Re: Hello again from Ron Hill

["Stuart M. Castergine" <scasterg@cd.columbus.oh.us>]

On Tue, 4 Apr 1995, ROn Hill wrote:

> 	Hello, Love-Hounds!  This is Ron Hill again attempting to get access, 
> this time from COMPUSERVE, home of expensive service!  If anyone has any
> ideas on how to get cheaper, IE FREE servive here in San Diego or Cheaper
> service somewhere else, let me know.

Hi Ron,

There are several cheaper alternatives to Compu$erve. Two are national, 
so I know for a fact you have access in San Diego. And I would bet that 
there are local access sites in San Diego that range from free (some
BBS with e-mail only net access) to relatively cheap but way better 
than Compu$erve (a SLIP/PPP access site).

1. Delphi. I have an account here. So does Meredith Tarr. They have two
price scales: $13/month which includes 4 hours and several dollars per
hour over that. $23/month which includes 20 hours of access time, and time
over 20 hours costs a dollar and change per hour. Second schedule is
obviously the best if you use it a lot. You get full internet access,
including usenet news, telnet, ftp, gopher and (I believe) world-wide-web.
No limits on the amount of time you can spend doing "internet stuff" and
no extra charges for internet e-mail or file transfers. Downside is a
(IMHO) truly horrible command-line user interface, but they do have dos,
windows and mac off-line readers which can save a lot of connect time and
make using much less painful. Meredith seems to like it, but I hardly ever
use it because I have much better access through work. Rumor is that they
are working on a brand-new snazzy user interface a la Compuserve
Information Manager, but I don't know much about it. 

2. America On-Line. Don't know much about this service, excep tthat it is 
rumored to be priced better than Compu$erve, easier to use and have much 
better internet access.

3. Prodigy and Genie both have some amount of internet access available, 
but I'm ignorant about them.

4. Free BBS. If you have access to usenet news, poke around in 
comp.mail.uucp and comp.bbs.misc. These are places where a lot of free 
BBS operators hang out and you may be able to get e-mail and even a 
limited newsfeed for free at one of these. The Big Sky BBS operated 
by the Caldwells here in Columbus is an example of this. A BBS like this 
can do it all for you if your needs are simple. Of course, not everyone 
is lucky enough to have a a BBS devioted to kate in their home town. Also 
check around in local computer stores. BBS's often post notices in local 
computer stores. MicroCenter here in Columbus used to include a list of 
local BBSs in its advertising brochure. Also, BBS's often have lists of 
other local BBSs online -- it's kind of like a secret brotherhood -- so 
get on some even if you don't know if they offer internet access and you 
may find pointers to ones that do.

5. local internet access providers. We have serveral here in Columbus. 
They can hook your home computer directly up to the internet using a 
special protocol over a phone line. I've seen monthly prices ranging from 
$25 to $50 and these are often flat fees -- you can use the connection as 
much as you want for that fee. No time limits. Again, ask around in local 
computer stores. California is a pretty high-tech state, so I would be 
surprised if there wasn't a provider in San Diego.

I can look for specifics and phone numbers on these options if you like. 
All this is off the top of my head -- I'm taking the week off 'cause my 
wife just had a baby and I don't have numbers for these places with me.

Take care,
Stu

scasterg@cd.columbus.oh.us == Stuart M. Castergine   |              ---
All young gentle dreams drowning                     | "Mmm, yes."   |/
In life's grief                                      |               |\
Can you hang on to me? --Kate Bush, _Big Stripey Lie_|