Monday, July 20, 2009

CompuServe, Which Nobody Knew Was Still In Business, Closes Its Doors

Although if you go to http://www.cs.com/ they don't see to know it, yet. They still try and get you to sign up!


Ah, history. CompuServe was the first major commercial online service in the United States. It charged hourly rates, and those rates were expensive. You might spend $79 dollars a month, now, to get gigabits of always-on internet access, at the top. Back in the day, you could burn through $79 in a single evening, chatting on the CB at 300 Baud thanks to your handy-dandy accoustic modem.

That's an Anderson Jacobson accoustic modem, almost exactly like the one I used to have, and which I used for years until I finally got a Hayes 1200 Baud direct-connect smartmodem. Ah, technology!

BTW, that Smartmodem 1200 was $699, back in the day when it was first introduced. That'd be about what? $1500 now? I bought mine a little later, and it was only $399. Still--wow. Expensive.

UPDATE: I decided to check this using The Inflation Calculator. What cost $699 in 1981 would cost someone $1635.20 in 2008 dollars. So, there ya go.

CompuServe hung-on. My very first internet access was through Compuserve, using their PPP service to establish my Internet connection. My, how things have changed. And now, Compuserve is on the way out. Goodbye, CIS! We shall miss you.

Looking for discount medical, hospital and clinical equipment? Look no further than DME Medical Supplies. Just FYI.

Anyone else remember Apple's eWorld? I gotta do a post on that, sometime.

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