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EMAIL 101; for those of you who have yet to get wi
This file should be called EMAIL025.TXT
Version 0.2.5 (beta release)
17 July 1993
This rough version is missing 8 out of 28 chapters and 1 out of 5
appendices.
Copyright © 1993 by John E. Goodwin. All Rights Reserved.
You may make and distribute verbatim copies of these course notes for
non-commercial purposes using any means, provided this copyright notice
is preserved on all copies.
For information on taking the internetworking course, contact
John Goodwin ([email protected])
P.O. Box 6022
St. Charles, IL 60174, U.S.A.
<title> E-MAIL 101
If you like those little machines that give you 24 hour access to your
bank account, you'll love the Internet. I suppose there are still
people who, given a choice, will go to a drive-through teller just so
they can deal with a "live person" instead of a machine. But even those
people will admit that it is nice to have the option of doing things for
yourself, on your own schedule, anywhere. Do you remember what it was
like before automatic tellers? Banks closed at 3 p.m. on weekdays.
Each Saturday you had to guess how much money you would need for the
following week. If you were wrong you had to cash a check at a food
store (and maybe buy something you didn't want). And if you were out of
town? Well, there were always credit cards.
We don't do that anymore. I think many people go to the automatic
teller because they like the privacy of handling their own business
without having to explain it all to someone else. And we like the
illusion of having access to our "own" account anytime we want.
There are disadvantages to using an automatic teller card too--you may
have to pay a fee each month or even for each transaction--and you have
to remember to deduct those fees from your account balance or you will
bounce checks. But I'll bet you feel pretty competent using an
automatic teller and don't lose much sleep worrying over the fees.
This course is designed to give you that same sense of freedom and
competence with the Internet that you have with an automatic teller
machine or the telephone. With a home computer, a modem, and
communications software, you can connect to other computers over the
phone line to exchange electronic mail (E-mail), trade files, or search
for information. Many of those computers are connected to the worldwide
network called the Internet. Some few of them will--for a fee--let
*you* connect to the Internet. From there you can dial any of 900,000
or more computers, send E-mail to any of 25 million people, and access
hundreds of free, informative services.
In short, you are on the verge of a new method of communicating with
people and machines called "internetworking." Internetworking lets you:
o Avoid playing phone tag;
o Sign up to receive special interest electronic newsletters and
journals;
o Access hundreds of information services and document collections in
exactly the same way--no need to have hundreds of sets of different
instructions or hundreds of (expensive) special purpose software
packages;
o Find and communicate with other people who share your interests.
Internetworking is an essential skill for the '90s. Your children will
find it as common as viewing television or using the telephone. It
still has a few rough edges--but we'll explain those.
There is actually no single network owned by one company called the
Internet. Instead, many medium-sized networks have grown together to
create a "phone system" that connects together nearly a million
computers. Many hundreds of these computers allow some form of public
access. You can get the latest news or weather, download information
about Government programs or high-tech products, search on-line library
catalogues and databases, download free software, and do many other
things, with little or no monetary investment beyond the cost of your
home computer.
Using the Internet need not be expensive: you can get on the Internet
for as little as $10 a month if you own (1) a home computer, (2) a $50
modem, and (3) some communications software (under $100). There are
more expensive ways to connect to the Internet, of course. These ways
make sense for businesses or organizations that make heavy use of the
network. But in this course we will discuss methods that cost in the
$10-$40/month range. These methods are suitable for exploring the net
after hours and for casual use. We will provide some basic information
about more expensive methods of connecting (Appendix C) so that you can
make informed decisions if your networking needs should increase in the
future.
Internetworking well means mastering a whole host of skills--connecting
two computers together using the Internet is just the beginning. You
have to learn methods for transferring information from the remote
computer to your own. This is a complex task that may involve using a
file transfer protocol and compression techniques.
Because the information world is so vast, your biggest problem will most
likely not be connecting to the Internet. It will be finding what you
want. Thus, this course covers not only the mechanics of making a
connection and transferring files, but techniques for locating material
as well. And of course you will want to be savvy about the costs of
different connection methods. This means estimating whether it will
cost you more per Megabyte to transfer the information or to have it
faxed to you by a friendly librarian.
This course is intended for the general public--students,
businesspersons, librarians, teachers, writers, journalists--in fact
anyone who needs to find information and communicate with others.
Whether you are researching a paper, writing an article, or trying to
get technical information on a product, you will use these techniques
over and over.
Chapters marked with an asterisk are omitted from this edition.
COURSE CONTENTS
1 : The Past and the Future of Internetworking
2 : What Is the Internet?
3 : How Do I Connect to the Internet?
4 : Who Pays for the Internet?
5 : Internet Basics
6 : Getting on the Internet Step by Step
7 : Programs and Pictures
8 : File Compression Methods for Faster Transfer
9 : What to Do When You Only Have E-mail
10 : Employee Development: How to Get Your Employees Internetworking
Part II Special Concerns
11 : Special for Businesses
12 : Special for Students and their Parents
13 : Special for Writers, Journalists, Publishers, and Printers
14 : Special for Elementary and High School Teachers
15 : Special for Librarians
16 : Special for Scholars
17 : Special for Churches, Synagogues, and Mosques
Part III Research, Organization, and Writing
18 : Research Methods I: Basic Navigation Methods
*19 : Research Methods II: Usenet Newsgroups
20 : Research Methods III: Advanced Techniques
*21 : Organizing Information
*22 : Information Structures
*23 : Boolean Logic
*24 : Writing for an Internetworked World: Basic Problems
*25 : Writing for an Internetworked World: Getting Through to your
Audience
Part IV Resources
*26 : The Internet Address Book
27 : Bibliography
*28 : Glossary
Appendix A. Computer Hints for the *Really* Green
Appendix B. Using a Modem
*Appendix C. Technical Details of an Internet Connection
Appendix D. Just Enough UNIX
Appendix E. The Ten Best Things To Get If You Only Have E-Mail
<Chapter 1> The Past and Future of Internetworking
There is an old fashioned way to connect with other computers and share
information and there is a modern way. It is helpful to compare the two
methods briefly in order to make contact with methods you may already
know and to show off the advantages of using the Internet.
The old fashioned (ca. 1980) method of making contact with other
computers is through a bulletin board service (BBS). Bulletin board
services grew up in the late 70s as a method for sharing software,
talking, playing games, etc. with a personal computer. They range in
size from small special interest Bulletin Boards with a local following
to giant national boards like CompuServe, GEnie, and The Source. You
access a bulletin board with a modem and communication software by
dialing a telephone number. Of course, if you don't live in the local
area of the BBS you have to use a long distance carrier. This may add a
couple dollars per hour to the connect fee.
The basic services offered by a Bulletin Board and by the Internet are
similar:
(1) Access to a host computer (Internet TELNET command)
(2) File transfer capability (Internet FTP command)
(3) The ability to contact other BBS members individually (Internet
E-mail)
(4) The ability to post messages for general consumption in any of
several catagories. (Usenet Newsgroups)
The difference is that whereas each BBS has its own dialup procedure,
menu interface, file transfer methods, billing policies, and so on, THE
INTERNET USES ONE METHOD FOR ALL COMPUTERS IN THE WORLD. The savings in
terms of the "learning curve" is staggering. Once you know how to use
anonymous FTP you know how to get information from *hundreds* of
providers. It is like the difference between using the postal service
or using a special courier for each person you write a letter to. Once
you know how to address the envelope and put the stamp on, you can write
anyone.
The Internet has the added savings that any communications software you
buy for it works with all providers. You do not have to buy (or
customize) special software for each information provider. Thus you can
use one familiar graphical user interface ("windows" program) to connect
with any computer. The usual situation where you have to buy a special
"client" program to connect to each kind of "server" is replaced with a
situation in which you have a single program that any "server" out there
has to comply with. This standardization is the main advantage of using
the Internet.
Bulletin Boards are still around. In fact, one of the easiest ways to
connect to the Internet is through a national bulletin board service.
One disadvantage of this method is that--as of this writing--national
BBS's like CompuServe offer only E-mail. You can't FTP or Telnet from
them. And they often charge per message for E-mail, so using them can
be quite expensive. There are better ways.
<Chapter 2> What is the Internet?
The best way to think of the Internet is as a communications medium like
the Telephone, Television, or the Postal Service. Using the Internet
you can send a any written text by E-mail. This is rather like mailing
a letter and having it arrive in seconds--three days in the most
backwards parts of the world. Using a special protocol called File
Transfer Protocol you can transfer text files that are too long to mail
(over about 50 pages) or even transfer graphics and programs. If E-mail
is the equivalent of "talking" to a person, then Telnet, the third main
Internet service, is equivalent to telephoning a computer. As long as
you know the password for logging on to a computer, you can access and
search any of nearly a million computers. Details of E-mail, FTP, and
Telnet are contained in Chapter 5, Internet Basics.
This chapter puts the Internet into context. Rather than concentrating
on the trees that will occupy us in later chapters, it paints a big
picture of the computing world in which the Internet has evolved. When
you pick up a telephone receiver you know you can dial households,
businesses, or government offices. You can dial 800 numbers or 411 for
information. You know how to get the time or weather, get your credit
card balance, or leave a message on an answering machine. In short, you
have a good idea of what might possibly be at the other end of the line
and a great deal of experience with negotiating their various
intricacies. But you are new to the Internet. Some sense of "what's
out there" in this new world is necessary to avoid getting lost in the
thickets of acronyms, numbers, and procedures developed by different
vendors.
As we approach the middle of the 90s, the normal working situation in
offices is approaching something like this: there is a Local Area
Network (LAN) connecting together personal computers, workstations, and
mainframes of different makes. The LAN (pronounced like "land" without
the "d") may be connected to other LANs as part of a Wide Area Network
(WAN). The WAN may or may not be part of the global network called the
Internet. In colleges, universities, and research laboratories it
likely is part of the Internet; in the commercial world, except for a
few high-tech companies, it likely is not. But the difference between
academia and the commerical world is rapidly becoming blurred.
In addition to the LANs and WANs there are many, many home and office
computers that *could* be part of the global network using a modem-to-
host connection. These computers can be the portable computers of
outside salespersons connecting to the central office to file a report,
a computer in a home-operated desktop publishing company connecting
briefly to the Internet to get a graphic for a newsletter, or a parent
sending E-mail to their child at college.
<Section 2.1> Getting Over Shell-Shock
Let's face it. Not many members of the public--even the computer
literate public-are on the Internet. There are three reasons that using
the Internet for the first time can be rather intimidating, even though
it is actually rather simple to use, when you get down to the nitty-
gritty of internetworking:
o Getting on to the Internet can be a little bit complicated;
o The capability of logging on to computers you've never used before
by its very nature means facing unfamiliar--and hence uncomfortable--
situations; and
o The world is a very big place.
I like to think of the first problem--getting on to the Internet--by
remembering what it was like using an "alternative" long distance
service before the breakup of the Bell monopoly. People who used the
alternative carriers had to dial all sorts of access codes--very often a
local access number, a credit card number, a security code, *and* the
number of the party they were calling. They knew that whatever came
after that was going to be easier.
That's what getting on the Internet is like. You may have to dial a
local access number, get your modem settings right, and type the right
magic combination of words; but after all that, actually *using* the
Internet is simple. We'll talk you through the initial steps--after a
while (and some frustration) it will be as unconscious as unlocking your
front door or tuning a television set.
The second problem is a little more substantial. Using the Internet,
you can get yourself into situations that are, well, experimental.
Because the Internet gives you the freedom to "go anywhere" and "do
anything"--at least if you know the passwords--you can uncover strange
incompatibilities and unfamiliar systems. I call this experience "shell
shock". At some point you will likely find yourself face to face with a
computer program that expects you to type a command you don't happen to
know.
You can mostly avoid such situations by only trying things about which
you have good information. The situation is not much different from
using a telephone: if you stick to well-worn paths like dialing local
numbers or simple long distance calls, you will have little trouble; but
if you start dialing other countries or special numbers you may be in
for a surprise or two.
When you do log on to a new (previously unknown) computer, you can
expect to come face to face with something called a "shell prompt".
Shell prompts look like this:
% (or some other obscure symbol, like a dollar-sign)
or this:
mail> (a favourite--means you're in some sort of mail program)
or like this:
prez23:
(means 23rd command since you logged into computer "prez").
