🚀 go-pugleaf

---------------------(part 1 of 3)---------------------------------
This file should be called EMAIL025.TXT
Version 0.2.5
17 July 1993

This rough version is missing 8 out of 28 chapters and 1 out of 5 
appendices.

Copyright (c) 1993 by John E. Goodwin.  All Rights Reserved.

You may make and distribute verbatim copies of these course notes for 
non-commercial purposes using any means, provided this copyright notice 
is preserved on all copies.

For information on taking the internetworking course, contact

     John Goodwin (jgoodwin@adcalc.fnal.gov)
     P.O. Box 6022
     St. Charles, IL  60174, U.S.A.


<title> E-MAIL 101

If you like those little machines that give you 24 hour access to your 
bank account, you'll love the Internet.  I suppose there are still 
people who, given a choice, will go to a drive-through teller just so 
they can deal with a "live person" instead of a machine.  But even those 
people will admit that it is nice to have the option of doing things for 
yourself, on your own schedule, anywhere.  Do you remember what it was 
like before automatic tellers?  Banks closed at 3 p.m. on weekdays.  
Each Saturday you had to guess how much money you would need for the 
following week.  If you were wrong you had to cash a check at a food 
store (and maybe buy something you didn't want).  And if you were out of 
town?  Well, there were always credit cards.  

We don't do that anymore.  I think many people go to the automatic 
teller because they like the privacy of handling their own business 
without having to explain it all to someone else.  And we like the 
illusion of having access to our "own" account anytime we want.
There are disadvantages to using an automatic teller card too--you may 
have to pay a fee each month or even for each transaction--and you have 
to remember to deduct those fees from your account balance or you will 
bounce checks.  But I'll bet you feel pretty competent using an 
automatic teller and don't lose much sleep worrying over the fees.  

This course is designed to give you that same sense of freedom and 
competence with the Internet that you have with an automatic teller 
machine or the telephone.  With a home computer, a modem, and 
communications software, you can connect to other computers over the 
phone line to exchange electronic mail (E-mail), trade files, or search 
for information.  Many of those computers are connected to the worldwide 
network called the Internet.  Some few of them will--for a fee--let 
*you* connect to the Internet.  From there you can dial any of 900,000 
or more computers, send E-mail to any of 25 million people, and access 
hundreds of free, informative services.  

In short, you are on the verge of a new method of communicating with 
people and machines called "internetworking."  Internetworking lets you:

  o Avoid playing phone tag;

  o Sign up to receive special interest electronic newsletters and 
journals;

  o Access hundreds of information services and document collections in 
exactly the same way--no need to have hundreds of sets of different 
instructions or hundreds of (expensive) special purpose software 
packages;

  o Find and communicate with other people who share your interests.

Internetworking is an essential skill for the '90s.  Your children will 
find it as common as viewing television or using the telephone.  It 
still has a few rough edges--but we'll explain those.  

There is actually no single network owned by one company called the 
Internet.  Instead, many medium-sized networks have grown together to 
create a "phone system" that connects together nearly a million 
computers.  Many hundreds of these computers allow some form of public 
access.  You can get the latest news or weather, download information 
about Government programs or high-tech products, search on-line library 
catalogues and databases, download free software, and do many other 
things, with little or no monetary investment beyond the cost of your 
home computer.

Using the Internet need not be expensive:  you can get on the Internet 
for as little as $10 a month if you own (1) a home computer, (2) a $50 
modem, and (3) some communications software (under $100).  There are 
more expensive ways to connect to the Internet, of course.  These ways 
make sense for businesses or organizations that make heavy use of the 
network.  But in this course we will discuss methods that cost in the 
$10-$40/month range.  These methods are suitable for exploring the net 
after hours and for casual use.  We will provide some basic information 
about more expensive methods of connecting (Appendix C) so that you can 
make informed decisions if your networking needs should increase in the 
future.

Internetworking well means mastering a whole host of skills--connecting 
two computers together using the Internet is just the beginning.  You 
have to learn methods for transferring information from the remote 
computer to your own.  This is a complex task that may involve using a 
file transfer protocol and compression techniques.  

Because the information world is so vast, your biggest problem will most 
likely not be connecting to the Internet.  It will be finding what you 
want.  Thus, this course covers not only the mechanics of making a 
connection and transferring files, but techniques for locating material 
as well.  And of course you will want to be savvy about the costs of 
different connection methods.  This means estimating whether it will 
cost you more per Megabyte to transfer the information or to have it 
faxed to you by a friendly librarian.

This course is intended for the general public--students, 
businesspersons, librarians, teachers, writers, journalists--in fact 
anyone who needs to find information and communicate with others.  
Whether you are researching a paper, writing an article, or trying to 
get technical information on a product, you will use these techniques 
over and over.

Chapters marked with an asterisk are omitted from this edition.


COURSE CONTENTS

1 : The Past and the Future of Internetworking

2 : What Is the Internet?

3 : How Do I Connect to the Internet?

4 : Who Pays for the Internet?

