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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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 BrannonThe 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:
Then, all you'll need to do is sign on with an Internet service provider and catch the wave.
-- Steven AnzovinIBMNet 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.
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 RandallDOS 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 LambertWith 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 VictorA 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.