Part 2 (1/2)
This chapter is about the structure and contents of the online world You will read about Bulletin Board syste systems, online data bases, packet data services, and network services like FidoNet, i-Com, Infonet, and the Internet
From papyrus to bits and bytes ------------------------------ Around 1500 BC, the world's first library was established in Tell el Aht hundred years later, the first public library opened in Athens, Greece
It took another two thousand years for the computer to be invented The first known mention of a possible future online inforazine in 1945
Nine years later, the Naval Ordinance Test Station opened their online search service in California (USA) The first full-text database caraphic database containing references to s started to roll at a faster pace:
In 1972, DIALOG (USA) opened their Educational Resources Information Center and National Technical Infor (Appendix 1 contains infor- mation about the major online services referred to in this book)In 1974, Dow Jones News/Retrieval (USA) launched a financial information service for stock brokers
In 1978, the first bulletin board was put into operation in Chicago (USA)
CompuServe (USA) launched a service for home users in 1979
The online world was born in the United States Little happened in the rest of the world until the late 1980s American coer alone
Today, we can access over 5,000 public databases They are available from more than 500,000 online systems (”host computers”) all over the world
With so h the s This book therefore starts with a map of the online world
The structure and contents of the online world ---------------------------------------------- The online world can be described as a cake with multiple layers, where the information sources are the bottoure on the top The online world contains the following tiers:
(1) Database producers and information providers (2) Online service companies (3) Gateways and networks (4) The services (5) The user interface (6) The data transport services (7) The User
1 Database producers and information providers
------------------------------------------------ I have a bulletin board syste on a small personal computer, and offers shareware and public dorams transferred to their personal computers by modem (see appendix 2 for how to do this)
When you call this BBS to ”download” a free program for to your computer's hard disk, don't expect to find one rams have been written by others
When you call Data-Star in Switzerland, or CompuServe in the US to read news, you may find some stories authored by these companies Most of their news, however, are written by others
InfoPro Technologies delivers Russian scientific and technical articles froh online services like Orbit, Pergainator The text has been prepared by VINITI (the Institute for scientific and technical information of the xUSSR)
My BBS (the ”Saltrod Horror Show”), Data-Star, NIFTY-Serve, Orbit, Pergamon, BRS, and CompuServe are online services We call those who have provided the news and information on these services for information providers or database producers
The Aency associated Press is an information provider They write the news, and sell the, CompuServe, Nexis and NewsNet These online services let you read the news by ht to distribute their news Your news reading charges may be imbedded in the online service's standard access rates So news
Most subscribers pay US1280 per hour (1993) to use CompuServe at 2400 bits per second (bps) At this speed, you typically receive around 240 characters of news per second If you access at higher speeds, you will have to pay more
CompuServe pays associated Press part of what they earn each ti AP news on this service
Others charge h NewsNet, you pay a surcharge of US7200 per hour at 2400 bps (1993) Scanning newsletter headlines and conducting keyword searches are cheaper You pay the the basic connect charge, which is US9000 per hour at this speed
Thus, your total cost for reading Mid-East Business Digest amounts to US270 per minute
CompuServe's database service IQuest lets you search NewsNet through a gateway to find and read the sa will only set you back US2150/hour (provided the articles are a the first hits in your search)
Many inforrassroots bulletin boards The Newsbytes News Network and the USA Today newsletter services (also in full text on Dialog and Nexis) are two exa the sa on what online service you are using If you are a regular reader, shop around for the best price
Information providers may have subcontractors The Ziff-Davis service Computer Database Plus, a database with full-text articles froazines like Datamation and Wall Street Computer Review, depends on them
Datamation pays journalists to write the articles Ziff-Davis pays Dataht to distribute the articles to CompuServe's subscribers Co the text
2 Online services ------------------ The term ”online services” refers to infore or small, to owners of personal computers with modems
What is offered, differ by systera malls, discussion foruames and entertainment, financial data, stock market quotes, and research capabilities
You do not always need a phone and aup”
Soh leased phone lines, amateur radio, or other methods
Check out appendix 1 for a list of major services mentioned in this book, with addresses, phone numbers, and a short description
Coland) are co their services
Soazines and newspapers with a flat subscription rate for basic services You can use this part of a service as iven period GEnie, Co those offering such pricing options