A prompt means the other computer expects you to type a command for its
"shell", or "command interpreter". The shell is the outer layer that
you, the user, interact with.
Two other types of "user interfaces" you might encounter are:
o menu systems that give you choice of numbers
o "window" systems or graphical user interfaces (GUIs, pronounced
"gooey").
Menu systems are popular on bulletin board services, and usually present
no problem to the novice. Their weakness is that they get cloying after
about five minutes. Most menu systems that are designed to be used for
that length of time or longer have a "command mode", where you get--you
guessed it--a shell prompt.
Even windowing systems (you know if you have one of these) very often
give you a window that "emulates a terminal", i.e. that gives you a
shell prompt inside.
So, you see, in each of the three common user interfaces--command line,
menu-driven, or graphical user interface--you will likely encounter, at
some time in your life, a shell prompt. Advice on things that will
likely work to get you started is given here and in Appendix A. Some
experience of other kinds of computers, especially computers that use
the UNIX operating system is useful. Some tips about using UNIX and
other operating systems you may not have encountered before is given in
Appendix D.
If you do get stuck, whether by being experimental or just by accident,
it is helpful to remember a few points:
o You can always disconnect from a remote service by using your
communications software to "hang up".
o If the computer gives you a strange symbol like a percent sign or a
dollar sign and just sits and stares at you, you can try "help" or "?"
to try to find out what the computer expects, or else try "exit",
"quit", "bye", "logoff", or something similar, to return to where you
were before.
o Many times, when you log on to a system, you will get instructions
on how to get further help or how to "escape" back to your own system.
You should remember these or write them down!
o As a last resort, exit the communications program (and all other
active programs) and shut off your computer, turn off your modem, and
disconnect it from the phone line. Be sure to do these steps in the
order prescribed. It is unwise (though tempting) to simply turn your
computer off and on, or to pull the plug on your modem with your
computer running.
More suggestions for the inexperienced are given in Appendix A.
The final hurdle to using the Internet is that the world, even the world
of the Internet, is indeed a very large place. When using the Internet
you have to decide:
o where to go;
o what information you want (and where it might be); and
o how to get to it (and get it back home intact).
For a system as vast as the Internet, these are hard decisions. Often,
the only strategy that works is to explore and try different things.
This course is designed to get you over the initial hurdles, give you a
fair grounding in methods that work, and point you in the right
direction. The exploration is up to you. As an initial orientation, we
describe the "three worlds of the known Internet" in the next section.
<Section 2.2> The Three Worlds of the Known Internet
The Internet, like ancient Gaul, is divided into three parts. These
parts are not so much territories as worlds, each with their own sets of
assumptions, favorite dialects, and favored equipment. We may
conveniently refer to them as the "PC world", the "UNIX world", and the
"Mainframe world". Here's a dossier on each of the three worlds:
World: Personal Computer (PC)
Typical Equipment: IBM PC and clones (85%) , Macintosh (15%)
Conventional Operating Systems: MS-DOS, OS/2
Windowing Systems: Windows, MacOS
Typical Size: PC ($1k to $5k typical; few $100 used)
Clientele: Mixed--Business, Home users, just about everybody
World: (mostly UNIX) workstation
Typical Equipment: Sun Workstation, VAXStations, other vendors
Conventional Operating Systems: UNIX (two major dialects), VMS
Windowing System: X Windows
Typical Size: Workstation ($5k and up)
Clientele: Engineering/Scientific users; more and more businesses
World: Mainframe or Minicomputer
Typical Equipment: IBM (various), Digital Equipment VAXes
Conventional Operating Systems: VM, VMS, UNIX
Windowing Systems: X Windows, if available
Typical Size: Minicomputer or Mainframe ($10k to millions)
Clientele: Big Business, Universities, Government
The neat picture of three worlds is distorted somewhat by a tendency for
each of the worlds to have two (or a few) major options, either in
choice of equipment, operating system, or vendor. So, for example, the
PC world is split into two camps, the MS-DOS people and the Mac people.
Similarly, the UNIX world is split into the "BSD" workstations and
"System V" (i.e. "5") workstations.
The three worlds are reflected somewhat in networking. The Internet is
dominated by minicomputers and workstations running UNIX and VMS, with
an ever increasing influx of PCs running MS-DOS and Macs. Machines
running other operating systems often put a "UNIX-like" foot forward, so
the user can almost believe he or she is dealing with UNIX machines.
There is a certain sense that the UNIX software is the standard for the
Internet. Software tends to appear on UNIX machines first and then be
"ported" to other machines.
What makes it possible for all these disparate machines to talk to each
other is the "Internet Protocol" (known more formally as TCP/IP, for
Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). TCP/IP can be thought of
as a set of rules for two computers to use when they communicate with
each other, even if they are not from the same vendor.
We are used to thinking of computer systems as having "software" and
"hardware", but it is closer to the truth to say that complicated
systems like the Internet have many levels--in the case of the Internet
as many as seven--ranging from "very software" to "very hardware". Each
level has its own set of rules, called its protocol. The TCP/IP
protocol belongs to two of the middle levels. At the moment, the most
common protocol for the two most "very hardware" levels is "Ethernet"
(looks rather like the coaxial cable used for cable TV), while the "very
software" levels are completely dependent on the vendor. In fact, it is
this profusion of levels which lets the Internet work on just about any
kind of hardware and with software from many different vendors.
Anyway, the Internet grew up as several medium-sized networks, all
having diffent "very hardware" and "very software", but using the TCP/IP
protocol for their middle layers, were connected together. Two of the
first, and biggest, nets to adopt the Internet Protocol were ARPAnet--
Internet was first designed for this one--the network for what used to
be called DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the
U.S. Department of Defense), and NSFnet, a network connecting
universities and government laboratories for the U.S. National Science
Foundation. These and other large networks form the "backbone" of the
Internet. But today there are hundreds of smaller nets hooked on to the
backbones.
There *are* big networks that don't use TCP/IP. For example, in the
context of IBM mainframes at large universities and research
institutions, BITnet (The "Because It's Time" Network) emerged. This
large worldwide network does not use the Internet protocol. BITnet can
be reached from the Internet through special translators called
gateways, but it is definitely a different network. Occasionally one
encounters problems that can be traced to this fact.
<Section 2.3> The Future of the Internet
The future of any technology is difficult to forcast, and I do not
profess to know what the future holds for the Internet. Some
predictions that various forcasters have made for internetworking (and
telecommunications in general) are:
o A proposal for a data "superhighway" called the NREN (National
Research and Education Network) will pass the U.S. Congress. This is an
upgrade for the Internet.
o Commercial use of the Internet will become more common and new
schemes for charging for its use will emerge.
o The Internet will be handed by the government over to AT&T and the
other "telecoms", who will charge so much to access it that the whole
scheme will collapse.
o Optical Fiber will replace Coaxial Cable (Ethernet protocol) as the
most common standard for LANs.
o The Internet will enter the home over ordinary phone lines.
o The Internet will enter the home over existing Cable TV coaxial
cable.
o The Internet will enter the home through newly strung optical fiber
as part of a unified system for Telephony, Cable TV, and the data
communication, using [insert your favorite protocol here] as a standard.
o Personal Computers will replace telephones, answering machines,
stereos, CD players, and VCRs--maybe even TV!--as a single, universal
device for home use. Sounds like a good thing to connect to the NREN.
o Computer and telephone technology will become so intertwined that
it is hard to tell the difference. One product, already on the market,
is described as "[a handheld] alphanumeric pager, an XT-compatible
computer with a backlit screen and PCMCIA Type III slot, a fax/modem, a
cellular and land-line phone, and a voice recorder"!
You are welcome to believe all or none of these predictions.
<Chapter 3> How Do I Connect To the Internet?
Connecting to the Internet involves several steps:
(1) Getting your modem and communications software working together
(2) Connecting to a provider over the phone lines (or a LAN)
(3) Using Internet services
For the first step you will have to rely on the manuals that came with
your modem and software. Appendix B contains a discussion of some of
the obscurer terminology associated with modem settings. You might want
to read it if your manual is not well written.
Actually, you do not have to know about the second step in great detail.
Mostly it is a matter of knowing enough to intellegently choose a
provider. Each provider will have a specific set of steps--modem
settings, access numbers, passwords, etc.--that you need to follow in
order to get from you to the provider. Don't lose hope! Once you get
there you've finished the hardest part. Chapter 6 contains very
explicit instructions for connecting to one particular service, DELPHI.
Step 3 is the subject of the rest of this course--what you can do once
you're on. The basics are discussed in the next chapter.
<Section 3.1> Connection Methods
In theory, there are three ways to connect to the Internet from a
personal computer or workstation:
(1) Your PC may have a direct connection. This means that it is part
of a Local Area Network (LAN) that is in turn connected to one of the
component Wide Area Networks of the Internet. Your computer will have
its own Internet Protocol (IP) Address. This type of connection is
common in offices, especially of high-tech firms, but definitely not for
home use.
(2) You may have a connection to a "host" computer that is directly
connected to the net. If you can use a modem to connect your home PC to
the mainframe at the office and the mainframe is on the net, then you
can get an Internet connection that way. But what if your office
doesn't have a mainframe on the net? You can still subscribe to a
service that makes a host computer available to the public. This is
presently the cheapest and most common method for public access to the
net.
(3) There is a connection method in between cases (1) and (2) called a
Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) connection. You dial up a special
host computer--just like case (2)--called a SLIP-server. The difference
is that the SLIP server gives you a temporary IP address and talks to
your computer using the Internet Protocol. This requires your
computer's software to speak SLIP. Your computer thinks it is using
case (1) even though your actual connection is closer to step 2. The
advantage of fooling your terminal into thinking it has a direct
connection is that it can use all the fancy, free software developed for
computers with direct connections.
The software for a SLIP connection is being built into all new
communications software. If you just bought or upgraded your software,
you probably have SLIP capability already. The catch? SLIP is too slow
on a cheap 2400 baud modem. But if you buy a fast FAX modem it works
fine. That's one reason that a $350 FAX modem is a good investment. It
is fast enough for SLIP and gives you the ability to send and receive
FAXes as well.
SLIP technology is still rather new and somewhat experimental, so this
discussion will focus on the old reliable--method 2. How do you find a
service that will give the public access to the Internet?
Depending on where you live, you may have a provider you can call in
your local area code. If not, then most of your problem will be finding
the cheapest way to make a long distance phone call. This book does not
have a list of providers, since such a list will get out of date
rapidly. Instead, it gives you one cheap way to get on the Internet,
then gives you instructions on how to find out who the providers are and
what their rates are. I would rather teach you how to look out for
yourself than just give you some outdated advice. This method also has
the advantage that one set of instructions works for everybody. That
wouldn't be true if I listed 20 or 30 providers. Instructions are given
in "Gettin on the Internet Step by Step."
<Section 3.2> Types of Internet Providers
As I said, most of the problem of getting on the net occurs when you
live in an area that doesn't have a LOCAL provider. Basically there are
three kinds of providers and three ways to get to them:
(1) Providers of direct connections. If you are setting up a business
and need a high volume direct connection for your office Local Area
Network and can afford several thousand a year at least, you will want
to consider these high-end providers. They are not relevant to our
discussion. (But see Appendix C for more information).
(2) There are several regional networks and one national one that
specialize in low cost PC-to-host or SLIP connections. Costs range from
$20-40 a month to $2000 a year, depending on the services you need.
Performance Systems International (PSI) is a major provider of this kind
of service. Other networks offer services similar to PSI, although PSI
has the most extensive nationwide service at this time. This service
can be very competitive with BBS type service (see below) if you are a
frequent user of the net or need to send more than an occasional E-mail
message. It is definitely worth a look.
(3) Many computer bulletin board services offer E-mail or even
Internet connections for around $10-20 per month. Be very careful to
check out the connection charges. If you are not careful you could be
charged for using the bulletin board (per hour), using the Internet, the
long-distance connection, a surcharge for daytime use, and a per message
charge for E-mail! One of the purposes of this book is to explain the
minefield of charges so you don't get burned. The service recommended
bundles all the charges up front so there are no surprises.
