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Sender: null@tapcis.com Received: from andromeda.miworld.net (andromeda.miworld.net [205.252.202.5]) by hil-img-1.compuserve.com (8.6.10/5.950515) id MAA08920; Fri, 30 Aug 1996 12:24:46 -0400 Received: from pm1-26.miworld.net by andromeda.tapcis.com (NTList 3.02.09) id ea002682; Fri, 30 Aug 1996 12:22:52 -0400 Date: Fri, 30 Aug 96 12:18:15 -0400 Sender: Rick Wilkes <Publisher@tapcis.com> From: Rick Wilkes <Publisher@tapcis.com> To: Subject: All About CompuServe 206 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT X-Mailer: ExpressIT! 2000 (Hydra) SMTP v1.02.15 Message-Id: <16223129902042@tapcis.com> Organization: Support Group, Inc. X-Info: The independent "All About... CompuServe" Newsletter X-Unsubscribe: Send a message to INTERNET: Unsubscribe@tapcis.com X-ListMember: 76703.4242@compuserve.com [AboutCIS@tapcis.com] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ All About... CompuServe August 30, 1996 ABOUTCIS.206 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- IN THIS ISSUE --- TOP STORY Outages, Outages, Everywhere! COMPUSERVE NEWS BRIEFS CompuServe Posts Loss; Membership Declined During Last Quarter International Membership Grows; Network Improvements Being Made The New "NISA" Mail System Status of Alpha Mail Addresses Customer Service Options: CSLIVE and CATSS INTERNET NEWS BRIEFS Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 & Netscape 3.0 Released NEW FORUMS Adult Chat Forum (CIS:CHATAFOR) Bethesda Softworks Forum (CIS:BETFORUM) Columbia Forum (CIS:CHCA) Corel France Forum (CIS:CORELFR) Corel Netherlands Forum (CIS:CORELNL) Corel Scandinavia Forum (CIS:CORELSCA) Cruise Forum (CIS:CRUISE) Erotic Literature Forum (CIS:EROTICA) FinancialAlert ONLINE Forum (CIS:FINALERT) General Chat Forum (CIS:CHATBFOR) LANSource Tech Forum (CIS:LANTECH) Netherlands Entertainment Forum (CIS:NLENTER) Netherlands Internet Forum (CIS:NLINTERN) Poetry Forum (CIS:POETRY) Quarterdeck Internet Forum (CIS:QDINTR) Quarterdeck Utilities Forum (CIS:QDUTIL) SF/Fantasy Literature Two Forum (CIS:SFLITTWO) Weight Management Forum (CIS:GOODDIET) Worship Center Forum (CIS:CWS-4) New Sections & Vendor Organization in the GO GRAPHICS Area --- GIF Animation Character Animation Graphics Hardware Vendor Forum (CIS:GHARDVEN) Graphics Software Vendor Forum (CIS:GSOFTVEN) Animation Vendors Forum (CIS:ANIMVEN) Imaging Vendors Forum (CIS:IMAGVEN) NEW SERVICES Find-IT! Search Center (CIS:FINDIT) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ === TOP STORY === OUTAGES, OUTAGES, EVERYWHERE! America Online was under the klieg lights recently when all its customers were blocked from accessing the service all day long due to a software configuration problem during maintenance. Then... Microsoft released Internet Explorer 3.0 on the 13th. I tried downloading it from their Web site, succeeded after trying 5 separate servers, but I never could find a server that would let me download the NetMeeting software. They kept refusing the connection or telling me the file wasn't found. The server that did try and send the file transmitted 8K and stopped. Naturally, the two bugs I reported in Beta 1 and Beta 2 had not been fixed. What's going on?? Here on CompuServe, many of us are having significant trouble accessing some forums and uploading and downloading large files. The transition to a new internal architecture at CompuServe is not going smoothly. "NISA" forums, running on the Microsoft NT network that CompuServe is installing, are far less reliable than the "old faithful" forums of past years. Even those forums have seen degradation in reliability as the load on them has increased (which is the driving force behind the move to a new architecture). While sporadic outages on CompuServe have not blocked all access for everyone, the problems are real and not Your Fault. Like getting stuck on a packed airplane next to a crying baby... You try to take some comfort from the fact that it can't go on like this FOREVER.... When we look at technology from a broader perspective, we see that even where humans put an intense amount of energy into safety and reliability, we still have failures. Airplanes break up in flight. Cars and trucks lose their brakes. And these are mature technologies that have been refined for decades. The online world is plagued by rapid obsolescence and raging growth. We do not get the luxury of having a deep level of understanding and years of experience with ANYTHING before it is replaced... must be replaced. Companies are racing to keep up with the growing demand for services. Competition is