No more text-based Internet? - not if you use the right software!

[Robert C. Pettengill]

You are confusing dialup PPP(or SLIP) TCP/IP accounts with graphical TCP/IP
clients.  The ISPs offer the dialup TCP/IP instead of or at a lower cost
than dialup remote terminal accouts because they are cheaper and more
flexible.  The remote terminal accounts require a mainframe/mini for the
account to run on and diskspace for the user as well as the extra
administration that this requires.

There are a number of packages which will support TCP/IP clients, including
the telnet, telnet3270, (smtp/pop) text email, and text only web clients
needed for your library catalog access, on old text oriented ibm pc/xt
class equipment. Use your favorite web search engine at work to locate
them. Likewise there are telnet, telnet3272, and email clients that will
run just fine on new windows machines.  Windows95 includes a bare-bones
telnet client along with the dialup tcp/ip support.  The freeware Eudora
email client runs well on Mac, Win95, and Win 3.1 machines running dialup
tcp/ip.  Most ISPs will provide a SMTP/POP email account for you (it may
cost extra).

The only people left out of dialup tcp/ip access are those who only have a
dumb terminal rather than a computer.

Yes, users do prefer (good) web interfaces to telnet.  Like any other
business, if your service is hard to use customers will go elsewhere.  This
is the real problem, not the services the ISPs offer.  Also scary that
someone with the title "Internet Administrator" doesn't know stuff like
this.  I've heard that Austin has the highest per capita book purchases of
any city in the US.  I don't know if we read more here, but sometimes I
think the Austin library is part of the reason why.

;rob

P.S.
You might check and see if you can get low cost access from tenet, I
believe that public school teachers can do this in Texas.  They may offer
service to librarians.  If all you have is a terminal and modem at home, I
think they have login/email accouts as well.

At 12:33 PM 1/21/97 -0800, you wrote:
>I am looking for an Internet Service Provider in San Antonio which
>offers a dial-up account with text-based e-mail.  This is for a user
>with an IBM PC-XT (no windows).  If anyone knows of one, please let me
>know.
>
>I have been searching for several weeks, with no luck.  This experience
>(as well as frequent customer demands for a web interface to our
>catalog) has enlightened me.  I'm beginning to think that such
>text-based Internet services have disappeared; in other words, all home
>computer (or webtv) users are now accessing the Internet through a
>graphical user interface.  If so, this has major implications for
>library catalog access through telnet.  It will soon go the way of the
>buggy whip.
>
>I realize that many users (except webtv) can install telnet software to
>work with their web browser.  However, increasing numbers of customers
>seem to think that this is too much trouble, or don't understand it at
>all.  In these customers' eyes, if our catalog is not on the web, the
>Library doesn't exist, or at least is not serving their needs.
>-- 
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Madeleine Showalter		mshowalt at library.ci.austin.tx.us
>Internet Administrator		telnet://apl.ci.austin.tx.us
>Austin Public Library		http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library
>	Opinions expressed are solely my own.
>
>
--
 Robert C. Pettengill, Ph.D., r.pettengill at ieee.org
 Home: rcp at msn.com, 1-512-258-9450, http://users.aol.com/rcpettengi/
 Work: rcp at slb.com, 1-512-331-3728, http://www.austin.sar.slb.com/~rcp/
"Objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are." 
  - Meat Loaf / Jim Steinman