Generally speaking, connecting to the Internet through a BBS is the best
method for the explorer. Once you've determined that you need the
Internet on a regular basis, one of the regional networks or PSI is
probably the most economical route.
Unless you are fortunate enough to live in an area where an Internet
provider is a local call away, you will have to contend with long
distance charges. Actually, these can be as low as $2 an hour and are
sometimes bundled in with the network connection charge.
<Section 3.3> Finding the Cheapest Long Distance Method
There are three basic methods of paying for long distance:
(1) You just pay for a call to another area code. This is very
expensive and not recommended.
(2) You use a provider with a toll free (800) number and pay for the
call in a higher connect charge. This is also very expensive.
(3) You use a Public Data Network after hours and pay around $2 an
hour (may be included).
Actually, the last method is the only workable one. There are a number
of PDN's.
CompuServe has a data network. You do not have to join CompuServe to
use it.
PSI has its own data network with many points of presence around the
US and abroad. These are divided into Class A and Class B, depending on
the level of service provided.
Tymenet and SprintNet are two other public data networks. You may
have heard of the SprintNet service PC Pursuit. For a monthly fee this
gives you many BBS nationwide as well as any computer that can be
reached by SprintNet.
In general, for a first experiment we recommend the DELPHI BBS and
SprintNet. DELPHI includes the SprintNet surcharge in its $13/month
bill (after hours use only--daytime is expensive everywhere). At this
writing you get 5 free hours the first month and 4 hours per month after
that. Additional hours are $4 each. There is also a 20 hours for $20
plan. Additional hours are $2 each with this plan. Detailed
instructions on how to sign up are given in "Connecting to the Internet
Step by Step."
<Chapter 4> Who Pays for the Internet?
All this talk of cost may be making you edgy. Eventually, everyone
using the Internet must face the fear--if I am calling up a computer in
Switzerland won't I be billed for the call? The marvelous thing about
the Internet is that although there is plenty of expense involved in
getting on it, there is no additional expense associated with what you
do after you are connected. THE WHOLE WORLD IS ON LOCAL. Thus, you may
have to pay for a $2 an hour call to Massachussetts, for your PC, your
modem and software, and a connect fee to your internet provider. But
you DO NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR EACH AND EVERY INTERNET CALL.
Since most people find it hard to believe that you can send mail
anywhere in the world or dial up a computer on the other side of the
globe without paying a special charge, I will spend some time explaining
who does pay for the Internet and how those costs are reflected back to
the user. One way or another you do pay for network usage, but these
payments are not in the form of a direct billing for each call.
First, you already know that there is no Internet, Inc. that monitors
all the calls and bill customers. Instead there are hundreds of smaller
networks that act as relays. Those networks *could* charge their
customers for each call, based on how much time it takes and where it
goes, but since no one is charging them, they have no real incentive to
pass on costs. Instead they charge a flat fee--usually based on connect
time, but for a 24 hour connection just a flat yearly fee.
Now network traffic does use up resources. Basically, the Internet
works like a potluck supper. Everyone with a direct connection allows
some of their system resources to be used by messages that are just
"passing through". They allow this because other systems allow them the
same privilege. Thus, it is in everyone's interest to allow some of
their resources to be consumed by other persons' messages, because
everyone comes out ahead.
So, sites with direct connections pay real costs in terms of lost
computing cycles, extra cabling, fancier equipment, and lost disk space.
These costs are passed on to their customers or shouldered by government
subsidy. But there are no direct charges associated with using the
system.
In the early days of the Internet, Government subsidy of the backbone
networks was crucial. The backbone was built with government funds and
it was government funds that paid for the extra equipment needed by the
universities and laboratories that carried more traffic than they
generated. With the development of commercial nets alternatives to the
Government-sponsored backbone arose. The Government subsidy is still
important, but becomming less so every year.
So, the short answer is that you pay for the network. You either pay
your provider a flat fee or you pay as a taxpayer for Government
subsidized network resources. Most of the cost you actually see will be
in your own equipment, the cost of placing a phone call, and whatever
your provider charges you.
<Chapter 5> Internet Basics
We've talked a lot about the Internet, but how do you actually use it?
There are three basic skills on which all Internet use is based:
Electronic Mail (E-mail)
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
Telnet
All three commands rely on the Internet addressing scheme. An Internet
"telephone number" of another computer is its Internet Protocol (IP)
address, a number that looks like this:
225.225.12.38
This form, called "dotted decimal," is still required by some computers.
But, to make IP addresses easier for humans, this telephone number has
another form which is easier to remember:
hoople.usnd.edu
This means that computer ("node") named "hoople" is located at the
University of Southern North Dakota. The last component, ".edu", means
that the institution is in the educational domain. . Other domain
names look like this:
.edu : educational institutions
.gov : government (research laboratories and
.com : commercial businesses
.org : nonprofit organizations
.mil : military installations
In addition to these domain names, there are many two-letter country
codes, e.g.
.ca : Canada
.jp : Japan
.uk : United Kingdom
.us : United States
and many more.
To send electronic mail to someone over the Internet, all you need to
know is their "username", or "handle". This is followed by an at-sign,
the node name, and any domain names. Thus
[email protected]
donotes a private citizen in Chicago, Illinois, in the U.S. Joe's
computer is called "locoweed".
As another (real) example,
president@whitehouse.gov
is the E-mail address of the U.S. President.
In the examples that follow we will give details for a typical
character-oriented computer. Windowing systems with menus, dialog
boxes, and so on will hide many of these details, but they are happening
behind the scenes. Also, once you are connected, you may be faced with
an old-fashioned command-line system.
<Section 5.1> Electronic Mail (E-mail)
The details of using the mail system depend on your system, but
basically it looks like this:
% mail <enter the mail program with the MAIL command, or
whatever>
Welcome to Mail, Version 99.3 . . .
mail> send
To: president@whitehouse.gov
Cc: vice.president@whitehouse.gov <or return if you don't want a
carbon sent to anyone>
Subj: I'm on Internet
Type your message. Control-Z to exit
Bill--
I just got my Internet connection today. My address is
pdq@hoople.usnd.edu.
Give my best to Al,
PDQ
<type control-Z or do whatever your system needs to signal an end
of the message>
% <your system is now ready for your next command>
<Section 5.2> Telnet
In addition to using an Internet address to send E-mail, you can use it
to call a computer. This is rather like dialing up a computer with a
modem, except that the local computer (the one you called with *your*
modem) is calling up the remote computer:
your PC or Mac --> "local computer" --> "remote computer"
The example assumes that "home>" is the shell prompt given by your local
computer and that "%" is the prompt given by the remote computer (see
Section 2.2 on "shell prompts"). So remember, you don't type them.
home> telnet hoople.usnd.edu <type this on your "home" computer>
Welcome to node HOOPLE. Now running Opus 2.0
username: pdq
password: <type your password here>
Last login 23:14:55 15-JUN-1752
You have mail.
% <now type whatever commands you like until . . . >
% logoff <or bye or quit or exit or whatever>
Session with hoople.usnd.gov terminated at 21:19.
home> <now continue issuing commands on your home computer>
This method of connecting to another computer is called "telnetting".
In effect, you have used the local computer to telephone the remote
computer. You can now do anything on the remote computer (with certain
restrictions) you could do if you were "actually" logged on.
SPECIAL PROBLEMS WITH TELNETTING
Sometimes telnetting will put you into a menu-type program or even a
"screen oriented" program. A special problem here is getting the other
computer to recognize what type of screen you have. Since most
communications software "emulates a terminal", this amounts to telling
the other system what type of terminal your communications system is
emulating.
E.g., on a UNIX system you might type:
% set term vt100
to tell the other system that your communications software thinks it is
a VT100 terminal (a very common choice for emulation programs).
If you don't get this exactly right, your telnet session will "sort of
work". It's probably not worth spending a lot of time on this problem
for a brief contact with the other computer. If you are going to work
on the remote computer every day, however, you will want to get it
right. Most "flaky" behavior can be traced to this problem.
<Section 5.3> File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
It is easy to transfer files over the Internet using a special protocol
called FTP. FTP takes the place of programs like XModem or Kermit that
may be familiar to you if you use a bulletin board service. Now, you
might ask, if FTP transfers a file, what is the differnce between
sending E-mail and FTP; why prefer one over the other?
First of all, FTP avoids certain restrictions on the type of file sent;
in particular, you can send binary (non-text) files like programs and
pictures; and you are not restricted to any particular length, as is
often the case with mail programs.
Not only that, with FTP you can "browse" a directory of files before
choosing one. You can move up and down the directory hierarchy and list
files, looking for the one you want.
Finally, FTP lets you get places that you may not have an account (or a
friend to send you mail). The method for doing this, called "anonymous
FTP", is described in the next section. There are several hundred
"anonymous FTP sites" worldwide, with large collections of programs,
textfiles, and graphics. Anonymous FTP is the Internet equivalent of
publishing--a very important topic indeed.
<Section 5.4> Anonymous FTP
Further facility with Anon. FTP requires a little knowledge of the UNIX
operating system. See Appendix D for an introduction.
<Chapter 6> Getting on the Internet Step by Step
This course takes a different approach to . Rather than
In particular, you should contact the following for information.
STEP 1. SIGN UP WITH A PROVIDER (example DELPHI)
To get on the Internet you need:
1. a home computer,
2. a 1200 or 2400 baud modem that understands AT commands ("Hayes
Command Set Compatible"),
3. communications software, and
4. a credit card.
This example assumes that you are signing up with the bulletin board
service DELPHI. DELPHI has no commercial relationship with the author.
It was chosen for an example because its rates are typical of the low
end of the market, it offers nationwide service, it includes afterhours
access by SprintNet in its basic fee, and because at this time it offers
5 free hours of Internet access to new subscribers.
You should definitely consider other providers. You can get information
about other providers once you're on the Internet. In fact, that will
be one of your first steps below.
1. Set your modem to 2400 (or 1200) baud, 8 bits, NO parity, 1 stop
bit, full duplex, local echo and auto linefeeds off, XON/XOFF on, VT100
emulation. (see the manual for your modem, the manual for your
communications software, and Appendix A if you need help)
Don't worry if some of the options are missing. Usually, for example,
full duplex implies local echo off and vice versa, so your software may
not list these as separate options.
2. Use your communications software to issue (or type directly to
your modem) the command ATDT 1 800 365 4656. If you have a pulse-dial
phone your will use ATDP instead of ATDT.
3. DELPHI will give you explicit instructions, but for reference they
will look like this:
A. Make sure it is after 6 or 7 p.m. or on a weekend--unless you
want a $9 surcharge for daytime access.
B. Dial your local SprintNet access number (local call!): ATDT 123
4567.
C. After "CONNECT 2400", type @D ("D" must be capital)
D. After "terminal=" type <CR>, i.e. carriage return.
E. At the @-sign type
@C DELPHI
F. After Username: type
Username: YOURNAME
Password: OPENSESAME
Type your own username and password of course.
4. If at anytime you forget your Sprintnet access number, or if you
are out of town, you can look up SprintNet numbers as follows.
STEP 2. Your First E-mail
Get PDIAL, NIXPUB, INTERNET RESOURCE GUIDE, Info on PSI
Info on LISTSERV and signing up for E-mail
STEP 3. Your First Anonyomous FTP
Get surfing the internet
STEP 4. Your First Telnet
Getting Public Access UNIX and reading Usenet news
STEP 5. First E-mail
Getting Information on PSI
Getting Information on LISTSERV
You can do many, many things with the Internet. The information you
have retrieved, especially the Internet Guides, will give you other
ideas. We will go over some of the retrieval methods in Part III of
this course. For now, you should experiment and explore, using the
information you have as a starting point. The experience you gain will
be useful when we come to the more systematic study of Internet research
methods later.
<Chapter 7> Programs and Pictures
Evenually, as you gain experience finding and transfering information,
you will want to try you hand at transferring binary files containing
pictures or free software from one of the large FTP archives like
wustl.edu
sumex-aim.stanford.edu (Macintosh software)
simtel-20.mil (IBM and compatible software)
In fact, some of the first software you will want to get is software for
compressing and uncompressing files (see next Chapter), processing
graphics ("image files"), and perhaps some games.
First, what is a binary file? A binary file is one that you can't read.