fierce in all areas. Reliability suffers-- has to suffer--when companies like Netscape and Microsoft push the technology envelope with their browsers while reducing development and testing cycles. I do expect to see a high level of reliability in online communications... someday. But not until after the turn of the century. What do we do until then, since most of these issues are beyond our personal control? First, we need to be aware of the underlying instability of all these networked systems. Like a relay race with two-year-olds, you just can't count on the baton reaching the finish line right now. Mission critical work--whether your e-mail or your NetMeetings--require backup plans that are as immune as possible to single points of failure (like AOL going off the air for a day or your ISP's connection to the Internet failing). We might also evaluate our individual willingness to participate in such a rapidly evolving technology. It requires a lot more time, energy, and potential frustration than it should. I personally feel it is worth it. I am enjoying my online time more now than ever before--despite the daily struggles large and small. Not everyone feels like I do, and while it gives the marketing folks fits when I say this... you don't HAVE to be online. It's a choice, one that comes with certain inherent risks. At least it is less hazardous than smoking (although some say just as addicting <grin>). My next suggestion may be a little harder to swallow: I believe that the key to enjoying the online world, as well as employing these technologies for useful business purposes, requires that we mentally prepare ourselves for the inevitable failures. My staff and I have seen too many people lose their sanity over a modem that wouldn't connect or an e-mail message that was lost. At the same time we're bracing ourselves for these failures, we still move towards the ultimate goal. We want these systems to be robust, reliable, self-correcting, and dirt simple to use. Anything less "isn't good enough." I'd like to finish this article with a personal note. My commitment is to YOU, not to CompuServe. My financial future is not tied to CIS, nor even to this newsletter. My intent is to give you the facts, as accurately as I can perceive them, and let you make the choices. I am personally distressed by the technical difficulties on CompuServe right now, and the effect they are having on our communities. Yet, I am an active Internet user, too. I am intimately involved in the trials and tribulations of two local ISP's. If there were a safe haven anywhere, I'd tell you. I haven't found one. All sites seem to have intermittent problems. People on all systems hit difficulties getting their mail, communicating with others, and downloading files. Yet, the other day after scouring hundreds of Web sites with limited success, I asked a question about contact managers in the TAPCIS Forum S14/Looking for. I was referred to the Office Automation Forum (CIS:OAFORUM) where I was able to get pointers in the right direction, and significant advice from one person who could have easily charged me for his expertise. There is tremendous value in our forum communities here on CompuServe. Let's try to keep that in mind as we're annoyed and aggravated by the dust and noise from all the construction. --- COMPUSERVE NEWS BRIEFS --- COMPUSERVE POSTS LOSS; MEMBERSHIP DECLINED DURING LAST QUARTER CompuServe posted a loss of $29.6 million during the past three months, and although they added 900,000 new accounts, they lost slightly more than that. They have laid off 150 people, and are also restructuring their operations to reduce costs. The stock price drop to around $12/share (from $33) has resulted in a class-action lawsuit by IPO investors. The spin-off of the remaining 80% of CompuServe to H&R Block stockholders has also been put on hold. CIS has had a rough couple of months.... Clearly, this is a transition period. If all CompuServe forums and services were already Web browser accessible, the membership numbers would likely be different. But right now, the information service is in an awkward place. They've lost some content, such as the Intel Forums, Rolling Stone, and a few others who have moved to the Web. At the same time, new forums and services are opening... but are hampered by being solely under the proprietary service and inaccessible to those that have chosen "the Internet" as their home. Many have pointed to America Online's success in contrast to CompuServe's stagnation. AOL has plastered America with sign-up disks, and they have communicated FAR more effectively