5 : Internet Basics

6 : Getting on the Internet Step by Step

7 : Programs and Pictures

8 : File Compression Methods for Faster Transfer

9 : What to Do When You Only Have E-mail

10 : Employee Development:  How to Get Your Employees Internetworking


Part II  Special Concerns

11 : Special for Businesses

12 : Special for Students and their Parents

13 : Special for Writers, Journalists, Publishers, and Printers

14 : Special for Elementary and High School Teachers

15 : Special for Librarians

16 : Special for Scholars

17 : Special for Churches, Synagogues, and Mosques


Part III  Research, Organization, and Writing

18 : Research Methods I:  Basic Navigation Methods

*19 : Research Methods II:  Usenet Newsgroups

20 : Research Methods III:  Advanced Techniques

*21 : Organizing Information

*22 : Information Structures

*23 : Boolean Logic

*24 : Writing for an Internetworked World:  Basic Problems

*25 : Writing for an Internetworked World:  Getting Through to your 
Audience


Part IV  Resources

*26 : The Internet Address Book

27 : Bibliography

*28 : Glossary

Appendix A.  Computer Hints for the *Really* Green

Appendix B.  Using a Modem

*Appendix C.  Technical Details of an Internet Connection

Appendix D.  Just Enough UNIX

Appendix E.  The Ten Best Things To Get If You Only Have E-Mail



<Chapter 1>  The Past and Future of Internetworking

There is an old fashioned way to connect with other computers and share 
information and there is a modern way.  It is helpful to compare the two 
methods briefly in order to make contact with methods you may already 
know and to show off the advantages of using the Internet.

The old fashioned (ca. 1980) method of making contact with other 
computers is through a bulletin board service (BBS).  Bulletin board 
services grew up in the late 70s as a method for sharing software, 
talking, playing games, etc. with a personal computer.  They range in 
size from small special interest Bulletin Boards with a local following 
to giant national boards like CompuServe, GEnie, and The Source.  You 
access a bulletin board with a modem and communication software by 
dialing a telephone number.  Of course, if you don't live in the local 
area of the BBS you have to use a long distance carrier.  This may add a 
couple dollars per hour to the connect fee.

The basic services offered by a Bulletin Board and by the Internet are 
similar:

  (1)  Access to a host computer (Internet TELNET command)

  (2)  File transfer capability (Internet FTP command)

  (3)  The ability to contact other BBS members individually (Internet 
E-mail)

  (4)  The ability to post messages for general consumption in any of 
several catagories. (Usenet Newsgroups)

The difference is that whereas each BBS has its own dialup procedure, 
menu interface, file transfer methods, billing policies, and so on, THE 
INTERNET USES ONE METHOD FOR ALL COMPUTERS IN THE WORLD.  The savings in 
terms of the "learning curve" is staggering.  Once you know how to use 
anonymous FTP you know how to get information from *hundreds* of 
providers.  It is like the difference between using the postal service 
or using a special courier for each person you write a letter to.  Once 
you know how to address the envelope and put the stamp on, you can write 
anyone.

The Internet has the added savings that any communications software you 
buy for it works with all providers.  You do not have to buy (or 
customize) special software for each information provider.  Thus you can 
use one familiar graphical user interface ("windows" program) to connect 
with any computer.  The usual situation where you have to buy a special 
"client" program to connect to each kind of "server" is replaced with a 
situation in which you have a single program that any "server" out there 
has to comply with.  This standardization is the main advantage of using 
the Internet.

Bulletin Boards are still around.  In fact, one of the easiest ways to 
connect to the Internet is through a national bulletin board service.  
One disadvantage of this method is that--as of this writing--national 
BBS's like CompuServe offer only E-mail.  You can't FTP or Telnet from 
them.  And they often charge per message for E-mail, so using them can 
be quite expensive.  There are better ways.


<Chapter 2>  What is the Internet?

The best way to think of the Internet is as a communications medium like 
the Telephone, Television, or the Postal Service.  Using the Internet 
you can send a any written text by E-mail.  This is rather like mailing 
a letter and having it arrive in seconds--three days in the most 
backwards parts of the world.  Using a special protocol called File 
Transfer Protocol you can transfer text files that are too long to mail 
(over about 50 pages) or even transfer graphics and programs.  If E-mail 
is the equivalent of "talking" to a person, then Telnet, the third main 
Internet service, is equivalent to telephoning a computer.  As long as 
you know the password for logging on to a computer, you can access and 
search any of nearly a million computers.  Details of E-mail, FTP, and 
Telnet are contained in Chapter 5, Internet Basics.

This chapter puts the Internet into context.  Rather than concentrating 
on the trees that will occupy us in later chapters, it paints a big 
picture of the computing world in which the Internet has evolved.  When 
you pick up a telephone receiver you know you can dial households, 
businesses, or government offices.  You can dial 800 numbers or 411 for 
information.  You know how to get the time or weather, get your credit 
card balance, or leave a message on an answering machine.  In short, you 
have a good idea of what might possibly be at the other end of the line 
and a great deal of experience with negotiating their various 
intricacies.  But you are new to the Internet.  Some sense of "what's 
out there" in this new world is necessary to avoid getting lost in the 
thickets of acronyms, numbers, and procedures developed by different 
vendors.

As we approach the middle of the 90s, the normal working situation in 
offices is approaching something like this:  there is a Local Area 
Network (LAN) connecting together personal computers, workstations, and 
mainframes of different makes.  The LAN (pronounced like "land" without 
the "d") may be connected to other LANs as part of a Wide Area Network 
(WAN).  The WAN may or may not be part of the global network called the 
Internet.  In colleges, universities, and research laboratories it 
likely is part of the Internet; in the commercial world, except for a 
few high-tech companies, it likely is not.  But the difference between 
academia and the commerical world is rapidly becoming blurred.

In addition to the LANs and WANs there are many, many home and office 
computers that *could* be part of the global network using a modem-to-
host connection.  These computers can be the portable computers of 
outside salespersons connecting to the central office to file a report, 
a computer in a home-operated desktop publishing company connecting 
briefly to the Internet to get a graphic for a newsletter, or a parent 
sending E-mail to their child at college.


<Section 2.1>  Getting Over Shell-Shock

Let's face it.  Not many members of the public--even the computer 
literate public-are on the Internet.  There are three reasons that using 
the Internet for the first time can be rather intimidating, even though 
it is actually rather simple to use, when you get down to the nitty-
gritty of internetworking:

  o  Getting on to the Internet can be a little bit complicated;

  o  The capability of logging on to computers you've never used before 
by its very nature means facing unfamiliar--and hence uncomfortable--
situations; and

  o  The world is a very big place.

