Note: The following information has been condensed from the book: The Internet Companion A beginner's guide to global networking by: Tracey LaQuey with Jeanne C. Ryer Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1993 ISBN 0-201-62224-6 Anyone with an interest in connecting to the Internet is enthusiastically advised to purchase this book. WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE INTERNET The Internet is a loose amalgam of thousands of computer networks reaching millions of people all over the world. Although its original purpose was to provide researchers with access to expensive hardware resources, the Internet has demonstrated such speed and effectiveness as a communications medium that it has transcended the original mission. Today it's being used by all sorts of people -- educators, librarians, hobbyists, and business people -- for a variety of purposes, from communicating with each other, to accessing valuable information and resources. To appreciate what the Internet has to offer, imagine discovering a whole system of highways and high speed connectors that cut hours off your commuting time. Or a library you could use any time of the night or day, with acres of books and resources and unlimited browsing. Or an all-night, nonstop block party with a corner table of kindred souls who welcome your presence at any time. Well, that's the Internet, and this chapter will tell you why you should know about it. FROM WHENCE IT CAME The Internet was not, of course, born full-blown in its present worldwide form of thousands of networks and connections -- It had a humble -- but exciting -- beginning as one network called the ARPANET, the "Mother of the Internet." The ARPANET began as a U.S. government experiment in packet-switched networking back in 1969. ARPA, the Department of Defense (DOD) Advanced Research Projects Agency (which later became DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), initially linked researchers with remote computer centers, allowing them to share hardware and software resources such as computer disk space, databases, and computers. Other experimental networks using packet radio and satellite were connected with the ARPANET by using an internetwork technology sponsored by DARPA. The original ARPANET itself split into two networks in the early 1980s, the ARPANET and Milnet (an unclassified military network), but connections made between the networks allowed communication to continue. At first this interconnection of experimental and production networks was called the DARPA Internet, but later the name was shortened to just "the Internet." Access to the ARPANET in the early years was limited to the military, defense contractors, and universities doing defense research. Cooperative, decentralized networks such as UUCP, a worldwide UNIX communications network, and USENET (User's Network) came into being in the late 1970s, initially serving the university community and later on commercial organizations. In the early 1980s more coordinated networks, such as the Computer Science Network (CSNET) and BITNET, began providing nationwide networking to the academic and research communities. These networks were not part of the Internet, but later special connections were made to allow the exchange of information between the various communities. The next big moment in Internet history was the birth of the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) in 1986, which linked researchers across the country with five supercomputer centers. Soon expanded to connect the midlevel and statewide academic networks that connected universities and research consortiums, the NSFNET began to replace the ARPANET for research networking. The ARPANET was honorably discharged (and dismantled) in March 1990. CSNET soon found that many of its early members (computer science departments) were connected via the NSFNET, so it too ceased to exist in 1991. BIGGER, FASTER, BETTER Around the time NSFNET was built, the Internet began growing by leaps and bounds, showing exponential gains in number of networks, human participants, and computers. Similar international networks sprang up rapidly all over the world and connected to the U.S. nets. For example, there are now Internet connections to networks in Australia, the Nordic countries, the U.K., France, Germany, Canada. and Japan. Networks in South America are beginning to connect to the Internet, but as yet there isn't a significant Internet presence in Africa. Internet fever continues, growing almost unabated, as more and more organizations scramble to get their networks connected. The current Internet (that's today, as we write this book) consists of more than 8000 networks literally spanning the globe. It extends to 45 countries on all seven continents. (Yes, there's even an Internet connection to Antarctica!) One estimate, cited by Senator Al Gore in a recent issue of Scientific American, has the amount of traffic on the Internet growing by 10 per cent each month. It's been estimated that between 5 and 10 million people use the Internet itself and that upwards of 25 million people can exchange online messages between the Internet and all of the other interconnecting networks. THE NETWORK COMMUNITY The Internet community is expanding not only in numbers but in breadth of application. The Internet has always been, and will always be, a key part of the research and development community, but the increase in access and the network's potential for becoming the basis for worldwide communication between people in all walks of life cannot be ignored by the rest of us. A network that was once the sole province of researchers -- and, well, geeks -- is now home to third-graders, political