¢ o=o=o=o=o=¢¢ Delphi Warning¢¢ Here's an email message I received¢ from TOM ANDREWS. It should be taken¢ at face value as a warning that the¢ service described in it will cease on¢ January 1st, 2000. But beyond that,¢ it is a reflection of the constantly¢ shrinking number of ISPs that offer¢ text-based service. I see it as a¢ trend that will continue to affect us¢ adversely until one of two things¢ happens:¢¢ 1. We all use PCs, or Macs for¢ Internet access; or,¢¢ 2. Those in our community who¢ are developing more advanced¢ Internet access tools for¢ our 8-bits are successful.¢¢ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -¢¢ From: <TANDREWS16@delphi.com>¢ To: <asharkis@erols.com>¢ Subject: Delphi Access¢ Date: Saturday, October 23, 1999¢ 10:50 PM¢¢ It's probably too late to make your¢ last issue of the Ol' Hackers'¢ Newsletter, but here's a bit of news¢ that might be important:¢¢ Delphi Internet has announced that as¢ of January 1, 2000, members will no¢ longer be able to access Delphi's¢ Textside by direct dialing through¢ SprintNet or TymNet. Access will¢ still be available through an¢ Internet connection and Telnet, or by¢ direct dialing of Delphi's local¢ numbers. According to Dana Jacobsen,¢ Manager of Delphi's Atari Advantage¢ Forum, the problem rests with the¢ software used to make the SprintNet¢ and TymNet connections. This¢ software is not Y2K compliant, and¢ "no one seems interested in fixing¢ it."¢¢ There's little else to say. This¢ means that Genie will soon be the¢ only national online service that the¢ Atari 8-bit can use directly, and how¢ long Genie will last is anybody's¢ guess. One more nail in the coffin,¢ I guess. There is SLIP/PPP and¢ Telnet software available for the ST,¢ so I will continue to be able to use¢ Delphi's Textside, but none of the¢ programs my advisors have heard about¢ support uploading/downloading. The¢ Chrystal Atari Browser does support¢ up/down-loading, and the latest¢ version supports "cookies," so¢ perhaps I can work things around that¢ way. We'll see.¢¢ Tom¢¢ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -¢¢ Tom Andrews has raised a serious¢ question. As I've stated above,¢ there are two possible solutions to¢ the shrinking text-based Internet¢ access we can utilize with our 8-¢ bits. I've been using a PC for some¢ years now. It accomplishes many¢ things for me, including graphics-¢ based Internet access AND supporting¢ my Atari 8-bit hobby. But, I'd be¢ the LAST person to advocate buying a¢ PC for one function only. Sooner or¢ later, anyone who does is going to¢ find themselves over their heads in¢ technical stuff that didn't SEEM to¢ be related to Internet access when¢ they bought the machine.¢¢ What about WebTV? I'm still not¢ convinced that WebTV is the answer¢ for us 8-bitters who wish Internet¢ access. To my knowledge, only one or¢ two of our members are using it, and¢ they could probably tell us of their¢ experiences with it. I wish they¢ would.¢¢ Tom's message makes it clear that¢ neither Sprint, nor TymNet, nor¢ Delphi wish to make an investment in¢ new Unix-based software unless that¢ move will be paid for by the current¢ user base. I would imagine that the¢ user base in question is rather¢ small, anyway. Delphi states that it¢ is willing to continue the service¢ for those who can reach it by Telnet¢ or other Internet connection. That¢ implies that the user have another¢ ISP THAT PROVIDES SHELL ACCOUNTS with¢ a local access number -- something¢ that Tom won't need since he has an¢ ST, but something that many 8-bitters¢ will not be able to do. Delphi¢ probably knows that they will¢ eventually lose those users -- sad¢ for Delphi, but sadder for the¢ users!¢¢ Could a hobbyist with a Linux or Unix¢ background fix the software as a¢ public service? Apparently neither¢ TymNet, Delphi nor Sprint has¢ investigated this question to their¢ satisfaction.¢¢ What about the development of TCP/IP¢ stacks, PPP or SLIP connections and a¢ graphical browser for our 8-bits?¢ Once again, these are being worked on¢ by some in our community. Progress¢ is slow -- remember, we are all¢ hobbyists.¢¢ Can it happen some day? I hope it¢ does happen -- soon! Let's give¢ those guys some support. Watch¢¢ comp.sys.atari.8bit ¢and¢¢ comp.sys.atari.announce¢¢ for requests for beta testers, and then jump in and help those guys!¢¢ o=o=o=o=o=¢¢¢
