NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #30/NN_1992_30.iso/spool/misc/consumer/20872

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-20 | 3.4 KB

Xref: sparky misc.consumers:20872 misc.misc:4119 comp.sys.mac.comm:12204 comp.sys.mac:540 comp.sys.ibm.pc:1006
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.misc,comp.sys.mac.comm,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Path: sparky!uunet!noc.near.net!nic.umass.edu!umassd.edu!hshubs
From: [e-mail] (Howard S Shubs)
Subject: Re: PRODIGY New and improved STILL SUCKS, HORRIBLE as before
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail] (USENET News System)
Organization: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 07:44:35 GMT
Lines: 63

In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Adam Lasnik) writes:

>In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Zach, the Lego Maniac) writes:

>>DON'T use Prodigy, well not unless you dont care that other people may
>>be snooping on *YOUR* files. I just read on alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk
>>something about Prodigy uploading stuff from peoples HD's. I think the
>>EFF has more info.

>The perception, in part, was caused by dos-idiots noticing "pieces of their
>text files" embedded in a cache file created by Prodigy.  The "pieces of info"
>were just deleted text segments that DOS took over when a new file was
>created.  Forgive me for my inelegant response.  I'm paying long distance
>costs to access this, so I'm not gonna try to go into more detail.

Have you ever re-used a black board?  Some of it has been used, so you use
another part, right?  That's what seems to happen with Prodigy <gag>.
They create a large file to hold temporary data, but they don't bother
to "erase the board" until they need part of it.  When they need to write
something, they just over-write whatever is already there.  No biggie.  My
feeling is that this is not a reason to not use Prodigy.

There are plenty of -other- reasons to not use Prodigy.  I gave them a shot
when they first ported to the Macintosh.  The interface was horrible, and
their program couldn't co-exist with other things on my machine.  So I tossed
it the heck out.

Later, they sent me a "we've changed, give us another try" mailing.  I did.
I could not detect a significant difference.  The software ran with Multi-
Finder, but it still took over and had that horrible slow interface, and
had commercials for things I'd never need, and services I to this day see
no purpose in paying extra for just to use them via Prodigy.

I can use a travel agent.  I don't trust Sears with my banking information,
let alone IBM.  I can do my own food shopping.  I have access to Internet,
and I don't need someone checking each posting I make for its acceptibility
to TPTB.

I echo the message of an earlier poster ([e-mail])
and ask why we should use Prodigy and pay through the nose to have less
service than we already do.


>P.S. Methinks Imran holds stock in Compu$erve.

Could be... he didn't have a disclaimer about that.


>Prodigy has:
>---stronger and more utilized bulletin boards

Than Internet?  That's very funny.


>--More services offered for a flat fee

Again, than Internet?


>--Plans to open an internet connection within 3 months.

I wonder if they're going to try to review every message to and from the
Internet, and how much extra they're going to charge for the service.