More on Compuserve

I got a call this morning. All the way from Bombay. Wow !

The gentleman at the other end had a very interesting query - what's Compuserve's Bombay phone number ?

Oh oh.

Many moons ago I wrote a full article on Compuserve. I never had so many responses to anything I wrote in my life before ! Not even after that unfortunate incident I had with a cheque I once issued without checking my bank balance....

But the phonecall gave me reason to think - Compuserve seems to be indelibly on the Indian businessman's mind. Am I to blame for that ? Yes ? What a nice feeling !

Anyway, I went back and dug up that issue of PCQ (the one I had to steal from Dayanand at PCQ Bangalore because I couldn't get a copy on the newsstands), and re-read what I wrote in those days.

Woefully inadequate. Surprising that you dear people still read my column. OK, let me make amends - here's the inside dope on how to get to Compuserve.

Modemer's Paradise

Everytime I log into Compuserve, I have this warm feeling washing over me. It's like coming home. The sight of the "You have Electronic Mail waiting" notice is like seeing my dog sitting on the doorstep wagging its tail seeing me approach. And, on entering the the various forums I frequent, being greeted by "11 messages waiting for you" feels like my daughter running down the garden path, arms outstretched, yelling "Papa!".

Not for nothing does the world speak of Compuserve as "the biggest communication service in the universe (unless proven otherwise)". With almost a million people frequenting the place, it is the world's biggest meeting place. And it is just a phone call away.

It is surprising how easy it is to meet people on Compuserve. An innocent query in a forum, and you get responses from all over the world, from people who want to help you, who want to know you, who want to interact with you...

I have made it a habit of signing my name as "Atul Chitnis [India]" in forums. That country tag alongside my name is almost certain to get me responses - simply because people can't believe that I am calling from India (where people supposedly still live in caves and use smoke signals to communicate).

And it also helps in business - especially since India's markets are opening up, and there are plenty of people out there who want to do business with our motherland, but were scared because of the lack of communication facilities. The very fact that I am able to communicate via Compuserve gives them hope.

Yes, Compuserve is a modemer's paradise.

Let me get you there.

Getting to Compuserve

There are three steps you must take to get to Compuserve.

1. You HAVE to have a modem, a phone line and a PC of sorts. 2. You have to have a line of communication to Compuserve. 3. You have to get a Compuserve account.

Let's take them one at a time :

Getting a modem, etc.

You'll have to have a PC (or a Mac, or a...), you have to have a phone, and you HAVE to have a modem.

The first two are usually already in place (else you wouldn't bother reading this article).

The third part is important, because this is where most people goof. Buy a GOOD modem (not a cheap Taiwanese "deal"). The better the modem, the better the returns. Make sure it has error correction (MNP/V.42), and make sure it is fast. If you haven't bought a modem yet, but are about to do so, do NOT buy a 2400 bps modem. Those old clunkers are outmoded and will be history in a year or so. Buy a 14400 bps, V.32bis modem.

Do NOT buy an internal modem - they are cheaper, but much more trouble. Make sure that your PC's serial port has a 16550AF UART chip - without it, you cannot communicate at high speeds.

Do NOT buy/acquire/steal an imported modem - believe me, you'll be sorry (unless, of course, the modem is made by a VERY reputed manufacturer such as Hayes, Multitech, Motorola, US Robotics, Supra or AT&T - just remember that the Indian P&T may not allow you to use an imported modem). And don't judge the modem's quality by the fact that "it sends faxes just fine" - sending a fax is not a real test - it hardly strains the modem.

Getting a line of communication to Compuserve

There are a number of ways to connect to Compuserve. Some are expensive, some are more expensive, some are ridiculously expensive.

The cheapest way is retiring to the Himalayas and establishing contact via meditation. That's cheap, but has been know to fail, so don't bank on this option.

A more reliable (but also more expensive) way is calling Compuserve directly with an ISD call to the USA. One of the 14400 bps numbers is 001-614-764-2917. Remember that the tariff is one pulse (local call) a second.

Cheaper than a call to the USA is calling the Compuserve node at Hong Kong. Since HK is a SAARC country, the tariff is only one pulse every 1.2 seconds. The number is 00852-30025332. The number takes both 14400, 9600 and 2400 bps calls.

Cheapest (relatively) is INET (provided you use it wisely). To get an INET account, contact your local Telecom office. It costs Rs.1820 for registration - what you need is a X.28 dialup account. INET will not give you an account unless you are using a modem cleared for use in India by the DoT - another reason for buying a reputed modem of Indian manufacture. INET is now available in 89 cities in India. INET usage charges are Rs.200/64kb of data, plus Rs.4 per minute.

Once you have your INET account, connect to the local INET node using your PC and modem.

When you get to the "*" prompt, type "Npppppp,uuuuu-03132", where "pppppp" is your INET account's password, and "uuuuuu" is your INET account number.

In a few seconds, you'll see the word COM on your screen, and a few seconds later you'll be prompted for a host name - enter "CIS". Next you will be asked for your Compuserve User ID and password - enter them and you are on.

But we are ahead of ourselves. Let's first of all get ourselves a Compuserve account.