I like to think of the first problem--getting on to the Internet--by 
remembering what it was like using an "alternative" long distance 
service before the breakup of the Bell monopoly.  People who used the 
alternative carriers had to dial all sorts of access codes--very often a 
local access number, a credit card number, a security code, *and* the 
number of the party they were calling.  They knew that whatever came 
after that was going to be easier.  

That's what getting on the Internet is like.  You may have to dial a 
local access number, get your modem settings right, and type the right 
magic combination of words; but after all that, actually *using* the 
Internet is simple.  We'll talk you through the initial steps--after a 
while (and some frustration) it will be as unconscious as unlocking your 
front door or tuning a television set.

The second problem is a little more substantial.  Using the Internet, 
you can get yourself into situations that are, well, experimental.  
Because the Internet gives you the freedom to "go anywhere" and "do 
anything"--at least if you know the passwords--you can uncover strange 
incompatibilities and unfamiliar systems.  I call this experience "shell 
shock".  At some point you will likely find yourself face to face with a 
computer program that expects you to type a command you don't happen to 
know.  

You can mostly avoid such situations by only trying things about which 
you have good information.  The situation is not much different from 
using a telephone:  if you stick to well-worn paths like dialing local 
numbers or simple long distance calls, you will have little trouble; but 
if you start dialing other countries or special numbers you may be in 
for a surprise or two.

When you do log on to a new (previously unknown) computer, you can 
expect to come face to face with something called a "shell prompt".  
Shell prompts look like this:

     %        (or some other obscure symbol, like a dollar-sign)

or this:

     mail>    (a favourite--means you're in some sort of mail program)

or like this:  

     prez23:  

(means 23rd command since you logged into computer "prez").

A prompt means the other computer expects you to type a command for its 
"shell", or "command interpreter".  The shell is the outer layer that 
you, the user, interact with.  

Two other types of "user interfaces" you might encounter are:

  o  menu systems that give you choice of numbers

  o  "window" systems or graphical user interfaces (GUIs, pronounced 
"gooey").

Menu systems are popular on bulletin board services, and usually present 
no problem to the novice.  Their weakness is that they get cloying after 
about five minutes.  Most menu systems that are designed to be used for 
that length of time or longer have a "command mode", where you get--you 
guessed it--a shell prompt.

Even windowing systems (you know if you have one of these) very often 
give you a window that "emulates a terminal", i.e. that gives you a 
shell prompt inside.  

So, you see, in each of the three common user interfaces--command line, 
menu-driven, or graphical user interface--you will likely encounter, at 
some time in your life, a shell prompt.  Advice on things that will 
likely work to get you started is given here and in Appendix A.  Some 
experience of other kinds of computers, especially computers that use 
the UNIX operating system is useful.  Some tips about using UNIX and 
other operating systems you may not have encountered before is given in 
Appendix D.

If you do get stuck, whether by being experimental or just by accident, 
it is helpful to remember a few points:

  o  You can always disconnect from a remote service by using your 
communications software to "hang up".  

  o  If the computer gives you a strange symbol like a percent sign or a 
dollar sign and just sits and stares at you, you can try "help" or "?" 
to try to find out what the computer expects, or else try "exit", 
"quit", "bye", "logoff", or something similar, to return to where you 
were before.

  o  Many times, when you log on to a system, you will get instructions 
on how to get further help or how to "escape" back to your own system.  
You should remember these or write them down!

  o  As a last resort, exit the communications program (and all other 
active programs) and shut off your computer, turn off your modem, and 
disconnect it from the phone line.  Be sure to do these steps in the 
order prescribed.  It is unwise (though tempting) to simply turn your 
computer off and on, or to pull the plug on your modem with your 
computer running.  

More suggestions for the inexperienced are given in Appendix A.


The final hurdle to using the Internet is that the world, even the world 
of the Internet, is indeed a very large place.  When using the Internet 
you have to decide:

  o  where to go;

  o  what information you want (and where it might be); and

  o  how to get to it (and get it back home intact).

For a system as vast as the Internet, these are hard decisions.  Often, 
the only strategy that works is to explore and try different things.  
This course is designed to get you over the initial hurdles, give you a 
fair grounding in methods that work, and point you in the right 
direction.  The exploration is up to you.  As an initial orientation, we 
describe the "three worlds of the known Internet" in the next section.


<Section 2.2>  The Three Worlds of the Known Internet

The Internet, like ancient Gaul, is divided into three parts.  These 
parts are not so much territories as worlds, each with their own sets of 
assumptions, favorite dialects, and favored equipment.  We may 
conveniently refer to them as the "PC world", the "UNIX world", and the 
"Mainframe world".  Here's a dossier on each of the three worlds:

     World:  Personal Computer (PC)
     Typical Equipment:  IBM PC and clones (85%) , Macintosh (15%)
     Conventional Operating Systems:  MS-DOS, OS/2
     Windowing Systems:  Windows, MacOS
     Typical Size:  PC ($1k to $5k typical; few $100 used)
     Clientele:  Mixed--Business, Home users, just about everybody

     World:  (mostly UNIX) workstation
     Typical Equipment:  Sun Workstation, VAXStations, other vendors
     Conventional Operating Systems:  UNIX (two major dialects), VMS
     Windowing System:  X Windows
     Typical Size:  Workstation ($5k and up)
     Clientele:  Engineering/Scientific users; more and more businesses

     World:  Mainframe or Minicomputer
     Typical Equipment:  IBM (various), Digital Equipment VAXes
     Conventional Operating Systems:  VM, VMS, UNIX
     Windowing Systems:  X Windows, if available
     Typical Size:  Minicomputer or Mainframe ($10k to millions)
     Clientele:  Big Business, Universities, Government

The neat picture of three worlds is distorted somewhat by a tendency for 
each of the worlds to have two (or a few) major options, either in 
choice of equipment, operating system, or vendor.  So, for example, the 
PC world is split into two camps, the MS-DOS people and the Mac people.  
Similarly, the UNIX world is split into the "BSD" workstations and 
"System V" (i.e. "5") workstations.  