Unlike text, which consists of groups of eight bit code letters
representing "a", "b", and so on, binary files have bits that are meant
to be read only by programs. You cannot "look" at them by typing them
out or with a word processor--unless the word processor understands the
format of the file. Expensive word processing programs--including the
most popular ones like Word Perfect and Microsoft Word--are increasingly
able to read a large variety of binary files.
Frequently encountered binary files include:
1. Files that use proprietary formats, such as word-processing
programs, spreadsheets, database programs, etc. These files contain
formatting (like italics, underlines, etc.) and perhaps graphics, and
other goodies beyond the simple text.
2. "Application Programs". These are programs written in (the
binary) machine language that your computer understands. They are
"compiled" from text files of "source code" written in a programming
language. Vendors almost never make their source code available--except
for free software, which you may have to compile yourself.
3. Text files that have been compressed to about half their size with
one of the popular compression programs. Compression makes texts files
binary. Compression doesn't do much for files that are already binary
unless the data they contain is very repetitive.
4. Files containing graphics like GIF, TIFF, PICT, or JPEG files.
More on this below.
Transfering binary files is as easy as transfering text files once you
understand the potential problems:
1. Most FTP programs start you out in TEXT mode. This means that
text files are *translated* when they go from computer to computer on
their way to you. This is fatal to binary files because their bit
pattern has nothing to do with the groups of eight bits that make up
text.
2. Even text files have slight compatibility problems because the
three "worlds"--IBM, Macintosh, and UNIX--use a different control
character to represent "return", "enter", or "newline." Translation
between the different dialects is handled automatically in TEXT mode
transfers. It is also the main reason why text files cannot be
transfered in BINARY mode.
The two control characters involved are called "linefeed" (LF) and
"carriage return" (CR):
IBM PC and compatibles : <LF> <CR>
Macintosh and VAX : <CR>
UNIX : <LF>
3. As mentioned above, text files are often compressed to save space.
This means that you need a program to uncompress them before you read
them--and that you have to transfer them in BINARY mode.
The most common compression programs and common file extensions are:
IBM PC and compatibles : PKZIP and PKUNZIP (.ZIP)
Macintosh : Stuffit and UnStuffit archives (.sit)
UNIX : compress and uncompress (.Z) and tape archive (.tar) with
both together being most common (.tar.Z or .taz). Note capital "Z".
UNIX also has the gzip/gunzip command pair. gzip files usually have the
extension ".z" (*small* z) or ".tgz" if they are also tape archive
files.
Fortunately you can usually find free software for you computer that
will uncompress formats from other computer models. For current
information on compression software, see the FAQ for the newsgroup
comp.compression (ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/xxx).
4. Conversely, sometimes binary files are converted to a sort of
ASCII that looks like gibberish so that they can be mailed or
transferred in TEXT mode--but again you need a program that translates
them back to binary. Sometimes we encounter the ultimate absurdity, a
text file that is compressed then re-encoded as ASCII for mailing.
Actually this makes sense if a large number of related text files are
stored in a compressed "archive".
The most common programs for this are:
uuencode/uudecode for UNIX (used for Usenet news postings of binary
files and for mailing programs) The file extension (rarely encountered
because there is little reason to store files in this format) is ".uue".
BinHex for the Macintosh (.hqx) Often combined with Stuffit
(.sit.hqx). This is a common method for distributing all the files that
come with a program as a single file.
uuencoded files can be recognized by the fact that every line begins
with a capital "M" and is exactly the same length. The file starts with
the word "begin" and ends with "end" The translating program needs
these words, but nothing above or below them. Often a uuencoded file is
split into several parts for transmission and must be reassembled (and
stripped of mail headers, etc.) in a word processing program before it
is decoded. If you do this be sure to save the resulting file as a text
file and not in the proprietary format of the word processing program!
<Section 7.2> What To Do With Graphics
The second topic of this chapter is graphic images. Graphics are very
important for Desktop Publishers--writers of newsletters, businesses
that prepare their own brochures, and small printshops. Pictures can be
stored in separate files or, in some cases, embedded in other formats
such as the proprietary format of Microsoft Word files. Picture files
take up a large amount of space--especially big pictures at high
resolution. 1 Megabyte is a typical size for a smallish picture at
moderate resolution. Thus, one picture is worth about 500 pages of
text!
The lifecycle of a typical graphic goes something like this:
STEP 1. Capturing (scanning) of photograph with optical scanner or
with a special "video" camera
The better sort of optical scanner looks like a small xerox machine.
There are also cheaper hand-held models. Flatbed scanners cost in the
$1000+ range so you are not likely to have one unless you are in the
business. Most likely, the casual user will get a graphic from someone
else, from a collection of "clip art", or create the graphic from
scratch in a drawing program.
STEP 2. Storage in a file using an interchange format
However the image is obtained, it has to be stored on disk before it can
be used. There are perhaps twenty or so common formats, but those found
most often on the Internet and in the Usenet newsgroups are:
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) a rather old-fashioned but very
commonly found type of graphics file. Almost any software can read this
format. This is the most common format on Anonymous FTP archives.
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) Technically more versatile than
GIF and just about as common. A very good choice for exchanging files
between different programs.
JPEG () A special compressed image format that is becoming common
in newer software.
EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) Not really a graphics file per say,
but a set of instructions for drawing an image. The success of the
Postscript page description language for Laser printers has led to a new
stategy for including graphics in word processing files. Many high end
word processing programs like Microsoft Word allow you to include a
reference to an external Postscript file containing the figure.
Desktop publishing and high-end word processing programs can often save
and import graphics in any of these formats, especially TIFF and EPS.
In addition, you may find files in proprietary formats like Macintosh
PICT files. These formats serve as standards for their line of
computers but not across different brands. Fortunately you can find
free software that will convert TIFF to PICT or _vice versa_.
STEP 3. Transmission to point of use
Suppose you have a graphics file or a word processing file containing
your brochure. How do you send that file to someone?
If you work in an academic environment, it is quite possible that one or
the other institutions is an Anonymous FTP site. You may be able to use
the Anon. FTP site as a "mailbox" to transfer the file in binary mode--
or you could exchange passwords and transfer the file directly, if both
have a direct connection to the Internet.
More commonly, you will have to send the file by E-mail. Say you've
just finished a brochure and you want to send it cross-country. Let's
suppose that your business has two branches--one in New York and one in
Los Angeles, and that both offices have Macintoshes with Microsoft Word
and that you both have one of the free "Usenet software kits" for the
Macintosh (not necessarily the same one). Then, you proceed as follows:
A. Using UUENCODE (or BINHEX, if you like) you convert the Microsoft
Word file to a coded text file.
B. If your mail has a size limit, you may have to break up the file
and send it in parts.
C. At the receiving end, reassemble the file and strip any headers
and trailers added by the mail system. The file should look like
begin <very first line>
M
M
M
M
end <very last line>
and be saved as a TEXT file.
D. Run UUDECODE (or BINHEX) and recover the binary file.
E. Run Microsoft Word, open the binary (MS Word!) file and print.
There may be one slight glitch. Macintosh files have two parts, a
"resource" part and a "data" part. The resource part contains such
information as the name of the application to run when you click on the
file and how to draw the cute little icon pictures. Some of the simpler
programs do not encode the resource part so you may get a generic
document that you can't open by clicking on it (the infamous
"application busy or missing" message). That's OK. Open it from
*within* Word and then save it as a Word document. It should recover
the missing parts. And get smarter software.
Certainly this procedure is complicated--and you might want to do a dry
run before you try beating a 5 o'clock deadline--but the capability of
transfering a computer file cross-country in seconds can be crucial to a
business. The fact that it can be done with free software and a casual
$10/month E-mail connection is astounding. Play around and learn to do
this. In the future, printers may commonly accept submissions by E-mail
or by direct transfer over telephone lines. Imagine not having to
figure out how to keep your camera-ready copy dry on a rainy day or
having to rush across town minutes before your deadline!
STEP 4. Image enhancing and/or color separation
One of the great advantages of having a graphic in a computer file is
that you can use free software (or shareware) to play around with the
image. Cropping, rotating, streching, zooming, and so on are all
common. In addition, you can convert color to black and white or
greyscale, enhance the image, make halftones or color separations, and
even play with the spatial frequency spectrum if you want. (Color
separations are the four images needed by printers--separate ones for
Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, and Black ink).
STEP 5. Importing or embedding in a word processing or desktop
publishing program
Once you are happy with the picture you import it as a graphic into your
DTP or word processing program. If your program reads the format the
picture is in, this is easy. If not, you will need to get free software
that converts from the format you have to the one you need. This
process is very experimental. I've found that I have better results
converting from an obscure format to a standard and common format like
GIF or TIFF before converting to a proprietary target format. This is
even true if the software says it reads the obscure format directly.
STEP 6. Printing on a laser printer or other equipment
If a graphic is not solely intended for display on a (color) monitor,
like a slide presentation, it must be printed out. And there it is.
Your picture in print.
<Chapter 8> What to Do When You Only Have E-mail
The very first thing to do is to get information on getting a better
Internet connection! But barring that, there are many reasons that you
might need to know workarounds that only require E-mail: you might be
stuck somewhere (like work) where there is no Internet access, or you
could be borrowing access from a friend. Since Internetworking is about
communicating with others, in many ways this is the most important
chapter in this course.
First we consider methods for
<Section 8.1> FTP by Mail Servers
<Section 8.2> Archie by Mail
<Section 8.3> Mailservers and Fileservers
<Section 8.4> Mailing lists and how to find them
<Section 8.5> E-mail to FAX
Fax is not a useful as E-mail, except in regard to one thing.
<Section 8.6> The Top Ten Fun Things to Get by E-mail List
Now that you know the techniques, try getting some of the things on the
"Top 10" list, in Appendix E.
<Chapter 9> Employee Development: How to Get Your Employees
Internetworking
This short Chapter contains a little advice on how to learn about the
Internet. It should be clear from the preceding Chapters that learning
how to use the Internet is a survival skill for many businesses.
Effective use of the electronic medium
o Saves employee time--time lost in phone tag, lost messages, and
they three day time delay of surface mail.
o Avoids circuitous means of transfering data like printing a
document, faxing it, and then rekeyboarding the data at the receiving
end
o Allows businesses and individuals to self-publish, and distribute
their work efficiently, whether or not the text or the graphical
appearance is primary.
o Provides access to information, allows communication and
distribution of documents in a single, uniform fashion.
It should also be clear that Internetworking is not yet a smooth, easily
learned process. It requires knowledge and skills that are not
presently taught anywhere except on the Internet itself.
The next section discusses specific needs of different segments of
people. The final section contains a fairly systematic exposition of
the methods and skills needed to Internetwork effectively. But far from
representing these sections as the last word on the subject, I would
like to stress that the only way to learn Internetworking is through
undirected exploration of the Internet.
This means you have to let your employees play, at least on their own
time: play with programs, play with Anonymous FTP, and play with Usenet
news. None of these activities are directly productive, but the playing
pays off when you need a new program and someone in your office can
o pick the right Usenet newsgroup and retrieve its FAQ
o read the FAQ and learn about free software that will solve your
problem and where to find the latest version
o connect to the software archive and (correctly) transfer the
program--even though the intervening machine is of the "wrong" make.
o properly decompress and install the software.
When all this is done competently, in less than half an hour, you will
have attained the goal of employee development.
A final caveat: *don't neglect Usenet news.* Usenet news is the most
difficult of the "Internet basic services" to get because it is not
really an Internet service. It is commonly found on Internet computers
and commonly transmitted over the Internet, but it does not fit into the
E-mail-FTP-telnet scheme of things. If your Internet provider does not
provide the news, you may have to ferret it out by (1) getting an
account on a public access UNIX system and (2) learning to use UNIX.
Command-line UNIX is no easier than command-line MS-DOS, but it is worth
learning how to get on a UNIX system for the "rn" (readnews) command
alone. All you need to know to get that far (and more) is contained in
Appendix D.
Any guide like this will soon be dated in terms of information sources,
techniques, and software. But Usenet is up to the minute. There,
hidden among the many diversions of alt., talk., and soc. hierarchies,
is the latest information on the computing environment of modern
Internetworking. In the opinion of this author, learning to use a
newsreader and reading the network news regularly is the *single most
important Internetworking skill*. The Usenet newsgroups are Dewey
Decimal System of the the true world library. Information can be found
in plenty elsewhere, but guides to information are rare and priceless--
and the Usenet news is the guide to the Internet.
