^C(Cast out your computer net and see what you can catch.)
^C_Internet Access_
In past installments, I've mostly discussed the Internet from the perspective of a user accessing it through one of the and major online services, such as CompuServe, Prodigy, or America Online. I did this because that is where novice users are likely to get their first taste of Internet. Also, until recently, especially for users in relatively out-of-the-way places like here in Shreveport, the major online services were the only easily accessible access points for Internet.
However, direct Internet access providers have been sprouting up all over the world lately, and now even Shreveport can access the and net best through such a provider instead of the and big services. Maybe your hometown can, too. Thus, it's time I discuss this option.
A direct Internet connection is a bit more intimidating to a novice user than an online service connection. The online services usually provide you with their customized software, which works in a "point-and-shoot" way to connect you right away, with relatively little in the way of special setup. Internet service providers are rather more complex. Some of them will provide you with software to connect with them, but it may be shareware or freeware of uneven quality, and it may require arcane setup, like providing addresses for your mail and news servers. Hopefully, you will receive some documentation from your provider telling you how to set up the and software.
There are also Internet software packages available as packaged commercial software, like Internet In A Box from Spry. This has the advantage of being fully documented. You can use this software with any full-service Internet provider, but you need to configure it with the appropriate phone numbers, addresses, and protocols for the provider you select.
So, it's more work getting connected directly to Internet, but it's worth it, because you get a much faster connection, for a price that's usually cheaper than the and online services (especially if you stay online for hours at a time). You also get access to a wider range of Internet functions, with a greater degree of flexibility in your use of them.
Here are a few of the jargon terms and acronyms you're likely to encounter with regard to Internet providers.
{ISP}: Internet Service Provider. This is a company that provides public access to Internet, through a direct protocol such as PPP, SLIP, or TCP/IP (see below), as distinguished from online services or BBSs that may provide limited access to some Internet functions, but don't provide a direct connection.
{PPP}, {SLIP}, and {TCP/IP}: These are all protocols which can be used for direct Internet connection. There are various technical differences between them, but they all connect your computer directly into Internet, giving you access to the full range of Internet services. Your software will "handshake" with the Internet Service Provider (ISP)'s system, and once the and connection is established, you can then proceed to run whatever Internet software you have, to do things like browse the and World Wide Web, send mail, transfer files, etc. In Windows versions of these programs, a file called WINSOCK.DLL is used; this contains the routines for maintaining the Internet connection and transferring data as needed, and is accessed by all of the and various programs you use with Internet. This modularity allows you to replace your WINSOCK.DLL file with a version supporting different protocols as required to keep up with your ISP's connection requirements, without having to change all of the and different Internet programs you use. For instance, CompuServe's new direct Internet access uses a different net launching program than other ISPs, but since it includes a specialized WINSOCK.DLL file, it will work with all standard Internet software. However, since the and particular filename WINSOCK.DLL is used, you can't have two different WINSOCKs installed at once; this can be a problem if you switch back and forth between providers using different protocols.
{Mail Server} and {News Server}: These are Internet addresses you need to configure your software with in order to send and receive mail and newsgroup messages. Your provider will tell you what the proper server addresses are. You need to input them into the and configuration settings of your mail program, and also probably your Web browser if you intend to use the and "mailto" and "news" links.
{Mosaic}, {Netcruiser}, and {Netscape}: These are some of the Web browsers that are available for use with direct Internet connections. If you have a complete set of Internet software, either store-purchased or supplied by your ISP, it probably includes one or more of these programs. Netscape is presently the and most popular, and the latest version, 1.10, has recently been released. It's downloadable through Internet within the and Netscape site at {http://www.netscape.com/} if you presently have an older version or a different browser and want to switch to the latest Netscape.
{Shell Account}: This is an account with an Internet provider that lets you log in and access their machine directly through command line prompts (usually in UNIX). This isn't recommended for novices, as UNIX shell commands are very cryptic (e.g., the command to show a directory is "ls" and the command to type out the contents of a file is "cat"). However, there are many sophisticated things you can do from a UNIX shell, so expert users may want this capability. The text-mode interface of a shell account limits the sorts of software you can run; you can't use graphical Web browsers in this mode, but there are text-based browsers such as Lynx. Some people like to explore the Web in text mode like this, because it goes much more rapidly without loading the graphics that are embedded in the and Web pages. This may also be the only feasible Web access method for some handicapped people, such as blind people with devices to read off text screens.