activists, farmers, and librarians, as well. Journalists use the Internet to cover topics from the computer business to current events, and some even conduct interviews electronically. Medical researchers share information on diseases such as AIDS. Doctors transmit x-ray or CAT-scan images to medical centers for further analysis. There are bulletin boards for artists and online archives for agriculture. Elementary and high school students travel the Internet in geography and language arts lessons, learning about other cultures. Librarians love the Internet for its advanced document searching tools and the almost instant access to the catalogs and archives of major libraries all over the world. Business people contact clients and accept orders over the network. and many are beginning to print email addresses on their business cards. In short, the Internet gives you access to more people and more information faster than you can imagine, including online catalogs from most major U.S. academic and research libraries and from more and more foreign libraries. All told there are at least 500 libraries' catalogs, and more are being added almost daily. THE POLITICIANS The potential political impact of the Internet hasn't gone unnoticed on either the national or global political scene. The Tiananmen Square bloodshed, the Yugoslavian civil war, the fall of communism, the Los Angeles riots -- all were described by people who witnessed the action and transmitted live reports across the Internet. The Internet has, indeed, played a large part in disseminating information while events were unfolding. Political candidates are starting to realize the benefits of instantaneous broadcast of information to large groups of people. In this presidential election year, most of the candidates had email addresses that could be reached from the Internet. The election in general and political platforms in particular were discussed in great detail in certain electronic forums. In the future, electronic town meetings will be the A COUP ON THE INTERNET During the coup attempt that spelled the end of the Soviet Union in August of 1991, a small email company with an Internet connection found itself one of the few unrestricted communications media left. The governmemt appeared to be jamming the radio stations and tried to ban all newspapers. Soviet TV programmed old movies and opera. Attempts were made to cut off the Western media. The only email carrier in the Soviet Union (that charged in rubles) to offer domestic service and international connections at that time, Relcom (RELiable COMmunications) was a small network by Western standards, supplying just under 400 organizations email access mainly by dialups over the telephone lines. Subscribers typically connected to Relcom using personal computers and their own modems, which gave them Internet email access in an indirect way. With Gorbachev and glasnost under arrest, Relcom's team of entrepreneurs and technicians keyboarded and posted releases in both English and Russian from the banned newspapers and news agencies, Boris Yeltsin's defiant decrees (hand-delivered from his headquarters), and man-in-the-street reports from their subscribers. Major Western news sources such as AP and CNN began using it. At the same time, Relcom's Internet connection became a key source of news on the coup for the Soviet people. Relcom staffers asked for and got massive amounts of email from outside the country, including news from CNN. As one of its subscribers wrote later, "When the dark night fell upon Moscow, Relcom was one source of light for us. Thanks to these brave people we could get information and hope." There were days of intense danger at first. Relcom's computer was only a mile from KGB headquarters. "Don't worry, we're oK," wrote one of Relcom's staffers, "though angry and frightened. Moscow is full of tanks and military machines -- I hate them.... Now we transmit information enough to put us in prison for the rest of our life." What got Relcom through to the outside world? Sheer courage was part of it. There was also what one of Relcom's hackers called "a subliminal professional kernel"; the staff soon set up a diffused network with reserve nodes and secret locations, and the authorities never caught up with them. And beyond that, of course, there was the great, big illuminating cloud of the Internet itself. THE ACTIVISTS Activists were among the first to realize the Internet's potential for cheap, fast, global communication. The Internet is a perfect tool for alerting and assembling large numbers of people electronically. Amnesty International, for example, has been using its Urgent Action Network on PeaceNet to mobilize its members to pressure governmemt officials to release political prisoners. It may come as no surprise that dictators and tyrants don't appreciate their actions being made public through this democratic tool. PeaceNet is part of the Institute for Global Communications (IGC) network, probably the best-known and most efficiently coordinated computer effort for peace and protection of the environment. Through its connection to the Internet, IGC encourages people to "dial locally, act globally" to collaborate on peace issues. Another IGC network, EcoNet, focuses on the many environmental issues affecting our planet and has forums and information on global warming, destruction of the rain forests, legislation affecting environmental programs, toxic chemicals entering the water supply, and education of the general public on environmental issues. BECOMING PART OF THE INTERNET Whether you have a PC or a Cray XMP supercomputer, a high-speed network or a regular telephone line, you can get connected to the