Of the big three, AOL is easiest road to Cyberspace
Article Abstract:
America Online offers the information seeker the best package of features, price and user interface in a comparative analysis of the three leading online services. For $9.95 per month for the first five hours and a flat rate of $2.95 per hour, AOL customers have access to an improved range of data sources, including Business Week and the New York Times. Problems remain with AOL, however, including a dearth of archival material and no means of accessing the World Wide Web. Prodigy now offers a replication of the AOL pricing model, and has improved its interface and graphics, and is now available for the same rate as AOL. It plans to add WWW access, and does a good job with news, personal finance and children's material, though many sources are only available at a premium rate. Compuserve has reduced its rate by 50%, though at $4.80 per hour it is still the most expensive service. It offers a wider range of databases than its competitors, but tends to charge premium prices for access to them.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1995
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PCs are well served, though at a price, by old-line databases
Article Abstract:
Online information services provide microcomputer users with access to a wide range of reference and support services. CompuServe provides a basic membership for $7.95 per month that gives users access to a limited group of products including electronic mail, health, finance and news databases. For $12.80 an hour, users can access special interest forums devoted to computer hardware and software support as well as hobbies and issues. For a higher hourly rate, users can access more specialized information services. Dow Jones & Co's Dow Jones News/Retrieval is a specialized business, professional and academic information service. Users can access over 1,000 newspapers as well as comprehensive stock and investment information. The pricing structure for the Dow Jones service is complicated. To search and retrieve, users must pay a $95 annual fee plus per-transaction charges and log on at night. A basic service is available for a $12.95 per month flat-rate fee nighttime plan.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1992
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New CD-ROM titles get you acquainted with FDR and da Vinci
Article Abstract:
Corbis is introducing two new CD-ROMs for Windows-based systems. FDR provides a profile of President Roosevelt, who was possibly the greatest US leader of the century. The CD-ROM includes many photos and copies of documents. The CD-ROM is easy to search and includes comments by many Roosevelt scholars. Leonardo da Vinci is the best CD-ROM on the topic of the great artist and inventor. A famous notebook by da Vinci, now owned by Corbis owner Bill Gates, is the basis of the CD-ROM. Many da Vinci paintings are included. The CD-ROMs are priced at $40 each, Macintosh versions are under development. The $50 Chronicle of the 20th Century, also from Corbis, chronicles the events of each month of the century, through Jul 1996. Additional material can be obtained from the Web. DK Multimedia's 24 Hours in Cyberspace CD-ROM comes with a $50 book with the same name. It chronicles the events occurring on a single day in 1996 and includes photos of these events all over the world.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1996
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