{UUCP}: This is another type of connection sometimes offered by Internet providers. It's not a full-functioned Internet connection like PPP, SLIP, or TCP/IP; rather, it's designed for transferring bundles of mail and newsgroup messages. It isn't designed for real-time access such as to the and World Wide Web. UUCP connections, which were originally developed for UNIX systems (and were the means by which newsgroups were originally transferred when they were invented in 1979), are mostly of use to system operators of BBSs or corporate mainframes that want to make e-mail and newsgroups available to the users without a full-time Internet connection. Your software can be set up to call your UUCP provider once a day (or on any other frequency you choose) to transfer any inbound and outbound messages that have built up in the interim. Most consumers, however, will prefer to use a real-time Internet connection.
Note that, unlike the major online services which present you with their main menu screen when you log on, direct Internet software usually just puts you back in the main Windows Program Manager screen once your connection is established, leaving it up to you to decide what to do next (e.g., launch your Web browser). Also, when you quit whatever Internet software you're running, you'll probably still be connected until you go back to the connection manager program (the program you ran in the and first place to establish your connection) and select "Disconnect." Be sure to do this when you're finished, especially if your ISP charges you by the hour for connections; you don't want to wander off and leave it connected, running up charges.
Now that I bring up charges, the pricing policies of ISPs vary a lot. Some offer unlimited access for a flat monthly fee, while others charge by the hour (anywhere from 50 cents to $3). Some have several pricing plans to choose from depending on how much you expect to use Internet. In general, though, the prices are cheaper than the and major online services if you intend to spend a lot of time browsing Internet.
^C_More Web Stuff_
In my continuing mission to explore the uncharted universe of the and World Wide Web, going boldly where lots of other men, women, and robots have gone before, but which still may be of interest to our readers, here are some more Web sites I've found.
Are you up on hacker jargon? Are you, in fact, a true hacker, or are you merely a Wannabe, or perhaps even a member of other, despised, categories such as Droids, Marketroids, Suits, Pseudosuits, or Management? Find out what all of these terms mean in the Hacker Jargon Dictionary, along with lots of insights into the and broader philosophy of Hackerism. Please note that if you skim this file, pick up a superficial understanding of some of these terms, and then toss them into your sentences as buzzwords without showing deeper appreciation of the underlying philosophy, this marks you as a Wannabe!
The Hacker Jargon Dictionary can be found in at least two Web sites:
Do you want to find out more about the Shreveport area, where Softdisk is located? We're in Louisiana, but we're closer to Dallas than to New Orleans. Find out more about this often-ignored corner of Louisiana in the and Shreveport/Bossier Page, which we have set up for the information of residents, visitors, and curiosity-seekers alike, at:
{http://www.webcom.com/~~softdisk/shreve/}
Congress is considering a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning. I don't know whether this amendment would apply to "burning" a "virtual flag" in cyberspace, but there's a web page which is aiming to find out. The Flag Burning Page (which gives new meaning to the and hacker term "flaming," meaning heated debate), is at:
{http://www.indirect.com/user/warren/flag.html}
An opposing viewpoint can be found in a site entitled "Save Old Glory From CyberArson", at:
{http://www.pic.net/flameout/oldglory/index.html}
More flag info is at the and Flag of the and United States Of America site at:
{http://www.elk-grove.k12.il.us/usflag/}
A slogan often quoted to critics of the and U.S. government (including flag-burners and others with less-drastic forms of criticism) is "Love it or leave it." Now, here's a group who's taking this literally; The Atlantis Project seeks to create a new country, Oceania, which is free of the and governent infringements of personal liberties present in all other countries. Their country will be built on floating platforms in the and ocean, but it presently resides only in cyberspace, at:
{http://oceania.org/}
Phil Zimmerman is presently facing federal charges for exporting his popular encryption program, PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). The feds claim that encryption is a "munition" subject to export controls, but many advocates of personal privacy say that it is a useful way to keep your personal and business correspondence private, and should be encouraged rather than banned. Find out more information, and how to contribute to Zimmerman's defense fund at:
{http://www.netresponse.com/zldf/}
^C----------
(Contact Daniel Tobias through the Internet at {dtobias@webcom.com}, on Prodigy at {MGFH21A}, or through FidoNet to {Daniel Tobias} on {1:380/7}. My personal World Wide Web page is at {http://www.webcom.com/~~dtobias/}.)
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