CompuServe 4, launched in 1997, was the last big push from the OG online service that ruled the pre-Web era before AOL ate its lunch. It came with a cleaner interface, better email handling, and native web browsing support—finally letting users ditch those clunky early CompuServe menus for something closer to the modern Internet. Earlier versions like CompuServe 3.0 (1996) were mostly about connecting dial-up users to forums, chat rooms, and file libraries, but 4.0 was the “we get it, the web is here” update. By 1999, AOL had fully absorbed CompuServe, and the software faded fast, but for anyone who remembers logging in at 2400 baud just to check forums and stock quotes, 4.0 was the last real chapter of that era.