BulkRate to Speak TCP/IP -- Greg Neagle is readying version 2.5 of the shareware BulkRate, an offline message reader for FirstClass servers. BulkRate lets FirstClass users retrieve mail and conference messages for reading offline; version 2.5 supports TCP/IP connections to a FirstClass server, is compatible with FirstClass's threading features, and can use any available serial port for modem connections. Though SoftArc, publishers of FirstClass, have been working on an offline client for years, Neagle's BulkRate is the only viable solution available now. A beta version of BulkRate 2.5 is available via FTP or from the system fc.digitalpopcorn.com (port 3000, username and password "br", sans quotes) using the FirstClass client. [MHA]