NETWATCH II. . . WEB RUSH IS ON

Frustrated that you can't get on the much-ballyhooed White House Web site or other Internet jewels from your online service? By early next year, the vast majority of online service subscribers willno longer be shut out from the interactivityand high-end graphics of the World Wide Web, the Net's most enticing slice of cyberspace. Lately written off by computer mavens as industry dinosaurs, the Big Three dial-up services -- CompuServe, Prodigy and America Online -- are racing to offer access with built-in Web "browser" software that mimics the popular Mosaic. The commercial crowing has already begun. Prodigy claims it crossed the finish line first with a test-run for some Windows users this week. CompuServe is using the lure of new partner SPRY, developers of an enhanced Mosaic and maker of "Internet in a Box." And America Online, which just bought a $35 million chunk of the Internet itself, brags of the smoothest interface. Rates of $3 an hour or so will rival those of straight-up Internet providers, and consumers need never know about the old hackers' staples, like gopher, Telnet and ftp. "All that garbage is out the window," says Prodigy spokesman Brian Ek. "Now, you just point and click."Post your opinion on theNew Mediabulletin