AOL Tourguide - A good deal



Author: Scott Ohman

Date: December, 1993

Keywords: America Online service modem book review

Text:
The America Online Membership Kit and Tour Guide includes a 400 page
guide to AOL, an AOL startup disk, and 10 free hours of on-line time,
which can be used by new or current members. The software will work
with any Mac from the plus on up. It requires at least 700K of ram and
a hard drive with ''several megs of free space.'' AOL currently
supports modem speeds up to 2400 baud; when 9600 baud communications
will be added is anyone's guess. The software comes on one disk, and
the installation is a strait forward, one step process, which only took
me a few minutes. Your first sign on takes longer-  it took me about 20
minutes to go through the process of signing on, selecting my access
numbers, and choosing my on-line name and password. Fortunately, as the
book assured me, this first connection is on AOL's dime. 
America Online lives up to most of its hype. It provides a Mac
interface, including most standard keyboard commands and the like,
without need for any additional software. It offers the features most
people would expect from an on-line service: over 28,000 Mac software
programs, message boards on numerous topics, fax and US mail
capabilities, an Internet e-mail gateway, on-line magazines, and so on.
For the most part, I only used the software files and the internet
e-mail. The other sections seemed interesting, and I did try them out,
but at $3.50 an hour, you have to decide if they are really worth the
cost. For me they weren't. Searchable magazines and encyclopedias are
nice, but when you have a free public library nearby, on-line
advantages become less important. 
Of course, most people know the basics about AOL. What people want to
know is how useful this book is, and whether it is worth its $34.95
price. Most people who are already familiar with the basics of on-line
communications will probably find much of this book a little
simplistic. It seems to have been written with a first time, easily
confused user in mind. Everything is discussed in metaphors that a new
user can easily understand. Most of the manual covers things which you
could find on your own, given the intuitive interface. It may take you
slightly longer, but you will eventually find it. Also, the book has
obviously been written with a very pro-AOL viewpoint, always praising
the usefulness of each section, the people who work for AOL, and the
value. Never does the Author enter into a critical mode, comparing AOL
with other services, or questioning whether certain services are worth
the price.  On the other hand, it does include useful information on
FlashSessions and the Download Manager, two powerful features which are
slightly less evident, as well as useful keyword listings and a
command-key reference.
From all my criticism, you would think that I do not consider the book
a good value. Quite to the contrary, I find it to be well worth its
$34.95 price. It includes a coupon good for 10 hours of on-line time,
which in itself would cost $35. So even if you use the book only
rarely, and read only part, it has already paid for itself. Note that
if you are not already  a member of AOL, it is to your advantage to
first order a free membership from AOL, which includes a startup disk,
miniguide, and ten free hours of on-line time, then use the coupon
provided in the guidebook to add to that time.

Copyright © december, 1993 by Scott Ohman