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In Around and Online 94 10 28
(Posted to alt.online-service, alt.internet.services and alt.business)
In, Around and Online- Issue 8, Week Ending 10/28/94
=====================================================
Copyright (C) 1994 Robert Seidman. All rights reserved. May be
reproduced in any medium for noncommercial purposes.
What's New
==========
Since I'm sure some folks never make it to the end of this newsletter,
here is some info about this newsletter:
- I don't have an automated mailing list, but if you want to be on the
list, send Email to me at: robert@clark.net. Even though it is not
automated, if you put the word: SUBSCRIBE in the SUBJECT field, it will
be appreciated.
- Back issues are available via FTP at: ftp.clark.net in the pub/robert
directory. The text versions of the issues are dated. The current issue
will be labeled current.txt . All other issues will have a date such as:
101594.txt . Log in as anonymous and use your e-mail address for the
password. If you have access to FTP, please do not send me requests for
back issues.
- I have a page on the World Wide Web available for those of
you with access to a WWW browser. The address is:
http://www.clark.net:80/pub/robert/home.html
- I comb information from a variety of sources that include, Reuters,
Associated Press, PR Newswire and Business Wire. If you have a press
release that has just been issued, there's a high probability that I'll
get it from the PR Newswire. If you want to be sure that I get the
release, you can send it to me directly; I don't mind at all. Please
keep in mind that I consider this newsletter to be a current awareness
product. As such, if you've already sent me a press release, please don't
send it again unless there have been changes to the release.
I've noticed lately that some services and their partners distribute
press releases in such a fashion that I don't receive them early enough
to put notice in the newsletter. Example- Woody Allen appeared in an
interactive conference on America Online last night. I didn't get the
notification until the day before, so I could not include the information
in the newsletter. I'm considering doing two things- I could post this
information on my web page and I could send out e-mail to all of those on
the mailing list. I'm interested on any feedback you, the readers, may
have on receiving this sort of information.
And finally for personal reasons, this has been an especially difficult
week for me. I'd like to thank all that took the time to write in with
comments, etc., they helped take my mind off things and kept some focus
on my love for online services! On with the news...
Now It's Officially Vaporware!
==============================
Up to this point, the much rumored Microsoft online service project (code
name: MARVEL) was largely conjecture. Until recently, nobody from
Microsoft had released a statement on this service. This week, we got it
directly from Mr. Big. Or is that Mr. Bill? At the annual shareholders
meeting Mr. Gates confirmed ongoing speculation that Microsoft was
developing an online service.
According to the story by Reuters, while confirming the online project,
Gates expressed uncertainty about exactly what the content would be.
Gates said that some of the features of the online service would be
available in the next major beta release of Windows '95 that is scheduled
for distribution within the next 2 weeks.
Gate's said that initially the service would be unlike other services
available, but he did not give any details on how or why.
Ziff-Davis Sale
===============
As some of you may know, the Ziff family put the Ziff-Davis publication
powerhouse on the sales block earlier this year. In a surprise move, the
company was sold to a private investment firm, Forstmann Little & Co. for
$1.4 billion dollars CASH. It had been expected that one of the other
big publishing conglomerates would wind up acquiring Ziff-Davis.
So how does this effect the online services industry? It is sort of
confusing, but I'll give this a shot. Included in the sale of
Ziff-Davis, was Ziff-Davis Interactive (ZDI). Recently, ZDI was spun
into two separate organizations: Ziff-Davis Interactive and Interchange
Network Co. (INC). ZDI is responsible for providing content while INC is
responsible for developing the hardware and software platform for the
Interchange online service that is in testing. INC was not included in
the sale to Forstmann Little. Nor was a separate Ziff-Davis company-
Information Access Co. IAC, is a provider of publications databases. To
clarify, both IAC and INC. will be sold, but they were not a part of the
sale to Forstmann Little. Bidding closed at 5 p.m. on Thursday on INC
and other properties not included in the sale to Forstmann Little.
The affect of this sale on Interchange (scheduled for wide release later
this year) remains unclear. For now, according to everything I've read,
there will be no impact. There is apparently a 10 year deal between ZDI
and INC. Resources at Ziff-Davis Interactive have already been committed
to working with Interchange and there are no plans to change this. Rumor
mill speculation lists CompuServe, Knight-Ridder and Rupert Murdoch's
News Corp. (Delphi is a part of News Corp.) as potential suitors for
Interchange. Hmmmm...Delphi needs a new look FAST. Stay tuned...
America Online Updates
======================
America Online continues its hold on the "fastest growing on-line
service" title. This week, America Online announced that it has
surpassed the 1,250,000 customer mark. Seems like only 2 months ago they
were announcing that that they'd just hit the one million mark. That's
because it WAS only two months ago. Wow. Here's a snippet of what Steve
Case, President and CEO of America Online had to say in the press release:
"As we indicated in last week's announcement, America Online is the most
actively used consumer online service and the most popular provider of
Internet services. A year ago we were a distant third and now we are
poised to move into the lead."
