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I_________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Portal System Overview The Portal System is an online communications system for individuals, groups and companies. It is designed to serve the needs of both home and business users who find communicating online useful for saving time and energy, or interesting for learning or recreation. Portal is a unique system which finally makes online communications affordable with an extremely low price - only $10 per month! Portal can be viewed as a huge online environment, within which are many ways of communicating with others. Inside this environment you will find bulletin boards, conferencing systems, electronic mail networks, advertisements, information bases, surveys, and a reflection of the community in which we live and work. Portal can be your connection to this community. And like a community, Portal can support your needs and interests. Portal can provide you with a place to distribute information, connect with customers, members, or constituents, and a way to create your own communications network. The rest of this document describes Portal in more detail. It covers the basic facilities, describes the general characteristics of the system, and shows how Portal can be used for several different applications. If you have any questions, please give us a call. _________________________________________________________________ Portal Facilities Portal has many facilities, each addressing a different requirement of our online community. This set of capabilities can be combined as needed to meet your specific needs. Here is a summary of what Portal offers: [] Conferences on hundreds of subjects [] Two-way Usenet access [] Large public domain software library [] Subscriptions - a customized online magazine [] Email access to UUCP, ARPA, Bitnet and other networks [] Meetings - real time conversations with many users [] Matching - a new way to meet people [] Surveys - online questionnaires Online conferencing Conferencing is simply a stored, structured discussion on a particular topic. Portal has conferences on hundreds of topics spanning a wide range of subjects. We can also start a new conference at any time. A partial list of our conferences includes: compilers databases graphics ada C fortran lisp prolog smalltalk vlsi laser printers pd software apple ibm-pc atari communications vms houses investments comic books soap operas audio video music automobiles motorcycles games skydiving medicine woodworking singles astronomy philosophy politics arms control religion Two-Way Usenet Access Portal also offers two-way Usenet access. The Usenet is an international, distributed conferencing network spanning four continents, 30 countries, and tens of thousands of users. Participants include people from companies, universities, and government organizations. It is useful for a wide range of purposes including learning about practically any computer oriented subject, sharing experiences on many hobbies, job hunting and advertising things to sell or buy. The Usenet and the people on it are a unique source of information about many topics, especially technical ones. Your unrestricted access to the ``Net'' will allow you to reach and communicate with these people from around the world. If you have used Usenet before, you will appreciate the way related articles are grouped into collections and the fact that you can quickly find old articles. And on Portal, we keep articles around longer, so you can find that one program, article, or recipe you remembered. Public Domain Software Library Portal has a large library of public domain software and information. We have software for MS-DOS, Apple, Atari ST, Amiga, UNIX, and others. Our complete library is over 500 megabytes, and it grows every week. Plus, we have the tools you need to use the library: archiving programs, file transfer utilities, format converters, and other important programs. We also have extensive libraries of online publications from a number of sources. For example, we have publications on the IBM-PC, Macintosh, Sun Microsystems, graphics, and many more. We keep the back issues around for a long time, so these can serve as a valuable source of information. Subscriptions This powerful feature allows you to keep up to date on Portal conferences efficiently and conveniently. The Portal subscription facility allows you to selectively read only new articles in just those conferences which interest you. Portal receives close to 1000 articles a day in hundreds of conferences. You can quickly choose which conferences you wish to read, and weed out the rest, essentially creating a customized magazine oriented around your specific interests. Every time you log in, you can read the new items in your subscription list. You can change your subscriptions at any time. Electronic Mail - Local and Remote Portal also features electronic mail. Naturally, you can send and receive mail from other Portal users. We don't use numbers or special codes - you just address your mail to each user by name. Email gateways to other networks allow you to connect to company networks, universities, government organizations and more. Through Portal mail gateways you can reach hundreds of thousands of users, on tens of thousands of computers, in over 60 networks throughout the world. We have access to the UUCP, ARPA, and Bitnet networks, plus many others. Our automatic mail routing means you don't have to remember or type in long addresses. There is no extra charge for sending or receiving remote mail. Meetings - Multiuser Conversations Portal meetings let you talk with other users online. They are like ``cb'' or ``chat'' features on other systems, only more sophisticated. Anyone can start a conversation at any time. You simply enter the subject you wish to discuss and wait for other users to join you. There is no limit to the number of simultaneous users or topics. Portal keeps all the messages from the members of a conversation separate, so it's easy to follow the conversation. And, Portal's easy to read full screen interface is uniquely pleasant to use. Portal meetings have a wide range of features. For example, you can easily have moderated meetings. The moderator can control who gets to talk and when, and can open or close conversations to individual users or the public at any time. Obnoxious users can be expelled from a conversation, or just kept from talking. You can also have private conversations with other users, and even scramble your text. And all of this is done at your convenience, without any prior arrangements or intervention from the Portal operators. Portal has regularly scheduled meetings we call ``ChatLines.'' These real-time online events are a cross between a talk show and a