Hey Bill:
-=> Quoting Bill Cheek to JOHN GARDNER <=-
 BC> I am still a member of Compu$erve and MSN and have been on and off of
 BC> AOL several times, starting way back when it was originally "Apple On
              ...................................
 BC> I retain my Compu$erve membership solely
 BC> because nowhere else can I get a full blown Web Site, volume-free, for
 BC> $10/month.  I loathe the service for anything and everything else.
 BC> I would guess that these Information Services are okay for the green
 BC> weenie entry level networker......I mean, in most cases, you get some
I am also a CIS member (I keep my membership for different reasons
), but I agree with you completely....as an ISP they suck -- and I
can't see any of the other information services being any better.  For
'rookies' they are good, and I used CIS for a (very) few months while
I got my feet wet.  Once I decided that I wanted i-net access I got a
'real' ISP.
I *do* think that they serve a useful purpose though, in terms of the
product support facilities and discussion groups that are available
there.  Personally, I prefer moderated msg areas to the newsgroups.
At least you don't have to worry about keeping your asbestos underwear
close at hand .
 BC> These guys are not always best for the green
 BC> weenie because they often won't pass the time of day with ya......you
 BC> got a problem, you fix it.
I agree that the locals are generally the best way to go....but they'd
better be prepared to recognize when *they* might have 'improved'
something and broken my connection!  And be ready to fix it.
 BC> The better ISP's don't give a shit one way or the
 BC> other.....and have their systems set up to allow any and all "client"
 BC> packages...independent of brand name of hardware or software.
That's exactly how it *should* work, right?  Or at least tell me
coming in if there's a platform (s/w or h/w) that you *don't* support.
Don't tell me after I sign up that "I'm sorry but we don't
support...."   After all, the software that I use to dial and make the
SLIP/PPP connection *should* be transparent from the server end.
Shouldn't matter if it's Win 3.x, Win95, Os/2, Unix, or whatever.
 BC> In a word, I think radio itself is on the way out.  After all, what is
 BC> the purpose of radio?  Communication?  Right.  And there are better
 BC> tools and means for communication now than radio as we know it.
 BC> My two-cents, anyway..........
Do you think that scanning as we know it is going to disappear? (Aside
from aviation, anyway).  That'd be a pisser.  :-(
Doug
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