New York's new Internet gateway, THE PIPELINE

 About The Pipeline

New York's new Internet gateway

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Imagine discovering a whole system of highways that cut hours off your 

commuting time. Or a library you could use any time of the night or day, with 

acres of books and unlimited browsing. . . . This is a new dimension--an 

electronic, virtual world where time and space have almost no meaning. People 

in distant lands communicate across time zones without ever seeing each other, 

and information is available 24 hours a day from thousands of places.

Tracy LaQuey, The Internet Companion

The Internet is the world's largest and fastest-growing information network. It 

is the information superhighway of the future. Where private on-line services 

like Compuserve and Prodigy are isolated ponds, the Internet is the ocean--

reaching everywhere, and connecting everything.

"By the way, what is your electronic-mail address?" You are hearing this 

question more and more. It means, "Where are you on the Internet?"--because 

only the Internet links every electronic-mail service. The Internet is growing 

explosively. Two years ago, it belonged exclusively to computer specialists. 

Now there are more than 20 million users.

You can use a different kind of resource: a worldwide supply of 

knowledgeable people, some of whom are certain to share your interests . . . 

Well then, where do you start? Getting a handle on the Internet is a lot like 

grabbing a handful of Jello--the more firm you think your grasp is, the more it 

oozes down your arm.

Ed Krol, The Whole Internet

That is where The Pipeline comes in. We are New York's new Internet 

gateway. We provide full access to everything the global network has to offer: 

universal electronic mail; thousands of "news groups," or discussion forums; 

and a cornucopia of resources ranging from on-line books to instant storm 

forecasts to yesterday's Supreme Court opinions to library catalogues to 

educational experiments to Coke machines to live, real-time chat with people 

anywhere in the world. You can connect to other systems and download files 

painlessly. We deliver sports scores and up-to-the-minute news from United 

Press International.

Our emphasis is on ease of use. We know that the Internet can be a

jungle. Traditional Internet links require you to master a new form of

computer-ese. We think you have better things to do.

All these services are combined in a special Windows software program that 

we have designed. Pipeline for Windows lets you browse mail and news online 

or offline, as you prefer. It is both friendly and powerful--requiring no 

instruction manual, and allowing you to carry on activities in different windows 

simultaneously. If you want to read news in one window, while playing a game 

in a second and watching mail drop into your inbox in a third, the Pipeline 

software is what you are looking for.

Those with Macintoshes or PC's not running Windows can also subscribe, 

using their own communications software to connect with a standard array of 

Internet tools. For the already addicted, we also offer a range of advanced 

services. 

To join, you may send electronic mail to subscribe@pipeline.com; speak with a 

representative at (212) 267-3636; have your modem dial 212-267-6432 (high-speed

lines: 14,400 and 9,600 baud) or 212-267-7544 (low-speed lines: 2,400 baud) and 

sign in as guest; or send postal mail to The Pipeline, 150 Broadway, Suite 

1710, New York 10038.

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Who and Where

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The Pipeline's founder is James Gleick, the author of Chaos: Making a New 

Science. He who grew obsessed with the Information Age resources he 

encountered on the Internet and at the same time grew frustrated by the 

hurdles that seemed to exist for normal, interested, non-university, non-Unix-

speaking and generally non-U individuals like himself.

Its administrator, chief programmer, and resident genius is Uday Ivatury, a 

Bombay native who cut his teeth on (and survived) the world of IBM 

mainframes. He has set himself a formidable challenge with The Pipeline: a 

joining of the seemingly alien cultures of Unix work stations and DOS or 

Apple personal computers.

Its technical coordinator, Leland Woodbury, is an expert on interactive media 

and user-interface issues. He was a member of the technical staff of Bell 

Communications Research and recently completed a seven-year stint as 

manager of the Dado Massively Parallel Computer Project at Columbia 

University--before joining our less massively parallel project.

The Pipeline itself lies--in geographical space--inside a powerful Sun 

Microsystems computer system situated just off Wall Street in the heart of 

New York's Telecommunications District (formerly Financial District). In 

network space--cyberspace--it is at an Internet node known simply as 

pipeline.com, roughly as near and as far (give or take a few milliseconds) as 

any other place on the Internet. 

