About That Technical Stuff...

A Brief Guide to Operating Systems

Internet explorers are notoriously picky about which operating system they use for voyaging. Fury can erupt when one user espouses Mac and another Windows -- and those aren't even the only two operating systems around.

Because we at The Net aren't taking sides, we asked five expert users to focus on their operating system of choice, appraising the Internet-ready features bundled with it and identifying missing links. They also recommend tools that will compensate for deficiencies, so users can cruise the information superhighway more easily.

When it comes to Internet connectivity, some operating systems simply inspire more passion than others -- as you'll see.
Windows 3.1
Windows 95
Macintosh
OS/2
DOS
UNIX

Windows 3.1

Fresh out of the box, Windows 3.1 doesn't allow easy Internet connectivity. Still, the large number of add-on software packages available for Windows has made it one of the most popular operating systems for accessing cyberspace.

When first installed, Windows 3.1 doesn't impress with its Internet-ability. Its meager communications applet, called Terminal, can dial your modem to access a bulletin-board system or the text-based menus of services such as CompuServe or GEnie, but it can't get you on the Internet.

To do this, you'll need shell software provided by your Internet service, or a TCP/IP connection with SLIP/PPP dial-up and WinSock-compliant clients, such as Netscape for World Wide Web access.

Windows for Workgroups does include TCP/IP networking, but no SLIP or PPP. That means you can get online only if your local area network is itself tied into the Internet via a gateway of some kind.

Do-It-Yourself Shareware

Nevertheless, you have plenty of choices for TCP/IP and WinSock compatibility with Windows 3.1. You get a TCP/IP suite, SLIP and PPP dial-up, and a few utilities with shareware Trumpet WinSock.

Just plug the technical details of your Internet account -- such as the IP addresses for your Domain Name System (DNS) server, gateway, and so forth -- and your username and domain, into the Trumpet configuration program. Then, dial your provider to get an actual connection to the Internet.

The advantage of a live connection like PPP is that you are an actual participant on a network attached directly to the Internet. With PPP, you can "roll your own" Internet access, choosing from shareware, freeware, and commercial tools such as Eudora for e-mail, WS_FTP for file transfer, and Netscape for the Web, as well as a bevy of little tools for Telnet, IRC, newsreaders, and more.

Commercial Shareware and Shell Accounts

If you're not satisfied with do-it-yourself shareware, you can choose among a number of commercial packages, such as Spry's Internet In a Box, which features Chameleon TCP/IP from Netmanage and Spry's own commercial tools for FTP, Telnet, as well as an enhanced Web Viewer (Air Mosaic). Other tools include Frontier's SuperHighway Access and book/shareware combinations like Internet Membership Kit from Ventana Media.

Instead of going the TCP/IP and PPP route, you can subscribe to a shell account from an Internet provider. In the past, a shell account gave you a text-based menu system, but recently, providers such as Pipeline have enhanced their tools with easy-to-use Windows graphical user interfaces, including their own brands of Web browsers. Shell accounts are less expensive, but they narrow your options to the software provided with the account.

Commercial Online Services

You can also turn to commercial online service providers such as CompuServe, GEnie, Prodigy, and America Online for Internet access. At the time of this writing, only Prodigy featured the Web viewing, but you usually get FTP, newsgroups, Internet mail, Gopher/WAIS -- pretty much all the Internet you need from all of them.

Getting on the Internet this way can be more costly, however, since you're paying the usual online charges, and you're limited by the dial-up speed of the service, often just 9,600 baud in many areas. However, both CompuServe and America Online are working to launch high-speed, 28,800 bits per second networks in the coming year.
-- Charles Brannon

Internet Resources

What resources are available to connect Windows users to the Internet? Here's a quick overview:

Shareware Packages:

NetCruiser
Netcom
301 Tisch Way, Second Floor
San Jose, CA 95128
info@netcom.com
(800) 501-8649
$25 (includes one month of free access)

SuperHighway Access
Frontier Technologies Corp.
10201 North Port Washington Road,
13 West
Mequon, WI 53092
superhighway@frontiertech.com
(800) 929-3054
$149

Internet in a Box
Spry, Inc.
316 Occidental Ave. South
Seattle, WA 98104
iboxinfo26@spry.com
(800) 557-9614
$149

Internaut
PSINet Pipeline
150 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10038
info@pipeline.com
(212) 267-3636
Access software free, $15-$30 per month online charge

Internet Chameleon
NetManage
10725 N. DeAnza Blvd.
Cupertino, CA 95014
info@netmanage.com
(408) 973-7171
$199

Shareware Based on Book/Disk Packages:

Internet Membership Kit Version 2.0
(ISBN 1-56604-212-7)
Ventana Media
P.O. Box 2468
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
orders@vmedia.com
(800) 743-5369
$69.95

Access the Internet
(ISBN 0-7821-1529-2)
Sybex
2021 Challenger Drive
Alameda, CA 94501
(800) 227-2346
$15.99

Internet Starter Kit
(ISBN 1-56830-094-8)
Hayden Books (McMillan Publishing)
201 W. 103 Street
Indianapolis, IN 46290
http://www.mcp.com
(800) 428-5331
$29.95

Windows 95 Internet Support

Windows 95 promises users a live connection to the Internet, as well as the ability to view Web pages directly with Microsoft Word. Even more exciting, you'll be able to create hypertext documents ready for Web consumption.

