Editor's Comments

The growth in providers means competition and is a good thing for the general consumer. It mirrors the growth in the larger network provision business that links all of the regions of the world into the global entity called the Internet. Last year there were only a couple of Internet links between Vancouver and the rest of the world, and none of them were very fast. Today, there are many T1 (1.55 Megabits/sec) links both to Seattle in the South, and across Canada. This competition has meant that we now have redundant links and no longer are totally out of touch with the rest of the world if one of them is down for a period.

One of the other things that this growth has meant is that the range of levels of service available to the networking public has grown and the knowledge needed to decide which is best for their particular needs has also grown. What criteria are important? What are the criteria?

The non-technical "newbie" simply doesn't have the information or the experience to make an informed decision so price is usually the only criterium used. But even price is a slippery subject. Is $125/year for 90 minutes a day on a busy system a better value than $1.60/hour with no limitations on a less choked system? It depends on many factors, some of which only the consumer can evaluate. The factors that the consumer doesn't have good information on can make a pretty big difference though.

In the past, the typical BBS user and Internet user fell into only a few broad categories: sophisticated computer user, computer hobbiest, E-mail and News junkie, games player. Sure, there were other categories, but these were the main ones.

• The sophisticated computer user probably came from the academic world and had grown up on the Internet. They had virtually unlimited access to it and were cut off when they left the University. They needed to keep up with their peers and so wanted similar access to what they had had - interactive, on-demand, News, E-mail, UNIX command line, etc. They were willing to pay by the hour because they got what they wanted, when they wanted it, in the amounts they wanted.
• The computer hobbiest wanted to make fuller use of their computer. They traded programs, tips, gossip, information, etc. They set up their own BBSs just to keep their computers busy and to keep them in touch with their peers. They didn't want to pay anything at all, and many such BBSs still are free to their close user list.
• The E-mail/News junkie got access because using services like MCI mail and Compuserve was too expensive. The BBS connections were much less expensive and generally didn't charge extra for the amount of E-mail you could send/receive. Putting up with busy signals was one of the down sides, but offset by the lower cost. They like the annual rate with X minutes/day because they can use offline readers/creators and access at less busy times.
• The games player and interactive chatters simply wanted cheap multi-user interaction. Sometimes because it meant the games were more interesting, sometimes because of the relative anonymity and its sparked extravagances. They like the annual fee but are choked at the busy lines and small number of minutes a day it includes. They want to be on when all their friends are but don't want to pay much.

Today however, most new users come from the general public. Their needs are still largely unrecognized. Do they want to be on at particular times for a set length of time? Do they only want to be on a couple of times a month? Do they see these services as necessary, as play, as work, as education, or as simply a curiosity?

They don't yet have a set pattern to their cyber-surfing. They may use a service a lot to start with and then not much for a while. On the other hand some might get into the habit of getting on-line almost daily.

In addition, not all access providers have the same or complete facilities. They range from small BBSs that take a batch News and E-mail feed periodically from a larger provider, to sophisticated BBSs that have real-time News and E-mail Internet feeds, to the full service Internet providers that deal mainly in things Internet.

Compounding the cost and facility concerns is the problem of learning to use not only the software for the PCs, but the services that are offered by the various connections providers. Is there support? Does it cost? What does it cost? How fast is it? Can I get it at my home/office? Is there training?

The typical BBS user up to recently has grown up with a computer. Adding the modem and learning how to connect to and interact with the BBS was simply another in the accepted list of challenges to these dedicated individuals. Even if they didn't do it on their own, but instead cajoled one of their more technically minded friends into getting them connected, the process still was more of a hobby one than it was a typical consumer one. They didn't go out and purchase a box with the sole idea that they were going to take it home, turn it on, and instantly have world wide information at their fingertips like the TV or telephone.

Today, the typical new purchaser of BBS or Internet access is one who expects the whole process to be "Turn-Key". That is, they expect to be able to simply turn the key or press the button and have what they want when they want. They don't know or care about the process involved and don't have the time or the patience to learn. They have heard that they need to "get connected" and they want the experience to be as painless and as easy as their purchase of a TV or radio. It's not yet and they need to take this into consideration when going shopping for a service provider.

