MediaRing will also bundle
CompuServe software in its MediaRing Talk software packages distributed with magazines and through retail outlets.
It was as if
CompuServe, in preparing to welcome the new year, was also welcoming a new era, an era in which individuals and governments, journalists, and Internet service providers will be trying to figure out an international communications network that can slip information across borders in ways smugglers of old only could imagine.
In addition to the major on-line service providers such as America Online,
CompuServe and Prodigy, there are specialized Internet providers, such as The Pipeline.
Among these are forums that will allow users to participate in real-time discussions with other members and to archive their discussions in a manner similar to that used in
CompuServe forums.
I went into the files of direct mail packages and retrieved mailings from America Online,
CompuServe and Prodigy.
We win compare
CompuServe and GEnie with these services.
Prodigy and
CompuServe allow unlimited use of basic services for fees of $14.95 and $8.95 per month respectively.
The main difference between the Internet and other online services like
CompuServe and Prodigy is that these latter services are run by privately owned companies, each with its own protocol, bulletin boards and software.
David DuBuisson Greensboro News & Record
CompuServe: 71175,25