Internet. There are two basic methods of access available for individuals: through an organization's network, or through a computer, modem, and telephone line. COSTS For many people, the Internet is an all-around good deal. People who have access to the Internet through an organization, such as a university or a large company, don't have to worry about how much they use the Internet. Their communication with people from all over the world and access to most information resources is not going to show up itemized on a long-distance bill, because the leased lines or network links are already paid for. For those users, it's like having a WATS line with no limit. Individual users without the benefit of organization apron string links, in contrast, must get their access from commercial Internet providers, public access Internet sites, or a digital rich uncle giving away access through public accounts. Access for those with a computer and a modem is usually through a local telephone call to a terminal server or computer. The costs can vary, but many commercial providers charge a flat rate monthly fee that isn't bad compared with the potential gain of instant worldwide communication Some providers charge as little as $20 per month for unlimited electronic mail. But, just as the telephone system still doesn't quite reach everyone world- wide, Internet access is not always easily available or reasonable. Many people in remote areas or foreign countries must make expensive long-distance calls to send and receive electronic mail or to access resources. Often isolated and desiring human contact and access to information, they find the extra cost worth it -- if they can afford it. ALL (OR ALMOST ALL) ABOUT ELECTRONIC MAIL Electronic mail is the most popular application in use on The Internet today. It's a very powerful tool that's simple to use and easy to understand. Using email can give you a real feeling for the energy and reach of "the Net." It's hard to imagine any other form of communication that can be so intimate and yet so wide-reaching, so focused, or so expansive. You can communicate as easily with someone across 12 time zones as with someone in the same building. Your message can be limited to just one person, or it can reach hundreds of kindred souls. Email is sometimes compared to FAX, but there are some fundamental differences. A FAX is a graphic image that is digitized and sent over regular telephone lines by using modems. Electronic mail on the Internet is text that can be sent over a variety of network links-everything from dialup to fiber optic lines. It usually costs the same to send email to one person as it does to send it to a group of people, while it would probably cost more to send a FAX to those same people, especially if they're a long-distance call away. Both are asynchronous forms of communication, eliminating "telephone tag" -- that is, it's not required that the recipient be present to receive either electronic mail or a FAX. As we said, electronic mail on the Internet is usually text. But it is possible to send other formats, such as graphic images, as long as they're encoded to text before sending and converted back to the original format Upon receipt. Right now this is not automatically done by most computers on the Internet. Email standards on the Internet are currently moving to support the transfer of non-textual information such as audio, images, and other data; however, this service is not widespread yet. SENDING EMAIL Email is really fast: It is sent and received in seconds -- minutes, at most. Postal mail is often called snail mail by way of comparison. Sending email is easy, too. All you need is access to the Internet, an email program, and the email address of the person with whom you wish to communicate. Access to the Internet. We've already talked about being directly connected to the Internet or being on an outernet network such as UUCP, BITNET, or a commercial service like America Online. If you have such access, then you're all set. Email Programs. You'll need an email program that will run on your own microcomputer or on whatever computer you're using. Most large systems and public access computers offer several email programs (sometimes called email readers or agents). Some commercial Internet service providers will supply programs to load on your PC or Mac. A common characteristic of email programs is that they let you compose and send email, and then read and organize the email you receive. There are too many different email programs to list and explain here. Your choice of a program will depend on how you're accessing the Internet. If you aren't sure what's available, ask your system gurus for assistance. Email Addresses. You'll also need an email address for the recipient of your message. An email address, like a postal mail address, contains all the necessary information needed to deliver a message to someone. Internet email addresses are, in fact, very simple. They consist of a local part and a host part. The username refers to the mailbox, login name, or userid of the recipient on that computer. For example, if your friend Mike logs into his computer as Wallace, then that's his username. The host part of the address should be recognizable to you, a series of words separated by dots. The local part and host part of an email address are separated by an "@" sign: username@hostname Let's say that you know Mike's computer name is 60-minutes.cbs.com. You could send email to him using this address: wallace@60-minutes.cbs.com. (This and the following 60 Minutes examples are fictitious,) Sending It Off. Once you have the email program and know the recipient'S email address, you're set to send a message. Each