The College shut down its Telenet service last Thursday in lieu of the more widely used Internet.
The Telenet, used at the College for the last 20 years, began as a revolutionary system that for the price of a local phone call, gave users access to BASIC programs, multiple library databases, and lists of art holdings among other things.
The Telenet provided local, nation-wide, and international access to Dartmouth College Time Sharing, the computer system used by Telenet servicers.
Rich Brown, manager of special projects in Computer Services said Telenet is no longer cost effective.
"We pay $50,000 for access to the Internet which is used by everyone all the time," Brown said.
Also, "the Telenet doesn't offer the exciting things the Internet does," Brown said.
Brown noted that many students have confused the campus Telenet shutdown with Telnet, the system that allows off-campus students to access their BlitzMail accounts.
Until recently, only the Human Resources Department has a program accessible solely by Telenet. It has been put on the Internet.
Brown said he would be "astonished if more than a few students used [the Telenet] in the last year."
The Telenet "was pretty prestigious [at a time when it was] a major milestone for any undergrad to have access to a computer," Brown says.
"Technology evolves and what was enormously cost-effective [for the College] in the mid-1970s isn't as attractive now," Brown says.
To continue service, users can buy a connection from the an Internet vendor, dial Telenet directly, or use the Alternate Telenet Connection.