I think he means it. I just hope that continued growth does not plague
them with system problems as they have in the past. They've had two
minor problems recently, that have had major impact. One is a glitch a
few weeks ago that caused Internet mail not to be delivered in some
cases. According to AOL, this problem has been identified and fixed. The
downside here is that e-mail to and from AOL over the internet often
takes a few hours. With the volume of mail they're dealing with, I can
understand the issue, but I've been spoiled. I hope they're working on
fine tuning this down so it is virtually instantaneous again. The other
problem has to do with stuck mail flags. If you're on AOL and think that
you SHOULD have mail but don't see any, do this:
- Windows and PC version users should just select "read new mail" under
the MAIL menu. If you have mail, it will display and reset the mail
flag. NOTE: I'm not sure if this problem is impacting any customers
other than MAC users, but I'm putting this here just in case!
- If you're on a MAC, try keyword: POSTOFFICE . If you're on the newest
(just released version), you'll go to a separate mail area where you can
click on "Read New Mail". This will allow you to read mail but it will
NOT reset your mail flag. To reset your mail flag or if you're not on
the newest version go to keyword: TECHLIVE (in the free area) and enter
row 11, 12, or 13 (these are the proper rows for mail flag issues) and
request that they reset your mail flag. Also, if you haven't received
the latest version, you can pick it up on the AOL BBS at 1-800-827-5808.
The BBS is not related to your AOL account, and both the phone call and
time spent on the BBS is free. I realize that the people who receive my
newsletter via e-mail on AOL will not see this if they were impacted by
this problem. Sort of like the "No Dogs Allowed- Except Seeing Eye Dogs"
signs.
Until this problem is fully repaired, one thing you can do to keep your
mail flag from getting stuck again is keep one piece of new mail in your
mailbox. This will keep the mail flow open. To do this, simply choose a
piece of mail, and mark it as unread. I love AOL, but depending on the
magnitude of this problem, I think they may have been grossly negligent
in informing the customer base. This could have been done easily enough
on the welcome screen. I guess it is difficult to admit there are
problems when you're a publicly held company whose stock price can be
impacted by admitting problems. Speaking of which...
America Online's stock soared on speculation of a stock split. Once the
2 for 1 split was announced, the stock settled down a to a little over
$68. As recently as two weeks ago, the stock was around $60- it got as
high as $72.50 amid all the speculation.
Prodigy Notes
=============
Alert Prodigy members who read this newsletter were quick to point out
that my summary of the new rates was just as confusing as the real rates-
in other words, darn confusing. I'm not going to try to clarify here,
however. Several alert readers noted that while the "Save to disk"
option would incur byte charges, the Print function, which allows you to
print to a file (effectively doing the same thing as "save to disk") does
NOT incur any byte charges.
Summary: Confusing billing methods and per character charges and the
minimums associated with them (i.e., a 200 byte message will still count
as 1,000 bytes) are dumb.
This week Prodigy also announced two new newspapers online, the Los
Angeles Times and New York's Newsday. Newspaper articles, information
pertinent to the local areas, links to AP Online and more... Prodigy
members can subscribe to these services for $4.95 per month. I have some
definite opinions of these endeavors, but need to do some more research.
Look for a feature story on the online newspapers soon.
Just when you thought it was safe to hang out on Prodigy, this week, they
officially announced their CHAT feature. Note to Women: no longer do you
have to rely on AOL to be asked: "Are you horny? What do you look like?
What are you wearing? Do you want to go private?" Note to Men:
There are women on Prodigy too. Give the gals on AOL a break and check
it out! Seriously though, as a former "chat meister" the chat rooms and
game rooms can be a lot of fun and you can meet a lot of really nice and
interesting people.
WHOOOPS!
========
Several weeks back I wrote about IBM's new OS/2 operating system WARP.
During final manufacturing, a significant bug in the install program was
caught. The bug centers around problems caused if a user has a file
called "config.bak" already in existence on their hard drive. IBM had
unfortunately shipped a few "pre-release" versions to the media. The
media hasn't been all that kind. IBM assures that versions being shipped
to retailers will not be affected. Some catalog retailers announced that
they were dropping the product from availability. IBM was looking to
take advantage of Microsoft's delays in releasing Windows '95. This is
an unfortunate embarrassment for IBM.
Last Week I said...
===================
... that I didn't think I should necessarily play judeg and jury for
what content went into the newsletter. This was a significant
overstatement on my part. There is a lot of stuff that doesn't get in
because I say so, and whatever does get in, gets in because, well, I think
it should be in. I was really responding to letters I'd received saying,
"I don't care about World Wide Web sites," or "I don't care about Prodigy,"
and the like. On a related note:
Joseph L. Dionne, Chairman and Chief Executive of McGraw-Hill, Inc. while
addressing the annual meeting of the Information Industry Association
called information the strategic weapon of our age, but warned of dangers
along the road to creating the Information Highway.
