Acorn Extends Its User Support Release Date 30.07.91 Acorn Computers has expanded its capability to give support to its user base of customers. Arrangements have been made to monitor conversations on electronic bulletin boards worldwide and to offer advice where appropriate. The system relies on an amateur worldwide communications network of bulletin boards known as Fidonet. Any board which subscribes to Fidonet - thought to number 10,000 with over 300 in the UK alone - can take the Archimedes Echomail conference. Currently the Archimedes Echo is taken by bulletin boards in Europe as well as the UK. Users with modems can log on to their favourite bulletin board and participate in message conferences with other users on any other board taking the Archimedes Echo. Every night the latest messages left on the Archimedes echo will be downloaded to Acorn and where appropriate a response will be uploaded the following night. In addition, Acorn will provide a number of bulletin boards with news about Acorn, technical notes and downloadable software. Acorn's Customer Service Manager, Alastair McGregor stressed that it was not intended that this new system should act as an electronic mail box through which users could contact Acorn. "One of the traditional roles and major strengths of bulletin boards is for users to provide self help to one another. Only where we feel that there appears to be a problem that cannot be answered by the users themselves and that we are in a position to be able to respond will we do so. "We will not use the Fidonet link to talk about future products, nor will we respond to gossip or generalised queries. Information on products will go into the Acorn news areas on certain bulletin boards together with software such as updated modules, printer drivers, fixes and so on." Alastair McGregor explained that although a certain level of user support is currently available on the Support Information Database (SID), which can be accessed in Viewdata mode either directly or via Prestel, the advantage of using the so-called Archimedes Echo on Fidonet is that more modern communications protocols can be used with comparatively faster up- and download times. "By fast downloading blocks of messages in one go, these bulletin boards offer the facility for offline message reading and reply, thereby cutting down on the amount of access time and a corresponding reduction in phone bills." he said. "We have already opened up an Acorn 'corner' on a key Fidonet regional hub - Tug2, which in turn is linked to the Enigma bulletin board - and we aim to increase these to a number of other bulletin boards to give regional coverage around the UK. " Ends Note to Editors: Tug2 and Enigma can be accessed at speeds up to 9600 baud, and can be dialled on 0905 775191 and 0905 795002 respectively. Issued by: Brian Salter Corporate Affairs Manager Acorn Computers Fulbourn Road Cherry Hinton Cambridge CB1 4JN Tel 0223 245200