Compunet facts for kids

The login page for Compunet.

Compunet was an early online service in the United Kingdom. It was mainly for users of the Commodore 64 computer, but later also worked with the Amiga and Atari ST. People often called it CNet. It ran from 1984 until May 1993.

What was Compunet?

Compunet was like an early version of the internet. Users could create their own sections and share their own pictures, articles, and computer programs. It had a special editor that let users create pages. You could even download a bunch of pages at once, then disconnect from the service to read them. This helped users save money on phone calls!

The way you moved around the service was with a menu system called the "duck shoot." You would select what you wanted and click on it. You could also jump straight to pages using special keywords. Users could even vote on how good the content was.

Compunet had many cool features that were quite advanced for its time, especially when you compare them to the internet we use today:

• Paying for content: Users could choose to charge others for their creations.
• Voting: People could vote on the quality of content.
• Sharing anything: You could upload programs, pictures, and text almost anywhere.
• Software protection: Special devices called dongles (built into the modem) could protect software from being copied.
• Easy editing: You could see exactly how your content would look as you were creating it (this is called WYSIWYG editing).
• Chat rooms: There was a chat area called Partyline where users could create their own chat rooms, similar to what you might see on IRC today.

The service also hosted popular online games like Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) by Richard Bartle, Federation II, and Realm. Some of these games are still played on the internet today!

Famous game creator Jeff Minter and musician Rob Hubbard were also active on Compunet, along with many people from the computer demo scene.

How Compunet Started

In 1982, Commodore UK wanted to build a computer network for teachers. This idea was called PETNET. It was planned to work with the very popular Commodore PET computer.

Later, in 1982, the money was found to build a test version of the network. The software was written for the computers that would connect to the service and for the main server. They even changed the way files were sent to make sure they arrived correctly.

Around this time, the BBC Micro computer became very popular in schools. Commodore's new Commodore 64 was seen as a powerful alternative. So, PETNET changed into Compunet, which was made for both everyday users and schools.

Compunet used a special modem that plugged into the Commodore 1541 disk drive. This modem had special software inside it. After the first year, Commodore sold its share, and Compunet Teleservices Ltd became its own company.

At first, Compunet used a large computer called a DEC-10 as its main server. This computer also helped provide local phone numbers for users to dial in. This meant most users could connect for the price of a local call. However, this was very expensive to run.

Later, the service moved to a new, more modern computer system. New local dial-up points were provided by another company called ISTEL. But when ISTEL was sold, their technical support became a problem. This meant that many users had to pay more expensive nationwide call rates to connect. Compunet then moved its main server again to North London.

By this time, Compunet also had software for the Amiga and Atari ST computers. They even made a simpler text-only version of the service to work with the internet and regular PCs.

Compunet stopped working in May 1993. The company went out of business because of unpaid taxes. This happened after their accountant became ill and passed away suddenly.

How Much Did Compunet Cost?

Compunet charged a fee every three months (quarterly subscription). On top of this, users had to pay for their phone calls. For example, calling during off-peak hours (when fewer people were using the phones) might cost about £0.80 UK pounds per hour.

Some special services cost extra money. Users had to put money into their account first to use these. These services included:

• Sending private e-mail (though some free messages were usually included).
• Uploading content to the service.
• Having custom banners (like special pictures at the top of their sections).
• Choosing a custom user name (instead of a default one like abc3).
• Accessing chat rooms and games.

Compunet's Technology

User Computers (Client)

For the Commodore 64, Compunet gave users a special 1200/75 bps modem. People often called it the "brick" because of its shape. This modem plugged into the computer's cartridge port. It had special software built into it that helped connect to Compunet. This software could even update itself automatically when you connected!

The modem usually couldn't connect to other standard online systems unless you bought extra software.

Each modem had a unique ID number. This allowed it to act like a dongle, which helped stop people from illegally copying protected software.

The special design of Compunet's technology was both a strength and a weakness. The graphics were made to look great on the Commodore 64. While this was better than other systems like Prestel, it made it hard to move the service to other computers. However, software was later made for the Amiga (in 1987) and Atari ST (in 1988). A version for regular PCs was also made, but it was never released to the public.

The Amiga and Atari ST versions tried to look and feel just like the original Commodore 64 version. But the PC version was simpler, mostly showing text, and used a system called Kermit for sending files.

Main Computers (Server)

When Compunet first started, its main server was a DEC-10 computer. This big computer handled all the connections and services. It also managed the local phone numbers that users dialed.

Here are some details about the first server:

• It had 1 megaword of 36-bit RAM (which was a lot for its time).
• It cost about £50,000 per month to run, including the local phone call services.
• The main software for Compunet was written in a programming language called Fortran.

When the company running the DEC-10 announced they were shutting it down, Compunet had to find a new home. The service was rewritten using a programming language called C. It then moved to a new system called a VME rack. This system used many smaller computers working together.

Here are some details about the second server system:

• It used a VME bus (a way for computer parts to talk to each other).
• It had 10 megabytes of RAM.
• It used four 200 megabyte hard disks for storing data.
• It could handle 52 users connecting at the same time.

See also

• Micronet 800