Microsoft's next-generation operating system for Intel-compatible PCs, Windows 95, will include numerous core technology improvements. Among them is a built-in, 32-bit protected mode TCP/IP stack that's WinSock-compatible, meaning you can run off-the-shelf or shareware applications like Mosaic, WS_FTP, Eudora for e-mail, and any Gopher or Telnet client.

While Windows for Workgroups has network TCP/IP, Windows 95 adds support for dial-up networking via your modem and the PPP.

To get online with Windows 95, you must first configure your machine to use dial-up networking and TCP/IP by running Network Setup from the Control Panel.

You then open Dial-Up Networking and create a new dial-up connection, or start a session with one you've already set up. Besides accessing the Internet, Dial-Up Networking can link you to a Windows NT or Netware server. It's also possible to configure Dial-Up Networking to turn your computer into a dial-up server, enabling other callers (or you from another location) to dial in and access shared drives, printers, and network resources using your local PC as the gateway.

To get the best results, make sure your Internet provider supports CHAP or PAP authentication, which lets Windows 95 log you in automatically. Since scripting is not supported, you can briefly enter terminal mode after dialing if you need to manually log in.

Once you've dialed in, you have a live connection to the Internet, and you can open up a Netscape session to browse the World Wide Web. The new Microsoft Exchange mail client directly supports Internet mail using POP3 and MIME. Windows 95 also includes a graphical Telnet application, and DOS command line tools for ARP, FTP, PING, route, and tracert.

Microsoft recently acquired a license to Mosaic and, with access to the source code, is sprucing it up and customizing it extensively.

The program is scheduled to be available soon after Windows 95 ships. With Microsoft's Internet Assistant, you can view Web pages directly in Microsoft Word, and what's more, you can create HTML documents ready for Web consumption.
-- Charles Brannon

Macintosh

Although Macs lack even a basic terminal program, there are plenty of software systems available that will enable Mac users to do serious Internet surfing.

Macintosh users are pretty much on their own when it comes to Internet access. The Macintosh operating system doesn't include even a basic terminal program, and most Macs don't ship with a modem. So it's up to you to find the Mac-compatible Internet stuff you need.

The key is getting a fast modem. Once you have that, you can check into Apple's eWorld service. Apple gives the kits away with most new Macs. eWorld is still finding its legs, however. America Online is still a sturdier commercial service for Mac owners, and it should be offering a full Internet browser soon.

For serious Net surfing, get copies of: You can download these programs from AOL or eWorld, or get them in a book/disk package, such as Ventana's Internet Membership Kit, or Celestin's Destination: Internet CD-ROM.

Then, all you'll need to do is sign on with an Internet service provider and catch the wave.
-- Steven Anzovin

It's a Small eWorld, After All

"With online services, new virtual neighborhoods of like-minded people spring up daily, hourly...People not only find like-minded people that because of geographic distance they couldn't find before, but... families and friends...once separated by distance re-establish their intimacy because of the ease and accessibility of online services. I believe this idea -- that natural relationships can be re-established because of online services -- acts as a metaphor for what online services can do to the vendor/customer relationship: bringing it back to a level of openness and intimacy that's more intuitive and natural and appropriate. Just as the eWorld town square tells our users that they're not just accessing information, but coming to a neighborhood, so, too, can online services take the customer/vendor relationship out of data analysis and spreadsheets and back to conversation and discussion."
-- Peter Friedman, vice president, eWorld

OS/2

OS/2 Warp lives up to its hype: It will enable you to surf the Internet with ease and provides a full-featured Web browser that works well the first time.

Good news for the nun in the IBM commercial who says she's "dying to surf the Net": OS/2 Warp will let her do all the surfing she desires. As an OS/2 user, she owes it to herself, and so do you, to upgrade to Warp. If you're a Microsoft Windows or even an MS-DOS user, you might also consider it because it's a quick and easy way to get started on the Internet. Warp is a complete operating system, demanding about eight megabytes (MB) of RAM and 80 MB of hard disk space, but it gives you full Internet access right out of the box.