Getting a Compuserve account

Actually it is very easy getting a Compuserve account - you can register online. But there is a fatal hitch - Compuserve will only let you register if you have a credit card (VISA/MasterCard/AmericanExpress) that is valid in the USA. This rules out your local credit card - the RBI rules forbid it, except for a few rare exceptions (such as when you are a registered, $$$ earning exporter).

So how do you get around this ?

One way is to ask your contact abroad to open the account for you, based on his/her credit card, and give you the user id and password. You'll have to come to some arrangement to pay back the money. If your contact abroad has difficulties getting an account, ask him to call Compuserve's service centre (voice) at 1-800-848-8990. Or you can call them from India at 001-614-457-8650. The service centre will give you all the help you need.

Another way is to ask someone abroad for the use of his/her credit card number *you'll aslo need the date of expiry and the bank on which it is drawn). This is dicey, and usually works only if your contact trusts you completely (son/daughter studying/working abroad, relative, VERY good friend, etc.) Then you can use that credit card number to register online.

Connect to Compuserve using one of the ways mentioned above. When the connection to Compuserve is established,enter "177000,5000" as User ID and "PC*MAGNET" at the password prompt. When asked for the agreement number, enter "Z11D9200". (This may have changed, check a recent copy of PC Magazine). Enter the information that will be asked off you, (including the credit card number).

Once you have registered, you'll be issued a user id, but not a password. The password will be sent to you by post after about 10 days, after Compuserve has verified the credit card information. Once you get your password, go online and change it immediately (GO PASSWORD).

At the end of all this, you will have a valid Compuserve account. Congratulations. Sit back and have a ThumsUp (while it is still available). Now don't call Compuserve. You ain't ready for it.

Using Compuserve effectively

Before you call Compuserve (after you get your own account), please sit down and think. Communication of any form can be expensive unless you do it right. Standard Compuserve rates are $12.80 per hour at 2400 bps, $24 at 9600/14400 bps. If you use only e-mail and some selected services, then these rates can be $8.95/$16.00 per month, but it is easy to go outside these selected areas.

Go out, and buy all the back issues of PCQ you can find that have 1993 in the masthead. Read my past articles. I have spent a good part of the year writing about effective communication methods, bone up on them. While you are at it, get a PCQ subscription so that you don't miss out on anything in the future.

Get a copy of OzCIS 2.x (the world's best Compuserve automation program). OzCIS 2.x is shareware, but you can download it only from Compuserve (GO CIS:OZCIS) or get it from a friend. BBSs (including mine) CANNOT offer OzCIS 2.0 or later because the author, Steve Sneed, does not permit it. OzCIS saves me thousands of dollars a year, because it accepts all input from me before calling Compuserve, then goes online and rips through all requested actions and logs off, allowing me to peruse the results offline. You'll need a special script to use it with INET - you can pick it up from my BBS in the PCQ forum (filename OZINET2.ZIP).

Getting help

Once online to Compuserve, the best place to ask questions about Compuserve is in the Practice forum (GO CIS:PRACTICE). This area is free of Compuserve charges (but you will still be paying for communication costs).

Ask your questions, and you are sure to get answers. Just remember the following golden rules when posting a message :

1. Do not send a message that is ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. This is considered rude and may get you banned off the area.

2. Be brief and to the point. State your question in a couple of sentences - long messages are frowned upon.

3. Don't send unsolicited messages to anyone using e-mail. You usually will make friend with people in the forums, then can carry on your relationship with them using e-mail if they indicate that this is desirable.

There are various other ways of getting help.

The best way to learn about Compuserve is to pick the brains of a friend who has a Compuserve account.

There are also consultants who can help you (yup, guys like me), but since it is their profession, they'll charge you for it. Dependant on how good the guy is, a consultant can very quickly get you up to speed. Make sure that HE has a Compuserve account himself and verify this on Compuserve by checking the membership directory (GO CIS:DIRECTORY) for his name. I know a number of conmen who say that they have "extensive Compuserve experience" after having seen a distant acquaintance log in once, and who'll gladly take you for a ride at your expense. Beware of such parasites. And NEVER divulge your INET or Compuserve passwords to anyone, even your friends. Always type them in yourself when needed. A "shady" friend/consultant will show his true nature when he asks you for the password instead of asking you to type in the passwords yourself.

As a Compuserve member, you will also receive a free subscription of the Compuserve Magazine, which is also an invaluable resource.

There are some excellent books in the market - browse through your local computer bookstall, you are sure to find something.

Become a member of a BBS near you. Many Compuserve members also frequent BBSs, and you could ask them.

And finally, explore Compuserve online (carefully). Make sure that you have your capture/log file open, so that you can read everything that happened later when you are offline. Do not spend time online reading what appears on the screen.

Logout

I hope that this time round I have really given enough details on how to get to Compuserve. And I hope this article helps all those people abroad who wish to have their Indian counterparts contact them via Compuserve, but didn't know whether (and how) it could be done.

This article completes one year of my writing for PC Quest. I hope that, in a small way, I have helped my readers get into computer communications. Beginning January '94, I will be changing the scope of this column a bit to address a number of specific issues that have come up during the past year.

I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Productive New Year.

See you on the other side.