The three worlds are reflected somewhat in networking.  The Internet is 
dominated by minicomputers and workstations running UNIX and VMS, with 
an ever increasing influx of PCs running MS-DOS and Macs.  Machines 
running other operating systems often put a "UNIX-like" foot forward, so 
the user can almost believe he or she is dealing with UNIX machines.  
There is a certain sense that the UNIX software is the standard for the 
Internet.  Software tends to appear on UNIX machines first and then be 
"ported" to other machines.  

What makes it possible for all these disparate machines to talk to each 
other is the "Internet Protocol" (known more formally as TCP/IP, for 
Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).  TCP/IP can be thought of 
as a set of rules for two computers to use when they communicate with 
each other, even if they are not from the same vendor.  

We are used to thinking of computer systems as having "software" and 
"hardware", but it is closer to the truth to say that complicated 
systems like the Internet have many levels--in the case of the Internet 
as many as seven--ranging from "very software" to "very hardware".  Each 
level has its own set of rules, called its protocol.  The TCP/IP 
protocol belongs to two of the middle levels.  At the moment, the most 
common protocol for the two most "very hardware" levels is "Ethernet" 
(looks rather like the coaxial cable used for cable TV), while the "very 
software" levels are completely dependent on the vendor.  In fact, it is 
this profusion of levels which lets the Internet work on just about any 
kind of hardware and with software from many different vendors.  

Anyway, the Internet grew up as several medium-sized networks, all 
having diffent "very hardware" and "very software", but using the TCP/IP 
protocol for their middle layers, were connected together.  Two of the 
first, and biggest, nets to adopt the Internet Protocol were ARPAnet--
Internet was first designed for this one--the network for what used to 
be called DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the 
U.S. Department of Defense), and NSFnet, a network connecting 
universities and government laboratories for the U.S. National Science 
Foundation.  These and other large networks form the "backbone" of the 
Internet.  But today there are hundreds of smaller nets hooked on to the 
backbones.

There *are* big networks that don't use TCP/IP.  For example, in the 
context of IBM mainframes at large universities and research 
institutions, BITnet (The "Because It's Time" Network) emerged.  This 
large worldwide network does not use the Internet protocol.  BITnet can 
be reached from the Internet through special translators called 
gateways, but it is definitely a different network.  Occasionally one 
encounters problems that can be traced to this fact.


<Section 2.3>  The Future of the Internet

The future of any technology is difficult to forcast, and I do not 
profess to know what the future holds for the Internet.  Some 
predictions that various forcasters have made for internetworking (and 
telecommunications in general) are:

  o  A proposal for a data "superhighway" called the NREN (National 
Research and Education Network) will pass the U.S. Congress.  This is an 
upgrade for the Internet.

  o  Commercial use of the Internet will become more common and new 
schemes for charging for its use will emerge.

  o  The Internet will be handed by the government over to AT&T and the 
other "telecoms", who will charge so much to access it that the whole 
scheme will collapse.

  o  Optical Fiber will replace Coaxial Cable (Ethernet protocol) as the 
most common standard for LANs.

  o  The Internet will enter the home over ordinary phone lines.

  o  The Internet will enter the home over existing Cable TV coaxial 
cable.

  o  The Internet will enter the home through newly strung optical fiber 
as part of a unified system for Telephony, Cable TV, and the data 
communication, using [insert your favorite protocol here] as a standard.

  o  Personal Computers will replace telephones, answering machines, 
stereos, CD players, and VCRs--maybe even TV!--as a single, universal 
device for home use.  Sounds like a good thing to connect to the NREN.

  o  Computer and telephone technology will become so intertwined that 
it is hard to tell the difference.  One product, already on the market, 
is described as "[a handheld] alphanumeric pager, an XT-compatible 
computer with a backlit screen and PCMCIA Type III slot, a fax/modem, a 
cellular and land-line phone, and a voice recorder"!

You are welcome to believe all or none of these predictions.


<Chapter 3>  How Do I Connect To the Internet?

Connecting to the Internet involves several steps:

  (1) Getting your modem and communications software working together

  (2) Connecting to a provider over the phone lines (or a LAN)

  (3) Using Internet services

For the first step you will have to rely on the manuals that came with 
your modem and software.  Appendix B contains a discussion of some of 
the obscurer terminology associated with modem settings.  You might want 
to read it if your manual is not well written.

Actually, you do not have to know about the second step in great detail.  
Mostly it is a matter of knowing enough to intellegently choose a 
provider.  Each provider will have a specific set of steps--modem 
settings, access numbers, passwords, etc.--that you need to follow in 
order to get from you to the provider.  Don't lose hope!  Once you get 
there you've finished the hardest part.  Chapter 6 contains very 
explicit instructions for connecting to one particular service, DELPHI.  

Step 3 is the subject of the rest of this course--what you can do once 
you're on.  The basics are discussed in the next chapter.


<Section 3.1>  Connection Methods

In theory, there are three ways to connect to the Internet from a 
personal computer or workstation:

  (1) Your PC may have a direct connection.  This means that it is part 
of a Local Area Network (LAN) that is in turn connected to one of the 
component Wide Area Networks of the Internet.  Your computer will have 
its own Internet Protocol (IP) Address.  This type of connection is 
common in offices, especially of high-tech firms, but definitely not for 
home use.