Easy-to-Use Screens

Once you've installed Warp, load the Internet software from the Bonus Pack. On your desktop will appear an icon labeled IBM Internet Connection for OS/2. Double-click here, go into the IBM Internet Customer Service folder, and double-click on Registration. You'll be taken through a series of easy-to-use screens that ask for your name, address, phone number, credit card information, modem type, serial port number, and so on. You'll also be asked for three preferred usernames. Then, the program will dial a toll-free number and instantly register you with the IBM Network.

IBMNet offers access in many countries, and the local phone number list is growing rapidly.When you sign up, you receive three free hours of access, then you're switched automatically to the standard subscription fee of $12.95 per month for six hours of access. A comprehensive plan gives you a reasonable 30 hours of access for $29.95 monthly.

Or, you can dial in through a toll-free number, but this adds $6.00 per hour to the price. IBMNet offers special deals in a number of different countries, so be sure to check your options. Also, note that you can configure Warp to dial into your existing Internet account, although this takes some work.

A Robust Browser, but Little Software

So, what does IBMNet provide? There's a solid little e-mail program called Ultimedia Mail Lite, and you get a very browsable Gopher program. NewsReader/2 gives you access to nearly 8,000 Usenet groups (happily, IBM doesn't seem to believe in censorship), while two Telnet programs offer you VT100 or the less-used 3270 access to other machines. You get point-and-click access to files around the world from the attractive and functional FTP program.

Warp's Web browser -- WebExplorer -- doesn't disappoint, either. This full-featured browser works well the first time. To get it, access the Retrieve Software Updates program from the IBM Internet Connection folder. Warp both downloads and installs the browser, with an ease rarely seen in Internet programs anywhere. The downside? Just one -- there simply isn't a lot of OS/2 software available for the Internet and not much is on the horizon. No NCSA Mosaic, no Netscape, few e-mail choices. Yes, you can run Windows from OS/2, but it'll run more slowly and sometimes takes ages to load.

Then again, this could inspire you to write OS/2 programs, which you could distribute across the Internet to the growing number of OS/2 and IBMNet users. If they're good, you'll be an instant hero.
-- Neil Randall

DOS

DOS access to the Internet is, not surprisingly, similar to the operating system itself: You can perform only one task a time, and there are no graphics. Still, even DOS users can access e-mail, Gopher, FTP, the World Wide Web, and more.

If you're a DOS user, there's no need to feel shut out of the Internet, despite all the recent focus on graphical interfaces and SLIP/PPP connections. After all, for years almost all access to the Internet was with character-based terminals.

DOS users can usually begin with the terminal software included with modems or Internet sign-up kits. You might want to download a shareware program (like Telix, for example) that supports various terminal emulations (especially DEC VT models), and transfer protocols (such as Kermit, Xmodem, Ymodem, or Zmodem).

Even the World Wide Web is available to many DOS users through a character-based Web browser called Lynx. Your screen won't look nearly as pretty as it would if you could use Mosaic, but access will generally be faster because you aren't downloading pictures for the graphical interface. You can read the text and grab picture files using Lynx, viewing them later offline.

DOS access to the Internet is a reflection of the operating system itself: You can do one task at a time with screens of text rather than graphics. But for those with limited needs and budgets, it's a great way to get started on the Internet.
-- J. Blake Lambert

UNIX

UNIX workstations, although considered complex and unwieldy, remain popular among engineers, scientists, and high-end multimedia producers for Internet access.

There's no denying the importance of the UNIX operating system to the Internet. Though critics say it's too complex and unwieldy for the latest wave of non-technical users, UNIX workstations run most of the server machines that parcel out World Wide Web pages and provide SLIP and PPP connections to the Internet. They also remain popular among engineers, scientists, and high-end multimedia producers, who want Internet access.

With Internet support woven so tightly into most versions of UNIX, there aren't many issues to address when it comes to getting hooked up. The Internet looks about the same from a UNIX box as it does from a Mac or a Windows PC, thanks to X Window, a front-end system that hides UNIX's cryptic command line and inscrutable configuration files. While The Net won't be devoting much space to UNIX, we wanted to reference it in this guide. Thankfully, the Internet can be accessed by anyone, no matter which operating system is used.
-- Tim Victor

The UNIX Connection

UNIX was built in the early 1970s by a group of computer scientists at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Copies were distributed to universities for use in research and teaching.

A group of faculty and students at the University of California at Berkeley conducted the most innovative research on UNIX, writing application programs and modifying the system. Seeking to receive input from other researchers on their work, they began distributing these programs electronically.

Then, under a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense, the UC-Berkeley group modified TCP/IP, the Internet's communication software protocols. It distributed the modified protocols to a large proportion of the research community. This was the first time many computer science departments had seen the TCP/IP software, and the exposure further spurred the development of the Internet.
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