 
Richard B
Fur It Up
join:2007-06-22
Portland, OR
 ·Comcast
| Goodbye and thanks for the Memories I signed up after my discharge form the navy in 1993; I was on both Prodigy and CompuServe, pre-internet. In a way the 1990’s were the start of conservative activism on the net. I remember the first attempt to pass the farness doctrine in 1993, for the first time we had the bills in hand while the debate was still going, it was then I realize the net will change the face of politics.
There was other non politic stuff, I was introduced to Bill Holbrook’s Kevin and Kell while on CompuServe and I still have some of my recipes downloaded form the cooking forum. | |
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wmcbrine
Touched by His Noodly Appendage
join:2002-12-30
Laurel, MD | Re: Goodbye and thanks for the Memories That should say "...to restore the fairness doctrine", since it was originally in place from 1949 to 1987.
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mike340t
Compu-Global Hyper-Mega Net
join:2000-12-27
Cresskill, NJ
 ·Verizon FIOS
·Optimum Online
2 edits | those were the good 'ol days I remember I had both prodigy and compuserve for just the different chats.. My parents did not even know I was on "the net" .. For a few years they thought the phone lines just acted weird and made weird sounds lol...
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Just another ramble by Mike...
''To Start Press Any Key''. Where's the ANY key? | |
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DeeplyShrouded
@comcast.net
| Don't forget D-Dial :) Compu$erve 
I never signed up for it but I do remember the commercials.
Didn't Compuserve charge something like $6 an hour for access?
A doctor in Michigan wrote a program for the Apple //e called
Diversi-Dial. It was one of the first chat systems to run on a
"personal" computer. Written in 6502 machine language,
D-Dial systems were able to link up to each other and you'd
have 1 sysop, 7 users, on a station that was not connected
to another one, or 1 sysop, 6 users and a link. All at 300 baud.
There was also a service called PC Pursuit, where during the
off peak, non-business hours, for $25 a month, you could
call BBS's in distant cities without having to go through
"Ma Bell". Naturally today, with our multimeg connections,
not many of today's generation remember 110 or 300 baud.
Ah the screech of the modem at 2AM to download the latest
games. How happy we were to find a 1200 baud modem under
the Christmas tree, and thinking how cool we were when
2400 baud came along.....
Ah the good old days.....
So long Compu$erve....RIP....
--Deeply Shrouded & Quiet
--Central Control! D-Dial #49 | |
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syslock
Premium
join:2007-02-03
Ann Arbor, MI
clubs:
·Comcast
| Re: Don't forget D-Dial :) I do I do.....
Don't forget all the Ascii Express Pro systems that ran on the Apple //'s. My first modem was a Hayes 300 baud modem. It was cool because you could easily create your own programs in apple basic for it.
DFX was another cool Apple // program that let you transfer files and chat with the sysop at the same time while the file transfer was going on. | |
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Barnacle Invoice
@verizon.net
| It's gone it's gone boon hoon Compuserve user here, 1996-2003
Its forums were what the web has become today
Eventually the service became redundant
Then broadband conquered all
---------------------------------------------------
Tonight BOOMERANG ran a 2001 episode of the POWERPUFF GIRLS
2001 doesn't seem that long ago
Yet the show had a superhero character named E-MAIL
who could run real fast and shoot rays
His sound effect:
The old dialup handshake
How quickly things change | |
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Madness
Like a flea circus at a dog show.
join:2000-01-05
Quincy, MA
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| No Worldsaway? I'm quite surprised that no one has mentioned that! Anyone have stories of running up huge bills in Dreamscape (or Pride)? Does "Go: Away" bring back memories?
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No keyboard present or keyboard error. Press <F1> to continue.... | |
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wmcbrine
Touched by His Noodly Appendage
join:2002-12-30
Laurel, MD
| I never signed up Yet I still feel nostalgic.  Actually, I'm kinda surprised to learn that it's only just now shutting down.
My FSM, it was expensive back in the day.
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09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 | |
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Drex
Beer..It's What's For Dinner
Premium
join:2000-02-24
La Place, LA
·AT&T Southeast
| Compuserve and Commodore 64 I want to say I had a Compuserve account with my Commodore 64, but my memory is lacking right now. I certainly remember the $300 bill I rang up playing some text based space simulator. You would build a ship then explore the universe finding planets to populate and mine. I thought it was great...hence the $300 bill.
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I gave up drinking and eating bad food. And in 14 days, I had lost 2 weeks. | |
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Hbomb
@stercomm.com
| The early days I was the first employee hired for the publically available CompuServe service (first called MicroNet). It was a commercial service for years, which dad and brother-in-law founded. I remember recruiting members from the Columbus Computer Club for the service. CompuServe had the world's first electronic newspaper (the Columbus Dispatch) and I think we offered the first online chat that was publically available (CB), and an electronic mail service based on the commercially available Infoplex. We also had a popular columnist called Aunt Nettie (who was my sister, a friend and me originally). Our chief programmer, Russ Ranshaw, appeared at computer trade shows dressed as a wizard. It was a really fun time being a part of that history. | |
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acitrano
join:2002-04-13
Venice, CA
| I'll miss ya Yep, CIS played a huge part in my early online experiences... can't tell you how much time I spent in that damn CB simulator, etc... I had one of the old addresses (7xxxx,xx) but shut it down because (as many of you said) I just couldn't keep up with the bill. It wasn't cheap. Signed back up a few months later and got a 7xxxx,xxx addy and kept it for ages, even using it as my first internet e-mail addy once they got the gateway working (91? 92?). I was also running a BBS at the time... ahh, memories.