  (2) You may have a connection to a "host" computer that is directly 
connected to the net.  If you can use a modem to connect your home PC to 
the mainframe at the office and the mainframe is on the net, then you 
can get an Internet connection that way.  But what if your office 
doesn't have a mainframe on the net?  You can still subscribe to a 
service that makes a host computer available to the public.  This is 
presently the cheapest and most common method for public access to the 
net.

  (3) There is a connection method in between cases (1) and (2) called a 
Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) connection.  You dial up a special 
host computer--just like case (2)--called a SLIP-server.  The difference 
is that the SLIP server gives you a temporary IP address and talks to 
your computer using the Internet Protocol.  This requires your 
computer's software to speak SLIP.  Your computer thinks it is using 
case (1) even though your actual connection is closer to step 2.  The 
advantage of fooling your terminal into thinking it has a direct 
connection is that it can use all the fancy, free software developed for 
computers with direct connections.  

The software for a SLIP connection is being built into all new 
communications software.  If you just bought or upgraded your software, 
you probably have SLIP capability already.  The catch?  SLIP is too slow 
on a cheap 2400 baud modem.  But if you buy a fast FAX modem it works 
fine.  That's one reason that a $350 FAX modem is a good investment.  It 
is fast enough for SLIP and gives you the ability to send and receive 
FAXes as well.

SLIP technology is still rather new and somewhat experimental, so this 
discussion will focus on the old reliable--method 2.  How do you find a 
service that will give the public access to the Internet?

Depending on where you live, you may have a provider you can call in 
your local area code.  If not, then most of your problem will be finding 
the cheapest way to make a long distance phone call.  This book does not 
have a list of providers, since such a list will get out of date 
rapidly.  Instead, it gives you one cheap way to get on the Internet, 
then gives you instructions on how to find out who the providers are and 
what their rates are.  I would rather teach you how to look out for 
yourself than just give you some outdated advice.  This method also has 
the advantage that one set of instructions works for everybody.  That 
wouldn't be true if I listed 20 or 30 providers.  Instructions are given 
in "Gettin on the Internet Step by Step."


<Section 3.2>  Types of Internet Providers

As I said, most of the problem of getting on the net occurs when you 
live in an area that doesn't have a LOCAL provider.  Basically there are 
three kinds of providers and three ways to get to them:

  (1) Providers of direct connections.  If you are setting up a business 
and need a high volume direct connection for your office Local Area 
Network and can afford several thousand a year at least, you will want 
to consider these high-end providers.  They are not relevant to our 
discussion.  (But see Appendix C for more information).

  (2) There are several regional networks and one national one that 
specialize in low cost PC-to-host or SLIP connections.  Costs range from 
$20-40 a month to $2000 a year, depending on the services you need.  
Performance Systems International (PSI) is a major provider of this kind 
of service.  Other networks offer services similar to PSI, although PSI 
has the most extensive nationwide service at this time.  This service 
can be very competitive with BBS type service (see below) if you are a 
frequent user of the net or need to send more than an occasional E-mail 
message.  It is definitely worth a look.

  (3) Many computer bulletin board services offer E-mail or even 
Internet connections for around $10-20 per month.  Be very careful to 
check out the connection charges.  If you are not careful you could be 
charged for using the bulletin board (per hour), using the Internet, the 
long-distance connection, a surcharge for daytime use, and a per message 
charge for E-mail!  One of the purposes of this book is to explain the 
minefield of charges so you don't get burned.  The service recommended 
bundles all the charges up front so there are no surprises.

Generally speaking, connecting to the Internet through a BBS is the best 
method for the explorer.  Once you've determined that you need the 
Internet on a regular basis, one of the regional networks or PSI is 
probably the most economical route.

Unless you are fortunate enough to live in an area where an Internet 
provider is a local call away, you will have to contend with long 
distance charges.  Actually, these can be as low as $2 an hour and are 
sometimes bundled in with the network connection charge.  


<Section 3.3>  Finding the Cheapest Long Distance Method

There are three basic methods of paying for long distance:

  (1)  You just pay for a call to another area code.  This is very 
expensive and not recommended.

  (2)  You use a provider with a toll free (800) number and pay for the 
call in a higher connect charge.  This is also very expensive.

  (3)  You use a Public Data Network after hours and pay around $2 an 
hour (may be included).

Actually, the last method is the only workable one.  There are a number 
of PDN's.

  CompuServe has a data network.  You do not have to join CompuServe to 
use it.

  PSI has its own data network with many points of presence around the 
US and abroad.  These are divided into Class A and Class B, depending on 
the level of service provided.

  Tymenet and SprintNet are two other public data networks.  You may 
have heard of the SprintNet service PC Pursuit.  For a monthly fee this 
gives you many BBS nationwide as well as any computer that can be 
reached by SprintNet.

In general, for a first experiment we recommend the DELPHI BBS and 
SprintNet.  DELPHI includes the SprintNet surcharge in its $13/month 
bill (after hours use only--daytime is expensive everywhere).  At this 
writing you get 5 free hours the first month and 4 hours per month after 
that.  Additional hours are $4 each.  There is also a 20 hours for $20 
plan.  Additional hours are $2 each with this plan.  Detailed 
instructions on how to sign up are given in "Connecting to the Internet 
Step by Step."


<Chapter 4>  Who Pays for the Internet?

All this talk of cost may be making you edgy.  Eventually, everyone 
using the Internet must face the fear--if I am calling up a computer in 
Switzerland won't I be billed for the call?  The marvelous thing about 
the Internet is that although there is plenty of expense involved in 
getting on it, there is no additional expense associated with what you 
do after you are connected.  THE WHOLE WORLD IS ON LOCAL.  Thus, you may 
have to pay for a $2 an hour call to Massachussetts, for your PC, your 
modem and software, and a connect fee to your internet provider.  But 
you DO NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR EACH AND EVERY INTERNET CALL.  

