>Why isn't the Smithsonian looking at developing a greater presence by
>using Mosaic? I realize that there are people out there whose only access
>to the Internet is via AOL and Compulsive, but there are other vendors
>that provide true, direct Internet access -- Delphi being one of them --
>and Mosaic would allow the same, if not better, access to the images. IMNSHO.
 
I just want to clarify that "direct" internet access is neither cheap nor
easily come by (at least for US residents).  Mosaic requires TCP/IP on the
client computer.  You can _only_ get this with either a direct connection or
a SLIP connection.  Delphi and the other inexpensive services provide
dial-in terminal session access to a UNIX machine.  You have "full" Internet
access, but not "direct" access.  You can't run Mosaic or any of the other
nifty software in "native-client-mode" (my own term) from those services.
It is inexpensive, but it is not the kind of service those at a university
or other organization with a direct connection enjoy.
 
To get a direct connection, I have to use SLIP (serial line internet
protocol) and pay a service which provides a SLIP server, in my case
JVNCnet, the regional Internet provider (a for-profit corporation).  They
have the most reliable service and the best value I have found for a full
SLIP connection.  Their fee is $100/month plus phone charges.  I am not near
a metropolitan area o I have to pay long distance charges of $10/hour for
about 7 hours a month.  I am sure that JVNCnet makes a tidy profit on these
fees.
 
My fees are worth it to me for what I get as I move towards getting the
Museum a direct connection, but for most people, AOL and other "commercial"
services provide a real service in providing a cheap, graphical way to get
connected.
 
Is the response on this list simply a manifestation of the PIMFY syndrome?
(a knd of opposite of NIMBY: "Please, In My Front Yard.")  Those with access
to the Internet have an atonishing array of information available to them.
You can't have it all.
 
Personally, I applaud NMAA in choosing AOL as a means for their initial
foray into electronic access.
Guy Hermann   | Mystic Seaport Museum | Gentle breah of yours my sails
[log in to unmask]   |  Mystic, Conn., USA   | Must fill or else my project fails