America Online, CompuServe, and Prodigy offer Web browsers, FTP, and more, but these services aren't for everyone
George Bond
Access to the World Wide Web may seem an obvious component of any major on-line service, but
the Big Three
-- America Online (or AOL), CompuServe, and Prodigy -- are just now scrambling aboard the bandwagon. All three offer something you don't get from an ISP (Internet service provider): a single point of access for Web surfing, commercial database browsing, and on-line conference discussions. They also deliver single-source access to technical support and training.
The ISP Advantage
All these service providers -- with the possible exception of Prodigy--tend to be more expensive than ISPs (see the sidebar "Convenience, but a
t What Price?"). And the speed of phone connections to the Big Three is still mostly limited to 14.4 Kbps, a drawback when working with the on-line graphics of the Web.
Also, the three providers promise to upgrade their networks, but at the time of this writing only a few 28.8-Kbps connections were available. In contrast, many ISPs offer 28.8 Kbps routinely. But these shortcomings may be offset by the large number of POPs (points of presence, or local phone numbers) offered by the Big Three, as well as by the convenience of one-stop access to services and support.
Prodigy is the only major information provider currently with an actual Web service. At this writing, CompuServe and AOL were still in beta testing with their Web browsers (graphical front ends for navigating the Internet and viewing Web pages) and Web services. However, users of these providers' services can walk the Web now by downloading the necessary software. Internet mail, FTP (the Internet's file transfer protocol), and Usenet n
ews groups are already in place.
Web-Crawling with CompuServe
CompuServe uses the Spry Mosaic browser, TCP/IP stack, and dialer (the company purchased Spry to obtain the technology, as AOL did with InternetWorks and its browser). There are so many free sign-up deals floating around that this initial expense will be nil, or close to it.
Once you're logged on to CompuServe, you use the command go ppp to get to the browser-downloading area. Then you either walk through menus to download the Windows version of the software or read instructions on how to connect via third-party Macintosh and OS/2 software. If you are using CompuServe's WinCim or Navigator software, you simply point and click to download the browser.
You run a single executable to install the software. If you already have a TCP/IP stack installed, CompuServe's stack will rename your stack and install its own. Your existing Internet client software probably will work with the new stack.
If you've
seen Spry's Mosaic browser elsewhere (in the Internet-in-a-Box package, for example), you'll immediately recognize CompuServe's: It has the familiar menu bar and line-of-control buttons along the top of the screen, two long boxes in which you enter URLs (uniform resource locators, which are simply Internet addresses), and the familiar Spry globe for indicating when data is being transferred.
The browser defaults to the CompuServe home page on connection. You have three choices for navigating the Web: Clicking on one of the hot links on the screen, selecting a location from a hot list that you create, or typing in the URL of the site that you want to visit after you use the open URL command (by typing Ctrl-O or selecting Open URL from the File menu).
The Spry stack and dialer are among the more robust that we've used, and CompuServe's version performed without a problem. During several weeks of use, our CompuServe setup behaved reliably on a Gateway P5-60 and an IBM ThinkPad 360C. The Spry browse
r also performed well, including properly handling home pages built with the Netscape extensions. Because these extensions aren't part of the current HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) standard, they can cause problems with the way in which some browsers display images.
The downside of CompuServe's Internet access is its lack of integration. To browse the Web, you must call a specific phone number and use the Spry software. To peruse news groups, or to use FTP to download a file or use telnet (a remote terminal program), you must resort to a terminal emulator or one of CompuServe's custom software packages. CompuServe is working to address these issues; see the Technology Focus box at left.
On Target with AOL
Like CompuServe, AOL was still beta-testing its Web software during our review period. However, unlike CompuServe's software, AOL's is nicely integrated into the regular AOL package, as are the clients for FTP, news groups, and gopher (a database search engine).
You will need special software to browse the Web from AOL. The current distribution disk is version 2.0. You must load this version of the software to get AOL in the first place. To use the Web browser, you need the version 2.5 preview edition, available for downloading from AOL.