<Part II> Special Concerns
This Part lists briefly some of the ways in which various groups of
people can use internetworking skills.
<Chapter 11> Special for Businesses
I wish I had better news for business use of the Internet. I wish I
could describe hundreds of free services of interest to *business* and
tell you how to use the Internet for profit. But it's not there yet.
However, before you turn away with a sad but knowing smile on your face
shaking your head over another unlikely technological dream--you've seen
it before--consider this: the main potential of the Internet is as a
communication medium. Is radio and television important to businesses?
What about newspapers and magazines? Or direct mail? Very few
businesses make money by selling newspapers or operating radio stations,
but many, many businesses use these media for advertising. You and your
employees need to become adept at using this medium for the same reasons
you've mastered layout of newpaper ads and writing form letters.
It is very important to understand that the Internet is not a broadcast
medium but more like the telephone or mail system. It specializes in
contacting individuals one at a time. In other words, you are not going
to get a list of all 25 million E-mail addresses and bombard them every
10 minutes with a 30 second sound byte. Nor are you going to send 100
people a letter asking them to contact 100 persons each. On the other
hand you might use the medium to contact a mailing list of your
customers or self-publish a promotional brochure.
The amount of commercial traffic on the Internet is disappointingly
small--but important. Mostly this is for historical reasons. The
backbone network in the United States, NSFnet (for National Science
Foundation) has an "acceptable use" policy for traffic carried over it.
This restricts traffic to messages that support the R&D effort of
certain government laboratories and universities. Clearly, there is
not room for commercial traffic if you are directly connected to the
NSFnet.
But nowadays one can get on the Internet without connecting directly to
NSFnet, and the amount of commercial traffic is growing. Don't
overlook:
o Making product information and brochures available by E-mail as
well as by the postal service.
o Allowing customer-support inquiries by E-mail.
o Starting a mailing list for your customers or clients.
o Setting up a "mail-server" to let clients get information about
your product automatically, without having to wait for you to log on
(required direct connection to the Internet).
o Putting your product information on an anonymous FTP server
(requires that you have a fileserver on the net or find an FTP site
willing to take the information).
Suprisingly, there are, to my knowledge, no pay-for-advertising services
that support mailservers or anonymous FTP sites. It is a fair
prediction that this advertising medium will develop as more persons
join the net. You could put your information on bulletin boards, of
course, but only members will see it there--not the 25 million people
with E-mail access.
The fact remains, however, that unless you are in very specific
industries that are information or paper intensive (say publishing,
computing, information retrieval, and so on), or unless you need access
to government information like weather maps, that your use of the
Internet will consist of downloading programs or getting the latest
technical information.
All of this overlooks the most important aspect of the Internet for
businesses. The Internet is evolving very rapidly. It is likely to be
an important medium for transacting business, for customer service and
for advertising in the very near future no matter what industry you are
in. For some industries, like publishing, high-technology industries,
and the media, it will be critical. Businesses who have a pool of
employees that are adept at using the Internet will have a competitive
advantage over firms that don't. Thus you should encourage your
employees to get personal Internet connections and learn about the
Internet after hours.
<Chapter 12> Special for Students and their Parents
Since the Internet grew up in an academic environment, university
students will likely have a level of access that would be the envy of
any business. All the services and research tools--not just E-mail,
FTP, and telnet, but gopher, WWW, WAIS, and the rest are likely to be
available to students from any terminal on the local "cluster" or by
dial-up from their dorm rooms.
Students will be especially keen on:
o checking the university library catalogue to see if a book is in
before walking to the library.
o finding out about campus events (even at other universities!)
through gopher or school bulletin boards
o posting buy and sell notices for computer equipment, cars, housing,
and so on.
o contacting potential tutors either at their own university or for
help by E-mail. (A netwide "university" of tutors, called Usenet
University, is prepared to answer questions in various subjects by E-
mail already exists in the Usenet newsgroups. See the alt.uu.*
hierarchy).
o using online catalogues of other university libraries to find books
for interlibrary loan or to compile bibliographies
o downloading free software and information
o finding scholarship information
Parents can communicate with their children at college by E-mail--and
probably get a faster response than waiting for the occasional letter
from home. Worried parents will have to refrain, however, from using
the "finger" command to find out when their children last logged in or
read their mail!
<Chapter 13> Special for Writers, Journalists, Publishers, and Printers
There is probably no industry for which information is so critical as
for the media and publishing industries. Journalists who explore the
networks will find that they use the tools described in the first part
over and over to track down information, conduct prompt "interviews" by
mail, and so on. Publishers will be interested in the electronic
transmission of manuscripts (though writers soliciting publication will
still want to send hardcopy--the equivalent in the electronic age of
sending a self-addressed stamped envelope). Publishers will also be
interested in sharing or developing free image processing software with
other publishers, and transmitting graphics.
As the net develops, libraries research will more and more often involve
internetworking. Searching for books is already easy by dial-up or over
the Internet. In addition, the amount of information that is never
circlulated on paper will increase. This is already the case in the
scientific and technical community where printing is a luxury rather
than a necessity. Given that a single 8 mm videotape can hold 500,000
pages of text, it is possible to hoard (and search) vast amounts of
information that you can never possibly print out. Imagine what such
technology will do in the hands of Government or any other bureaucracy.
Finally, it is not hard to image the day when an editor will receive as
many press releases by E-mail as through the postal service.
Internetworking technology allows virtually any business or individual
to set up and run their own "wire service", providing information about
their business or special interest to a select group of subscribers.
This capability is completely analogous to Desk Top Publishing, which
put low-end printing in the hands of any business or individual.
Journalists and other writers will not want to overlook the
kaleidascopic mixture of technical discussion, product announcements,
gossip, and general ranting on Usenet. Usenet already has more channels
than a typcial satellite and is growing by ten channels a day or so. It
is hard to find, but tucked in among the chit-chat and programs is the
only up to the minute information on the Internetworked World.
Certainly all writers of scientific or technical columns will want to
tap this source of information.
<Chapter 14> Special for Elementary and High School Teachers
There are many special Internet services for Elementary and Secondary
School teachers provided by the Government, mostly through the education
offices of research laboratories. The best all around refernce for
teachers is the _NCSA Guide to the Internet_, put out by the Education
Office of the National Center for Supercompter Administration. A paper
version is available from:
The network version is located at ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu. Unfortunately, it
is available only in Microsoft Word format (requires binary transfer).
If you are unable to use this format directly or convert to a format you
can use, you will have to order the paper version.
The NCSA Guide covers all you need to know to connect to the Internet--
both technical details and etiquette--as well as suggested projects to
introduce children to the net. You will find out how to get information
about the space program or how to access such programs as the Newton
Bulletin Board Service for Science and Math. teachers at Argonne
National Laboratory.
In addition, Usenet has a k12.* hierarchy which provides a gateway to
the K12 network. Besides K12, there are several other regional networks
specifically for teachers and students.
One of the more exciting prospects for teachers is that of sharing
worksheets, handouts, and other materials with other teachers. Although
this type of sharing is routine on bulletin boards and regional networks
that cater to teachers, anonymous FTP sites hold out the possibility of
a worldwide collection of such materials. Send contributed materials
(in electronic format) to
ftp.cs.city.ac.uk:/freelore/incoming
by following the instructions in Chapter xx for sending a file by
anonymous FTP, or mail a floppy disk (and a return mailer with prepaid
postage, if you want it back!) to
The FreeLore Project
P.O. Box 6022
St. Charles, IL 60174.
Make sure your materials have a copyright notice like this course,
allowing anyone to copy and distribute them for free (for educational
purposes).
<Chapter 15> Special for Librarians
For many years, of course, libraries have been among the heaviest users
of information services--for cataloguing or to fill patron requests.
Several companies now specialize in providing Internet access to
libraries, e.g. ACCESS or DRAnet. Libraries will increasingly use these
services because the promise the following benefits:
o Inexpensive access to hundreds of online library catalogues,
worldwide.
o Uniform, and often cheaper, access to information services using
telnet rather than a host of special software packages.
o Access to netwide searching tools like WAIS, WWW, and GOPHER.
o Discussion by E-mail with other librarians, conference reports and
announcements, and so on.
It is true, as one librarian said to me, that you can tell that
librarians didn't set up the Internet. The archives grew piecemeal and
their contents are far from uniform in quality. In addition, the whole
Internet is so vast it probably can't be catalogued. Nevertheless,
rough and ready tools and customs have grown up to provide some sort of
access to the information that is "out there". There is a great deal of
work to be done by librarians that will doubtless keep them employed
into the next millenium.
The main boon to librarians is the hierarchical organization of the net
into nodes, directories, and subdirectories. These provide an implicit
and universal call number to *everything in the electronic world*. The
day is not far away when a cross-reference like
See ota.ox.ac.uk:/pub/HistoricalDocs/Political/US/constitution
will be as common as a bibliographic citation or See reference in a card
catalogue.
The Internet also carries a number of hidden expenses and dangers to
libraries:
o It will somewhat increase the expense of computer equipment,
technical personnel, software, etc. needed by libraries
o Additional phone lines may become necessary, especially if some
sort of public access to the Internet is contemplated
o Staff training needs will be greater
o The local computer system will need virus protection software and
regular backups (a good idea anyway but seldom practiced by librarians,
in my experience. Persons who are trained in book conservation should
know better!).
o Some material on the Internet will arouse complaints from the
public because it represents the views of unpopular minorities (e.g
liberals, homosexuals, feminists, and intellectuals). There is also a
great deal of pornographic material (text and graphics) available by E-
mail or through the Usenet newsgroups. Issues of censorship, public
funding, and access for minors have yet to be played out in the domain
of electronic communications.
In addition to the standard package of services from your provider,
librarians should not neglect Usenet Newgroups, even if this means
getting a special account with a different service (and accessing it by
dial-up or telnet through your primary service). Learning to use the
Usenet Newgroups and their invaluable FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
is the *single most important skill for professional development of your
staff.* This means that you may want to encourage after-hours "playing"
with your computer system. Think of the Usenet Newsgroups as the
Reference Section of the Internet.
<Chapter 16> Special for Scholars
It used to be that only scientists and technologists used the academic
networks. But no longer. Today there are many humanists and social
scientists happily gabbing away with their friends (oops . . . I mean
colleagues) at other universities, collaborating by E-mail, subscribing
to and writing for E-journals, and so on. This is, of course, in
addition to the academic computing environment described in the Chapter
for students.
Your main entree to this world is some sort of E-mail access and finding
a mailing list or newsgroup for your field. From there you will pick up
tips on interesting materials or groups to join--in short you can start
networking. The two main sources for such mailing lists are LISTSERVERS
(traditional on BITNET) and increasingly Usenet Newsgroups. Actually
the newsgroups are not as useful as the lists at the moment *for the
humanities*. This is because the academic hierarchy is not as
subdivided as the computer science hierarchy. Thus, there is a whole
hierarchy for computer science, but all of linguistics fits into
sci.lang! These discussion groups either tend to have just a few
participants or to be so all-encompassing that they are useless. This
does not mean you should ignore Usenet--the computer and networking
information is invaluable--just that you will not find it *directly*
relevant to your field.
Listservers are another matter. They allow distribution of articles by
anyone to the whole list (unless the list is moderated, i.e. refereed by
the list's owner), and they allow archiving of articles at a place
anyone on the list can access. In short, they form a sort of Electronic
Journal with a *very* big reader mail column. To find a list in your
field, send the message "INDEX GLOBAL" to any listserver. These usually
have an address like "listserv@hoople.usnd.edu". Then send a message
like "SUBSCRIBE PDQFAN" to the listserver to join the list PDQFAN.
After that you will send messages for publication to
"pdqfan@hoople.usnd.edu" and (human) service requests to "pdqfan-
request@hoople.usnd.edu".
The best way to use a listserver is to avail yourself of the "SET PDQFAN
DIGEST" or "SET <whateverlist> DIGEST" command so that you get the
(daily?) mailing as a newspaper and not as a series of fifty or so mail
messages interspersed throughout the day. The digest includes *your
own* correspondence so that you have a record of this. This is not what
happens without the DIGEST option. For full instructions send the
message "HELP" to "[email protected]".