Since most people find it hard to believe that you can send mail 
anywhere in the world or dial up a computer on the other side of the 
globe without paying a special charge, I will spend some time explaining 
who does pay for the Internet and how those costs are reflected back to 
the user.  One way or another you do pay for network usage, but these 
payments are not in the form of a direct billing for each call.

First, you already know that there is no Internet, Inc. that monitors 
all the calls and bill customers.  Instead there are hundreds of smaller 
networks that act as relays.  Those networks *could* charge their 
customers for each call, based on how much time it takes and where it 
goes, but since no one is charging them, they have no real incentive to 
pass on costs.  Instead they charge a flat fee--usually based on connect 
time, but for a 24 hour connection just a flat yearly fee.  

Now network traffic does use up resources.  Basically, the Internet 
works like a potluck supper.  Everyone with a direct connection allows 
some of their system resources to be used by messages that are just 
"passing through".  They allow this because other systems allow them the 
same privilege.  Thus, it is in everyone's interest to allow some of 
their resources to be consumed by other persons' messages, because 
everyone comes out ahead.

So, sites with direct connections pay real costs in terms of lost 
computing cycles, extra cabling, fancier equipment, and lost disk space.  
These costs are passed on to their customers or shouldered by government 
subsidy.  But there are no direct charges associated with using the 
system.  

In the early days of the Internet, Government subsidy of the backbone 
networks was crucial.  The backbone was built with government funds and 
it was government funds that paid for the extra equipment needed by the 
universities and laboratories that carried more traffic than they 
generated.  With the development of commercial nets alternatives to the 
Government-sponsored backbone arose.  The Government subsidy is still 
important, but becomming less so every year.

So, the short answer is that you pay for the network.  You either pay 
your provider a flat fee or you pay as a taxpayer for Government 
subsidized network resources.  Most of the cost you actually see will be 
in your own equipment, the cost of placing a phone call, and whatever 
your provider charges you.



<Chapter 5>  Internet Basics

We've talked a lot about the Internet, but how do you actually use it?  
There are three basic skills on which all Internet use is based:  

  Electronic Mail (E-mail)

  File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

  Telnet

All three commands rely on the Internet addressing scheme.  An Internet 
"telephone number" of another computer is its Internet Protocol (IP) 
address, a number that looks like this:

     225.225.12.38

This form, called "dotted decimal," is still required by some computers.  
But, to make IP addresses easier for humans, this telephone number has 
another form which is easier to remember:

     hoople.usnd.edu

This means that computer ("node") named "hoople" is located at the 
University of Southern North Dakota.  The last component, ".edu", means 
that the institution is in the educational domain.  .  Other domain 
names look like this:

  .edu : educational institutions

  .gov : government (research laboratories and 

  .com : commercial businesses

  .org : nonprofit organizations

  .mil : military installations

In addition to these domain names, there are many two-letter country 
codes, e.g.

  .ca  : Canada

  .jp  : Japan

  .uk  : United Kingdom

  .us  : United States

and many more.

To send electronic mail to someone over the Internet, all you need to 
know is their "username", or "handle".  This is followed by an at-sign, 
the node name, and any domain names.  Thus

     joe@locoweed.chi.il.us

donotes a private citizen in Chicago, Illinois, in the U.S.  Joe's 
computer is called "locoweed".  

As another (real) example,

     president@whitehouse.gov

is the E-mail address of the U.S. President.

In the examples that follow we will give details for a typical 
character-oriented computer.  Windowing systems with menus, dialog 
boxes, and so on will hide many of these details, but they are happening 
behind the scenes.  Also, once you are connected, you may be faced with 
an old-fashioned command-line system.


<Section 5.1>  Electronic Mail (E-mail)

The details of using the mail system depend on your system, but 
basically it looks like this:

     % mail   <enter the mail program with the MAIL command, or 
whatever>

     Welcome to Mail, Version 99.3 . . .

     mail>  send

     To:  president@whitehouse.gov
     Cc:  vice.president@whitehouse.gov  <or return if you don't want a 
carbon sent to anyone>
     Subj:  I'm on Internet

     Type your message.  Control-Z to exit

     Bill--

     I just got my Internet connection today.  My address is  
     pdq@hoople.usnd.edu.

     Give my best to Al,

       PDQ

     <type control-Z or do whatever your system needs to signal an end 
of the message>

     %   <your system is now ready for your next command>


<Section 5.2>  Telnet

In addition to using an Internet address to send E-mail, you can use it 
to call a computer.  This is rather like dialing up a computer with a 
modem, except that the local computer (the one you called with *your* 
modem) is calling up the remote computer:

     your PC or Mac  -->  "local computer"  -->  "remote computer"

The example assumes that "home>" is the shell prompt given by your local 
computer and that "%" is the prompt given by the remote computer (see 
Section 2.2 on "shell prompts").  So remember, you don't type them.

     home> telnet hoople.usnd.edu   <type this on your "home" computer>

     Welcome to node HOOPLE.  Now running Opus 2.0

     username: pdq
     password: <type your password here>

     Last login 23:14:55 15-JUN-1752
     You have mail.

     %  <now type whatever commands you like until . . . >

     % logoff <or bye or quit or exit or whatever>

     Session with hoople.usnd.gov terminated at 21:19.

     home>  <now continue issuing commands on your home computer>

This method of connecting to another computer is called "telnetting".  
In effect, you have used the local computer to telephone the remote 
computer.  You can now do anything on the remote computer (with certain 
restrictions) you could do if you were "actually" logged on.

