Computer communications:Compuserve

Compuserve

In Europe, Compuserve has merged with Data mail, a large email service, and Data star, a database service, to become Compuserve/FORUM. It is also linked with a number of other email networks, including the UK's JANET academic and research network. Compuserve is accessed via a number of communications networks, one in the UK being Istel.

Compuserve's own on-line service is called the Compu­ serve Information Service (CIS). This has about 600,000 subscribers, mainly in the US. It includes about 200 special­ interest groups or Forums. Within a forum, you can leave bulletin-board messages, 'chat' (using a keyboard) with anyone else who happens to be logged on at the same time, and download software. There is a Microsoft Applications forum, for example, and a Lotus forum, as well as forums run by Apple, Atari, IBM, and many others. There are also a number of non-technical forums.

For researchers, CIS provides gateways to some 1,400 databases worldwide. For 800 of these, CIS provides its own front end that provides a common method of searching for information.

It also offers a flexible email service allowing you to send not only ASCII text files but also spreadsheet and graphics files, up to 512K long.

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