Ultimately the Humanities will have the same infrastructure of services
that already is forming in the Sciences:
o easy access to preprints and collections of journal articles
o archives of data sets, special purpose free software, and text
databases.
o collections of E-text source materials, if relevant. These may
include "tagged" text for special statistical studies.
o a set of free programming tools for routine scholarly tasks like
typesetting papers, creating bibliographic databases, and so on--in the
format specific to your field.
Scholars in the humanities should check the list of E-text archives
(over 300 of them) at Georgetown University (send E-mail message "" to
"" to get started). These archives may well have materials in your
field that they will make available for scholarly purposes at a nominal
cost. In addition, check the Oxford Text Archives at black.ox.ac.uk.
(Login as "anonymous" for information--as of this writing the archives
are not searchable online by telnet, but an index is available).
<Chapter 17> Special for Churches, Synagogues, and Mosques
It is suprising that religious organizations have been so slow to
recognize the importance of a new communications medium like the
Internet. Many religious organizations use computers for producing
newsletters or accounting and other office tasks; but very few use them
effectively for telecommunication and internetworking.
The Internet is not like Television or Radio--it is not a broadcast
medium. In many ways the Internet is a more appropriate communications
medium for religions organizations than "the media". It is less
expensive, not centrally controlled, and reaches persons who want to
receive the information on a case-by-case basis.
There is nothing to prevent a religious organization from setting up a
fileserver on one of the commercial nets (admittedly expensive, but you
only need one worldwide). From there any member of your organization
can upload and download information. Thus you can keep a library of
regional or local newsletters, special software, a directory of local
groups, listings of job openings, and so on. Many organizations already
have this sort of thing on Bulletin Boards, but FTP archives and E-mail
provide a less expensive method of disseminating information that can
reach anywhere in the world, not just a local region or single area
code.
But the promise of internetworking goes beyond the "office environment"
of your organization--which I am sure is already well developed--to
touch your educational and evangelical mission. You can make
information about your organization and its beliefs instantly available
to 25 million people if they want it.
In addition, there is a great need for "charity work" in preparing E-
texts. Most E-texts are copyrighted or locked up in proprietary
databases. This means that they cannot be freely shared. Free E-texts,
especially those written in plain "vanilla" ASCII, are in great demand
among blind people--who can use special software to convert the text to
sound--and by persons in remote areas or the third world.
Distribution of free E-text is not limited to the Internet by any means.
Free E-text will find its way onto thousands of bulletin boards and will
be passed to non-networked machines by floppy disks. Once printed out
it can be disseminated by photocopying or any inexpensive printing
method that uses "camera-ready" copy. The Internet is thus the backbone
of a worldwide distribution network that can reach anyplace
sophisticated enough to have some sort of printing (or delivery)
technology.
There are basically two ways to create free E-text: you can type or
scan in something in the public domain (75 years old or older) or you
can create new text that has a copyright notice like this one allowing
anyone to copy and distribute the text. It is not enough merely to sell
the information at a nominal cost. Unless you allow others the right to
further distribute information it is not really "free", even if you
sometimes give it away at no cost on a floppy disk.
In fact, the only *free* religious literature (and typing even this in
was quite an accomplishment) consists of: The _King James Bible_
(without Apocrypha), the _Quran_, the _Nicene Creed_, The _Book of
Mormon_ and related texts, the Bible in Hebrew, and the _Kama Sutra_.
Certainly the various denominations should consider releasing their
basic liturgical texts and a selection of their religious literature in
free E-text form. Modern versions of the Bible are a problem because of
copyright restrictions. It would certainly be a boon for some
organization to make a modern version "free" in the sense that anyone
could copy and distribute it.
<Part III> Advanced Techniques
<Chapter 18> Research Methods I: Basic Navigation Methods
The Internet is certainly a vast place. For the beginner, or for the
experienced user who wants to do more than check an occasional
bibliographic cross-reference to an FTP site, a navigation tool is
almost essential. The three most common navigation tools are discussed
here. They represent three different approaches to stategy, target
constituency, target materials, and user interface (the part of the
program that you see). The three services are known as GOPHER, the WIDE
AREA INFORMATION SERVICE (WAIS, pron. "ways"), and the WORLD WIDE WEB
(WWW or W3).
All three services are based on client-server technology. To make
information *available* to others you need special software called a
server. The user then uses a "client" program to access the
information. "Clients" are often free--they are written by whoever
funded the initial project or by volunteer hackers. The catch to using
a client is that you have to have a *direct* (usually expensive)
connection to the Internet. This is the main reason that a SLIP
connection will become more and more important. It "fools" the net into
thinking that you have a direct connection without the expense of
hooking your computer to a Local Area Network and then to the Internet.
You can use a client program on your own home or office computer if you
have a SLIP connection.
Even if you don't yet have a SLIP connection--they're still a bit
experimental--you can use the services listed here. As of this writing
all three services allow free access to a client for demonstration
purposes. There are a number of telnet addresses where you can try out
these navigation tools. I expect that, as the traffic on the network
increases, these public access sites will close down. But by then
communications programs will routinely include SLIP and probably some
version of the major "clients" as well.
One word of caution: all the services here are built on top of telnet
and FTP. They just provide a different and perhaps more useful way of
making Internet connections. Thus, the same service may appear in
several guises, depending on the tool you use to connect to it. There
are also gateways that let you access one service from the other--but
often at a price in terms of useability. Since the software may not
tell you that you are looking at, say, a Gopher-based service via WWW,
you may have to try all three services to find the one that makes the
most reliable connection.
Another factor to consider is that unless you have a direct or SLIP
connection, you will be limited to using a command line interface. You
will not experience the real power of, at least, WWW or WAIS.
Nevertheless they are useful. In general, a beginner should use gopher
first, then play with the other two services to see if they are useful
to you.
The main problem you will have is *getting* the information you find.
If you do not have the client program, this is difficult. You could cut
and paste the information from your screen or use your communications
program's "buffer" to store it. WAIS will send you the results of your
search by E-mail. Often, you will have to resort to FTP to fetch the
information once you have located it--if you can figure out where you
are. One of my criticisms of search tools like Gopher or WAIS is that
they often give you a very poor indication of where the information you
found is physically located. This is especially true of the publically
accessible versions.
<Section 18.1> Gopher
Gopher was created by two students, xx and xx, at the University of
Minnesota. It provides a menu-like view of that part of the Internet
where Gopher servers are found, "gopherspace". Gopher has spread to
many universities. You can search student directories and campus
calendars, as well as the usual internet resources. It is by far the
easiest way to explore the net without entering numerous FTP and telnet
commands.
Since Gopher is the oldest and most decentralized of the services, it
provides the most extensive access to useful services. Online library
catalogues, the Project Gutenberg library, FTP archives, and numerous
exits to telnet.
The telnet access to demonstration Gopher systems (and through them to
Gopher servers on *any* campus) is through:
xxx.xxx.xxx
Students will of course want to use Gopher directly from their school's
system. Try typing "gopher" at any prompt.
<Section 18.2> Wide Area Information Services (WAIS)
WAIS was developed in a very different environment from Gopher. It was
developed by a joint collaboration of Thinking Machines, Inc.
(Artificial Intellegence technology), Dow Jones News Retrieval
(Information systems), and Apple Computer (User interface). Its ability
to find information given a plain English description of what you want
("hey, find everthing on Personal Computers and Health) is truely mind-
boggling. It returns a list of "hits" together with a likelihood that
it contains what you wanted. It can also look for documents that are
"something like" a sample document.
The user interface is a pleasure to use--but requires a direct or SLIP
connection to the Internet. The line-oriented version that is
publically available is a pale imitation of the real thing.
WAIS strength is its ability to retrieve information from almost any
source, not just FTP sites. A list of all WAIS sources is maintained in
a directory-of-directories (available at think.com). You import a set
of instructions on how to access a given information server to create
your own personalized list of sources.
This service is probably the one of greatest interest to business (i.e.
non-academic and non-library) users. To try out WAIS, telnet think.com
and log in as SWAIS.
<Section 18.3> World Wide Web (WWW or W3)
The newest of the three services is the World Wide Web. It was created
at the European European Center for High Energy Physics (CERN). It is
based on yet another technology (besides FTP and client-server)--
hypertext. The World Wide Web views the entire complex of FTP sites as
a single "document" with cross-references.
A WWW server lets you read that document and jump to any cross-reference
that you find--hence the term "hypertext". The result is rather like a
menu driven system but (at least in the graphical interface versions)
you stay inside the familiar context of a text editor. If you can
imagine clicking on a cross-reference and having your text editor fetch
the document from an FTP site you will get the idea.
The documents that can be viewed by WWW are ASCII text with special
"tags" that give a addresses of the "hypertext links." The tags use the
syntax of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). SGML is a
language used by scholars to mark text for academic research. The WWW
vision of the library of the future is a collection of documents spread
all over the world, the whole of which can be looked at starting from
any one of them. Sort of like having the whole world on your desktop.
There is not "top" node to the Web, but you can find points of entry at:
telnet info.cern.ch (European Center for High Energy Physics in
Geneva, Switzerland, the "home" of WWW).
<Section 18.4> Summary of Navigation Tools
To summarize, here are the three systems discussed, together with their
underlying technology and "constituency":
Gopher : Simple FTP and Telnet : Campus Info
WAIS : Artificially Intellegent searches : Business
World Wide Web : Hypertext and SGML markup : Ac. Research
<Chapter 19> Research Methods II: Usenet Newsgroups
[This chapter is under construction]
<Chapter 20> Research Methods III: Advanced Techniques
The previous two chapters covered the more or less standard techniques
for finding your way around the net. This chapter covers more
There are three basic "problem situation" that every researcher using
the Internet will eventually face:
(1) You know who has the information but you don't know their
"address".
(2) The information is on the net, only you don't know where.
(3) The desired information is not on the net, but their *is*
information on how to get it from a non-network source.
The methods described in this chapter are more tentative than in the
preceeding two chapters. They don't always work.
<Section 20.1> Finding Persons and Computers
There are a couple of standard methods for checking and verifying E-mail
addresses.
% ping rtfm.mit.edu
(Remember that "%" is the prompt the computer gives you. Your system
prompt may look different). You should get back a message saying
"rtfm.mit.edu is alive" or something like that.
Many machines support a command called "nslookup" that will return the
dotted decimal address given the name of the machine
% nslookup rtfm.mit.edu
returns "xxx" as the dotted decimal address.
If you can guess the name of person or institution--this is not hard--
then you can try to see if you have a valid address by "fingering" your
intended victim:
% finger pdq@hoople.usnd.edu
If the system supports the "finger" feature (and many don't), you can
try any number of guesses or permutations. If you succeed, you can find
out lots of information about the person: their telephone number, when
they last logged on, when they last read their mail, what department
they work in, etc. Many systems allow you to leave a file called
".plan"--note the initial dot--that contains further contact
information.
Good guesses for names:
o last name (bach),
o last name with one or more initials (pbach, pdqbach),
o three (or more!) initials (pdqb)
o nicknames, cute handles, etc. (fluffy,aragorn)
o work ID numbers (bach2378@bigblue.com)
Your last resort is a search program called "netfind". It lets you find
a machine or person by keyword. If you know your target is at USND, you
can try the keywords PDQ, USND, EDU and find pdq@hoople.usnd.edu. Note
that you often have to guess the "domain", but this should not be hard.
You can also search with PDQ, "University of Southern North Dakota",
EDU, if USND is not sufficiently obvious. City and state names work,
too. Try it.
The main short comings of "netfind" are:
(1) it often fails if the target computer does not support the
"finger" command; and
(2) it only works on the Internet, not Bitnet or other mail systems.
To use "netfind" you have to telnet to any of several standard locations
and log in as "netfind".
If one server is busy it should give you a list of alternate servers to
try.
Detailed information on how to find someone on the net is given in the
Usenet FAQ (ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/ xxxx ). This FAQ is oriented towards
helping University students, who flood the networks every Fall looking
for the E-mail addresses of their friends.
<Section 20.2> Finding Information and Software
By far the easiest way to
If you do not have Internet access, then you will have to use FTP by E-
mail (use the "Archie by E-mail" archive server first to find your
target!).