email program is different, so if you're not familiar with yours, you may have to fumble around a bit or actually read the manual or online documentation. You will need to specify that you want to send a message, either by typing send, clicking a send button, or performing some other wonderful computer incantation. The email program will prompt you for information, asking for the recipient's email address, the key piece of information the program needs to send the message to the recipient. It will also ask for the subject of your message -- usually a summary, title, or brief description The subject is optional, but you should get into the practice of including it. A good description makes the person to whom you're sending aware of the nature of your message, whether it's important or whimsical. The program may give you the option of sending a "carbon copy" (cc) message If there's someone else you think would be interested in the message, here's a chance to include her address. (You can send carbon copies to more than one recipient.) If you have the disk space, it's a good idea to send a copy to yourself so you'll have a record of your outgoing messages. There may come a day when you'll need to know exactly what you said to someone! After you've answered all the email program prompts, you can compose your message, using your email program's composer, which may or may not be similar to the word processor with which you're familiar. It's important to make your message easy to read and understand. RECEIVING AND KEEPING UP WITH THE MAIL Receiving email requires less effort than sending it. Incoming messages are stored in your inbox. When you fire up your email program, it checks this online "mailbox" to see if there's anything in it, and if there is, it usually displays a one-line summary for each message in there. You can then select which message you want to read. If you think you can't keep up with the junk mail that flows into your snail-mailbox each day, then just wait until you collect dozens of "keypals" and you're busily exchanging messages every day. Most everyone just loves to get email -- it will probably give you a tiny thrill to get the message, "You have new mail," when you check your electronic mailbox. But because it's so easy to send and receive email, you may find that you can't keep up with all the messages you receive! You should set up a good routine for sorting your mail, deleting trivial messages and filing the rest by saving them in separate electronic folders sorted by people or topics. If you don't keep up with your email efficiently, as your messages proliferate they stack up in the inbox and your email program may slow to a crawl. REPLYING TO EMAIL Email programs usually have some kind of "reply" feature to make responding quicker and easier. For your part, this involves typing "reply" or clicking a reply button with your mouse. The reply feature takes care of filling in the address and subject fields (using information in the original message's header) and puts you in the email program composer. A very common convention when replying to messages is to include the original message within your reply message, each line prefaced by a ">" character (or just three spaces). (Your email program may automatically do this for you or provide a command that does it.) That way people can distinguish between their original comments and your response. It may not seem important to explicitly reference parts of the original message, but some people receive so many messages a day that they may not remember your conversation without some background material. SENDING EMAIL TO OTHER NETWORKS As we mentioned in Chapter 2, electronic mail is the one application that can be sent between the Internet and outernets. Most networks offer an electronic mail service, and many are connecting to the Internet by email gateways. (Remember, email gateways are computers that have connections to both networks and know how to translate the different email languages between those networks.) So, for example, if you have a friend or client who has an account on CompuServe and you're on the Internet, you can send electronic mail to him or her, and vice versa. FROM THE INTERNET TO THE OUTERNETS: Internet to: Syntax -------------- ------------------------------------- America Online user@aol.com Applelink user@applelink.apple.com ATTMail user@aumail.com BITNET user@host.bimet user%host.bihlet@gateway May need to explicitly specify an email gateway, such as cunyvm.cuny.edu. CompuServe userid@compuserve.com Convert the "," in the CompuServe userid to a "." Example, 12345,678 becomes 12345.678@compuserve.com. MClMail userid@mcimail.com Eliminate hyphen in userid. Example MCI address: 123-4567 becomes 1234567@mcimail.com. UUCP user@host.wcp user%host.uucp@gateway user@domain-name (if UUCP node has a DNS name) NETWORK NEWS USENET is a worldwide conferencing system, encompassing all sorts of organizations (universities, commercial organizations, government agencies-even home computers) and supporting one service: news. USENET is a real community. People from all walks of life spend hours "together," reading, contributing ("posting"), and responding. Each group has its regulars, its "Norm Petersons." Others come and go. Some "lurk," while others seem to talk incessantly. USENET is a breeding ground for free expression and thought. People are usually very frank on this network! It's a point of pride that USENET, for the most part, is an open and uncensored environment. As a result, some very explicit and candid discussions ensue, from political arguments, to religious opinions and holy wars, to explicit stories with indecent themes Be aware of this if you're