GEnie

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GEnie is the online service created by General Electric's business, GEIS (now GXS), which runs from 1985 to the end of 1999. In 1994, GEnie claimed some 350,000 users. The peak of the simultaneous use of about 10,000 users. This is one of the pioneering services in the field, although it was eventually replaced by the World Wide Web and graphics-based services, notably AOL.

Video GEnie

Sejarah awal

GEnie was founded by Bill Louden on October 1, 1985 and launched as an ASCII text-based service by the GE Information Services division in October 1985, and gained attention as the first serious commercial competition for CompuServe. Louden was originally a CompuServe product manager for Computing, Communities (forums), Games, eCommerce, and email product lines. Louden buys DECWAR source code and has developed MegaWars , one of the earliest multiplayer online games (or MMOGs), in 1985.

This service is run by General Electric Information Services (GEIS, now GXS) based in Rockville, Maryland. GEIS serves a wide range of customized, large-scale, network-based customized applications, including banking, electronic data exchange and e-mail services to companies around the world, but is able to run GEnie on many of their GE Mark III timeframe mainframe computers that would otherwise be less utilized after normal US working hours. This orientation is part of GEnie's fall. Despite being very popular and a national power in the on-line market, GEnie is not allowed to grow. GEIS executives are steadfastly refusing to view the service as anything but the "content" load and will not expand the network with a single phone line, let alone expand the mainframe capacity, to accommodate the growing user base in GEnie. (Later, however, GE does not agree to provide services over the SprintNet time share network, which has its own dial-up points, an Internet-to-SprintNet gateway operated by Merit Network also creates text-based parts of the services available through telnet.)

The initial price for the connection, at both 300 bits per second and 1200 bits per second, is $ 5-6 per hour during "non-prime-time" hours (night and weekend) and $ 36 per hour (to shrink the daylight day) instead, then adjusted to $ 6 per hour and $ 18 per hour, respectively. Speed ​​2400 bits/s is also available at a premium price. Later, GEnie developed the Star * Services package, soon renamed Genie * Basic after Prodigy threatened a trademark suit for the use of the word "Star". It offers a set of "unlimited usage" features for $ 4.95/month. Other services are additional costs, reflecting the popular tiered service model at the time.

The GEnie Forum is called RoundTable (RTs), and each, as well as other internal services, have a page number associated with it, similar to today's Web address; typing "1335", for example, will take you to the game page GemStone III. Services include RT, games, letters and shopping. For some time, GEnie publishes a monthly print magazine, LiveWire . GEnie's initial chat room was called LiveWire CB Simulator, after a popular citizen band radio at the time.

Maps GEnie

Games

GEnie has a reputation as an excellent online text game home, similar to "doorway" games in bulletin board systems but often mass-multiplayer. Also, there is a graphics game using advanced, non-textured 3D graphics on PC with VGA display. Top headings include:

• The Goodies Air Warrior (3D graphic)
• Simutronics GemStone , later GemStone III
• AUSI Dragon's Gate
• Simutronics CyberStrike (Graphic 3D - then rotate and extend to standalone CyberStrike 2 , with 3D textured textures, lighting effects, etc.)
• Peaceful Multiplayer BattleTech: EGA

Judul utama lainnya termasuk:

• AUSI Galaxy II
• NTN Trivia
• Kesmai's Stellar Warrior - game online multiplayer GEnie pertama
• Kesmai's Stellar Emperor - versi GEnie dari game Compuserve Kesmai MegaWars III
• J. Weaver Jr. RSCARDS
• Jim Dunnigan Perang Seratus Tahun
• Simutronics ' DragonRealms
• Simutronik Orb Wars
• Federasi II
• Simutronics ' Modus Operandi
• A-Maze-ing
• Diplomasi Online
• Bob Maples Castle Quest

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RoundTable

RoundTable in GEnie is a discussion area containing message boards ("BBS"), chat rooms ("RealTime Conference" or RTC) and Library for permanent files. They are part of an online community culture that precedes the emergence of the Internet as a mass media, which also includes separate entities such as the CompuServe forum, Usenet newsgroups and email mailing lists.

Most RoundTables are actually operated not by GEnie employees but by independent contractors working from home, which is a standard practice for online services at the time. Contractors receive timely royalties spent on their forums. In the most popular forums, this revenue stream is often large enough to employ one or two part-time or full-time staff. Many RoundTables also have a number of unpaid assistants, working for "free flags" (which gives them free access to the RoundTable) or "internal accounts" (which gives free access to all services).