Ciao, CIS! | |
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kc8jwt
join:2005-10-27
Cheshire, OH
| Goodnight Back in 1996 I worked for a company that won a contract to supply Compuserve with new Compaq ProLiant 5000 and 6500 rackmount servers. If I remember correctly, they were quad Pentium Pro 200MHz processors, 512 MB of ram, and 3 to 5 4.3 GB hot plug SCSI hard drives.
We were doing about 20 units a week and installing NT 4.0 server and then shipping them out to go across town for install in their data center in Hilliard. Two orders went out and they were misconfigured. We had to go over and fix them in their data center in the basement of their headquarters. It was an awesome place.
I also worked with them building smaller servers that had Citrix Winframe and the NT 4.0 terminal server stuff. I remember the mess we had getting some Eicon X.25 cards that were coming in with faulty firmware or something. That was an interesting time. | |
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Simba7
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT | Re: Goodnight I've got an old Rackmount Proliant 6500 in my rack (Quad PPro, 4GB RAM, 7x9.1GB HDDs). It's running Gentoo Linux.
I swear, these things never die. | |
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Mike Todd
@qwest.net
| Anyone remember the IBM SIG on CompuServe? Hello and good computing for all...
1981-1982 was quite a time in my personal history. I founded the Capital PC User Group in Washington, DC; the IBM Special Interest Group on CompuServe and also created computer user groups for the U.S. Navy and assisted other groups around the country in the very exciting beginnings of the age of personal computers.
The following years up to today; the Capital PC User Group is now more focused on Linux (GO for it!), I've been the President of the Internet Society Los Angeles Chapter for many years, and now I am working on my doctoral degree and beginning a new career teaching at the college level. Me and my family have just moved from California to Arizona (another great story) and life is so getting better all the time!
Mike Todd
Founder of:
IBM SIG Compuserve
Assisted Japan with the opening of the NEC PC VAN (their first publically available dial-in network - was very much like CompuServe in content, capabilities and format...)
IBM SIG The Source
IBM SIG Unison
Internet Society, Los Angeles Chapter
reach me at mike.todd92@gmail.com
(my miketodd.com domain has not been unpacked and setup since arriving from California not too many hours ago!)
Sorry to see CompuServe bite the dust... | |
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DC DSL
Stays crunchy even in milk
Premium
join:2000-07-30
Washington, DC
·Covad Communications
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: Anyone remember the IBM SIG on CompuServe? Heya, Mike. LTNT! I was one of the ibmsig denizens. I ran dosmenu and rueck, was a contributing editor over on pcweek, an evangelist for Windows, then NT in microsoft, and a long-time contributor in consult. I dumped CI$ not long after AOL bought it...I couldn't stand their destroying the professional/business atmosphere and the influx of dumb hicks who managed to survive being dropped on their heads repeatedly as children.
Have you kept in touch with Mike Callahan, Jim Knopf or Andy Fluegelman?
Jeff Rueckgauer
72331,2600
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There is no giant fur-bearing trout. | |
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Warzau
Premium
join:2000-10-26
Naperville, IL
clubs: | Goodbye Goodbye Prodigy and Compuserve they were my first Online experience, other than dialing into a local BBS.
Luckily I had 10 or so free accounts, that were demos. | |
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| slckusr
Premium
join:2003-03-17
Maumee, OH
1 edit | Re: Goodbye i was typing the same good to both but you beat me to it!
/tear ill always remember the start of my online addiction. | |
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| popartist
join:2005-08-06
Brooklyn, NY
| Another long-time Compuserve member here - a lot of memories there. Joined November 1994 and had a 7xxxx,xx number until I got a sponsored account in '96 and became 105374,3531. I was a sysop and then a wizop in the music forum(s) through late 2006/early 2007 when I finally threw in the towel, and also did a bit of freelance promo menus blurb work in the late 90s. Finally got off dialup in early 2005, hadn't used the software though for a few years before that. Still in touch with almost all of the original U2 fan crew (and a few others) from there though, we all gravitated to Facebook. | |
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captobie
Premium
join:2008-08-20
Ferndale, WA
| Memory Lane I first got online with CompuServe circa 1984. Got something like a free month membership with my 300 baud TRS-80 Modem I B and MC-10 computer. No local numbers where I lived, so I ran up some huge phone bills. My parents seldom complained, I think they were happy to see me taking an interest in computers. Ahh, those were the days. We can do so much more online now, but there was something adventurous about it back then. | |
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sylvek
join:2007-12-29
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
| Supposedly only temporarily unavailable
$ telnet gateway.compuserve.com
Trying 209.154.35.200...
