OS/2 e-Zine! - Review: CompuServe Information Service

Review: CompuServe Information Service

- by Tom Harrison

Overview

As a long time OS/2 and CompuServe user, I can hardly imagine where I would be without CompuServe, especially before Warp. Every time I install a new peripheral or new version of OS/2, I check CompuServe first and find out if there are any problems I am likely to run into. As I researched this article, however, I found that OS/2 users are infuriated with CompuServe because the president recently announced that they would no longer continue development of the OS/2 version of their front end software, the CompuServe Information Manager (CIM). Despite this, CompuServe can be a very valuable resource for OS/2 users.

CompuServe maintains a huge network of local access numbers. There are many nodes throughout North America, and in Europe, especially Great Britain and Germany. In fact, many forums are conducted in the German Language, including OS2UGER, the German-language version of IBM's OS2USER forum (more about forums later).

Internet Access

CompuServe's CIM for OS2 provides graphical support for e-mail, FTP and USENET newsgroups. The main advantage of using CIM is that you do not need to load and configure TCP/IP support as you would with an Internet service provider. However, while this support is adequate, it is certainly not the best or most functional way of accessing the Internet.

CompuServe also provides PPP access to the Internet as part of your normal membership so if you install the Internet Access Kit that comes with the Warp BonusPak, you can dial in through CompuServe and access the net using the native OS/2 programs supplied in the IAK. For people who are not heavy users, CompuServe provides a very inexpensive way to get involved.

CompuServe has recently started providing a home page service for its members, too. Members get up to 1MB of disk space and an HTTP address. CompuServe also provides two tools to make publishing a simple home page a snap, called "Home Page Wizard" and "Home Page Publisher". The personal home page service is OK, but the 1MB disk space limit is fairly restrictive.

Forums

Forums are the heart of what makes CompuServe a rich offering. A forum is a "place" where people with similar interests can share in public discussion. However, forums are most frequently used for computer related technical support. Almost every significant software and hardware company has a forum, where they provide official support for users. Watcom has their own forum (GO WATFORUM), where they support Watcom SQL, C/C++, and VX-REXX; Microsoft grudgingly supports the OS/2 version of SQL Server (GO MICROSOFT); Novell provides support for their OS/2 NetWare requester (NOVOS2); Stardock is there (GO STARDOCK); and StarDivision supports their products (GO STARDIV)--German users report this as a good place to find German-language interchanges. And for a spirited debate about the merits of OS/2 check out the CANOPUS forum, hosted by William Zachman, the PC Week columnist.

Associated with each forum section is a library, where files are stored to be downloaded by users. Software vendors post patches, fixes, drivers, how-to documents, as well as demonstrations, beta versions and add-ons. Shareware vendors post their products in forum libraries, as well.

Conferences are the least used service associated with a forum. A conference is a real-time exchange of information, like a telephone conference call, often moderated. Usually someone famous receives questions, and any member can post questions which the "celebrity" might answer.

Strengths

IBM runs two major forums, OS2SUPPORT and OS2USER where they help people with questions about using OS/2. These forums are comprehensive and are visited by thousands of users each day. While the support from IBM can be a little spotty (it will often take a while to get a response), their libraries of technical information, patches and utilities are excellent, and many times other users will jump in and help. The OS2SUPPORT forum is where you would go to find "FixPaks", as well as updated drivers for your hardware. This forum is invaluable, and in my opinion, completely justifies the CompuServe membership in and of itself.

If you are using OS/2 applications, CompuServe is the premier place for technical support. The developer community is large and unified on CompuServe, more so than I found on either AOL or the Internet. CompuServe is especially great for software developers, systems people, or anyone who is an OS/2 power user. While this does not mean that it is not useful for less techie types, this is the place to be if you are doing development.

CompuServe Information Manager for OS/2

As far as I am aware, CompuServe is the only major on-line service that provides native OS/2 based navigation software (gif 17k). It is called CompuServe Information Manager (CIM) for OS/2, is free, and is included on the BonusPak disk that comes with Warp, or it can be downloaded directly from CompuServe (GO OS2CIM). The software is known to be quirky, but it works for me. However, as noted above, CompuServe has announced that they will not continue to develop new releases of OS2CIM in the future.

The major weakness of CIM is that almost everything you do is done on-line, not that this should surprise anyone, since CompuServe makes money by having users connected and they incur minimal resource usage while users are reading documents. Another disappointment is that CIM for OS/2 seems to take no practical advantage of OS2 threads.

Golden CommPass, by Creative Systems Programming

Golden CommPass is a tool which I would recommend for any OS/2 User on CompuServe. The product "knows" how certain services of CompuServe are set up, notably forums and e-mail, and provides a graphical user interface to facilitate access to these services, much like CIM. CommPass, however, allows you to tell the program what you want to do before going on-line. When you start a session, the tasks you have specified are executed in a batch, and results are returned to the PC; as soon as it's done, it disconnects. If you are following forums, or get a lot of e-mail, CommPass is indispensable. It also has support for certain other services, including Stock Quotes, Online Today, What's New, and others.

CommPass is very reliable, and very fast. Compared to CIM, it can reduce your on-line time immensely, unless most of your on-line time is spent downloading files. Frankly, I think the user interface needs a redesign, and there are a few niggling little bugs, but on the whole, CommPass is a valuable piece of software. More information is available at GCPSUPPORT.

Xtra! Xtra!, by Sublime Software

Xtra! Xtra! is OS/2 software that produces a personalized newspaper on demand by gathering information from CompuServe services. You specify what you want and Xtra! Xtra! retrieves, formats and returns your selections so you can read from your monitor, or print as a personalized newspaper. On CompuServe, GO SUBLIME or have a look at our Web site.

Weaknesses

The content of CompuServe is strongly oriented towards technical users and this has been its focus since the mid 1980's. While there are indeed a number of "fun" things to do with CompuServe, it definitely has a more "down to business" feel than AOL. Consequently, new, and non-technical users may find CompuServe a bit daunting. Unlike AOL, or many Web pages out there, CompuServe tends to show its former text-only roots; in-line graphics are sparse, and the organization may not be as well thought out as AOL.

While CompuServe had distinguished itself by providing a native OS/2 front end, this is clearly not going to continue. As reported in last month's issue, Robert Massey has announced that the OS/2 version of CIM will be left to languish. Clearly, CompuServe's competition is AOL (and maybe MSN), and they are both mainly for Windows users. CompuServe is in a pitched battle, and OS/2 application support seems to have been a casualty.

How Much Is It?

CompuServe offers a free introductory membership that includes 10 hours of on-line time free in the first month. If you continue your membership, you get 5 hours per month for $9.95, additional hours are $2.95 (they also have other pricing plans available).

Conclusions

CompuServe provides a rich service that is especially valuable for OS/2 users. The OS/2 specific resources available on CompuServe are reputed to be significantly better than AOL or Prodigy. While CompuServe does have an OS/2 navigator, it is being phased out and is not as good as the current Windows version. Third party OS/2-based tools are available to facilitate access to commonly used resources. Finally, in combination with OS/2's Internet Access Kit, CompuServe can act as your Internet Service Provider. CompuServe's customer service, however, is fair to poor, perhaps because they are in a pitched battle right now with AOL and the Internet. But on the whole, CompuServe offers an excellent value for me.

CompuServe Information Service
Voice: In the United States: (800) 524-3388 (ask for representative 194)
Outside the U.S.: (614) 529-1349

Tom Harrison has been an OS/2 users since the first version. He is the president of Sublime Software, makers of Xtra! Xtra!, OS/2 software that produces a personalized newspaper using information from on-line sources, including CompuServe.

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