While more and more of the resources that were once available only via
Telnet are moving to the Web, it's still sometimes quicker to use Telnet.
The Carl System, for
example, is a network of more than 400 library catalogs and 20 commercial
databases that includes magazines, encyclopedias, Books in Print, and more.
Another example is The University of California's Melvyl card catalog.
In addition, many local libaries, such as the library system of Alameda
County, Calif., make their card catalogs available via Telnet.
If you have a shell account with your Internet Service
Provider, you may also use Telnet to access your account. You can use your
Telnet account to open a window directly into the operating
system--generally Unix--of your service provider. If you want to learn the
basics of Unix--which are not as difficult as you might fear--there are
some tasks, such as automated processing of a text file or sharing files
with other users, that are more efficiently performed on Unix.
Finally, many resources, such as e-mail, newsgroups,
FTP, Gopher, and Veronica can be used via Telnet as
well as via your Web browser.
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