If you're working from a LAN that is linked to a T1 connection to the Internet, you'll find a pleasant surprise: One of the setup items in the network-selection pull-down menu is TCP/IP. It worked for us with no fuss on NetWare networks. We were able to connect virtually instantly and run AOL at T1 speeds. AOL is rapidly adding 28.8-Kbps connections for high-speed modem access, but so far they are concentrated in major metropolitan areas.
The browser itself looks a bit different from most of its competitors; it's much more boxy and industrial looking. The usual menu bar and collection of buttons span the top of the screen, but the buttons are long, horizontal rectangles instead of the more common squarish ones (
see the screen
).
Walking the Web with AOL is a breeze. You simply click on hot-linked icons or text links to jump to another page, or you type in a URL just as you would with any browser on a standard ISP. Using other Internet clients is just as easy. They are well integrated, also appearing as launchable icons. A news-group reader, a gopher/WAIS (Wide Area Information Service) client, and an FTP client are available.
Prodigy Plows Ahead
Prodigy, after a long, uphill battle against skepticism, has gained an edge on its competition. Its Internet access is easily the best integrated of the three services.
To be sure, most of Prodigy still looks like--well, Prodigy. Its screens have a decided look of NAPLPS (North American Presentation-Level Protocol Syntax), an older standard that features big characters, crude graphics, and generally an old-days-in-cyberspace appearance. However, its Web browser propels Prodigy into the mid-1990s. With its high-resoluti
on display of non-Prodigy pages, it provides a sharp contrast to the rest of Prodigy.
The browser itself is efficiently laid out: It has the usual menu bar at the very top, and buttons and URL boxes under the bar, with an activity indicator next to them. There's no special installation needed for the browser because it's part of the normal Prodigy installation.
Prodigy's browser is easy and intuitive to use. Just click on what you want, and you're there. How fast you get there is limited by the connection speed of your modem--in Prodigy's case, it's 14.4 Kbps, although 10 major cities were expected to get 22.8 Kbps by late July. That's better than 9600 bps, but it can lead to slow transfer times when you're dealing with graphics-intensive home pages. The Prodigy home page itself is skillfully designed to load fast: It has a modest-size graphic at the top and then, like the CompuServe home page, drops into a heavily text-oriented page.
Do We Have a Winner?
For gene
ral prowling around the Internet, we'd select AOL because of its good integration and high-speed modem (and T1) connections. Prodigy would run a close second, falling somewhat short because of its slower modem links and lack of a T1 connection. CompuServe brings up the rear. Without the upcoming improvements in WinCim, it's simply too much work having to switch back and forth from the main system to the Web browser.
The wild card is Microsoft Network, or MSN, Microsoft's fledgling network (see the sidebar "MSN: Desktop Internet"). Built with Internet integration in mind, it should compete as an Internet gateway right out of the starting block.
Where to Find
America Online $9.95
(monthly fees, excluding hourly charges)
American Online, Inc.
Vienna, VA
(800) 827-6364
(703) 448-8700
CompuServe $9.95
(monthly fees, excluding hourly charges)
CompuServe, Inc.
Columbus, OH
(800) 848-8199
(614) 529-1349
fax: (614) 529-1610
sa
les@cis.compuserve.com
Prodigy $9.95
(monthly fees, excluding
hourly charges)
Prodigy Services Co.
White Plains, NY
(800) 776-3449
(914) 448-8000
into99a@prodigy.com
screen_link (81 Kbytes)
CompuServe's What's New page
links users to popular new sites on the Internet.
America Online's Explorer page
provides links to other Internet sites.
Prodigy's Welcome screen
is the first thing you see when you jump to the World Wide Web.
George Bond is publisher of Sams.net, the Internet imprint of Macmil
lan Computer Publishing USA, and publisher of such titles as
Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML in a Week
and
Internet Unleashed
. In an earlier life, he cofounded BIX. You can contact him on the Internet at
gbond@sams.mcp.com
or on BIX as "gbond."
Gateways to the Internet