easily offended and simply avoid the groups that focus on subjects unpalatable to you. USENET is divided into newsgroups. Devoted to a certain topic, each newsgroup is made up of articles, which are similar to email list messages. There are over 2,100 different newsgroups on USENET, but not every computer or site gets all of these in its USENET feed. Each site can pick which newsgroups it wants to "carry" or let its users participate in. Why wouldn't a site want to provide every single newsgroup? One reason is that the total traffic per day is huge and takes up valuable disk space. Or, the site may be paying long-distance charges to transmit and receive traffic, so it participates only in a small number of groups. Another very common reason is that some of the newsgroups deal with explicit subjects which may or may not be appropriate to carry. USENET newsgroups are similar to email lists, but there are a few differences With Internet email lists, every message is sent to each person who has explicitly requested to be a participant. On USENET, every newsgroup article is received and stored on each participating USENET computer, instead of being sent to each user. Even when you're not participating in a newsgroup, all of its articles are still stored on the computer, so you have easy access to any you want. USENET Hierarchy and Newsgroup Names. Newsgroups are organized in a hierarchical structure; their names have dots in them, just like Internet domain names The top-level (left-most) word in the newsgroup name specifies the newsgroup's category There are seven major USENET top-level categories, and three alternative categories, as shown below. Knowing what these categories mean can help you figure out what each newsgroup is about. MAJOR USENET HIERARCHY CATEGORIES: Category Explanation --------------- --------------------------------------------- comp Computer hardware, software, and protocol discussions. misc Topics that don't fit anywhere else, such as job hunting, investments, real estate, and fitness. news Groups that deal with USENET software, network administration, and informative documents and announcements. rec Recreational subjects and hobbies, such as aviation, games, music, and cooking. sci Topics in the established sciences, such as space research, logic, mathematics, and physics. soc Groups for socializing or discussing social issues or world culture. talk Lengthy debates and discussions on various current events and issues-politics, religion, the environment, and so forth. Alternative Hierarchies: Category Explanation --------------- --------------------------------------------- alt Alternative group of discussions: not carried by all USENET sites. Some controversial; others are "lite." Not considered a regular part of the USENET hierarchy. Ah newsgroups generate a lot of traffic. gnu Discussions relating to the GNU Projet of the Free Software Foundation FSF). GNU stands for GNU's, not UNIX. biz Business-related groups. A Sampling of Newsgroups: alt.conspiracy alt.activism talk.politics info.firearms.politics talk.politics.guns talk.religion.misc rec.arts.books alt.fan.dave_barry rec.humorfunny soc.women biz.comp.services talk.politics.mideast alt.fishing misc.education gnu.announce sci.military misc.forsale misc.wanted News Readers. In order to read or post news, you need to have a news reader program There are thousands of newsgroups, and you don't want to have to sift through every one of them. A news reader will let you select which newsgroups you want to participate in by allowing you to "subscribe" to them (you don't have to send email to an administrator). The reader program will organize the newsgroups, display the articles for you to read, and allow you to "post" articles. Just as there are many email programs, there are many news readers. Some are user-friendly, while others use terse commands and are difficult to learn. You'll have to get used to how your news reader works and how it displays newsgroups and articles. Some readers offer a "threaded" functionality that organizes articles within a newsgroup according to discussion threads -- a helpful feature if you want to follow a particular discussion within a newsgroup instead of hopping from one debate to another. GETTING CONNECTED Now that you know what you want to do on the Internet, or at least where you want to go exploring, you'll want to get connected. There isn't just one place you can go to get access to the Internet; as we have said, paths to the Internet are many. The best one for you will depend on your circumstances, your needs, and-to some extent-your pocketbook. This chapter tells you what you need to get started, your choices for individual access and where to go for services, and the basics for connecting a business organization. If you work for an institution or a company with full-time access through a network connection to the Internet, you have the shortest path of all. All you need to do is sit down at your office terminal or workstation and, using the instructions supplied by your in-house computer gurus, log on and get going. Most Internet connections have been made just like that-as connections between two networks, rather than two computers. For example, a college's local area network (LAN) would get access to the Internet by making a connection through a leased phone line to a regional network. Once that connection is made, in most cases every computer on the local area network has "full-time" access, with Internet access available all the time, day and night. ALL YOU NEED TO GET STARTED Fortunately, there are less involved and less expensive ways to get access to the Internet if you're an individual computer user or small business. All