|
A pioneering online service.
Compuserve has a special place in the hearts of internet old-timers; for
many it was their first experience of e-mail and chat.
Originally conceived as a computer time-sharing service in 1969, the service
expanded rapidly into a forum-based information resource of immense
proportions. Widely used by computing professionals, Compuserve was the
undisputed leader in online services for many years, despite its reliance on
old proprietary technology, an arcane command-line interface and a clumsy
subscriber id system. The arrival of a windows-based interface made
navigating the system somewhat easier, but despite a belated transition to
isp status it never achieved the mass appeal it hoped for. One
possible reason for this is that H & R Block, Compuserve's owner for
many years, was a firm of accountants. The company was sold to aol in
the early 1990s. |
