Re a recent remark about support of network communications ventures by advertising, Juno is supported by advertisements only. There is another similar service in the launch phase: http://www.FreeMark.COM:80/256color/index.html Both are free to the end-user, modulo extra connect time to download the unobtrusive advertisements that appear in the upper right portion of the Juno mailreader screen (I do not know about FreeMark). Juno supports only Internet-style e-mail, and only via dial-up (including 1-800 numbers for those subscribers not yet served by local toll-free numbers). No web, FTP, chat, etc. But, it is a great adjunct for people who want to keep personal mail separate from the official mail that they do on their employers' systems. Or for folks who just want e-mail. A recent message to subscribers notes that Juno is doing its best to keep up with burgeoning demand. Regards, Steve G. From: charlesa@juno.com (Charles Ardai) Reply-To: feedback@juno.com Subject: Service Update Message-ID: <update.1996.06.19@juno.com> Dear Juno Member, It has been more than a month since we last sent a general update to all members about the status of our launch and almost two months since the launch itself; in light of exceptional recent growth (and some related growing pains) we thought a note was in order. Juno currently has more than 80,000 accounts, and we're getting new requests for copies of our software as fast as we can send disks out. On average, we're seeing at least one new account created every minute, and sometimes see several per minute during our busiest hours. Needless to say, this overwhelming interest in Juno (and the overwhelmingly positive feedback we've received from you about the service) is very gratifying. It's also educational; we're still shaking the last few bugs out of the system and are learning what we need to know to ensure that our telephone and computer networks have adequate capacity to handle the growing demand they need to support. It is critically important to us that our members find Juno a reliable and convenient service, one unhampered by the sorts of problems (such as busy signals when you try to connect or disconnections in the middle of a transmission) that have sometimes plagued other online services during periods of rapid expansion. I am glad to say that our network has performed very well generally and that most of you have not reported any difficulty using the service. However, we know that some of you have had difficulties connecting to Juno over the past few weeks, especially during our busiest hours. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience, and rest assured that we are taking steps to increase our capacity (that is, the number of computers and telephone lines available for our members to dial into) and to eliminate the current strain on the network by adding the other hardware we need. For the short term, if you do experience difficulty connecting to Juno, please try connecting before or after peak hours (9:00PM to midnight, Eastern Time). You need not be concerned that there is any problem with your account; none of your mail will be lost. We hope to alleviate the current overload within a week or two. In the meantime, many thanks for your patience and for the helpful feedback and comments many of you have passed along. Growing pains are probably inevitable when a service grows at Juno's pace, but by working together we can make sure that they are short-lived. Sincerely, Charles Ardai President Juno Online Services, L.P.