(Posted to alt.online-service and alt.internet.services ) In and Around Online- Issue 3, Week Ending 9/23/94 ================================================== FROM THE AUTHOR =============== I wanted to send thanks to all of you that took the time to send in a nice note or tell me why you thought the newsletter sucked! Most of the people who've written in want to know if there is a mailing list. I'm checking with my net provider now about setting that up. I'll keep you posted, hopefully within the next couple of weeks on how all that will work. I am also considering a WWW page for back issues and other stuff that may interest you. I think the subject line I've been using to post the weekly summaries is perhaps not 100% accurate. A few people have written in asking why I haven't given more coverage to the more "business" oriented Online Services such as Dialog, Dow Jones News Retrieval, Lexis/Nexis, Telescan, etc. The short answer to that is that I didn't think that those services interested people in the mainstream. That isn't a slam on any service, but my intent has always been to report on the more consumer oriented services and fun things you can do on the net. Also, coverage of every service available and every new service available that comes down the pike would make this a very long newsletter! (Okay, so I'm not helping that with this note!) I just didn't feel that most people would be interested in reading the details of a new service available online for biochemical research. However, I do collect information on such companies and would be willing to consider another newsletter as time allows. For now though, the newsletter is going to have a consumer slant to it. And with that... BIG NON STORY OF THE WEEK ========================= The "cone of silence" was lifted this week when Microsoft head Bill Gates finally admitted that Microsoft intends to get into the online business. Microsoft's involvement in this industry is not a "non story". However, since everyone already knew that this was going to happen, it doesn't come as much as a surprise. Scheduled to hit the market sometime next year, the service, code named: Marvel (but I keep wondering if they will change the name to "Microsoft Online '95"), will be a part of the Microsoft "Home" division. There will be close links to the Microsoft suite of "Home" products. Users of Microsoft's 'Complete Baseball', for example, will be able to get their 'Baseball Daily' updates there (if the players and the owners get their act together by then). Other than that, you can expect a lot of support and info for Microsoft's products and other products that run in conjunction with Microsoft's. It is unclear what other services will be offered there, but Gate's has stated that he doesn't want to get into the publishing business and will not hire writers to write unique content for this service. As this story unfolds during the weeks and months to come, I'll keep you posted. Whatever Microsoft does, they have tremendous resources. The industry, the media and the users of online services will be watching this one closely. COMPUSERVE ========== CompuServe did a couple of interesting things this week that should further secure their current status as the number one online service. The big news is that they announced an equity investment in a company called Network Publishing, Inc. Network Publishing's purpose will be to provide people with Internet consulting and network services. Their basic push will be consulting, designing and implementation of World Wide Web pages for small and large companies. This is an interesting (and I believe smart) strategy. Many companies want to get on the Web, but do not have the time, know-how, or resources to make it happen. With this sort of a set-up, a small company can have a large presence on the internet without having to worry about maintaining servers or learning how to write in hypertext markup language. If successful, this will secure a place for CompuServe as both net consultant and net provider. The other CompuServe news is one of those things that makes me go "wow". Called "MACHINE TRANSLATION", this service provides bi-lingual translations in near real time of the message forums on Compuserve. Currently being tested in the MacCIM Help forum, the Machine Translation will transfer English-French, French-English, English-German and German-English. This, to me is an amazing breakthrough and I'm not surprised to see CompuServe first with this as they are currently the only global online service. Run on software designed by Intergraph Corporation, this service will be applied at some point to E-Mail, File Finding services, and other forums. Other languages will hopefully be incorporated as well. Talk about breaking down communications barriers! Now I don't feel so bad about sleeping through French classes in high school. Actually, I took Spanish and mostly stayed awake because I had a gorgeous teacher! CompuServe also announced a new member acquisition strategy this week. CompuServe will begin including a CD-ROM in the bundled multi-media kits being sold by Media Vision. The Compuserve CD will include WinCIM (in several languages) as well as other information and graphical tutorials. AMERICA ONLINE ============== AARP ONLINE ----------- America Online this week became the first online service to offer a forum for the American Association of Retired People (AARP). Association information, membership subscription and benefit information, as well as bulletin board and live chat areas will be available. With reportedly 2 million "computer-friendly" AARP members, this could rapidly develop into a big area on America Online. The Keyword? You guessed it, AARP . PAUL ALLEN SELLS REST OF STAKE ------------------------------ Microsoft (that word keeps popping up in this week's edition) co-founder Paul Allen sold the remainder of his shares in America Online this week. The sale was reported as a profit taking move. Allen had attempted at one point to take over control of the company but was apparently thwarted by "poison pill" maneuvers by America Online. Reportedly increasingly frustrated by AOL's unwillingness to partner with him in distribution of interactive multimedia, Allen had been selling his shares off chunk by chunk. Allen also owns the Portland Trailblazers of NBA fame (they couldn't win the championship, but hey, they have really cool uniforms), a multimedia software company or two and a stake in an online service called Telescan that is geared towards financial services, investments and stock market info. Like Arnold, I expect that Mr. Allen will be back. SHORT TAKES =========== Prodigy teams with Disney this week to provide the interactive link for the new show, "Judge For Yourself". "Judge For Yourself" is a "court of public opinion" show provided by Disney's syndication unit, Buena Vista Television. The press release didn't include a jump word, but hopefully those interested will be able to find it. The importance of the internet continues on. Master-Mcneil, a company that consults on what to name your company, will now also factor in the availability of Domain names. I agree with them in their assertion that a companies email address is an important identifier. You don't want to be XYZ company and not get the @xyz.com extension! If you're in a quandary about what to name your company, you may want to consider the availability of the internet domain. You could probably do this yourself, but these guys have a made a living off of it for years. If interested contact Ken Feinstein at 510/486-0947 or you guessed it, kenf@naming.com . They also have a WWW page at http://www.naming.com/naming.html . The Jones Computer Network is coming out with a new television series about getting around on Online Services! "Going On-Line, a new series devoted to on-line services and their users. Tim Testa, who also hosts JCN's Home Computing and How To Buy A Computer, hosts Going On-Line, which airs on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET; Fridays at 4:30 p.m. ET; and Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. ET." (Okay, so I clipped that bit right out of the press release, look at the bright side, this newsletter is FREE!) America Online has the TIME (magazine) online, but coming soon, if not sooner, Prodigy will have the News(week). Enough stupid puns, Newsweek Interactive will allegedly be the first fully multimedia interactive news magazine available online. Newsweek and Prodigy reached an agreement in principle, so hopefully this will be available soon. Catch hip-hop, R&B and jazz artist Me'shell NDEGEOCELLO (say that three times fast) on this weeks version of Warner Records Cybertalk on America Online. Monday, 9/26 at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. Keyword: WARNER . Delphi teams with ScottForesman and Ocean Challenge, Inc. to bring you electronic online field trips with the "CLASS AFLOAT" program. It sounds like really interesting and fun stuff if you're a student who'd be likely to take electronic field trip. I'm not. Contact: Nancy Morrisroe of Delphi Internet Services at 617/441-4532 or by E-mail: nancy@delphi.com. Black Box Corp announced Black Box Online. Available this November, it will offer a full range of communications, connectivity and network solutions via the net. They say the web page will be: http://www.blackbox.com/ . PROMUS Hotels becomes the first hotel conglomerate to put hotel info up via the World Wide Web. Promus hotels include Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites. I could tell you more about it, but you can check for yourself at: -- http://www.promus.com/embassy.html -- http://www.promus.com/hampton.html -- http://www.promus.com/homewood.html If anyone from Promus reads this and wants to give me some weekend passes to the Embassy Suites, please contact me! What can I say, I like King Sized Beds. (Not too mention the free breakfasts and happy hours!). I once lived at an Embassy Suites for 2 months and loved every minute of it. But enough about me... The Week's Most Interesting Story, Sort Of ------------------------------------------ In a survey of online-users compiled by SCTT Interactive, a market research and consulting firm in Lake Forrest, Ill, the number of online subscribers grew a whopping 76%. "The big winners during the past year were clearly CompuServe and America Online. They have catered to the 'Infophobes' of the population by providing them with easy-to-use, visually stimulating software programs. By doing so, the popularity of their services has exploded,'' according to Steve Edwards, president of SCTT Interactive. The survey has CompuServe with a commanding lead (see table below), and well positioned to survive the onslaught of upcoming competition from Ziff-Davis' INTERCHANGE and