RoundTable available at GEnie including:

• The 911/Emergency RoundTable: for discussion on emergency preparedness and forums prepared for rapid mobilization during emergencies
• The A2 RoundTable: for a discussion of the Apple II computer, Apple's early fan house
• The Astrology RoundTable (sysop Ed Perrone)
• The Atari ST RoundTable
• Automotive RoundTable (JJ Gertler & Greg Amy's board)
• Roundtable flights (sysops Roy Barkas, Dick Flanagan, Bill Moulas and Linda Pendleton)
• Comics and Animation RoundTable (originally part of SFRT)
• The CP/M RoundTable
• Design for Printing RoundTable: desktop designer, printer, and publishing community (sysops Tim Piazza and Rodney Sigmon).
• The Deutschland/European Roundtable (Walys Koenig & Jimmy's sysops)
• The Education RoundTable, which includes a separate area for younger and still school GEnie users
• EPHOTE Roundtable Photography, comprehensive photography reference library, live night conference (sysops Sparks Johnson, Jerry Finzi)
• The Roundtable Forth, popular discussion board for Forth programming languages ​​
• Game Design RoundTable
• RoundTable Gardening (Sysop Jody McFadden)
• GENIEus RoundTable (SysOp Mark Hiatt)
• Hobby RoundTable (Sysop Jody McFadden)
• Health RoundTable
• The Home Office and Small Business RoundTable (SysOp Janet Attard)
• IBM PC RoundTable (Sysops Charlie Strom and Rick Ruhl)
• The Japan RoundTable, including "Japanimation Online", the early anime forum
• The Left Coast RoundTable (originally The California RoundTable, later The American RoundTable)
• The Livewire Bulletin Board (LWB): BBS for CB Simulator users
• Macintosh RoundTable: one of the largest RoundTables on the service and one of the first public gathering places for Apple Macintosh fans
• MIDI/WorldMusic RoundTable: early MIDI discussion forum hosted by Robert Moore
• The NBC Online RoundTable
• New Age RoundTable
• NeedleArts RoundTable (Sysop Jody McFadden)
• OS/2 RoundTable (Sysops Charlie Strom, Brady Flower, Jeff Elkins, Rick Ruhl)
• PetNet: all animals, run by Kerry Clair
• Public Forum * Non-Profit RoundTable Connection: a place to discuss current events and politics, and also help non-profit to use online resources to advance their mission (Sysop Tom Sherman and John McGing)
• Remote Control RoundTable (Sysop Jody McFadden)
• RubberStamping RoundTable (Sysop Jody McFadden)
• Radio and Electronic RoundTable (run by Glen Johnson)
• The Religion and Philosophy RoundTable
Four Scientific Fiction Round Table (SFRT): the official online home of the Horror Writers Association and Science Fiction and American Fantasy Writer before the Internet became popular (SFWA members, all published authors, received free access to the SF RoundTable) {J. Michael Straczynski developed the Babylon 5 show while in SFRT and maintained his e-mail presence during the show}
• The Jerry Pournelle RoundTable
• Scorpia's RoundTable Game: dedicated to games of all types, including online game host GEnie
• The Scuba RoundTable: The first non-computing RT related to GEnie, founded by Tracy Kornfeld
• The ShowBiz RoundTable: created by film critic Bill Warren in 1989, and still active today in Delphi's online service
• Space and RoundTable Science
• The Spaceport RoundTable: oriented on engineering projects that can be done in space
• The Sports RoundTable (run by Glen Johnson, who also operates the GEnie online soccer pool)
• The * StarShip * Amiga (run by deb! Christensen)
• The TeleJoke RoundTable: managed by Brad Templeton and cross-linked with the Usenet newsgroup rec.humor.funny
• TI-99/4A and Geneve RoundTable
• TSR Online RoundTable
• White House RoundTable: to make available press releases and other hard-to-find administrative materials and for partisan discussions about the actions of the Bill Clinton administration (Sysop John McGing)
• Windows RoundTable (Sysops Rick Ruhl and Charlie Strom)
• The Writers' Ink RoundTable

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Get up and drop

In May 1986 GEnie claimed to have 12,000 subscribers, up from 3,000 in February. Although for many years the second largest service provider after CompuServe, GEnie failed to compete when Prodigy and America Online produced a graphical online service that appealed to the masses. Programs like Aladdin, which have been developed previously by independent developers and ultimately supported by GEnie, help many newcomers coming to GEnie from Prodigy and AOL adapt; this is equivalent to a modern email program and newsreader, which combines a more user-friendly interface that uploads and sends automated messages and emails.

In addition, GEnie took the time to develop an internet mail gateway, which opened on 1 July 1993.