you need is a personal computer (Mac, PC, whatever), a modem, communications software, and a phone line. Connecting an entire business or organization's network is more complex than we can cover in detail, but we've included an overview of the basics later in this chapter in the section, "Connecting Your Business or Organization," Some sources for more information are given, as well. Modems are, simply put, computer appliances that convert the digital signal from your computer into an analog sound wave that can be transmitted over telephone lines. A modem at the other end converts the analog signal back to a digital signal that can be read by the computer you're talking to. Exciting advances are being made in modem technology, with faster speeds and more error-free data transmission. High-speed modems can reduce errors from line noise and even do data compression. As with any computer-related purchase, you should buy the very best modem you can afford-perhaps even a bit better than you can afford. Technology changes fast, and five years from now, today's high-speed modems will be as obsolete as that dinosaur of modems, the 300 bps acoustic coupler. The ideal modem for telecommunications communicates at high speeds and has error correction and data compression features. Error correction protocols help filter out line noise, which throws "garbage" characters like "{ {pdf { { {" on your screen, and they ensure an error-free transmission. Data compression, while a useful feature, may not help you much on some bulletin boards and information services that have already compressed their files, in which case your modem can't compress them any further. Shopping for a modem gets you into a complexity of feature combinations: speed, modulation protocols, data compression, and more Claims, particularly for speed, may not be what they appear to be So it could be wise, especially if you are planning to spend a lot for a high-speed modem, to check some independent sources before you buy. Most people (getting individual access) are still using 2400 bps modems to access the Internet and for other services. They may not be lightning fast, but 2400 bps modems are inexpensive, easily available, and nothing to be embarrassed about. All of the access and information systems support them, and, for the occasional user, the difference in online and/or long-distance charges (the higher your modem speed, of course, the less time it takes you to get information) will not be too significant. If you plan to spend a lot of time online, however, or need quick, error-free access, spring for a high-speed modem with error correction and data compression. COMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE Communications software, which is installed on your computer, sets up the three-way conversation between your computer, the modem, and the remote computer. Some modems come bundled with communications software. If yours isn't, try to buy them together from a knowledgeable dealer so that you'll have minimal frustration in getting everything to work. Almost all 2400 bps modems are Hayes-compatible and will work seamlessly with virtually every communications software package on the market for the PC or the Mac. They are easy to install and set up. Some of the features you'll want to look for in a communications package are a full range of file transfer protocols (that is, Xmodem, Ymodem, Zmodem, Kermit, and others, which are different from the Internet's FTP) and terminal emulations such as VT-100 and VT-102. Once you enter the world of high-speed modems, though, it is not so simple. You're communications software must support terminal emulation, which means that your computer essentially becomes a terminal on the computer you're connected to. The VT-100 terminal emulation is probably the most used and most supported of all the terminal emulations. The VT-100 was a venerable terminal produced in the millions by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Its keyboard layout and interface have become a standard for computer-to-computer communications over the years. FINDING PHONE ACCESS Finding an economical way to dial in to your chosen system is a big concern. Long-distance telephone and access charges can easily exceed your costs for connect time on the computer. Every provider offers a local (to them) number for direct dial-up; some provide local numbers in major cities or in areas they consider to be their prime territory. If your chosen system is an expensive long-distance call away, you can check out some of the public data networks and dialup services that make a business of providing computer/phone connections. Many of these services provide for online or phone signup and accept major credit cards. TYPES OF INDIVIDUAL CONNECTIONS You have your modem set up and your software installed; you've even read the manuals and practiced a little. Perhaps you're a veteran telecommunicator and just want to get right to the Internet. Depending on the kind of connection you are using, individuals can have access to the Internet or a direct Internet connection. Whichever you have, you will be "dialing into" the Internet. Following are some of your connection options. DIALUP TERMINAL EMULATION What It Is. Using the terminal emulation feature in your communications software, your computer essentially becomes a terminal on a remote computer system. You can get access to the Internet by dialing "into" a computer that has a full-time Internet connection. If you have communications software that does terminal emulation, such as Kermit, Procomm, or Whiteknight, then all you need is an account on an Internet-connected computer. Having an account means that you are allowed