The reality of the situation is that if you want "Turn-Key" computer communications you have to pay for it. Either you must subscribe to one of the large national or international providers and use their own custom software, and pay their prices; or you must pay to have someone make your computer work with whichever BBS or Internet provider you have chosen, and pay to learn how to use their facilities.

This will change, and it may change faster than many might think. Already I have heard rumors that such things as Internet Mosaic software will be included in the new Windows-95 offering from Microsoft next year (Chicago this year). As well, some sort of networking facilities compatible with the Internet will be on the forthcoming OS/2 version due out on October 11th. Even Apple is including TCP/IP in their new System 7.5 MAC operating system upgrade.

All of these herald a recognition that PC wide area network communications is a growth area and worthy of significant development effort in the quest to make the various systems more user friendly. But in the mean time there are still an incredible number of systems that have the capability to connect but lack the setup and user training needed.

I don't see any one facility or provider being the best or the cheapest or providing the best support. They range from free to several dollars per hour. They range from extremely egocentric and closed to entirely open. They range from no human contact at all to friendly voices available for almost any problem. In many ways I pity the poor consumer their need to choose, but choose they must.

In order to make the best choice they need to ask their prospective providers some questions:

• Do you have any dedicated support staff capable of talking me through the initial signup and software installation or other problems I encounter? Wimsey has 1 full time and 1 part time dedicated support persons at present.
• What does such support cost? Up to 1/2 hour is included in the initial full price signup. Additional support is $75/hour in 5 minute increments. E-mail and Wimsey newsgroup reply support is always freely available.
• When are they available? Support may be requested at any time via E-mail. Our office is staffed from 9:00AM to 6:00PM weekdays and voice messages are read daily. Call back on telephone support is from Noon to 9PM weekdays. Support outside of normal hours is available on a contracted basis.
• How fast will they respond to my request? Call back support is generally within 4 business hours. E-mail support is generally 1 day, as is Wimsey news group response.
• Do you have any courses I can take? What do they cost? Wimsey has Clinics scheduled for Thursday Evenings at a cost of $50.00 each. These help the user through installation and initial learning of the WIMSYKIT software package on the user's own system (brought to the course). Other courses are scheduled periodically.
• What are the chances I will be able to get onto the system at my favourite times? Very good. Wimsey tries to gauge its usage so that there is less than 1% chance of busy during the 4 busiest hours (7PM - 11PM), adding extra phone lines as the user load grows.
• What is my hourly rate if I exceed the alloted hours in my package? With the exception of the Annual contract, all usage is at the same price per hour regardless of duration of use. With the Annual contract, the cost for extra hours is our normal hourly rate.
• How much Internet traffic does my account include and how much is extra going to cost me? How will I know if I have exceeded my limits? Your hourly rate includes all Internet traffic. There is no extra cost.
• How much local storage do I have included in my package and how much will extra cost me? Wimsey currently allows up to 5 Megabytes of storage in the user's home directory. Storage in excess of this is billed at $0.02 per day per Megabyte.
• Does it cost extra for any news groups or discussion groups or other facility use? Wimsey does not charge extra for any facilities at this time
• How much is the software I need going to cost me? The software in the WIMSYKIT is all either shareware or freeware. If you pay your shareware fees in full the total is about $60.00 at present.
• How sophisticated a computer do I need at my end? You need at least a 80386 DX/25 with 4 Megs of RAM, a 14,400 modem, and Windows 3.1 or better; or you need an Apple MAC with 5 Megs of RAM, a 14,400 modem with hardware handshake cable.
• Do I need to know anything about computers to use the service? Once the software is installed and configured, many of the services may be used simply by moving the mouse and clicking its buttons. Some services require some typing ability.
• Do you have a full time feed to the Internet? Yes, Wimsey has had a full time feed for over 8 years.
• Do you have feeds from more than one major network provider? Yes, Wimsey has feeds through two different providers with separate feeds all the way to San Francisco.
• How long have you been in business serving the public? Wimsey has been in the business of providing Internet access since 1986.
• Can I transfer files directly to my computer from other Internet computers or do I have to transfer it first to your computer and then to mine? Using the TCP/IP client software on your own computer you can transfer files and programs directly from any of over 3 million computers in the world to your own sytem. There is no need to transfer first to our system.

The answers to these questions will guide you in your choice of Internet providers.

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