Conference 7.286::digital

This is .0 reformatted for 80 columns.
    
    Bob - Co-moderator DIGITAL
    
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Note 2270.0             After TFSO, staying connected...              No replies
MILPND::ROLAID::LAGASSE                              48 lines  10-DEC-1992 18:59
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For those desiring to "keep in touch" with your DECie friends & associates - try
signing up for one of the services that an e-mail connection to INTERNET (eg.
Compuserve or MCImail).  (Prodigy doesn't have INTERNET access.)

This will let you send mail to a wide array of users at firms and universities
around the world, not to mention access to premium services.  There's a fair
amount  of information on these already listed (see NOTED::SERP, notes 72 &
186).

Briefly, MCImail is something like $35/yr, plus maybe .50 per msg. Compuserve is
about $2/mo, or $8/mo with the equivalent of 60 free 3 page msgs/mo (with an
added .15 per msg for INTERNET msgs that you decide to read).

I'll say a little more about getting a Compuserve account, as this is what I
got...

The 1st month is free - so try it and cancel if you don't like it.  Also,
they'll sell you a PC interface pkg with pull down menus, etc - cost $25, but
they give you a $25 credit for "extended services" so it's essentially free.  

TAPCIS makes a very nice competing front-end for the PC, but you can always get
that later...  It can decrease your connect time for downloading, etc. so this
might be an option if Compuserve doesn't have a local phone # for you. TAPCIS is
available for about $50 at (800) USA-GROUP.  If you have a MAC, the  Navigator
pkg (from Compuserve?) is supposedly good.

Note, there is no connect charge for the basic services (e-mail, and some
conferences, etc) as long as they offer a phone exchange local to you.

You can also get yourself & a friend $25 each of free credits - if you give them
your friends account #.  I would suggest checking one of these notesfiles for
someone's account, and simply split the credit with them.  I think by default,
you get a $15 credit for "premium services" w/o a friend, so that's not bad
either.

Currently, they're also trying to sell you a $100 worth of coupons for $75,
which can be used to pay for any/all charges.  And I think they said you can
return these for a full refund if you decide not to use them.

When sending to a compuserve address, use DECWRL::"nnnnn.mmmm@compuserve.com"

They can give you an account for immediate use over the phone if you like. The
membership number in the US is (800) 848-8199, UK 0800-289-458, Canada (+1)
614-457-8650, Germany 0130-86-4643, (others)...

And no, I do not have any stake in Compuserve.  But I did spend a little time
trying to research which service to use, and for those leaving the company soon
(like me), I thought this might help them get started.

Don
DECWRL::"71544.1250@compuserve.com"
    

    I'd recommend America Online. Abt $8 a month for 2 hrs of connect
    time, Internet mail with no cost adder. 10 cents a minute after the
    first 2 hrs.
    
    I think it has a great UI, and they had a free signup kit complete
    with software for your PeeCee. Call 703-448-8700.
    
    These guys were just bought/capitialized by Apple weren't they?
    	/john

    How about notes....
    Is there any access to notes once we are ex-digital?
    jeff

RE: notes,
In general,
Nope.
Unless you come back in a contractor role, Digital's network and notesfiles
are not available other than via mail messages through a gateway filter.

There are, however, usenet newsgroups, which can come fairly close.
The format is strictly linear, but you get a LARGE selection and a
fairly large audience.

There are local services which for a fee will give you an Internet mailbox and
a news feed.  These are generally smmall outfits which are strictly local in
scope.

Kevin Farlee

If you live in the UK and wish to keep internet and/or usenet access
after you leave Digital, then the list of companies in note 115 in the
VAXCAT::GB92 conference it likely to be of interest. This list is also
in topic 1794 in the UPSAR::GATEWAYS conference.

Craig

    I have tried Genie, and found it cumbersome and way too big and it is
    smaller than Compuserve. I like America On Line. It is a manageable
    size, and the ratio of "bozos" seems to be lower. I've gotten good
    technical advice from AOL too. I used to have to program my terminal
    emulator to do "hit and runs" for Genie, and then it was still mostly
    menu traversal time that I was being charged for. It was slow slow
    slow. 
    
    I also think that if you are a Macintosh user, America On line wins
    hands down for user interface. And I've used it to send internet mail,
    no hassles.
    
    Good luck to all, 
    
    		--Catherine--*

    
    
       ...I agree with .6 - AOL is THE user-friendly online service!
    
    
    								-John R-

    
    
    	Had a thought this morning...On December 7th a lot of those let go
    	were sofware engineers from N.H. facilities.  Heard on the radio
    	this morning that Sanders/Lockheed in Nashua just got a multi
    	million $$$ government contract and that they will be hiring about
    	50 software engineers!!!  wish there was a way to let TFSO'd
    	software engineers know of this potential job situation...
    
    
    

    I am sure that the TFSO'd people are making sure that they are aware of
    the job market in the area...
    
    q