to login with a userid and password and use the services and disk space of that computer. By dialing into an Internet-connected computer, you will have access to all the basic services on the Internet-that is. remote login, file transfer, and electronic mail. Many computers that allow this kind of access run the UNIX operating system, so you may need to be familiar with some UNIX commands. TERMINAL SERVERS What It Is. Individual users can also dial into a terminal server instead of a computer directly on the Internet. A terminal server is basically a computer that accepts connections and allows you to use the Internet to remotely login to other computers. Terminal servers are "bouncing off" points to the Internet. Terminal servers have modems attached to them so that users can dial in and, from there, remotely login to any computer on the Internet. Once you've dialed into a terminal server, your scope is a bit limited because, even though in most cases you have to login using a userid and password, you don't have any disk space. If you're on a trip and have access to a local terminal server, you can connect to your mainframe or workstation computer back at the office via the Internet. However, if you don't have an account on an Internet-connected computer, this service won't do you much good, unless you are content to connect to online library catalogs or information retrieval servers that allow access without a personal userid. Keep in mind that when you dial into an Internet-connected computer or a terminal server, you can access Internet applications. The actions you perform, however, are from the standpoint of that computer, not your PC or Mac (which is just acting as a terminal) at home If you transfer a file using FTP from a public transfer site, you're transferring it to the Internet-connected computer, not to your home PC or Mac. If you want that file on your home computer, you will have to transfer it again, this time from the Internet computer to your computer (using your communications software file transfer protocols, Kermit, Zmodem, and so forth)- This two-step process can be cumbersome and confusing to new users. CLIENT SOFTWARE ACCESS What It Is. Client software access brings some of the Internet functions, such as electronic mail, USENET News, and file transfer, straight to your computer. Providers or services supply you with special software, known as client or agent software. With their proprietary or public domain software on your computer, you dial into your service's local access point. In addition to taking care of the communications, it also provides an email reader and an editor for composing messages. Although you're not interactively using the Internet, you can download electronic mail and news and then read messages and postings at your leisure on your home computer, rather than tying up a phone line or running up connection charges. But not all the Internet's applications, particularly remote login, are available to you. These client connections, though, can be far more user-friendly than the public access systems. You work with a familiar graphic application on your PC or Macintosh, not on a foreign computer account. You also don't have to worry about taking the extra step of transferring files from the Internet computer to your home computer (as you do with dialup terminal emulation access); the software does all of this for you. FULL-ACCESS DIALUP CONNECTION What It Is. A more advanced client connection uses client networking software and a high-speed modem to actually become a computer on the Internet -- Protocols such as Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) and Point-to-Point-Protocol (PPP) bring the power and flexibility of the Internet straight to your home computer over an ordinary telephone line. SLIP and PPP are actually two different protocols that make your computer a peer computer on the Internet, A SLIP or PPP connection is a great way to connect, but it can be more expensive and a bit more difficult to configure. Connect charges are high in comparison with other options, and the connections usually require a fairly sophisticated highspeed modem. CHOOSING AN INDIVIDUAL ACCESS PROVIDER Network access for individuals is a new and evolving market, and one likely to grow very quickly. So finding the services you want, the access, and the right price is not as simple as picking a long-distance phone carrier. Internet access is offered by private companies, by universities, by academic/research networks, and by public-private partnerships. Service packages vary a great deal and change constantly, as do rates. Your options are not limited to what is in this chapter. Use the information here and in the appendix as a general guide to starting your own research. PUBLIC ACCESS SYSTEMS Several companies offer dial-in access to their systems, giving you terminal emulation or (if available) SLIP/PPP access to the Internet. All of these services offer file transfer and remote login on the Internet, in addition to electronic mail and (depending on the system) a variety of other services, including commercial databases. Access is usually via a phone call to the system's local number, although some systems also offer access via public data networks such as CompuServe Packet Network (CPN). It you have access to an Internet terminal server (through a provider such as PSI), you can remotely login to these systems. NATIONAL PROVIDERS There are commercial Internet providers that provide access to their own national networks and to the academic and research portion of the Internet. These providers, including CERFnet, UUNET, ANS CO+RE, Sprint, and PSI offer a wide range of access for individuals, from