From: jprad@faatcrl.UUCP (Jack Radigan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.datacomm
Subject: Re: FCC considering "modem fees" again
Date: 29 Jul 92 14:59:52 GMT
Organization: FAA Technical Center, Atlantic City NJ

Harv@cup.portal.com (Harv R Laser) writes:

>In other words, Jack, use the CI$ automated programs to see what's new
>in their libraries but don't download there, cuz their prices are so
>high.. instead, go scour local BBSes (and put up with busy signals)
>or wait and see if the stuff shows up on Fish Disks?

  Hey, everyone's talking economics here, and if dollars are so damned
important, then yes, *all* of the pay services take a back seat to a BBS
and a 14.4k modem.

  If you look at ROA from AT&T, you're talking $7.00/hr for calls anywhere
in the states after 11pm for throughputs of ~1650cps w/ZMODEM.

  Sure, you have to put up with busy signals and you won't have the convience
of having all the files you want on one system, but there are some that are
better than others, just like the pay services.

>Besides that, a national or international online service offers a sense
>of "community" that simply can't be found on one or two line user-run
>BBSes. It's also highly unlikely that you can log into a BBS and find
>dozens of big-name Amiga developers hanging out, posting notices and
>answering questions (and putting a stop to rumors).

  That is the best reason for the pay services, the message bases.  But, there
is also the point that as the cost for a service goes up, the background noise
goes down proportionally as well.

  Take a look here on USENET, and Fidonet for that matter.  Both are largely
"free" systems, the noise levels are damned close to intolerable at times.

  BIX and CIS are undeniably more expensive than Portal, but their message 
bases are pratically free of clutter.  In some ways, that has value that 
offsets the additional charges.

  BTW, if you're a registered developer, BIX is where you want to be.  Can't
speak for the numbers of them willing to answer questions to the users though,
but I'd expect that it's at least comparable, if not better, than Portal.

>shelter.  Don't you think that a service with enormous Amiga resources
>on board, one that's multi-user and well-maintained, and is MUCH
>lower priced than another service should be considered as an extremely
>viable alternative? It would seem that only the rich wouldn't care.

  Let's have a little "truth in advertising" here, ok?  Portal is certainly
a decent service, offers a good bit of value and has a pretty good advocate
for keeping the quality of the Amiga areas in top-notch shape.

  That is all true.

  But it is not MUCH cheaper for *everyone*.  The bulk of its price is
dependant on PCPursuit.  If you don't have that as an option Portal
begins to look like GEnie on a per hour basis.

>If it helps to sweeten the stew any, Portal customers are about to be
>treated to a fully intuitionized Amiga front end which will allow
>them to do all the things the programs you named can do on their host
>system: capture streams of notices and read and reply to them offline
>(using one's favorite text editor), get file catalogs and choose files
>to be downloaded upon next log in, read and reply to email, and so on.

  That is a very good development.  Great to hear it.

>or any scripting to set up and operate. As an added plus, the author
>of the program is going to release it as fully-enabled shareware. 
>No crippling of features. No demanding bucks up front to get a useful
>version. 

  Still can't resist those little digs when you have the opportunity, eh?

>So there are ways to do things, and there are other ways to do things.
>One can submit to a barrage of advertising and then learn how fast
>a credit card can melt.  Or one can do a bit of judicious shopping and
>learn of the alternatives out there whereby they can get just as much,
>no, MORE of what they're after and do it for a mere fraction of the
>cost.  

  *IF* PCPursuit is available to you, it's not nearly as attractive otherwise.

  -jack-