(Excerpts from a message dated 09-27-99, David Noon to Murray Lesser)

Hi David--

ML>As you may remember, IBM sold this operation to AT&T last year for a
ML>mess of pottage and several other considerations.

ML>                           ... I downloaded an e-mail from ibm.net
ML>discussing the changeover from my ibm.net account to an equivalent
ML>AT&T account, which would take place starting Oct 1, this year. 
ML>(Forwarding service will be available until Oct 1, 2000.)

ML>    It appears that the newly constituted AT&T Business Internet
ML>Services will provide "the technology" (and services available) of
ML>the former IBM Internet Connection Services (prices not quoted).  I
ML>gather that I must point my browser to the page mentioned before Oct
ML>1, or I will be swept automatically into WorldNet, which I will be
ML>unable to access :-(.

    Back from a week at sea (the Straights of Georgia, between Vancouver
Island and the mainland) and two weeks touring California, I attempted
to reach the Web page advertised in the announcement.

    Please be advised that I use MR/2 ICE as an off-line Inet
reader/writer, and that I have WebEx set as the browser to use when I
"click" on a Web URL.  (I use the Web mainly for downloading software
that doesn't seem to be available otherwise, and I have found WebEx to
be most efficient at this task.)  However, it seems that WebEx is not
suitable for telling ibm.net that I don't want to be placed amongst the
AT&T AIHU WorldNet customers!

    WebEx gave me a pop-up to the effect that the site the server sent
me to was no longer in use, so it abandoned the link!  I spent about 20
minutes fussing around with the Web (using WebEx) to no avail (my usual
frustrating experience when I try to get information off the Web), just
going around in circles and unable to "link" from the ibm.net "home
page" to anything useful.  Then, it occurred to me to try NetScape 2.02.
When I entered the official URL (manually), the pop-up told me that I
was entering a "secured" area and did I want to continue.  After
punching "Y", I was asked for name, rank, and serial number, which I
supplied.  I was then told that I was now registered for AT&T Business
Internet Services, and that I had nothing further to do.

    We shall see come October 1.  If you get nothing from me by e-mail
shortly thereafter, it will mean that I have lost the Internet to
AT&T/IBM nonsense :-(.

    I guess such loss isn't necessarily permanent.  Several respondents
to my original post in this topic told me that it was possible to log on
to the AT&T AIHU network either from DOIP or Injoy, but none volunteered
as to how to do it.  (I was given the AT&T home-page URL, but wasn't
told how to reach it if I didn't have any internet service!)  But, there
is always one of the local ISPs, who offer great rates if I guarantee
never to wander from home (and, presumable, if I switch to Windows).

DN>Given this overhead, I will likely change to some other ISP and use
  >that address as the new support mailbox.

DN>Unless IBM is wanting to reuse the ibm.net domain -- and why would
  >they? -- I cannot understand why AT&T insists on removing the
  >forwarding after a year. I guess their marketing guys felt that it
  >reflected too accurately the origins of the company's "professional
  >quality" operation.

     Don't forget that AT&T is now being run by a person who didn't
quite make it to the top of the IBM peerage.

DM> * MR/2 2.25 #353 * Explain "counterclockwise" to someone with a
  >digital watch.

    I leave that as an exercise for the reader.  IIRC from freshman
physics, I think it can be done with the fingers of one hand, but I
don't remember which hand.

    Regards,

        --Murray

___
 * MR/2 2.25 #120 * Computers eliminate spare time.

--- Maximus/2 2.02