terminal emulation to full-time SLIP or PPP access. The appendix has a list of national providers and what each offers. You may be eligible for inexpensive Internet access through a special interest or professional group. Librarians and educators, for example, have led the way in providing Internet access in member groups. Who knows? A group you belong to might be offering a low-cost Internet connection, Check around. ELECTRONIC MAIL AND NEWS SERVICES The wonder of the Internet is its many connecting points. If the providers we've mentioned don't suit you, an outernet (or indirect) connection may. Some of the socalled indirect (email and news only) access paths are mentioned below; to discover other available options, just ask around. Keep in mind that new services, new software, and new technology are being made available almost on a daily basis, creating new opportunities to connect directly or indirectly to the Internet. Email Access Through Commercial Networks. If electronic mail is all you need, you have plenty of choices for an Internet connection. Most commercial online services, such as CompuServe, American Online, and MCIMail, have an electronic mail gateway to the Internet. (At this time, Prodigy does not, nor does it plan to, offer an email gateway to the Internet. This is a Frequently Asked Question!) If you have an account on one of these systems, you can send and receive email to and from anyone on the Internet. Note, however, that these services may have a per-message charge for both inbound and outbound Internet email. These charges can add up, so be sure to shop around for the best deal. Wireless Email. Some services allow email to be forwarded from the Internet to alphanumeric pagers and portable computers equipped with radio modems. For example, RadioMail is a gateway service from Anterior Technology that provides two-way email between RadioMail subscribers and the Internet (and other commercial networks) and one-way delivery of email (from the Internet and other networks) to pagers. The two-way RadioMail service provides a transparent (to the user) connection between the worldwide wide-area land-based networks and wide-area wireless networks- For people who can't be (or don't want to be) tied to their office or home computer, RadioMail and similar services have a real advantage. It's also useful for mobile Internet users who travel frequently. Email Access Through the UUCP Worldwide Network. WCP stands for UNIX-to-UNIX Copy Program. Basically, it is used as a method for computers to talk to each other over phone lines. Versions of UUCP are available for VMS and DOS operating systems, as well as UNIX computers. UUCP provides for file transfer between machines. The files that are transferred often contain commands to be executed on a remote system, including printing on a remote computer or sending email. The UUCP network consists of thousands of computers all over the world that have agreed to communicate with each other via the phone lines. Because of these agreements, it is possible to send email from one computer to another by specifying exactly which computers the email must travel through to get to its destination. This process is known as "source routing." Many UUCP nodes are starting to register in the Internet domain name system (by using MX records), so they look like they're directly connected to the Internet (when, in fact, they have an agreement with an Internet-connected computer to act as a "post office," transferring email back and forth). Although no central authority controls the UUCP network, there is a public registry that maintains information about computers whose administrators have volunteered (or remembered) to submit information. There are many email gateways between the UUCP network and the Internet, so it is easy to send and receive email back and forth. USENET news runs over the UUCP network, so that may also be available. However, UUCP does not allow for remote login or interactive file transfer Going the UUCP route is usually much less expensive than other kinds of access, but it may require more research and up front work. The equipment is simple: just your PC or Mac, modem, and phone line. The software is usually free or very inexpensive. Your expenses may include some long-distance charges. The hard part may be finding someone to agree to "connect" you, either letting you dial them up for information or having them dial you up, or both. If you ask, you may find someone in a local computer user group who'll agree to let you send information back and forth from/to their computer. Although some universities may offer similar services, user support and reliability is not guaranteed because people are usually connecting you out of the kindness of their hearts. If you don't want to struggle to find someone or to get help, or to spend time debugging problems, you should go with a commercial WCP email provider, where handholding and ongoing support are available. Those providers that offer UUCP mail and USENET news include UUNET, PSI, Anterior Technology, and many of the public access systems. Bulletin Board Systems. Many local bulletin board systems also provide some type of mail access to the Internet Through these systems, you may be able to exchange UUCP or Fidonet mail and USENET news, or you may be able to dialup the system (using terminal emulation) and access mail and news interactively on the BBS system. Find these systems by asking local computer gurus at user group meetings or by consulting the NIXPUB list, which currently lists about 127 systems and their services worldwide. NIXPUB is an access list that's maintained by a volunteer and made available via anonymous ETP and dialup UUCP.