Thank you for requesting information on the Pipeline, New York's new Internet gateway. Here are five basic pieces: * A brief introduction. * Who and where we are. * The Pipeline for Windows software. * Our rates. * A subscription form. ========================================================================= We provide full access to everything the Internet has to offer: Mail, News, 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 conversation with people anywhere in the world. You can connect to other systems and download files painlessly. We deliver sports scores and a full feed of up-to-the-minute news from the United Press International news wires. 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. The heart of our service is a special Windows software package that we have designed. The Pipeline software 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's software is what you are looking for. Our access numbers are local New York City numbers. However, the latest version of our Windows software also supports remote logins. That means that users who happen to have Internet access elsewhere can connect with the Pipeline remotely and use our graphical interface, with all the special Pipeline features, from their home site. 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 including SLIP and ISDN. ========================================================================= Who and Where ------------- The Pipeline's founder is James Gleick, author of "Chaos: Making a New Science." He 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 director, 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. To speak with our staff, please call (212) 267-3636. To write us: The Pipeline, 150 Broadway, Suite 1710, New York 10038. ========================================================================== Pipeline for Windows --------------------- 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 threads for quick retrieval and later reading. -- Gopher. For exploring the Internet, Pipeline features a superset of Gopher. 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. -- Telnet sessions. Anything that can be done from a standard terminal can be done in a window in Pipeline: that means connecting 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 Archie, FTP, and WAIS, with simple user-friendly dialogs to shield users from the technical complexities. Pink Slip (tm) -------------- A technical note for Internet experts: The software is unique 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. ========================================================================== Rates ----- 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 other "extra" charges. Our standard rates are: ** The basic account: $12 per month. ** Connect time: $2 per hour. ** Pipeline for Windows: $90, but as an introductory offer: Any user who subscribes for three months or more will receive the Pipeline for Windows software free of charge. For a limited time, we are offering the following special subscription plans for residential users: ** 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 and news 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. Subscribers may nevertheless cancel at any time and receive a refund for their remaining time. Special Connection Plans ------------------------ *SLIP and PPP connections: $20/month and $2/hour. *ISDN (64kbps) connections: $20/month and $4/hour. *Corporate and group accounts: for rates and special services we provide these accounts, inquire at (212) 267-3636. ========================================================================= Order form ---------- You may send checks and subscription forms to: The Pipeline, 150 Broadway, Suite 1710, New York 10038. ========================================================================= Name ________________________ Subscription Plan Address ________________________ [ ] Toe-in-the-Water ($15) ________________________ [ ] 20/20 ($20) ________________________ [ ] Internet Oyster ($35) Phone (H) ________________________ Phone (O) ________________________ [ ] One year (for price of 10 months) [ ] I want the Pipeline for Windows software. (I'm either subscribing for at least three months or enclosing $90.) I want a [ ] 3.5-inch disk (there is a $4 shipping and handling charge.) I am paying for ____ months. I understand that I may cancel at any time and receive a refund for my remaining subscription. [ ] I enclose a check. [ ] I authorize you to charge my American Express card, #_______________________ exp. __/__ A Pipeline account representative will call to confirm and help select a user name and password. ========================================================================