Is It the Web or CompuServe?

Not quite Web-based, but not quite its old proprietary format, CompuServe 4.0 is a new type of hybrid.

Harry McCracken, PC World

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Then America Online and the Web came along and knocked the stuffing out of the online-service pioneer. Now, CompuServe is owned by AOL--and trying to reinvent itself for the Web age.

In fact, CompuServe 4.0 (5 hours a month for $10; unlimited access for $25 a month) turns the service into a hybrid--not quite Web based, but not its old proprietary self, either. Using an integrated version of Internet Explorer, you can hop back and forth between external sites and internal content, and create a list of Favorites that includes both. As before, CompuServe membership includes full ISP services, such as POP3 e-mail, newsgroups, and Web access from any browser.

Membership's biggest benefit continues to be the forums, which remain great destinations for advice, debate, and chatter--not just on techie topics (for which they have long been famous), but on everything from buying a car to UFO sightings.

For the complete story, see the upcoming October issue of PC World magazine, online on September 2.

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