As mentioned in my previous post, this particular disk has three articles on it from 1983. The 2nd article is from the September 1983 issue of MS. Magazine and is by the same author (Lindsey Van Gelder). While it is a different article, it covers much of the same material, namely the "CB" chat feature of CompuServe.
Modems: Close Encounters Of The Computer Kind - Part 1
Last February, MS. published an article of mine entitled "Falling In
Love With Your Computer." Back then, my computer and I spent days and
nights staring into each other's eyes with the single-minded intensity
typical of new relationships. But, as these things often go, after
some months had passed and the initial mysteries became familiar, a
certain restlessness set in. I wanted to reach out and touch another
computer.
I bought a modem.
My modem is a Hayes 1200, a sleek silver box about the size of a book.
It has three cables connecting it to my computer, my phone line, and
an electrical outlet. Using special software - computer programs
specifically designed to operate the modem - my computer can "call"
other computers anywhere in the world and transfer any information of
theirs onto my screen. If you've been following the computer field,
you probably already know that a modem can get you stock prices,
airline schedules, financial news, worldwide schedules, and a whole
host of other services for the business community. Less publicized
are some of the really interesting things you can do "on-line":
making friends, arguing about politics, playing chess, even (bizarre
as it sounds) have "sex" with people thousands of miles away.
Such carryings-on go under the general name of "telecommunications."
I do a lot of it on CompuServe, the largest "information service" in
the country, which I and nearly 60,000 other people subscribe to. I
paid a $20 initiation fee, and I'm billed at $5 an hour after 6 P.M.
on weeknights and all day on weekends (prime business hours cost more
than four times as much) to sample 800-plus different services. I
would be severely remiss if I didn't warn you that cruising around in
this infinity of info can be awfully addicting, not to mention
expensive - $5 an hour can add up when you're having fun. But, come
with me on a typical evening's foray: