Internet 101: Telnet
From FutureNet : .net 1, Dec '94 - Easy Internet Written by Davey Winder
Telnet is a tool that enables you to connect to another computer on the Internet, and then (and this is the clever bit) use it as if you were actually directly connected to that computer. There's no need to get your Y-fronts in a knot either. It's all perfectly kosher, and doesn't mean you can just connect to any Internet-connected device and mess about with it, nor that someone else can delete or modify files on your computer. To use Telnet to access a device you have to actually have access permission, usually in the form of an account at the system concerned. Once you've obtained that, though, it's an extremely useful facility to have under your belt.
Telnet can save you money in long-distance telephone calls, for instance. Despite the fact that I live just south of London, I belong to a commercial system in San Francisco called The WELL. It would cost me a fortune to actually telephone them direct to make my connection, so instead I Telnet via the Internet, which I can access using only a local telephone call. I can still use The WELL as if I was directly connected to it because, to all intents and purposes, I am. The only difference as far as I, the user, am concerned is the fact that it's costing me only a fraction of the cost of a direct call. Not bad. But Telnet isn't only of use if you need to access a commercial system on the other side of the planet...
There are lots of other publicly accessible systems you can access in this way too, ranging from chess servers, which enable you to play a game against an opponent anywhere in the world, through databases containing news and weather reports, dictionaries and NASA information, to Electronic Yellow Pages which (yes!) enable you to look up phone numbers.
Sadly, Telnet is far from fast. This can be the result of heavy traffic on the Net, or simply the nature of the system you're connected to. There's really nothing you can do about it, except disconnect and try again at a less busy time.
Gopher