  SPECIAL PROBLEMS WITH TELNETTING

Sometimes telnetting will put you into a menu-type program or even a 
"screen oriented" program.  A special problem here is getting the other 
computer to recognize what type of screen you have.  Since most 
communications software "emulates a terminal", this amounts to telling 
the other system what type of terminal your communications system is 
emulating.

E.g., on a UNIX system you might type:

     % set term vt100

to tell the other system that your communications software thinks it is 
a VT100 terminal (a very common choice for emulation programs).

If you don't get this exactly right, your telnet session will "sort of 
work".  It's probably not worth spending a lot of time on this problem 
for a brief contact with the other computer.  If you are going to work 
on the remote computer every day, however, you will want to get it 
right.  Most "flaky" behavior can be traced to this problem.


<Section 5.3>  File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

It is easy to transfer files over the Internet using a special protocol 
called FTP.  FTP takes the place of programs like XModem or Kermit that 
may be familiar to you if you use a bulletin board service.  Now, you 
might ask, if FTP transfers a file, what is the differnce between 
sending E-mail and FTP; why prefer one over the other?  

First of all, FTP avoids certain restrictions on the type of file sent; 
in particular, you can send binary (non-text) files like programs and 
pictures; and you are not restricted to any particular length, as is 
often the case with mail programs.  

Not only that, with FTP you can "browse" a directory of files before 
choosing one.  You can move up and down the directory hierarchy and list 
files, looking for the one you want.

Finally, FTP lets you get places that you may not have an account (or a 
friend to send you mail).  The method for doing this, called "anonymous 
FTP", is described in the next section.  There are several hundred 
"anonymous FTP sites" worldwide, with large collections of programs, 
textfiles, and graphics.  Anonymous FTP is the Internet equivalent of 
publishing--a very important topic indeed.


<Section 5.4>  Anonymous FTP


Further facility with Anon. FTP requires a little knowledge of the UNIX 
operating system.  See Appendix D for an introduction.



<Chapter 6>  Getting on the Internet Step by Step

This course takes a different approach to .  Rather than 

In particular, you should contact the following for information.  


STEP 1.  SIGN UP WITH A PROVIDER (example DELPHI)

To get on the Internet you need:  

  1.  a home computer, 

  2.  a 1200 or 2400 baud modem that understands AT commands ("Hayes 
Command Set Compatible"), 

  3.  communications software, and 

  4.  a credit card.

This example assumes that you are signing up with the bulletin board 
service DELPHI.  DELPHI has no commercial relationship with the author.  
It was chosen for an example because its rates are typical of the low 
end of the market, it offers nationwide service, it includes afterhours 
access by SprintNet in its basic fee, and because at this time it offers 
5 free hours of Internet access to new subscribers.

You should definitely consider other providers.  You can get information 
about other providers once you're on the Internet.  In fact, that will 
be one of your first steps below.

  1.  Set your modem to 2400 (or 1200) baud, 8 bits, NO parity, 1 stop 
bit, full duplex, local echo and auto linefeeds off, XON/XOFF on, VT100 
emulation.  (see the manual for your modem, the manual for your 
communications software, and Appendix A if you need help)  

Don't worry if some of the options are missing.  Usually, for example, 
full duplex implies local echo off and vice versa, so your software may 
not list these as separate options.  

  2.  Use your communications software to issue (or type directly to 
your modem) the command ATDT 1 800 365 4656.  If you have a pulse-dial 
phone your will use ATDP instead of ATDT.  

  3.  DELPHI will give you explicit instructions, but for reference they 
will look like this:

    A.  Make sure it is after 6 or 7 p.m. or on a weekend--unless you 
want a $9 surcharge for daytime access.

    B.  Dial your local SprintNet access number (local call!):  ATDT 123 
4567.

    C.  After "CONNECT 2400", type @D ("D" must be capital)

    D.  After "terminal=" type <CR>, i.e. carriage return.

    E.  At the @-sign type 

        @C DELPHI

    F.  After Username: type

        Username:  YOURNAME
        Password:  OPENSESAME

Type your own username and password of course.


  4.  If at anytime you forget your Sprintnet access number, or if you 
are out of town, you can look up SprintNet numbers as follows.

STEP 2.  Your First E-mail
    Get PDIAL, NIXPUB, INTERNET RESOURCE GUIDE, Info on PSI
    Info on LISTSERV and signing up for E-mail 

STEP 3.  Your First Anonyomous FTP

    Get surfing the internet

STEP 4.  Your First Telnet

    Getting Public Access UNIX and reading Usenet news


STEP 5.  First E-mail
    Getting Information on PSI
    Getting Information on LISTSERV

You can do many, many things with the Internet.  The information you 
have retrieved, especially the Internet Guides, will give you other 
ideas.  We will go over some of the retrieval methods in Part III of 
this course.  For now, you should experiment and explore, using the 
information you have as a starting point.  The experience you gain will 
be useful when we come to the more systematic study of Internet research 
methods later.



<Chapter 7>  Programs and Pictures

Evenually, as you gain experience finding and transfering information, 
you will want to try you hand at transferring binary files containing 
pictures or free software from one of the large FTP archives like

  wustl.edu 

  sumex-aim.stanford.edu (Macintosh software)

  simtel-20.mil (IBM and compatible software)

In fact, some of the first software you will want to get is software for 
compressing and uncompressing files (see next Chapter), processing 
graphics ("image files"), and perhaps some games.

First, what is a binary file?  A binary file is one that you can't read.  
Unlike text, which consists of groups of eight bit code letters 
representing "a", "b", and so on, binary files have bits that are meant 
to be read only by programs.  You cannot "look" at them by typing them 
out or with a word processor--unless the word processor understands the 
format of the file.  Expensive word processing programs--including the 
most popular ones like Word Perfect and Microsoft Word--are increasingly 
able to read a large variety of binary files.  