with their members and the press than CIS management has. Their basic access software is generally recognized by users as being easy to use and visually interesting, even though AOL "forums" are quite poorly structured compared to CIS ones. In my mind, the defining difference is that CompuServe was originally built by professionals--mostly independent service providers such as forum sysops--for a more serious audience. As the service has broadened, management has placed more attention on mass appeal services, and has also lowered end-user pricing to the point where independent professionals are unlikely to be able to "make a living" from their share of forum revenues... much less have money to invest in acquiring content, hiring assistants, etc. Many valuable contributors have lost their enthusiasm or left the service altogether. I'd like to see that trend reversed. CompuServe does have a future, but it will be quite different from what it has been in the past, with greater segmentation to appeal to the different audiences. I see access to a broad variety of company- sponsored forums and services being available for a fixed monthly fee--for all you can eat. Recently announcements from CIS make it clear that advertising will be a big part of such free services-- extra revenue they will need in order to return to profitability. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that I have spoken with are losing money or barely breaking even on basic unlimited access for $19.95/month or less. Clearly, there isn't much money left over to support valuable content creation from such low monthly fees alone. So at the same time we see a rise in the number of free, high quality, advertising supported sites, I believe we'll also see an emerging class of professional, fee-based services. We see this already on CompuServe with forums like the International ProTrade Forum and the Non-Profit Forum, where access is limited to those who pay an additional monthly fee. This does create a more controlled audience within those forums which appeals to professionals who don't want to be spammed or have to weed through junk like they would on a USENET newsgroup. At the same time, there is revenue generated to support the hundreds of hours of effort that goes into running such a forum each month. CompuServe will likely want to "aggregate" those professional service forums and Web sites into packages, just like satellite TV companies do, offering different tiers and combinations to appeal to specific interests. CompuServe said that they do not want you to be "nickeled and dimed to death" as you visit Internet sites, so they will be looking to compete with other aggregators to give you the best possible package for your money. Let me state again that I do expect forums to continue, and I expect them to thrive on the Internet. We will see vibrant, supportive communities on the 'net--some public and some private, some free and some for-a-fee. CompuServe still has an excellent shot at succeeding in providing the technology and infrastructure to support such communities. The next six months will determine whether they will succeed or not. INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIP GROWS; NETWORK IMPROVEMENTS BEING MADE CompuServe's international membership grew by 5% to over one million members as of July 31st. CIS also completed a major installation of European-based Internet connectivity. They plan to aggressively support ISDN access in Germany and the U.K. as well. THE NEW "NISA" MAIL SYSTEM All new CIS accounts are receiving their mail through the New Information Service Architecture (NISA) host computers. As these systems scale up to meet the demands of millions of users, there have been some significant problems accessing some mailboxes. If this has happened to you, one trick you can try is to first connect to CompuServe using WinCIM. After you connect, use Mail | Get New Mail. If you hit a problem, you might need to re-try several times. If you have consistent problems, or want to return to the older mail servers for the time being, empty your mailbox of any mail and then GO OLDMAIL to switch back. STATUS OF ALPHA MAIL ADDRESSES As many of you know, CompuServe announced that they would be supporting alphabetic "names" in addition to user ID numbers for receiving mail. Many of you already reserved your names by posting an Ourworld homepage or using the GO REGISTER service. CompuServe has yet to announce a new schedule for aliases, and the U.K. CompuServe magazine "Go..." says that this feature has been delayed until new Internet-mail based servers are