb to remember is as the online networks provide more services, the more difficult it is to use. This applies to life, not just online services.
Roger: So, here is our review of the major online services:
AOL: Started in 1985 in Vienna, Va., membership has increased 15-fold to a kajillion users in three years; best interface, nice overall choice, easiest to use. It has an Internet connection, but we wouldn't call it a great one. Because it is so popular, getting around a busy signal during prime usage time (6-9 p.m.) should be expected. They don't call it America Onhold for nothing.
CompuServe: The original online service. Although good for home users, it is better for business users. The interface is much improved, but it can be difficult to navigate. It has the best depth of features, information and files outside of the Internet, but has way too many extra fees.
Prodigy: A Sears/IBM joint venture with a nice interface and lots of things to do. It's great for young kids because it's monitored for content, but there are too many commercials. Also, the software selection is limited compared to the others.
Microsoft Network: Well, it's pretty, anyway. Microsoft Networks has lots of information providers and great graphics, but man, it's slow sometimes. Also, Microsoft Network just got up and running, which means they're still working out the kinks. Wait a few months and let someone else be the guinea pig.
Internet: We'll give you the bad news first: The Internet is uncensored, difficult to navigate and requires more than one piece of software (unlike the other services). Now the good news: Although the Internet has nothing as comprehensive as a Yellow Pages, it does have several sources that can point you in the directions you need to go.
Nothing beats the Internet for features and knowledge. If you want to do teleconferencing for less than $100, the Internet can do it. If you want to make long distance calls without paying long distance charges, the Internet can do it. If you want to see something about scientific experiments conducted on Pop-Tarts, the Internet has it.
As for censorship, if your kid wants to find pornography, he or she will find it on the Internet. The same goes for the other online services, though they'd like you to think they're immune. The FBI, for instance, recently arrested several adults who were trading pornography on America Online. The solution online is the same as the solution offline - watch your kids.
One final argument for the Internet: job security. Look at the classified ads. If you see any ads that say ``must have America Online experience,'' go with America Online. We think you're more likely to see that people with Internet skills are getting some nice jobs.
Roger: Thanks to reader Norma F. Russo, who called me to suggest this column, and thanks goes out to the man who called Richard to suggest the same column. We'd publish your name, but Richard left his notes in his pants pocket and washed them. I'd criticize him, but it's nice to see him wearing clean clothes. MEMO: Sigfried can be reached at grogerinfi.net
Roy can be reached at rgrimesinfi.net
NERD BOX
How to sign-up:
CompuServe Information Service: 1-800-848-8199
American Online: 800-827-6364
Prodigy: 800-776-3449
Infinet (Internet Provider): 804-622-4289
Microsoft Network: Believe it or not, we couldn't find the phone
number anywhere. We'll be expecting a personal call from Bill.
The World Wide Web address is http://www.msn.com/. by CNB