party. Fast-paced and lively, each Portal ChatLine is hosted and has a different flavor. There is a different one each evening. The current schedule is updated on the system regularly. Matching, A New Way to Meet People As part of our dedication to finding new ways for people to communicate using computers, we've developed a facility called the matcher. The matcher matches people with similar interests, as defined by an online questionnaire they complete. After you complete the form, you can be matched with other users at any time. You get the answers of the other users, sorted so that the best matches are shown first. Portal has a general interest matcher that connects our users with similar interests. It contains about fifty questions that cover things like hobbies, professional interests, and education. Many of our users have completed their questionnaires, and have been matched with other users. So whether you are looking for someone with a special skill or that someone special, the Portal matcher can provide an introduction. Participating in a matcher makes you available for anything from an online introduction to a job offer. And as you change, you can also update your information. We can also produce a special purpose matcher for your group or organization. You have a lot of flexibility in how you can organize your matcher. Your matcher can have people pick the best answer from a list of choices, pick all the answers that apply, or fill in textual responses of any length. All you have to do is give us the questions, and we do the rest. Surveys Portal surveys allow you to collect information of any type. Our general purpose survey feature lets you specify the questions you want to ask, and we take it from there. We set up an area on the system where users can complete the questionnaire. You can ask multiple choice questions (one of many or all that apply) or ask for written responses. We eliminate the problems of printing, distribution, collection, and tabulation of results that are part of conventional surveys. _________________________________________________________________ General Characteristics Regardless of how you use Portal, you will find that the system has a number of unique characteristics. These include: [] Friendly User Interface [] Flexibility [] Good Tools [] High Performance [] Nationwide Local Access [] Easy Administration [] Low Rates Friendly User Interface Our full-screen oriented interface takes advantage of your terminal or terminal emulator program to give you a more pleasant and easy to use system. Portal supports over 350 different terminals and emulators (if you don't have a fancy terminal, we can support you too). Consistent screens throughout the system make each part of the system easy to learn and easy to remember. Plus, if you are using a ``smart'' terminal or emulator, Portal increases the effectiveness of your modem by only sending those characters that have changed. You don't waste your time watching the same data being transmitted over and over. Portal was designed to be used with no documentation. In fact, most of our users sign up online and start using Portal immediately! To help the first-time users, and refresh the memories of the more experienced ones, Portal has extensive online help. Every Portal form has a help command, so you can quickly find out where you are and what to do. The help screens succinctly present the most important information first, then cover the features in more detail. Several levels of help let you zero in on exactly what you need to know. Plus, we have short text descriptions scattered throughout the system. Like a tourguide, these tell you where you are. Portal is a vast territory for you to explore, and the description items and help act as guideposts for your journey. Flexible Architecture Portal was designed from the beginning to be a highly flexible system. Two major design factors provided this flexibility: networking and standard interfaces. The Portal system is not one machine but many. These machines are connected via a high speed local network into a distributed computing system. Each machine in the network runs a number of cooperating programs, each devoted to a specific job. Each program (sometimes called a server) communicates with the others through the net. We have servers for the user interface, mail, meetings, accounting, and many other functions. The servers are connected via a standard, well defined interfaces. New features can easily be added at anytime, as long as they conform to this interface. This makes it easy to add new functionality quickly without affecting existing capabilities. Our networked architecture gives us a number of advantages. First, we can easily increase performance by adding new machines to the network. We can devote different machine to different jobs, or distribute one function among several machines. The servers don't care where they are on the network, so we can move them around at will. Second, networking increases our reliability. We can quickly reconfigure the network to work around failures. In fact, much of this reconfiguration is done automatically! The system detects many types of failures and takes action immediately, with no human intervention. Third, we can quickly adopt new computing technology as it is developed. Our networked architecture is built around accepted industry standards, so we are not dependent on a particular vendor for our hardware and software. We have the freedom to integrate the most reliable, highest performing, least expensive equipment on the market, without replacing our existing facilities. The lower levels of the system are also highly independent, with well defined interfaces. The low level is essentially a toolkit that can be used for producing a variety of communications services. For example, the user interface is a separate system, and can be adapted to changing requirements. We already support two versions of the user interface, full screen and line oriented, and can add new styles of interfaces as the need arises. Portal is similar to an erector set, where a set of standard components can be combined to produce an almost unlimited range of functionality. The result of our architecture is a system with unmatched performance and flexibility. We can quickly respond to changing market needs and customer requirements, and take advantage of new developments as they happen. Our system architecture is one of our most important strengths. Good Tools We give you good tools for using Portal. For example, we support several different file transfer protocols, with several different options, for passing information to and from the system. Anytime you are entering information, you can use also use transfer to upload a file. Anytime you are displaying information, you can use transfer to