EWorld
Encyclopedia
eWorld was an online service
operated by Apple Inc. between June 1994 and March 1996. The services included email (eMail Center), news, and a bulletin board system
(Community Center). Users of eWorld were often referred to as "ePeople".
eWorld was considered innovative for its time, but it was expensive compared to other services and not well marketed, and failed to attract a high number of subscribers. The service was only available on the Macintosh
, though a PC version had been planned. eWorld was perhaps the first proper noun with a lowercase prefix before a capital second letter; preceding the iMac by several years.
In the early 1990s online services were becoming widely popular, just as Apple was looking into replacing their aging online service known as AppleLink
. AppleLink had originally been developed at the urging of John Ebbs, Apple's head of support, who convinced the management that they could lower support costs using an online service. AppleLink had initially been available only to dealers when it launched in 1985, but was later opened to developers and became the de-facto internal e-mail service within Apple.
The "back end" of AppleLink was hosted by GE Information Services who charged Apple about $300,000 a year, as well as charging the end users up to $15 for daytime access to the system. Apple had tried to negotiate a better rate on several occasions, but GE knew that switching would cost Apple even more, and refused to lower the costs.
Nevertheless, Apple began to implement changes. Before the advent of eWorld, Apple had started a consumer-oriented online support service known as AppleLink Personal Edition. Related to the older system in name only, this service was run by Quantum Computer Services, who earlier had established the Q-Link
online service for the Commodore 64
personal computer. Quantum's Steve Case
moved to California
for three months to convince Apple to let Quantum run their new consumer service. In 1987, Apple allowed Quantum to run the service and granted them use of the Apple logo. Apple received a 10% royalty for all the system's users while Quantum generated revenue by running the service.
The ideologies of the companies soon clashed. Quantum wanted to bundle the AppleLink software with new Macs and distribute it through direct marketing. At the time Apple did not believe in giving away non-system software for free. That, coupled with Apple's strict design guidelines, caused Quantum to eventually terminate their contract. Steve Case had, however, negotiated a rather beneficial contract, granting Quantum rights to the use of the Apple logo and preventing Apple from marketing its own online service.
In 1991, Quantum was renamed America Online and the service was opened up to PC
and Macintosh users. Apple wanted out of their contract with GE, which was costing them far more money than it was saving, and wanted to provide their own Mac-only competition to AOL's service. They canceled their GE contract and formed an Online Services Group. The group licensed the original AppleLink Personal Edition software from AOL and developed it into what would be known as eWorld. The group also struck a deal with AOL to help develop the service and spent 1993 working on the new software and various services to be offered.
On January 5, 1994, Apple announced eWorld at the 1994 Macworld Conference & Expo
, where they invited attendees to become beta testers for the service. On June 20 of that year, the service went into full operation. The eWorld service was a combination of the vast technical and support archives of the previous AppleLink services and a more traditional community service like AOL and CompuServe
. The eWorld service was Mac-only but a Windows
version was promised to appear in 1995, however it never left the early beta stage.
s". Over 400 media and technology companies created information products on the service. Several Mac software and hardware companies opened up virtual forums on the service to provide customer support and general product information to subscribers. The main eWorld portal also encompassed a wide variety news and information services.
In addition to information access, two heavily-used areas of eWorld were the eMail Center and Community Center. The Community Center offered chat rooms and an online BBS
where thousands of ePeople (eWorld users) congregated to chat about various subjects. The eMail Center was a virtual post office
. The service also housed support and Apple technical documents.
The eWorld Web Browser, introduced in eWorld 1.1 as part of its ‘Internet On-Ramp’ features, let users browse web pages on Internet websites. The browser had features for FTP uploading, web images and settings to configure a default homepage address. Though separate from the main eWorld application, the browser worked only through an eWorld connection, not through any other network or online service.
eWorld's unique user experience was developed by Cleo Huggins, manager of human interface group in the development team. Cleo also coined the name eWorld. The signature illustrations were created by Mark Drury. The development team was led by Scott Converse, and the product management team by Richard Gingras. The eWorld project at Apple was led by Peter Friedman.
hours. Subsequent hours were $4.95 with weekday hours (6 am–6 pm) costing $7.95. Apple kept the price high originally to keep the demand moderated but never dropped the price when the demand did not materialize. After the first year of service eWorld had 90,000 subscribers. In 1995, limited Internet service was made available, and as of September 1995 the service had 115,000 subscribers, compared to 3.5 million subscribers of AOL (including one million outside the United States).
Apple's marketing and promotion efforts were at best indifferent. The service was only available on the Macintosh, along with e-mail only support on the Newton
handheld. Apple was in a challenging financial position at the time and CEO Michael Spindler
told the Online Services Group that significant marketing for the service could not be provided so eWorld shipped on new Macs with only an icon on the desktop and a brochure in the box. There was also little if anything in the way of media marketing
for the service. The promised Windows version of eWorld was not launched following a decision by Apple's senior management to position eWorld as a unique service for Macintosh owners.