He said a lot of things that really caught my eye, but his quote
referencing "shovelware, the endless supply of raw and extraneous
data being dumped on the Information Highway at breakneck speed," jumped
out at me. "The editorial role -- to ensure editorial quality -- will be
a critical component in the ultimate success of the Information Highway."
Amen. Your continued comments are critical for seeing to it that this
newsletter does not become shovelware.
This Weeks Feature: The Big Three TV Networks are Online
========================================================
In recent months, the big three (ABC, NBC and CBS) have all shown up in
Cyberspace with online areas. CBS is available on Prodigy (jump: CBS)
and ABC and NBC are available on America Online (Keywords: ABC and NBC).
They all have common ground in offering users information about shows,
photos of the stars and other multimedia, feedback areas and message
boards. Each has its own useful tidbits. Unlike the newspapers, where I
could express some unfavorable opinions, each of the TV areas is well
thought out, fairly well organized and easy to use. All offer useful
information that can further your television viewing enjoyment.
In a nutshell, I liked them all. However, I am sort of a content freak
and to that end, they rank as follows:
First Place: ABC. The newcomer offers the most. There is so much
information here you could fill hours going through it. Something for
everyone. It is also the most stunning visually. Value added services
like interactive conferences with your favorite soap stars, college game
score update ticker in the auditorium on Saturdays and more, make this a
winner. Links to message board area for local affiliates.
Second Place: NBC. Similar to ABC. Just not as much of it. But, you
can't get a GIF of Michael Richards "Kramer" from Seinfeld on ABC, so
this is the place to come for Seinfeld fans. Okay, okay, so I was more
interested in Julia Louis-Dreyfus' GIF.
Third Place: CBS. Similar to ABC and NBC, but still less content. But,
CBS has David Letterman and this is an easy way for Prodigy subscribers
to get access to Dave's Top Ten lists.
Just as with real TV, all the networks are worth a look for different
reasons.
SHORT TAKES
===========
VOTERS MEET IN CYBERSPACE is how Capital Connection, a new area on AOL
was billed in its press release. Kind of an aggregate of a lot of
different areas of the system that were already available in a "one stop
shopping" format. Worth a look at Keyword: CAPITAL .
LIVE ON THE NET you'll soon be able to talk to authors, visionaries and
policy makers during the "Internet Roundtable" Officially starting on
November 2nd on the IRC at #Podium . For more information by web:
http://www.IRsociety.com, by e-mail: staff@fununiv.com , by FTP:
Irsociety.com , and by GOPHER at: IRsociety.com 150 .
REUTERS announces a monthly magazine especially for users of online
services. Reuters Photojournalism (TM) is available online via
CompuServe by typing GO NEWSPIX then choosing the Photojournalism
Magazine library section. Online users can view the magazine with the
Farallon Computer Inc. document-viewing program called Replica. Users
may download both the magazine, available in Windows and Macintosh
formats, and the viewer utility.
HORSE RACING enthusiasts can get information about November's Breeders'
Cup races on the World Wide Web at: http://iglou.com/breeders-cup.html .
NOVALINK ANNOUNCES SUPERNOVA software that gives you a Mosaic browser for
the NovaLink Online service. I'll be honest, I'd never even heard of
these guys. But looks like they're first with Mosaic. Any NovaLink
users, please let me know what this service is all about. For information
on subscribing to NovaLink, call 800-274-2814
MOSAIC COMMUNICATIONS CORP. (the guys and gals who gave us NetScape for
FREE) announced that it has become a founding member of the W3
Consortium, the World Wide Web organization created by the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) in October of this year. The consortium is
aimed at establishing international standards for client and server
protocols that enable online commerce and communications on the Internet.
LAURIE ANDERSON is set to host the Halloween edition of Warner Records'
CYBERTALK. On America Online, this Halloween at 9:30 p.m. eastern.
THE FAST-forward world of advertising and marketing is easy to stay on
top of now that Ad Age/Creativity Online has joined Apple Computer,
Inc.'s eWorld.
HALL OF HAUNTS is available to GEnie members at Gallery 44, an exhibit of
original artwork by Genie member artists. Check it out at keyword:
GALLERY .
GET AWAY FROM IT ALL by going to CLUB MED. Brochure available now via
the World Wide Web via Wired Magazine's HOTWIRED Service. You'll have to
register for HOTWIRED first (it is free) at: http://www.hotwired.com
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT the world didn't have enough lawyers: When it comes
to managing the common legal issues of wills, bankruptcy, divorce and
personal injury claims, consumers and small business owners can now get
help online through the Nolo Press self-help law center on Apple
Computer, Inc's eWorld .
See you next week.
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"In, Around and Online"-A Weekly Summary of Consumer Online Services
Robert Seidman http://www.clark.net:80/pub/robert/home.html
robert@clark.net Anon FTP: ftp.clark.net pub/robert
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