Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!maytag!watdragon!crocus!vehaag
From: vehaag@crocus.uwaterloo.ca (Viktor Haag)
Subject: NeXT and stay at home networking
Message-ID: <1990Nov3.215736.518@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Sender: daemon@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Owner of Many System Processes)
Organization: University of Waterloo
References: <1374@lee.SEAS.UCLA.EDU> <EbAjLre00WBNM1DXtt@andrew.cmu.edu>
Distribution: na
Date: Sat, 3 Nov 90 21:57:36 GMT
Lines: 35

Well, I got a few responses to my question about turning my den Cube into a
full blown node.  A lot of people were interested in the answer, and here is
what I have been able to find out.

Apologies to everyone out there who winces at my obviously naive understanding
of the whole thing.  Perhaps, though, I am not the only ignorant one here, and
my plain English explanation will help.

As to turning your NeXT into an internet site or node - forget it.  If we can
think of the main line of the net as the spinal cord, then only big institutions
that cand demonstrate a need for a direct connection can connect directly,
and mostly this turns out to be Universities.

Even if you could convince the powers that be that you deserve to be a 'main
nerve', the hardware needed to ensure that you could keep up to speed with the
transmission rates of the 'spinal cord' would be difficult to obtain and 
prohibitive in cost.

The optimal solution it seems is to obtain an account at a University or other
centre that *is* a 'main nerve' and use a modem to connect to them.  Keep in 
mind though, that in this case, you will be a dumb terminal of the machine that
you connect to, so if it ain't another NeXT, you may have a pretty ugly 
interface.

There are probably hundreds of folks out there that are wincing at my 'simple
minded' explanation of my perceptions of the situation.  If any of you gurus
could enlighten the rest of us and fill in the details that we are unable to
fill in, I for one would be very appreciative.

vik


--
	"We murder to dissect"			
		Wordsworth