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Our Windows Software

The Pipeline for Windows software package is designed to set a new standard 

for easy, friendly on-line communication. Yet it is also extremely powerful, 

using the capabilities of Windows in ways that no other on-line service has 

tried to do.

** Easy point-and-click interface.

** Open as many windows as you like: see mail arrive in one window, 

            browse an information service in another, view a weather map in a third . . .

** Intelligent background processing of the data flow.

** Live weather forecasts, UPI news, sports scores, and much more.

** Read documents, display pictures, and find files from everywhere 

            on the global Internet.

** Instant help wherever you are.

Main features

Mail. New mail automatically drops into the Inbox as it arrives (or when the 

user logs in). Users may create and manage other mail folders. There is a built-

in address book.

News. A point-and-click news reader smooths the process of finding your way 

through 4,000+ Usenet news groups. It is easily customizable.  While on line, 

you may browse freely. Or, while off line, you may select subjects to be 

downloaded quickly for later reading.

"Gopher." For exploring the Internet. Documents appear in their own windows 

for reading, editing, or printing. Pictures display automatically and can be 

panned and zoomed as well as saved and printed. Users can easily customize 

menu items and icons with their favorite Internet resources.

Connect anywhere. Anything that can be done from a standard terminal can be 

done in a window in Pipeline: that means connecting via telnet directly to any 

place on the Internet. If the user wishes, it's easy to change fonts, colors, or the 

terminal emulation.

Database searching and file finding. The Pipeline software comes with its own 

implementations of all the key Internet services: Archie, FTP, and WAIS, with 

simple user-friendly dialogs to shield users from the technical complexities.

Pink Slip

A technical note for Internet experts: The reason the software is unique lies in 

its ability to transparently multitask many different windows (sessions, in 

effect). We have implemented our own proprietary packet-transfer protocol--

called Pink Slip--to intelligently manage multiple 

data streams over an ordinary modem connection.

For the user, the process is transparent: he or she never sees or knows about 

Pink Slip. But it is always working behind the scenes. When the user is 

downloading a large file, for example, Pink Slip automatically adjusts the speed 

of the transfer--the priority given to individual packets--depending on what 

else the user is doing. If the user is reading or replying to mail or News, the 

background transfer is fast. If new mail arrives, or the user opens a new 

window and begins playing a game, those data streams take priority and push 

the file transfer into the background.

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Rates and Services

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We provide our customers with a basic account, time on line, and--for 

Microsoft Windows users--The Pipeline's special software. There are no setup 

or "extra" charges. Our standard rates are:

** The basic account: $12 per month.

** Connect time: $2 per hour.

** Pipeline for Windows: $90 (but see 

introductory offer below).

Introductory Offer

     Any user who subscribes for three months or more will receive the Pipeline 

for Windows software free of charge.

Special Subscription Plans 

** The TIW (Toe in the Water) Plan. $15 

monthly, including 5 free hours. Pipeline for Windows users will find all the 

tools they need to keep their connect time low. The software will quickly get 

waiting mail and Usenet news. Then the user can read it and reply at leisure 

before going back on line. 

** The 20/20 Plan. $20 monthly, including 

20 free hours. With this much time, few users will ever hear the clock ticking. 

But for those devoted few, there is still . . .

** The IIMO (Internet Is My Oyster) Plan. 

$35 for unlimited time. If you're the kind of user who just stays on line, paying 

the telephone company a mere dime for a call that never ends, watching your 

mail andnews drop into their folders, chatting in real time with friends in 

Sweden and Singapore, playing addictive Internet games . . . well, you'll be 

killing us, financially speaking. But we have to admit, you're our kind of user. 

Customers may receive a 12-month subscription under any of these plans by 

paying for 10 months in advance, and they also receive the Pipeline for 

Windows software free of charge. Yearly subscribers may nevertheless cancel 

at any time and receive a refund for their remaining months.

Special Connections for Experts and Businesses

** High-speed SLIP and PPP connections: 

$20/month and $2/hour.

** Digital ISDN (64kbps) connections: 

$20/month and $4/hour.

** Corporate and group accounts: for 

information about rates and the special services we offer group accounts, 

inquire at (212) 267-3636.

To Open Your Account

By mail: write our subscription office at The Pipeline, 150 Broadway, Suite 

1710, New York 10038.

To speak to an account representative, please call The Pipeline at 

(212) 267-3636.