download it. We support both ascii and binary transfers, so there is no restriction on your information. Another good example is our editing feature. For users with cursor addressable terminals, we support a full screen editor that lets you quickly enter or change your text with immediate feedback. What you see is what you get. This editor supports over 350 different terminals, so we can handle almost any kind of equipment you have. We also provide a line oriented editor for those users who cannot use full screen features. High Performance Portal is FAST. Why waste good money waiting for some overloaded system to respond to your commands? Why mess around with underpowered PC's doing a job for which they were not designed? Why pay for computers, phone lines and modems and tie up your budget and staff time trying to hack out a bulletin board on your own? Why pay extra for 1200 or 2400 bps access? Portal has no artificial throughput delays to waste your time. Portal is one of the most responsive systems around, and we can easily add capacity to accommodate increased demand. Portal is a ready to run network which you can use immediately without making a risky investment. Harness our power and speed to your advantage and save. Nation-Wide Local Access Portal can be reached through Telenet. This means you can connect to Portal by making a local call from over 600 cities around the country. In addition, we are connected to the Public Data Networks of over 70 foreign countries. We take full advantage of the X.25 standard to maximize your effectiveness and minimize your cost during these long distance sessions. Easy Administration Your area on Portal is easy to administer. When we set up your area, we give you administration permissions for your area. You can then easily control who can enter your area and what they can do. For example, you can make some users read-only, give others permission to write, and keep a third group from participating altogether. Different locations can have different permissions for different users, all under your control. We don't control this, you do, and you can change it at any time. You can also easily modify or erase information in your area (assuming that you have permission, of course). Old articles can be erased, and out of date information can be updated. Again, all of this can be done at your convenience, with no intervention by Portal operators. Low Rates Finally, Portal is inexpensive. We charge a one low flat rate - $10 per month. You can call as much as you like, at any time, at any speed. The low cost of Portal means you don't have to worry about racking up large online bills. You don't have to stay up late waiting for the rates to go down, or worry about the extra cost of a 2400 bps connection. Our signup package is only $15.00, and it includes our 80+ page guidebook. For long distance callers, Portal is especially low priced when combined with Telenet's PC Pursuit. PC Pursuit allows users to pay a fixed monthly charge of $25 and enjoy unlimited use of the Telenet network between 6pm and 7am Monday through Friday, and all day on weekends. If you are a PC Pursuit customer, you make a local call to access Portal from any of the 600+ Telenet cities. PC Pursuit Users Connect Direct -- No Dialers Required! Just enter ``connect portal,userid,password'' at the Telenet ``@'' prompt and you are connected to Portal. By connecting directly, you don't have to wait for a dialer, and you get 2400 baud access at no extra charge. For $35 a month ($10 to us and $25 to Telenet), you enjoy unlimited off-hours access to Portal. If you connect via Telenet without using PC Pursuit, there are additional Telenet charges. Here is a list of the regular Telenet charges: peak hours off peak hours 0600-2100 M-F all other times 300/1200 2400 300/1200 2400 A 4.25 4.50 2.10 2.30 B 7.75 8.00 3.80 4.00 C 12.25 12.75 6.10 6.40 K segments 1.50 1.50 0.75 0.75 Peak hours are 0600-2100H M-F. Off Peak is all other times. A K segment (kilosegment) is 1000 segments of up to 64 bytes each. A typical session will use about 1 K segment per hour. _________________________________________________________________ How You Can Use Portal By creating and arranging conferences, directories, matchers, surveys and other facilities within the system, we can create for you a bulletin board, a conferencing system, a customer information service, or a communications network. If you are thinking of setting up a bulletin board or using an online system for communications, please contact us and we will work with you to determine your needs and how Portal can meet them. In most cases we can have you up and online almost immediately, without large up-front payments or negotiated contracts. We have several application notes describing in more detail how Portal can be used for user groups, customer support, and bulletin board systems. User Groups User groups can use Portal to increase the effectiveness of their organization. They can set up conferences on any subject that interests them, and use them to involve their members in ongoing discussions on any topic. Our matcher can be used to introduce different users with the same interests. An active online organization can really attract users to a user group. Customer Support Portal is ideal for customer support applications. Portal conferences are great for distributing product news, technical information, computer programs, problem reports, and helpful hints. Portal email is effective for private communications, and the meetings facility is useful for conversations with several customers at the same time. Our surveys are good for obtaining immediate feedback from users without the usual trouble and expense. Bulletin Boards You can run your own bulletin board system on Portal. We provide software, modems, phone lines, disks, and nationwide access - you provide the information. You no longer have to worry about tying up your phone, running out of disk space, constantly buying new equipment or handling system failures. You get the pleasure of being a sysop without the headaches. _________________________________________________________________ Join Us Now You can create your new Portal immediately by calling our data lines and logging in as ``NEW.'' We accept Visa and MasterCard for immediate access and checks for prepaid accounts, activated when we receive your payment. Or, you can call our Customer Service number below and we will do it for you. If you have a company or group with special accounting needs, just let us know. We can work out a solution for you. Become a part of this exciting new online community by starting your Portal account today. See you online! Portal Communications Company 408/725-0561 (300/1200 bps) 408/725-0569 (2400 bps) 408/973-9111 (Customer Service) Telenet (connect Portal)