Finding Information and Software
Usenet News FAQ Archives
Archie
<Section 20.3> Finding References to Paper Documents
This is the last resort, right? Most information is still in paper,
although the high cost of paper will mean that less and less is
available this way.
(1) Use the Internet to access bibliographic databases, especially
library catalogues
(2) Use a document retrieval service like that provided by the
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries (CARL).
(3) Try to get someone to send you a xerox or fax.
<Chapter 21>
<Chapter 22>
<Chapter 23>
<Chapter 24>
<Chapter 25>
These chapters, which deal more with abstract theory than with
specific instructions, has been omitted from this special edition.
<Part IV> Resources
The main resources on the Internet are to be found on the net itself:
especially the Usenet news and its many FAQs including the PDIAL and
NIXPUB listings and various Internet resource guides. The resources
provided here are second best. Nevertheless, it was felt important to
provide a few addresses and a few book titles for the neophyte to get
started. The information in this section is a point of departure, not a
conclusive summary.
<Chapter 26> The Internet Address Book:
[This Chapter is under construction]
<Chapter 27> Bibliography
Most of the books below do not contain a great deal of how-to
information about connecting to the Network. This course is intended to
fill the gap. But they do tell you what to do once you are on. The
first few, which are available by Internet, are especially useful. They
do make the network "self-describing".
AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET
_The Incomplete Guide to the Internet_ (for Macintosh with Microsoft
Word only--for paper version see below)
A very complete guide written by the Education Office of the National
Supercomputing Agency (NCSA). It contains a very complete intro-
duction to the Internet and classroom Internet projects for K12
teachers. This is the best guide for public school teachers.
For paper version, write: Chuck Farmer, 152 CAB, 605 E. Springfield
Ave., Champaign, IL 61820. Cost is around $22.00 for 300 pp.
Polly, Jean Armour. _Surfing the Internet_
nysernet.org:/pub/resources/guides (192.77.173.2). This is my all-
around choice for best introduction to the Internet. It contains
references to most other good sources of information together with
instructions on how to get them. It is especially complete in giving
information of interest to librarians.
Kehoe, Brendan. _Zen and the Art of the Internet_ (1st ed.)
A very good guide for how-to information. Unfortunately, the FTP
versions are all marked up in a dialect of the TeX typesetting system.
They are still somewhat readable though, even if you don't have the TeX
system. A Postscript version is also provided.
ftp.uu.net:/inet/doc (137.39.1.9)
ftp.cs.toronto.edu:/pub/zen (147.31.254.132)
ftp.cs.widener.edu:/pub/zen (147.31.254.132) files are called zen-
1.0.tar.Z, zen-1.0.dvi, and zen-1.0.PS
ftp.sura.net:/pub/nic/zen-1.0.PS
PUBLISHED WORKS
Kehoe, Brendan. (1993). Zen and the Art of the Internet: a Beginner's
Guide (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-010778-
6. Index.
Krol, Ed. (1992). The Whole Internet User's Guide & Catalog. Sebastopol,
CA: O'Reilly & Associates. ISBN 1-56592-025-2.
LaQuey, Tracey, & Ryer, J. C. (1993). The Internet Companion: a
Beginner's Guide to Global Networking.. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
ISBN 0-201-62224-6
Marine, April. (1992). INTERNET: Getting Started. Menlo Park, CA: SRI
International. ISBN 0-944604-15-3
Tennant, Roy, Ober, J., and Lipow, A. G. (1993). Crossing the Internet
Threshold: An Instructional Handbook. Berkeley, CA: Library Solutions
Press. ISBN: 1-882208-01-3 (Library Solutions Institute and Press,
2137 Oregon Street, Berkeley, CA 94705. Voice: 510/841-2636 FAX:
510/841-2926)
<Chapter 28> Glossary
[This chapter is under construction]
<Appendix A> COMPUTER HINTS FOR THE *REALLY* GREEN
1. (turning on) Make sure the computer is plugged in and on. Is
something on the screen? Can you hear a fan? Does anything happen when
you type or move the mouse? Are lights lit or flashing? The screen may
be frozen by a "hold" button (look for a light labelled "scroll lock" or
something similar. Try touching the upper left button on the keyboard--
F1, "escape", "hold", "break", whatever). If the computer is not on
look for a switch on back or a key labelled "on" or with a triangle on
it.
2. (using a mouse) Determine whether you are looking at a character
terminal or a window-oriented screen. If window-oriented, then moving
the mouse should cause a pointer to appear and move around. Use this
pointer to click on windows, buttons, etc. You click the mouse by
pressing its button (leftmost one if there are three). If you hold the
mouse button down you can "grab" things and drag them around. Clicking
on windows makes them active (ready for commands) and brings them
forward.
3. (modifier and function keys) Keys labelled "shift", "alt", "meta",
"option", "command", "ctrl" or marked with certain funny symbols are
modifier keys. They work like shift keys on a typewriter and can change
the effect of typing a key or clicking a mouse button. Function keys,
labelled F1, F2, etc., do something immediately--like edit, move to the
next page, or quit the program--when you press them. The keys on the
keypad (right hand side, looks like a calculator pad) act as function
keys in some programs.
4. (popup menus and menubars). If there is a string of words at the
top of the screen ("menubar"), touch one of the words with the pointer
using the mouse and then hold down the mouse button. A menu should pop
up. If you continue holding down the mouse button and drag down the
menu, then let go, you will select one of the commands. If you don't
want to activate a command, drag the pointer away from the commands
(towards the middle of the screen, say) and let go.
5. (getting the computer's attention) No luck? Try hitting "return" or
"enter" a few times, look for keys labelled "break" or "escape", try
"control-C" (hold down the key labelled "CTRL"--it works like the shift
key on a typewriter--and then press "c", then let go of both keys).
6. (carriage return) Once the system is responding you usually have to
hit the carriage return key (marked with a hooked arrow or "return" or
"enter" or "CR" or "newline") or else click the mouse (left-most button
if there are three) before anything permanent happens--like sending a
command to the computer.
An exception is in "menu-driven" systems which print a list of options
and expect you to type a number or letter (like "y" for yes, "n" for
no). Sometimes answering a question with a carriage return gets you a
default answer. The default is often indicated in brackets:
Do you really want to quit [n]?
Hitting return here will not quit.
7. (delete key) If you make a typing mistake, there is a key in the
upper righthand corner labelled "del", "delete", "backspace", or with a
backwards arrow or "x" on it that will erase what you typed.
8. (logging on) If you see a message like this:
Hello. Welcome to FUBAR system. Authorized persons only.
Username: xxx
Password:
then the computer wants you to give it a username (nickname, handle) and
type a password. Type your last name and hit return; then type your
password and hit return. If you are sure the system is meant for the
general public--say it is a donor database run by the Red Cross--try
obvious names like "redcross", "anonymous", or "public". If the account
is meant for general use then: (1) no password will be required, or (2)
any password at all will work, or (3) the password will be something
easy like "redcross" (again) or "donor" or "guest".
9. (system prompts and help) If the computer prints a funny symbol
(called a prompt--often it is a dollar sign, percent sign, question
mark, right angle bracket or some such) and sits there blinking at you,
it is waiting for a command. Try "help" or "?" to find out what is
possible. Or try "man intro" (UNIX systems only) to read the online
manual. There might be a help key or help command on a menu.
10. (text buffers) At some point you may be composing a message. You
type the message, of course. You may or may not have to type "return"
at the end of each line--experiment with this. You can erase any
mistakes with the delete key. See if the cursor (blinking marker that
marks where you type) can be moved around with arrow keys or a mouse.
If there is a mouse, you can select text by "dragging" across it (hold
down button, move mouse, release mouse). Once selected a large block of
text can be deleted with the delete key or moved by issuing the "cut"
command (look for a function key or command on the "edit" menu) and then
the "paste" command.
11. (usernames) if you need to know someone's username, try their last
name (goodwin) , first initial or both initials and last name (jgoodwin,
jegoodwin), or all three initials (jeg). Be warned that many sites add
numbers (goodwin21), use serial numbers (g21135), or use cutesy aliases
(thumper). Usernames are usually all lowercase.
12. (case sensitivity) if nothing seems to work the way it is supposed
to check your caps lock. Most systems are either case-sensitive (like
UNIX) or automatically translate commands to all upper case. Thus
"help", "HELP", and "Help" are either three differnt commands or one and
the same.
13. (saving your work) With most programs, whatever you do or change
is not permanent unless you write the changes to disk. You "save" your
work by selecting "save" from the "file" menu or some other method.
Often there are two commands for exiting--one that saves your work and
one that discards it. For example, "exit" might save changes and "quit"
ignore them. If your program does not have an "autosave" feature--and
even if it does--you should save your work every 15 minutes at least.
14. (quitting or logging off) After you have properly saved your work
you can quit your program or system by finding the quit command (look at
the bottom of either the first or last menu on the menu bar), or by
typing "quit", "exit", "q", "x", "bye", "lo", "logout", "logoff", or
something similar.
APPENDIX B. USING A MODEM
Using a modem (modulator-demodulator) is relatively easy if you follow
the instructions that come with the modem and the communications
software. These instructions cannot
BUYING A MODEM: BASIC FEATURES
You should choose a "Hayes-compatible" modem. This is the industry
standard and works with most software. The modem is a small computer
that responds to "AT" commands, commands sent by your software beginning
with "AT" for "Attention Modem". The most common are "ATDT 1 800 555
1212". This tells your modem
So make sure the modem you buy responds to AT commands. A 2400 baud
Hayes-compatible modem will cost about $50 by mail-order. You should
consider buying a FAX modem ($350), however. The more expensive modem
is faster, has more features, and can turn your computer into a FAX
machine. Your connection to the outside world will never be any better
than your modem allows, so buy a good one.
The FAXes can be displayed on your computer screen. You only print them
if you want to, on an ordinary laser printer. The other features of a
top of the line FAX modem include:
(1) Up to 14,440 baud rate (7 times faster than 2400 baud)
(2) Data compression (V.32bis is the name of the standard)
(3) Error correction (V.42bis is the name of the standard)
HOOKING UP THE MODEM
The modem goes between your computers serial (one-bit-at-a-time)
communications port and your telephone line. Your modem probably
included the right kind of cable. If not, check the manual or call the
dealer who sold you the modem.
The modem to phone connection will use standard telephone cable with
modular jacks on either end. You unplug your phone from the wall socket
and plug in your modem instead. If you want to leave your phone,
answering machine, fax machine, and so on plugged in, you can use dual
plugs that allow one or more cord to be plugged into the same socket.
Look on the bottom of each piece of equipment (including the modem).
There should be a little sticker that tells how many ringer equivalents
the equipment is worth. Don't exceed eight on any one phone line.
You can also buy inexpensive boxes that will let you use a single phone
line for faxes and for voice.
WARNING: usually your modem--and any other "peripherals"--should be
wired to your computer before you turn the computer on. This is so the
computer can look for the modem and confirm that it is hooked up. Check
your computer's and modem's manual for precise instructions on hooking
up a modem to your computer.
If you are connecting the computer to an office phone that is part of a
Private Branch Exchange (PBX) then ...
MAKING A CONNECTION
Usually you call another computer by dialing its phone number. Either
you type an AT command like "ATDT 1 800 555 1212" or your software does
this for you when you choose a "connect" command or something like that
from a menu.
Before you get the modem's attention you need to set your software to
the proper "modem settings". These settings are listed in literature
about the service. As a last resort call customer service for the
computer you are trying to connect to. Or else you can try different
settings until you find one the lets you connect. The most common modem
settings today are either 1200 or 2400 baud and "8N1", which means 8
bits, no parity, and one stop bit.
The most important settings are:
The BAUD RATE (300, 1200, and 2400 are typical low speed connections,
with 2400 being the most common one for modern equipment; 9600 or 14400
are
Flow control ON or OFF (often labelled XON/XOFF). If your modem is
going to talk with your computer at a faster rate than over the phone
line, then flow control is essential. Be sure that your software
understands that the phone line speed is different from the computer-to-
modem speed. The phone line can't go any faster than 14,440 Baud. Your
computer can do four times that or more.