Connected to gateway.compuserve.com.
Escape character is '^]'.
User ID: 72540,1261
?? LOGSTU - System CHT is temporarily unavailable
User ID:
?? LOGTWO - Cannot take more than 2 minutes to Log-in
Disconnected
$
BYE CIS, bye! | |
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acadiel
Keep trying - don't give up
Premium
join:2002-06-22
Bloomington, IL
·Comcast
·DSL EXTREME
| Re: Supposedly only temporarily unavailable Bye bye Compuserve...
I have a 7xxxx,xxxx ID back in 1993-1995, before I got my first PPP Internet account. (Those were the good ol Amiga days.)
I did re-sign up a year or so after that to use an account in Europe on vacation and got 102334,2140.. CIS was truly global and had local access numbers all over the place.
The BBS and Compuserve days... I sure do miss them.
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| newyorkbob
join:2001-02-09
Brooklyn, NY
| 
End of the line |
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mjf
" "
Premium,Mod
join:2000-08-05
New Orleans, LA
clubs:
2 edits | The Source I was a member of The Source (ID = BDS633) which was purchased by Compuserve in the 80's.
Amazing how far we have come. My iphone has more computing power than my old KayPro.
CIS ID 73614,643 | |
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DC DSL
Stays crunchy even in milk
Premium
join:2000-07-30
Washington, DC
·Covad Communications
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: The Source I got on The Source in 1983...there was a free trial in my Hayes SmartModem 2400 w/SmartCom II. BCW951. I loved PARTI...was very active there. It was far more capable and flexible than the CIS Forums. I created a workalike for my DOSMENU/VS product, and did some consulting and development for both STC and Participation Systems. Between Readers Digest and STC, The Source was doomed to be a red headed stepchild (though still a lot better than Prodigy or GEnie simply because of the sophistication of the user community).
The Source's biggest problem was their hardware platform. They were madly in love with Prime, despite it being sadly behind DEC, Wang and DG in features and performance. STC just couldn't figure out how to deliver "WOW!" (not to be confused with CompuServe's late life bungle) to people's screens. It pretty much was PARTI as the biggest draw: That lasted until The Well grew beyond its BBS nursery and began siphoning off the socially-aware demographic.
The final nail in the coffin for Source was their blowing-off what CIS and GEnie were doing in terms of pursuing distinctive or exclusive content, reaching deeper into other media, and consolidating the myriad BBSes into a one-dime destination. Source's marketing brain trust had too many holdovers from Readers Digest who were convinced that people would be happy with something that stayed constant and familiar...that you could always count on your "favorite" feature to be there, in the same place it's always been. They just couldn't get a handle on the psyche of computer users. My speculation is that had they somehow survived into the late 1990s, they could actually have found a comfortable niche when seniors started coming online in droves.
At one point when the future of CompuServe's forum platform was being debated, there was a bit of a push to just move it to PARTI, since they had resurrected the software and database from The Source's acquisition. IINM, Participation Systems was either out of business at that point, or turned them down so they couldn't get them to create something that would run on either DEC or Intel hardware. When the decision was made to build something in-house for NT, I dusted off the workalike I had created back in 1984 and a contemporary (mid-1990s) rewrite of that was what ultimately wound up as the CIS Forums.
I have to say, the whole computer industry was far more interesting and exciting back in the 80s and 90s than today. Profit was by no means unimportant, but labor of love projects and products could rise to dominance in the wink of an eye. In spite of all the supposed "openness" and "collaboration" in today's industry, there are hardly as many truly radical innovations. Things are largely incremental or generational progressions, or cannibalization of an older idea. Everything these days is designed to appeal to people who can't read or write or even begin to comprehend what goes on inside the box, and to monetize as fast as possible before someone comes up with a cooler package for the same thing.
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There is no giant fur-bearing trout. | |
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RickNY
Premium
join:2000-11-02
New York | My first online account CompuServe was my first online account going back to 1983 with my Commodore 64 and 300 baud modem.. The charges killed me at $6/hour, plus phone charges.. 72426,1576 | |
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hottboiinnc
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH | AOL it was acquired by AOL from H&R Block. CompuServe was founded in Columbus, Ohio and then sold to HR Block...and then to AOL. AOL latter started slowly getting rid of everything. | |
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chuckkk
join:2001-11-10
Warner Robins, GA | Good Bye CIS Anyone remember "MAUG" or the Apple Users group SIG?
It was the harbinger of the later Microsoft support group SIG on CIS, and part of the reason for Apple's success in the Apple II days.
(Between the two, I had free CIS access for years.) | |
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oddgeezer
join:2005-03-22
Leawood, KS | Re: Good Bye CIS Nobody has mentioned the app called TAPCIS, for accessing CompuServe. | |
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DC DSL
Stays crunchy even in milk
Premium
join:2000-07-30
Washington, DC | Re: Good Bye CIS »TapCIS
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There is no giant fur-bearing trout. | |
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