Apple's management decided that the product was doomed to fail in a market where AOL had such a commanding lead. The company was also cutting costs. In June 1995, the company had over $1 billion in backorders and posted a $68 million loss in the fourth quarter of 1995. In January 1996, Spindler was asked to resign as CEO, replaced by former CEO of National Semiconductor
Gil Amelio
. Several products and projects were scrapped in an effort to put the company back into the black.
On March 31, 1996, at 12:01 am Pacific Time, the service was officially shut down. Remaining eWorld subscribers were offered incentives to switch to AOL, which began hosting Macintosh-oriented content developed with Apple. The eWorld/AppleLink technical support archives moved to Apple's website. When the Online Services Group was disbanded, many of its members left Apple. Peter Friedman eventually formed TalkCity with Chris Christensen and Jenna Woodul. Scott Converse became a senior executive at Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment Division. James Isaacs joined Danger Inc. (acquired by Microsoft in 2008). Richard Gingras and Jonathan Rosenberg joined the newly formed broadband access venture @Home Network.
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
operated by Apple Inc. between June 1994 and March 1996. The services included email (eMail Center), news, and a bulletin board system
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
(Community Center). Users of eWorld were often referred to as "ePeople".
eWorld was considered innovative for its time, but it was expensive compared to other services and not well marketed, and failed to attract a high number of subscribers. The service was only available on the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, though a PC version had been planned. eWorld was perhaps the first proper noun with a lowercase prefix before a capital second letter; preceding the iMac by several years.
History
AppleLink
AppleLink was the name of both Apple Computer's online service for its dealers, third party developers, and users, and the client software used to access it. Prior to the commercialization of the Internet, AppleLink was a popular service for Mac and Apple IIGS users...
. AppleLink had originally been developed at the urging of John Ebbs, Apple's head of support, who convinced the management that they could lower support costs using an online service. AppleLink had initially been available only to dealers when it launched in 1985, but was later opened to developers and became the de-facto internal e-mail service within Apple.
The "back end" of AppleLink was hosted by GE Information Services who charged Apple about $300,000 a year, as well as charging the end users up to $15 for daytime access to the system. Apple had tried to negotiate a better rate on several occasions, but GE knew that switching would cost Apple even more, and refused to lower the costs.
Nevertheless, Apple began to implement changes. Before the advent of eWorld, Apple had started a consumer-oriented online support service known as AppleLink Personal Edition. Related to the older system in name only, this service was run by Quantum Computer Services, who earlier had established the Q-Link
Quantum Link
Quantum Link was a U.S. and Canadian online service for Commodore 64 and 128 personal computers that operated from November 5, 1985 to November 1, 1995. It was operated by Quantum Computer Services of Vienna, Virginia. In October 1991 they changed the name to America Online, which continues to...
online service for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
personal computer. Quantum's Steve Case
Steve Case
Stephen McConnell "Steve" Case is an American businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online . Since his retirement as chairman of AOL Time Warner in 2003, he has gone on to build a variety of new businesses through his investment...
moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
for three months to convince Apple to let Quantum run their new consumer service. In 1987, Apple allowed Quantum to run the service and granted them use of the Apple logo. Apple received a 10% royalty for all the system's users while Quantum generated revenue by running the service.
The ideologies of the companies soon clashed. Quantum wanted to bundle the AppleLink software with new Macs and distribute it through direct marketing. At the time Apple did not believe in giving away non-system software for free. That, coupled with Apple's strict design guidelines, caused Quantum to eventually terminate their contract. Steve Case had, however, negotiated a rather beneficial contract, granting Quantum rights to the use of the Apple logo and preventing Apple from marketing its own online service.
In 1991, Quantum was renamed America Online and the service was opened up to PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
and Macintosh users. Apple wanted out of their contract with GE, which was costing them far more money than it was saving, and wanted to provide their own Mac-only competition to AOL's service. They canceled their GE contract and formed an Online Services Group. The group licensed the original AppleLink Personal Edition software from AOL and developed it into what would be known as eWorld. The group also struck a deal with AOL to help develop the service and spent 1993 working on the new software and various services to be offered.
On January 5, 1994, Apple announced eWorld at the 1994 Macworld Conference & Expo
Macworld Conference & Expo
Produced by Boston-based IDG World Expo, Macworld | iWorld is a trade-show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It is held annually in the United States, usually during the second week of January...
, where they invited attendees to become beta testers for the service. On June 20 of that year, the service went into full operation. The eWorld service was a combination of the vast technical and support archives of the previous AppleLink services and a more traditional community service like AOL and CompuServe
CompuServe
CompuServe was the first major commercial online service in the United States. It dominated the field during the 1980s and remained a major player through the mid-1990s, when it was sidelined by the rise of services such as AOL with monthly subscriptions rather than hourly rates...
