NetManage SoftwareThe Internet contains a tremendous amount of information and there are many different ways to access this information. At first this may seem confusing, but once you understand how to use each accessing method and how they differ, you will understand how they complement each other.
The NetManage applications are listed below. To get more information about any of them, double click on the name in blue text or the icon.
WebSurfer - WWW Client
Gopher - Gopher Client
FTP - File Transfer
Archie - Search Tool
NEWTNews - News Reader
Mail - Email
Telnet - Terminal Emulator
WhoIs - Phone Book
Finger - Information Query
Ping - Diagnostic Tool
WebSurfer is a client application which allows you to browse information on the World Wide Web (WWW). The WWW is a set of servers on the Internet that are interconnected through hypertext. Hypertext is a method of presenting information where selected items, or items that are highlighted in blue, can be expanded at any time to provide other information about the item. These selected items are links which allow you to move from document to document and server to server. The WWW is unique in its use of hypertext along with multimedia such as sound, video, and graphics.
The WWW is split into two parts, client and server. The server manages the data and answers requests from the client, while the client application (WebSurfer) allows you to connect to all the servers and gather information.
NetManage has constructed a page of useful starting points to help you get acquainted with the WWW. We call it the Jump Point page.
The Gopher application allows you to browse through information located on the 3,600 Gopher servers (or GopherSpace) around the world. The resource material in GopherSpace consists of data in a variety of formats such as text, images, sounds, and services such as Telnet connections, index servers, and phone book servers.
When you open your NetManage Gopher application, you will find that it already points to the NetManage Gopher server. You will also find that the NetManage Gopher software has another pointer to the central Gopher server.
The list of Gopher servers will seem quite long. There is an online catalog, known as Veronica, that allows you to do key word searches of GopherSpace. Your NetManage Gopher application supports this search tool. To find GopherSpace catalogs start at the central Gopher server.
The FTP (File Transfer Protocol) application is used to transfer files between Internet computers. Both client and server applications are provided with NetManage software. The FTP client downloads files published on any remote server on the Internet to your PC. The FTP server permits others to access files on your local hard drive while you are connected to the Internet.
The NetManage FTP application also provides an intuitive point and click interface that keeps track of sites that you have connected to so that you can return to them easily.
The Archie application is an Internet information system for gathering data and indexing widely distributed collections of data. Archie allows users to retrieve public domain files (of text, graphics, or sound) from anonymous FTP hosts (servers that can be accessed by anyone on the Internet).
The NetManage Archie software comes preconfigured with a list of Archie servers located around the world. Archie is also linked to the NetManage FTP software which makes it easy to download files once you find them.
The NEWTNews application allows you to subscribe to any of the thousands of newsgroups on the Internet. You can read and post articles, post follow-up articles, and check for new article groups.
The first time you start NEWTNews, it may take longer than normal because the application will download a list of newsgroups that you can subscribe to. NetManage provides a newsserver, newtnews.netmanage.com, which is set for automatic connection in your newsreader. The NetManage newsreader allows you to sort messages by date, sender or topic. Once you are using your Internet provider's newsserver, you can post messages to any of the groups or respond via Email to anyone in the group.
The Mail application provides electronic mail (Email) services that allow you to send and receive mail and to retrieve mail from a server. Your Internet provider will supply you with an Email account and a mailbox.
In addition to sending and receiving mail over the Internet, you can use NetManages MIME capability to send attachments (such as spreadsheets or graphics) with your mail. There are also mailing lists you can subscribe to that allow you to participate in discussions or monitor areas of interest. NetManage's Rules feature can sort messages from these mailing lists and automatically put them in folders to be read later.
The Telnet application is software that enables your PC to emulate a virtual terminal so that you can communicate with a wide variety of remote systems (including other computers where you have an account).
The WhoIs application is a directory service that displays information about Internet users. The information includes the user's full name, U.S. mailing address, telephone number, and email address. WhoIs comes preconfigured with the names of various WhoIs servers around the Internet.
The Finger application displays information about each user on a specified host. This information includes the users login name, full name, the time they logged in, as well as the terminal or host from which they logged in. If no user name is specified, Finger displays information on all the users currently logged in to the specified host.
To test out Finger on the Internet, fill in the host field with "geophys.washington.edu" and the user field with "quake", press the finger button and you will get earthquake information.
The Ping application is a diagnostic tool for checking your network connection to a particular system on your network, it is useful for checking to see if you Internet connection is active and working.