whatever Microsoft (yes, that word again) comes out with. The survey also predicts that increased competition (a good thing in my opinion) will drive down the costs of the services provided (a very good thing!) and will result in even more people online. SCTT is predicting an additional 3 million online subscribers by the end of 1995. Personally, I'm starting to get a little scared at the prospect of "Have you cleaned your room" messages being sent electronically to me over the miles by my mother. Okay, here's the table: (Millions) Percent 9/93 9/94 1993 1994 Chg. Chg. Mkt Share Mkt Share ____ ____ ____ _______ _________ _________ CompuServe 1.25 2.40 1.15 92 pct 43.1 pct 47.1 pct Prodigy Service 1.10 1.20 .10 9 pct 37.9 pct 23.5 pct America Online .35 1.00 .65 186 pct 12.1 pct 19.6 pct Others .20 .50 .30 150 pct 6.9 pct 9.8 pct ____ ____ ____ _______ _________ _________ Totals 2.90 5.10 2.20 76 pct 100.0 pct 100.0 pct EDITORIAL: INTERNET AND THE MEDIA. IS IT ALL HYPE? ----------------------------------------------------- If you don't want to know what I think, stop right here, this issue is over for you! While SCTT's survey is interesting and more than likely quite accurate, I wonder what the future holds in store for online services. Yes, more and more online services are getting internet access and are aiming themselves at the "infophobes". While existing technologies are always changing (and mostly for the better), the importance of these technologies only grows. How long will be a world of "infophobes"? What affect will the changing dynamics have on the next generation of Online Services? A little over a year ago, the stories I received via my news clipping service about Online Services and the Internet didn't amount to very much. Now I usually get over 50 per week. There is a wealth of information available on all the online services and on the internet. The problem, as I see it is that there is too much information and sometimes it is too hard to get at. The net is important, but other than Email, will most people find a use for it? I think they will. Recent surveys indicate that of the millions of internet users (that number ranges anywhere from 10-30 million depending on what day of the week it is) only 10% use a graphical browser a la Mosaic to navigate the net. As Internet services become cheaper and easier to configure, I suspect more and more people will use the graphical browsers. Once Mosaic like browsers get into the hands of more people, businesses will have some difficult decisions to make. Why offer a magazine on an online service, when people can easily subscribe via the net and get to a provider with a home page address? More and more in the coming years we'll see these services pop up on the net. Unless the online service providers can come up with unique content and services, and lower their prices, what will be the draw of these services? The media pundits say that the current online services need to be wary of competition from the likes of Ziff Davis and Microsoft. In the near term, that may be true, but in the long term the biggest threat to these services comes from the internet. Many of the services are already taking the "if you can't beat them, join them" approach with the internet, and in spite of all the flamage of AOL, Delphi and CompuServe users (and coming soon to a flame group near you, PRODIGY) the addition of these users should be viewed as a good thing, not as a bad thing. Is all the talk of the net being "The Information Superhighway" hype? Some of it probably is. Maybe even most of it. Right now, there are a lot of "infophobes" out there. Most of them don't want to take the time necessary to configure SLIP/PPP (and TIA) accounts so that they can surf the net with the graphical browsers. Someday though, browsing the net will not be much harder than pointing the remote control at the cable box is today. For now, it isn't that easy, but it seems like it is getting easier all the time. As more people get net access whether it be from a local internet provider, a giant internet provider, an online service, and more and more via the workplace, the net becomes a better place. I look forward to the day when an E-Mail address is as common as a phone number. Okay, I'll admit it, I'm an email junkie. Simply put, the more people on the net, the more valuable of a tool the net is. Hype or not, the media is getting more users on the net. This is driving software companies to develop better software for navigation. It is also driving online service providers to develop unique content and services. There is a service to suit almost everyone, from neophyte to expert. For now, everyone is winning. FAVORITE NEW NEWSGROUPS ----------------------- Tell the world what your favorite chocolate candy is (mine is Hershey's SKOR BAR) or provide a scrumptious chocolate recipe in: alt.food.chocolate . Why does a 30 year old white man wear dreadlocks? What's with all the comparisons to Van Morrison. All this and more in: alt.music.counting-crows . See you next week. Robert Seidman robert@clark.net ======================================================================== This summary can be copied, emailed, posted to BBS's, etc, as long as you give me full credit/blame. For back issues (there are only 2 currently), email me, and I'll see what I can do! ========================================================================