. The eWorld service was Mac-only but a Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
version was promised to appear in 1995, however it never left the early beta stage.
Features
The primary portal of the service was the eWorld software. The software was based around a "town hall" metaphor where each of the service’s branches were individual "buildingBuilding
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
s". Over 400 media and technology companies created information products on the service. Several Mac software and hardware companies opened up virtual forums on the service to provide customer support and general product information to subscribers. The main eWorld portal also encompassed a wide variety news and information services.
In addition to information access, two heavily-used areas of eWorld were the eMail Center and Community Center. The Community Center offered chat rooms and an online BBS
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
where thousands of ePeople (eWorld users) congregated to chat about various subjects. The eMail Center was a virtual post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
. The service also housed support and Apple technical documents.
The eWorld Web Browser, introduced in eWorld 1.1 as part of its ‘Internet On-Ramp’ features, let users browse web pages on Internet websites. The browser had features for FTP uploading, web images and settings to configure a default homepage address. Though separate from the main eWorld application, the browser worked only through an eWorld connection, not through any other network or online service.
eWorld's unique user experience was developed by Cleo Huggins, manager of human interface group in the development team. Cleo also coined the name eWorld. The signature illustrations were created by Mark Drury. The development team was led by Scott Converse, and the product management team by Richard Gingras. The eWorld project at Apple was led by Peter Friedman.
Demise
The service cost $8.95 per month, which included two free night-time or weekendWorkweek
The workweek and weekend are those complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest respectively. The legal working week , or workweek , is the part of the seven-day week devoted to labor. In most Western countries it is Monday to Friday. The weekend comprises the two traditionally...
hours. Subsequent hours were $4.95 with weekday hours (6 am–6 pm) costing $7.95. Apple kept the price high originally to keep the demand moderated but never dropped the price when the demand did not materialize. After the first year of service eWorld had 90,000 subscribers. In 1995, limited Internet service was made available, and as of September 1995 the service had 115,000 subscribers, compared to 3.5 million subscribers of AOL (including one million outside the United States).
Apple's marketing and promotion efforts were at best indifferent. The service was only available on the Macintosh, along with e-mail only support on the Newton
Apple Newton
The MessagePad was the first series of personal digital assistant devices developed by Apple for the Newton platform in 1993. Some electronic engineering and the manufacture of Apple's MessagePad devices was done in Japan by the Sharp Corporation...
handheld. Apple was in a challenging financial position at the time and CEO Michael Spindler
Michael Spindler
Michael Spindler , nicknamed "the Diesel" for his reputed around-the-clock work habits, was president and CEO of Apple from 1993 to 1996....
told the Online Services Group that significant marketing for the service could not be provided so eWorld shipped on new Macs with only an icon on the desktop and a brochure in the box. There was also little if anything in the way of media marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
for the service. The promised Windows version of eWorld was not launched following a decision by Apple's senior management to position eWorld as a unique service for Macintosh owners.
Apple's management decided that the product was doomed to fail in a market where AOL had such a commanding lead. The company was also cutting costs. In June 1995, the company had over $1 billion in backorders and posted a $68 million loss in the fourth quarter of 1995. In January 1996, Spindler was asked to resign as CEO, replaced by former CEO of National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer, that specialized in analog devices and subsystems,formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. The products of National Semiconductor included power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers,...
Gil Amelio
Gil Amelio
Gilbert Frank Amelio is an American technology executive. He grew up in Miami, Florida and received a bachelor's degree, master's degree, and Ph.D. in physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology...
. Several products and projects were scrapped in an effort to put the company back into the black.
On March 31, 1996, at 12:01 am Pacific Time, the service was officially shut down. Remaining eWorld subscribers were offered incentives to switch to AOL, which began hosting Macintosh-oriented content developed with Apple. The eWorld/AppleLink technical support archives moved to Apple's website. When the Online Services Group was disbanded, many of its members left Apple. Peter Friedman eventually formed TalkCity with Chris Christensen and Jenna Woodul. Scott Converse became a senior executive at Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment Division. James Isaacs joined Danger Inc. (acquired by Microsoft in 2008). Richard Gingras and Jonathan Rosenberg joined the newly formed broadband access venture @Home Network.
External links and references
- "Apple Computer's eWorld — What AOL could have been" — eWorld screenshots, history and press release
- The end of eWorld
- eWorld: Apple's Overpriced, Poorly Marketed Online Service — eWorld history
- eWorld article at WikiMac
- Apple's eWorld arrives! — TidBITSTidBITSTidBITS is an influential electronic newsletter and web site dealing primarily with Apple Computer and Macintosh-related topics.-Internet publication:...
#231/20-Jun-94 - Remember eWorld eWorld — a walkthrough
- How MyMac almost became eWorld