Full or half duplex connection (LOCAL ECHO ON or OFF). In a half duplex
connection the two computers take turns communicating on the same
channel. This means that your computer will be the one to "ECHO" what
*you* type on your screen (local echo ON), since it doesn't make sense
say something, have the other computer read it, then send it back, just
so you can see what you type. In a full duplex connection both
computers can talk at once, so local echo is OFF.
7 or 8 bits per character. Many computer systems use the last seven
bits of each byte to denote a character (up to 128 characters). The
eighth bit is used for parity, flow control, or some other important
signal. Nowadays 8 bits is more common.
Even, Odd, or No PARITY. One way to check for errors in transmission is
to tag each byte with a bit that means "even or odd", the parity bit.
If a bit is transmitted incorrectly, then the parity bit won't agree
with byte sent and the software can ask for that byte or block of data
again. NO parity is the most common setting today, however.
0,1, or 2 STOP BITS. 1 stop bit is the usual setting these days.
If your modem has its speaker on, you will here a dial tone, then the
modem will dial, and then there will be a lot of squeals as the two
computers "negotiate" about the transmission. If you are lucky, both
computers will establish a "carrier" tone or hum that is then modulated
to send data. At this point most modems turn of the speaker, but a
"carrier detect" light should be on. As long as you have the carrier
you have the connection. The carrier is present--to your modem, at
least--even if you tell your software to "go off line" for a while. If
you hang up, however, the carrier is dropped.
Now that you have a carrier, whatever you type is sent to the other
computer (and the "transmit" light flashes), and you can receive data as
well. Pay attention to any banner the service you are connecting to may
print. In particular you need to know what "escape character" your
system recognizes. Typing this character or sequence of characters
allows you to stop tranmitting everything and give your own system a
command. This is especially important if are transferring a file and
have to "escape back to your own system" to tell it what to do with the
incoming data.
FIRST STEPS ON A NEW SYSTEM
Many services let you sign up by connecting your computer to a
TRANSFERRING DATA
Getting data from one computer to another is a matter of running *two*
programs--one on each computer. These programs use a common protocol,
or procedure, to communicate. The most common protocols are XMODEM,
YMODEM, ZMODEM, and KERMIT (for UNIX systems and some others). The
steps involved--using KERMIT as an example--are:
1. Run KERMIT on the sending machine
2. Escape to the receiving machine
3. Run KERMIT on the recieving machine
4. Wait for the transfer to finish.
You will have to read your software manual for more specific
instructions, unless you have a direct internet connection or SLIP
connection. In these cases you can issue a File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
command to whichever computer and the details at the other end are
automatically taken care of. See Chapter X for more detail on
transferring data.
DISCONNECTING
You will want to use whatever "logoff" procedure the remote computer
wants. If your manual or other literature doesn't tell you, and you
can't get any information by trying "help" or "?", try the following
commands: "logout", "logoff", "lo", "bye", "exit", "quit".
If all else fails you can drop the carrier using the "hangup" command
(or escape back to your system and send "ATH" to your modem--attention,
hangup).
As a last resort pull the plug and your telephone company will
disconnect you, then exit your software and turn off your computer.
You may have to get your modem's attention by typing the "escape
sequence", which varies from modem to modem or connection to connection.
<Appendix C> Technical Details of Internet Connections
[This chapter is under construction]
<Appendix D> Just enough UNIX
Since the UNIX operating system may be unfamiliar to many of you, and
since many workstations on the net use UNIX, it may help some readers to
summarize some of the peculiarities of UNIX. One day you may be logged
on to a UNIX machine. Nowadays, like many operating systems, UNIX hides
behind a graphical user interface like the X Windows system.
Occasionally--and networking is unfortunately one of those occasions--
its quirks like file-naming and directory hierarchy peek through.
This Appendix gives you just enough UNIX to avoid some pitfalls and
issue commands needed to transfer files. The basic commands you need to
know for any system are how to display directories and list the contents
of files, how to name files, and how to get help about the system. UNIX
commands are just as quirky as MS-DOS, VMS, RSX, VM, or any other
operating system that uses a command language. Fortunately, they are no
harder.
<Section D.1> Basic Commands for Getting Around
ls : list current directory
ls -l : longer listing, with file length in bytes
cd mydir : move down one level in the hierarchy to directory "mydir"
cd .. : move up one directory in the hierarchy
<Section D.2> Hierarchical File System
Files in UNIX are arranged in a hierarchy or tree structure.
<Appendix E> The Top 10 Things to Get by E-mail
This Appendix may be distributed separately from the rest of this
course.
----------(cut here)----------
THE FREELORE PROJECT's LIST OF THE TOP 10 THINGS TO GET BY E-MAIL
Copyright © 1993 by John E. Goodwin. All Rights Reserved.
You may make and distribute verbatim copies of this document for non-
commercial purposes provided this notice is preserved on all such
copies.
This is a list of ten fun and useful things you can get by electronic
mail. In all cases your request is handled by an automated system that
sends the materials by return mail. Systems change frequently, so some
commands may be out of date. All were tested and working as of mid-June
1993.
A typical, old-fashioned E-mail system works like this
% mail <type the command to enter the E-mail program>
mail> send <or type "help" to find out what commands work>
To: president@whitehouse.gov <This is an Internet address
--may look different on your
system>
Cc: vice.president@whitehouse.gov
Subj: Your Stance on Nuclear Power
Enter Message. When Done, hit Control-Z, Control-C to quit:
Dear Mr. President:
I was disappointed to see that . . . <etc., until you type CTRL-Z>
Message sent 23:05:44 14-JUN-1993.
mail> exit
Modern automated mailservers expect your command in the body of the
message. But some old-fashioned ones expect it as part of the *subject*
line! I always tell if this is the case.
In most cases you will get a response in a few minutes. For systems
that wait to off-peak hours to send responses you may have to wait a
day.
Here are some more hints:
o Most automated systems respond to the single command "help".
o People change their directory systems around everyday it seems. If
the commands given don't work, try to locate what you want by Archie
(see below) before requesting it by mail.
o The Double quotes around some commands aren't part of the command
itself (so don't type them!).
With that advice, here's the list. . . .
[10] The CPET (Catalog of Projects in Electronic Text) supplies
information about E-text archives for scholars. They have an online
database. For detailed instructions, send the message:
connect guvax.acc.georgetown.edu
cd cpet_projects_in_electronic_text
get cpet_user_guide.txt
to "[email protected]". [This is a service that provides Internet
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) by E-mail. See next entry].
Anonymous FTP reference for CPET user's guide:
"guvax.acc.georgetown.edu:/cpet_projects_in_electronic_text/cpet_user_gu
ide.txt"
[9] Instructions for using Archie by Mail and FTP by Mail.
Archie is a lookup service for finding software or documents in
Anonymous FTP archives on the Internet. Anonymous FTP is a method for
making materials on certain computers available to the public. Anyone
is allowed to log in with the username "anonymous" You give your real
name as the password. Anonymous FTP is not available if you just have
E-mail, not a full Internet connection.
To help E-mail users access Anonymous FTP archives, an FTP by Mail
server has been set up at decwrl.dec.com. It will send you materials
you find using Archie. Binary files (pictures and programs) are encoded
as text files using the programs "btoa" or "uuencode". You need these
freeware programs if you want to get anything besides text files, i.e.
ASCII.
A. To get started with Archie, send the message "help" to
"archie@archie.rutgers.edu". There are many Archie servers around the
world. Any Archie will give you a complete list.
B. To get started with FTP Mail, send the message
help
quit
to "[email protected]".
[8] A list of book-length Public Domain texts Produced by Project
Gutenberg.
You may either get these texts from the Almanac server at "oes.orst.edu"
or direct from Project Gutenberg at "mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu".
Send message "help" to "[email protected]". After reading the guide,
send the message "send gutenberg catalog". To get an E-text by mail
(e.g. _Alice in Wonderland_), send the message:
send etext alice
To see the contents of project gutenberg archivesj, send the message
connect mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu
cd etext/articles
get index
quit
to "[email protected]".
To get the actual texts,
connect mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu
cd etext/etext93
get
quit
Anonymous FTP Archive references:
oes.orst.edu:/pub/data/etext
mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu:/etext/articles (general info)
mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu:/etext/etext93 (the texts)
[7] A list of E-mail mailing lists, posted to the "Frequently Asked
Questions" or FAQ part of the Usenet newsgroups.
A typical mailing list works like this: to join, say, a mailing list on
politics, you send the request "subscribe" to "politics-
request@whitehouse.gov". Thereafter, any message sent to
"politics@whitehouse.gov" will send you message to all members of the
list. You get all the postings from other members as well [The
Whitehouse list on politics is a fake example].
Aside: Usenet newsgroup FAQ's are archived at "rtfm.mit.edu". They
cover every conceivable subject (but are especially good with
computers). To access the archive by E-mail, send the message "help" to
"[email protected]". For an index of materials available, send
the message "index".
Here are the specific commands for getting the Mailing Lists:
send mail/mailing-lists/part1
send mail/mailing-lists/part2
send mail/mailing-lists/part3
send mail/mailing-lists/part4
send mail/mailing-lists/part5
to "[email protected]".
Other good publications in the same location:
A Guide to Social Newsgroups and Mailing_Lists:
send social-newsgroups/part1
List of Periodic Informational Postings:
send periodic-postings/part1
(six parts).
For a more complete list of FAQs, send the commands:
send usenet/news.answers/index
send usenet/news.announce.newusers/index
Anonymous FTP archive reference:
rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet-by-group/news.answers; and
rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet-by-group/news.announce.newusers.
Also posted as an FAQs to the Usenet newsgroup news.answers.
[6] LISTSERVERS are the best thing going for persons with E-mail but
without full Internet service. You can send mail to an entire list and
get a digest of "articles" posted on a given day. Lists are espcecially
good for anyone with an interest in the Humanities. A list of all
listservers known to any one listserver can be obtained by sending a
message to that listserver (see below).
Send the message "help" to any listserver address, e.g.
"[email protected]"
to get started.
The listserver at Brown does not respond to the global command (but is
worthwhile anyway). Try sending the command "lists global" to one of
the other listservers like "[email protected]".
For lists with lots of traffic you should consider the "set <listname>
digest" command to get *one* mail message a day with a compendium of
articles.
[5] Automatically supplied information about PSI's Internet service:
Send any message at all to address "[email protected]". There are
lots of other files on their service available instantly. E.g., for
information on their version of telnet, send any message to "gds-
[email protected]"; for their version of FTP, any message to "psilink-
[email protected]".
[4] Scott Yanoff's list of Internet Resources. At last count, there
were 75 free things to do on the Internet.
Send the message:
send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/faq
send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/list
to "[email protected]".
Another method is to request the materials by delayed FTP with the
message:
connect csd4.csd.uwm.edu
cd pub
get inet.services.txt
quit
to "[email protected]".
It is also worth adding the line "get internetwork-mail-guide" to the
above request for a file on send E-mail between any two E-mail systems
(file is 22k).
Anonymous FTP archive references:
csd4.csd.uwm.edu:/pub/inet.services.txt
rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet-by-group/news.anwsers/internet-services
[3] SURFING THE INTERNET, by librarian Jean Armour Polly. This must-
have publication is still the best basic orientation to the Internet.
The nearest thing to the "how to use the library card catalogue" speech
that opened up that other world for us when we were kids.
Send the message
connect nysernet.org
cd pub/resources/guides
get surfing.2.0.3.txt <that's a zero not an "oh">
quit
to "[email protected]". Other interesting files in the same
directory are:
ftp.list
whatis.internet
new.user.guide.v2.2.txt
speakers_on_internet.txt
Anonymous FTP archive reference:
nysernet.org:/pub/resources/guides
[2] The NIXPUB listing of public access UNIX systems (so you can read
Usenet news!):
Send the message
connect vfl.paramax.com
cd pub/nixpub
get long
quit
to "[email protected]".
Anonymous FTP archive reference:
vfl.paramax.com:pub/nixpub/long
It is also posted as a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) to the Usenet
newsgroup alt.bbs.
And the critics' choice is . . .
[1] The PDIAL listing, a listing of dialup methods of connecting to
the Internet for the general public.
Send a message to "[email protected]" with the command
"send pdial" in the *subject* line.
Alternatively, send the message "send usenet/news.answers/pdial" to
"[email protected]".
----------
+ + +
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