installed (as part of the Red Dog initiative covered in AboutCIS Issue #203). That service is "unlikely to be available for several months." CUSTOMER SERVICE OPTIONS: CSLIVE and CATSS Customer Service Live (GO CSLIVE) has expanded its hours to 7am to 1am Eastern time, Monday through Friday. This is the best place to get your questions answered, and it is free of connect time. A new automated technical support system was also recently installed. It has a menu-driven series of recordings. Call toll free 1-888-889- CATS, or from outside the U.S. call +1-614-457-8650. Honestly, we tried and did not receive much useful information from this service. CSLive or the usual CompuServe Tech Support at 1-800-848-8990 are better choices. --- INTERNET NEWS BRIEFS --- MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER 3.0 & NETSCAPE 3.0 RELEASED If you are at all active on the Internet, you already know that Microsoft and Netscape are fighting The Browser Wars. Both rushed out 3.0 versions of their software this month--bugs and all. Microsoft has already issued a patch to IE 3.0. You can download Internet Explorer from CompuServe at GO INTEXPLORER or http://www.microsoft.com/ie/. It is available right now only for Windows 95 and NT 4.0. Later this year Mac and Win 3.1 versions will be posted. IE 3.0 is the browser that will be integrated with CompuServe 3.0 when it is released this fall. Netscape 3.0 is not available in the CompuServe download area GO NETSCAPE yet. Version 2.02 is offered there. You can download it from http://www.netscape.com/. Personally, I think Microsoft will eventually dominate the browser market because: Internet Explorer... ...is FREE! ...is distributed with Win 95 and Win NT. ...is going to become an integral part of the operating system. ...is incorporated in CompuServe 3.0, AOL's new software, et al. ...is finally a Good browser in its 3.0 version. COMPUSERVE.COM: ALL ABOUT "WEBCASTS" Imagine if you were in an online conference with a celebrity, but instead of watching their typed words crawl across your screen, you could actually hear the person talking. That scenario is already a reality, on the World Wide Web's "NetChat with Eliot Stein." This one-hour "Webcast" talk show, which you listen to via the RealAudio stream-audio player software, brings you celebrities, experts, and authors discussing their careers, books, and issues of the day. Says host Stein, "In a regular online chat, you can't hear the inflections, you can't sense what they're excited about or what makes them angry or happy." Read all about NetChat, listen to Stein talk about the show via embedded sounds, and tune in to some of NetChat's recent programs right now in the Entertainment section of the CompuServe home page at http://www.compuserve.com/. The story, one of many features awaiting you at compuserve.com, also explains and links you to selected Webcasts elsewhere on the Net. To visit Stein's show business-related forums and services on CompuServe, GO HOLLYWOOD. --- NEW FORUMS --- Adult Chat Forum (CIS:CHATAFOR) If you are at least 18 years of age and you're looking for adult-oriented conversation online, you may want to checkout the Adult Chat Forum. Members younger than 18, or those who prefer a non-adult environment, should visit CHATBFORUM instead. The library contents here range from useful programs and utilities to color photos and video clips of forum members. Note to parents: If you have children who access the service, you may bar their access to this adult-oriented forum--GO CONTROLS for details. Bethesda Softworks Forum (CIS:BETFORUM) Need a program update, the latest game information, or just want to chat with other players of Arena, Daggerfall, Future Shock, Tenth Planet or other game creations of Bethesda Softworks? Bethesda Softworks is offering online technical support here, and the libraries are filled with patches, demos, screen shots, press releases, and user contributions. Be sure to check out new GIF's like TREX2 in LIB 7. These are super VGA images from SKYNET, the exciting modem/network play add-on for FUTURE SHOCK. Columbia Forum (CIS:CHCA) The Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation Forum is provided to assist CompuServe members in the management of individual health issues. With the goal of becoming the premier health information service online, Columbia forum invites all CompuServe members (regardless of experience level) who have an interest in health related topics to take part in the message sections on Cancer, Diabetes, Infertility, Cardiology, Pediatrics, and more. Corel France Forum (CIS:CORELFR) Corel