GE sold GEnie in 1996 to Yovelle, which was later taken over by IDT Corp. IDT attempted to divert GEnie (now without capital letters all "GE") to Internet service providers, but ultimately failed. IDT also funded the development of the GUI for text-based services; This client was completely released, but the service did not last long enough to become popular.

Visitors to GEnie dropped off with the growth of other online services and dropped dramatically following the sudden change of cost structure in 1996. Users are notified with only a 12-hour notice that all Basic services (average rates) will cease to exist, while prices other services will rise dramatically. In the last year, insiders reported less than 10,000 total users.

On December 4, 1999, it was announced that GEnie would be closed for good on December 27th due to Y2K issues. The remaining users gather in the chat area of ​​some of the remaining RoundTables to say goodbye. But GEnie did not close for four more days, and a diminished number watched at the close every day. The RoundTables and all GEnie areas, except the Top page, became unavailable just before midnight on December 30, 1999.

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Legacy

Some books, TV shows, movies, and other projects have their origins and inspiration about GEnie. One example is the Babylon 5 television show, created by J. Michael Straczynski, first publicly announced in GEnie's Science Fiction RoundTables. SFRTs serve as the first online "home" and are the source of many jokes and references throughout the process.

Bill Louden, the original creator of GEnie, formed a group of investors to purchase Delphi's online service from News Corp., where he led the service transition from text only to the Web (and from pay-per-hour to ad-supported revenue models).

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Notable users

Many well-known figures are early users of online media, and are prominent figures in GEnie, either active in one of its RoundTables, or often a public participant in GEnie's CB Chat.

• Tom Clancy, the author, participates in the chat area and he plays games like GemStone II with his children.
• Peter David, a self-styled "stuff writer", like comic books, television and novel films, scriptwriting and many original novels and short stories
• Cory Doctorow, co-author of Boing Boing blog and science fiction novel, is active on GEnie's Science Fiction RoundTable
• Todd Brendan Fahey, the author, participates in the chat area, especially to gain access to the Grateful Dead tape trading community
• Damon Knight, author, founder of American Science Fiction Writer, Master Master SFWA
• Wayne Knight, actor ( Seinfeld , Jurassic Park ), is an occasional visitor to ShowBiz RT
• Michael Okuda, Star Trek graphic designers often visit SFRT
• Richard Pini, Wendy Pini's husband, and editor/publisher of his favorite comic book series (with SF elements) ElfQuest .
• Daniel Pinkwater, often present in Writer's Ink
• Jerry Pournelle, science fiction writer and political commentator, has his own RoundTable.
• J. Michael Straczynski, television writer, producer and creator of Babylon 5
Wil Wheaton, now "geek writer" and actor (Wesley in Star Trek: The Next Generation), are often present in the chat area, and often visit the Sports RoundTable.

Science Fiction RoundTable (SFRT) became the official online forum of the American Science Fiction Writer (SFWA), who led a number of science fiction writers to join GEnie. In addition to those already mentioned, they include Dafydd ab Hugh, John Barnes, Keith DeCandido, Steven Brust, Michael A. Burstein, Debra Doyle, Neil Gaiman, Joe Haldeman, Katharine Kerr, Michael Kube-McDowell, Paul Levinson, George RR Martin, Rich Normandie, Raven Oak, Mike Resnick, Robert J. Sawyer, J. Neil Schulman, Josepha Sherman, Susan Shwartz, Martha Soukup, Michael Swanwick, Judith Tarr, Harry Turtledove, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Leslie What, and Jane Yolen. Occasional but less frequent visitors include K. W. Jeter and Ken Grimwood. Science fiction editor Gardner Dozois, Scott Edelman, Peter Heck, Tappan King, Beth Meacham, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, and Dean Wesley Smith are also often participants.

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See also

• Kelton Flinn, one of Kesmai's founders
• Mark_Jacobs_ (game_designer), Founder of AUSI

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References

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Further reading

• Bartle, Richard (2003). Designing a Virtual World . New Riders. ISBN: 0-13-101816-7.

External links

• I Dream of GEnie: forum discussions and memories from previous GEnie members
• The GEnie Commodore File Library
• GEnie TI-99/4A and Geneve File Library
• MultiPlayer BattleTech: EGA Roundtable Archive
• Genie and SFRT closed
• Last night of SFRTs
• Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh: GEnie
• Reviews: GEnie
• Thinkquest Timeline from game history
• The Simutronik Chronology is maintained by Simutronics' Elonka Dunin
• Tom Mostellor. "Genie and CompuServe Offers Fanful Enthusiasts of a Larger New World Die"
• Online Games White Paper, 2002, compiled by IGDA Online Game Committee

Source of the article : Wikipedia