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InfiNet trial accounts offer lots of bang for your buck

June 2, 1996

By JIM BROOKS

If you're interested in trying out all the Internet has to offer -- e-mail, newsgroups, the World-Wide Web and more -- then InfiNet has a promotional deal that should interest you.

From now through August 1, you can sign up for a low-cost, one-month trial of Internet access through InfiNet.

The cost? A paltry $12 for the month, which includes the self-installing software package.

The whole package is sent to your door via first class mail. All you need is a computer a modem (9600 baud or faster) and access to a telephone line.

The trial account includes unlimited Internet access for the month, and if you need it, InfiNet's top-notch toll-free technical support -- which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

At the end of the 30-day trial, you'll have the option of either continuing your subscription at one of InfiNet's two access levels (10 hours of access per month or unlimited access), or letting your trial account expire.

C|Net Central's rating of Internet Service Providers puts InfiNet in the top grouping when it comes to customer satisfaction. For a look at the rankings and comments by subscribers, visit their Web site.

To order your trial account or get more information, call 1-800-849-7214.

CABLE MODEMS ARE COMING. A recent report says the future of cable modems for Internet access is indeed bright.

The report, published by SIMBA Information Inc. and Cable World magazine, says that the deployment of cable modems should allow operators to make money.

In the two scenarios examined in the report, monthly Internet access rates via cable will range from $25 for consumer-grade service to as high as $250 for premium business service.

Cable operators will have to balance upgrading their lines with the amount of revenue they can generate in order to make a profit.

The report says that the hybrid cable/telephone modems, which download information from the Internet and return it back over a telephone line, would allow cable operators to establish themselves as Internet service providers without financing extensive upgrades.

Vist the Media Central Web site for more information on the report, ``Cable Modems: Business Dimensions and Market Opportunities.'' v

NEW WEB SITE. Kentucky Sights & Sounds is a new World-Wide Web site created by WKYT-TV and Mikrotec Internet Services both of Lexington.

The new site is designed to offer Internet users the opportunity to tap into WKYT's news resources, video and audio files, and other information and entertainment areas with a decidedly Kentucky flavor.

WKYT provides most of the content while Mikrotec, a Lexington-based Internet service provider, contributes the distribution and design technology.

COMPUSERVE HEADS FOR THE WEB. As expected, CompuServe Inc., one of the pioneers of the on-line services industry, recently announced it will be moving its content onto the World-Wide Web.

CompuServe, The Microsoft Network and Prodigy have all announced moves to the Web in recent months, abandoning new development for their proprietary services.

CompuServe is the largest on-line service to make the move, which is a testimony to the economic pressure the Internet has put on the services.

While the 17-year-old service doesn't plan to eliminate its dial-up proprietary service entirely, its new products and services will be aimed at the Web.

GENIE ONLINE GOES TOO. Another pioneer in the on-service business, GEnie Online, announced recently that it too would be moving its content to the World-Wide Web.

New Jersey-based IDT has teamed with GEnie to created Genie Interactive, a new information and game site for the Internet. The site will be unveiled in June, and much of the current GEnie Online content will be moved to the Web by year's end.

GEnie Online's growth stagnated in recent years, and it became primarily a dial-up service for on-line interactive games. The service has about 35,000 subscribers.

The service, originally owned by General Electric Co., was sold to a New Jersey venture capital firm in February.

The company says it will continue offering its dial-up service.

WHITE HOUSE INFORMATION. In an effort to make it easier for users to find information at its Web site, the White House has added the Federal Statistics Briefing Rooms.

The site includes general statistical information on the U.S. and the world. And while the information is available elsewhere on the Internet, it is available here now.

PRODIGY SOLD. Managers of the troubled Prodigy on-line service failed in their attempt to buy the service from its owners, Sears, Roebuck and Co. and IBM.

The May 20 issue of PC Week announced that International Wireless Inc. reached an agreement to purchase the service for less than $250 million.

International Wireless plans to expand Prodigy's subscriber base into Latin America, and continue its move from a proprietary service to an Internet-based service.

Comments and questions about this column may be sent to jbrooks@myoldkentuckyhome.com, or visit www.myoldkentuckyhome.com on the World Wide Web.

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