Netherlands Forum (CIS:CORELNL) Corel Scandinavia Forum (CIS:CORELSCA) These forums were brought online to provide native language technical support to users of international versions of Corel software products. Cruise Forum (CIS:CRUISE) Whether you're interested in the deck plans of a certain cruise ship or the finest way to get to a specific port, the Cruise Forum probably has what you need. If you drop anchor here you can talk with someone who has just returned from a cruise you're considering, or you can send a message to one of the cruise line's execs. You'll find a complete library of photos of ships, public rooms, cabins, member-written reviews, and other helpful files. In fact, the libraries contain files of information on just about everything relating to cruising, including ship's menus, sailing schedules, activity schedules, and facilities both shipboard and off. There's something here for every new or experienced cruiser. Erotic Literature Forum (CIS:EROTICA) The Erotic Literature Forum is a professional forum for readers and writers of erotic literature and associated arts. Accessible by permission only (write *Sysop to request admittance) are sections "14 Male/Female Erotica", section "15 Lesbian Erotica","16 Gay Male Erotica", and section '17 Mixed and Matched (Bi-/Mixed Gender Groups/TS/TG/etc.)". In the Graphics & Comics library 13, you can post original erotic art work, comics (single panels, strips or series) or photos you would like to share. Check WELCOME.13 in library 13 for uploading guidelines. FinancialAlert ONLINE Forum (CIS:FINALERT) Managed by The FinancialALERT Publishing Company, the forum contains general investment information. You'll find investment market and product information with performance data, industry association news, and quantitative as well as qualitative financial and investment research for the Pacific Region. Information providers include Sovereign Assurance, Armstrong Jones, Tower Trust Services, Norwich, Westpac Financial Services, National Mutual, FPG Research, FinancialALERT Magazine, Insurance Advisors Association, and the Association of Investment Advisors & Financial Planners Inc. General Chat Forum (CIS:CHATBFOR) A pleasant place with a family atmosphere for members to chat and enjoy the intelligent exchange of ideas can be found in the General Chat Forum. Libraries here contain a variety of helpful files, and the Gallery Libraries are packed with pictures of fellow Chat Forum members. Conference rooms are always open and a friendly Conference Host is usually there to make you feel at home and answer your questions. You might want to watch for announcements of scheduled chats as well. LANSource Tech Forum (CIS:LANTECH) LANSource Tech Forum is operated by Tech Support Services at LANSource Technologies whose products include WINport, FAXport, and RASport. Netherlands Entertainment Forum (CIS:NLENTER) NL Entertainment Forum is the place to find all kinds of information about music, dance, theater, television and much more in the Netherlands and other places around the world. In most of the message sections, the language is Dutch, but members are welcome to participate and reply in English. Netherlands Internet Forum (CIS:NLINTERN) Dutch speaking members with questions relating to Internet issues or those looking for interesting files to download will want to check in at Netherlands Internet Forum. Here, too, the main language used is Dutch but English messages are welcome. Poetry Forum (CIS:POETRY) The Poetry Forum is part of the Literary Forum Group (LITERARY, WRITERS, PREVIEW, ROMANCE, POETRY, and EROTICA Forums). The Poetry Forum emphasizes the writing of poetry, but it is equally home to those who simply love to read. Quarterdeck Utilities Forum (CIS:QDUTIL) Quarterdeck Internet Forum (CIS:QDINTR) The Quarterdeck Forum has split into the Quarterdeck Utilities Forum (CIS:QDUTIL) covering QEMM, Cleansweep, Hijaak, and Desqview, and the Quarterdeck Internet Forum (CIS:QDINTR) covering the Internet Suite, WebAuthor, WebCompass, and others. Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature TWO (CIS:SFLITTWO) This is a place for news, views and reviews of the latest from the SF, Fantasy and Horror front. Reviews of books, news from the publishing world, and access to literally tens of thousands of others who share your interests can be found here. Weight Management Forum (CIS:GOODDIET) Looking for answers or encouragement? The Weight Management Forum deals with a broad range of issues, from medical realities to low-fat cooking tips and from there to reviews of many of the current books and magazines dealing with weight management strategies. Most important is the support and encouragement that you'll find because that's what the forum is all about. It's a global community of caring people who are interested in helping others reach and maintain their weight management objectives. Worship Center Forum (CIS:CWS-4) This forum is devoted to discussion of various aspects of worship and to providing resources for the worship leader. If you participate in or are responsible for leading a form of worship for your congregation or church, this is the forum for you. Here you can find conversations on just about every worship-related topic. In the Worship Center Forum you will find many friendly and helpful people, as well as many useful files and programs, and regularly scheduled live conferences, where you can chat with other members about the issues, tasks, and responsibilities of being a worship leader. New Sections & Vendor Organization in the GO GRAPHICS Area --- GIF is ideal for short animated clips, and in the new "GIF Animation!" section #22 in Computer Animation Forum (GO COMANIM), you can stop by and pick up what you need to know and the software to do it with. In section #21 of the same forum, you can learn about character animation, primarily in 3D. The discussions range from "what is the best animation package" to making a character more believable by modifying the timing of its motion. The Graphics Vendor forums have been renamed and restructured as well. The new forums are: Graphics Hardware Vendor Forum (CIS:GHARDVEN) for video card and graphics hardware manufacturers. Graphics Software Vendor Forum (CIS:GSOFTVEN) for authors of general-purpose graphics programs. Animation Vendors Forum (CIS:ANIMVEN) for companies with animation, authoring and virtual-reality support needs. Imaging Vendors Forum (CIS:IMAGVEN) for image <--> television conversion, non-linear video editing, toolkit/programming and digital imaging companies. Many of the vendors that used to be in the individual graphics vendor forums GRVENA, GRVENB, and GRVENC have been moved. If you don't find the vendor you're looking for, check in the most appropriate forum listed above. [[ Our complete list of public CompuServe forums is updated each month. FORUMS.LST is available from Lib 16 of the TAPCIS Forum, as well as from many other forums on CompuServe. ]] --- NEW SERVICES --- Find-IT! Search Center (CIS:FINDIT) Find-IT! is a jumping off point for searches of various kinds on CompuServe and the Internet. Here are the menu choices: Research FAQs Internet Research Sites Research Forum Reference Shelf (encyclopedia, dictionaries, almanacs) Finding a Job Buying a Car Locating a Person Planning a Trip Maintaining your Computer (Computing support directory) Investment and Financial Business and Professional Home and School Ask Customer Service Research Specials (discounts and promotions) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "All About... CompuServe" is a monthly electronic newsletter that we'd be delighted to deliver directly to you via e-mail. Our "news briefs" tell you what is happening. Then, we explain how to take advantage of CompuServe's many resources, and help you master the software you use to access the service. To join the mailing list, send a message to: INTERNET: subscribe@tapcis.com To leave this mailing list, send a message to: INTERNET: unsubscribe@tapcis.com This is a "shareware" newsletter with a one-time $12 subscription fee--once we have proven to you that we're worth it! You can continue to receive it free for as long as you'd like. If you do decide to support its publication, you can order via major credit card to the address below or use CompuServe's CIS:SWREG service, ID #7072. Thank you for supporting us! ** We also offer toll free technical support on most CompuServe-related topics for $1.50/minute with no minimum--and your satisfaction is guaranteed or there is no charge. We have been active in the CompuServe community--helping members make the most of their online time and money--since 1986. We also publish the automated access program (navigator) TAPCIS(R). Suggestions and questions for future issues are encouraged! Support Group, Inc., Phone 1-800-USA-GROUP (872-4768) 24445 Garrett Highway 1-301-387-4500 McHenry, MD 21541-0130 USA Fax 1-301-387-7322 CompuServe 74020,10 Internet: TAPCIS@cis.compuserve.com All opinions and commentary are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of CompuServe or its content providers. Rick Wilkes 76701,23 Publisher@tapcis.com Entire contents Copyright (c) 1996, Support Group, Inc.