Frequently encountered binary files include:

  1.  Files that use proprietary formats, such as word-processing 
programs, spreadsheets, database programs, etc.  These files contain 
formatting (like italics, underlines, etc.) and perhaps graphics, and 
other goodies beyond the simple text.  

  2.  "Application Programs".  These are programs written in (the 
binary) machine language that your computer understands.  They are 
"compiled" from text files of "source code" written in a programming 
language.  Vendors almost never make their source code available--except 
for free software, which you may have to compile yourself.

  3.  Text files that have been compressed to about half their size with 
one of the popular compression programs.  Compression makes texts files 
binary.  Compression doesn't do much for files that are already binary 
unless the data they contain is very repetitive.

  4.  Files containing graphics like GIF, TIFF, PICT, or JPEG files.  
More on this below.

Transfering binary files is as easy as transfering text files once you 
understand the potential problems:

  1.  Most FTP programs start you out in TEXT mode.  This means that 
text files are *translated* when they go from computer to computer on 
their way to you.  This is fatal to binary files because their bit 
pattern has nothing to do with the groups of eight bits that make up 
text.  

  2.  Even text files have slight compatibility problems because the 
three "worlds"--IBM, Macintosh, and UNIX--use a different control 
character to represent "return", "enter", or "newline."  Translation 
between the different dialects is handled automatically in TEXT mode 
transfers.  It is also the main reason why text files cannot be 
transfered in BINARY mode.  

The two control characters involved are called "linefeed" (LF) and 
"carriage return" (CR):  

     IBM PC and compatibles : <LF> <CR>

     Macintosh and VAX : <CR>

     UNIX : <LF>

  3.  As mentioned above, text files are often compressed to save space.  
This means that you need a program to uncompress them before you read 
them--and that you have to transfer them in BINARY mode.

The most common compression programs and common file extensions are:

     IBM PC and compatibles : PKZIP and PKUNZIP (.ZIP)

     Macintosh : Stuffit and UnStuffit archives (.sit)

     UNIX : compress and uncompress (.Z) and tape archive (.tar) with 
both together being most common (.tar.Z or .taz).  Note capital "Z".

UNIX also has the gzip/gunzip command pair.  gzip files usually have the 
extension ".z" (*small* z) or ".tgz" if they are also tape archive 
files.

Fortunately you can usually find free software for you computer that 
will uncompress formats from other computer models.  For current 
information on compression software, see the FAQ for the newsgroup 
comp.compression (ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/xxx).

  4.  Conversely, sometimes binary files are converted to a sort of 
ASCII that looks like gibberish so that they can be mailed or 
transferred in TEXT mode--but again you need a program that translates 
them back to binary.  Sometimes we encounter the ultimate absurdity, a 
text file that is compressed then re-encoded as ASCII for mailing.  
Actually this makes sense if a large number of related text files are 
stored in a compressed "archive".  

The most common programs for this are:

     uuencode/uudecode for UNIX (used for Usenet news postings of binary 
files and for mailing programs)  The file extension (rarely encountered 
because there is little reason to store files in this format) is ".uue".

     BinHex for the Macintosh (.hqx)  Often combined with Stuffit 
(.sit.hqx).  This is a common method for distributing all the files that 
come with a program as a single file.

uuencoded files can be recognized by the fact that every line begins 
with a capital "M" and is exactly the same length.  The file starts with 
the word "begin" and ends with "end"  The translating program needs 
these words, but nothing above or below them.  Often a uuencoded file is 
split into several parts for transmission and must be reassembled (and 
stripped of mail headers, etc.) in a word processing program before it 
is decoded.  If you do this be sure to save the resulting file as a text 
file and not in the proprietary format of the word processing program!


<Section 7.2>  What To Do With Graphics

The second topic of this chapter is graphic images.  Graphics are very 
important for Desktop Publishers--writers of newsletters, businesses 
that prepare their own brochures, and small printshops.  Pictures can be 
stored in separate files or, in some cases, embedded in other formats 
such as the proprietary format of Microsoft Word files.  Picture files 
take up a large amount of space--especially big pictures at high 
resolution.  1 Megabyte is a typical size for a smallish picture at 
moderate resolution.  Thus, one picture is worth about 500 pages of 
text!

The lifecycle of a typical graphic goes something like this:

  STEP 1.  Capturing (scanning) of photograph with optical scanner or 
with a special "video" camera

The better sort of optical scanner looks like a small xerox machine.  
There are also cheaper hand-held models.  Flatbed scanners cost in the 
$1000+ range so you are not likely to have one unless you are in the 
business.  Most likely, the casual user will get a graphic from someone 
else, from a collection of "clip art", or create the graphic from 
scratch in a drawing program.  

  STEP 2.  Storage in a file using an interchange format

However the image is obtained, it has to be stored on disk before it can 
be used.  There are perhaps twenty or so common formats, but those found 
most often on the Internet and in the Usenet newsgroups are:

     GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) a rather old-fashioned but very 
commonly found type of graphics file.  Almost any software can read this 
format.  This is the most common format on Anonymous FTP archives.

     TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)  Technically more versatile than 
GIF and just about as common.  A very good choice for exchanging files 
between different programs.

     JPEG () A special compressed image format that is becoming common 
in newer software.  

     EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)  Not really a graphics file per say, 
but a set of instructions for drawing an image.  The success of the 
Postscript page description language for Laser printers has led to a new 
stategy for including graphics in word processing files.  Many high end 
word processing programs like Microsoft Word allow you to include a 
reference to an external Postscript file containing the figure.

Desktop publishing and high-end word processing programs can often save 
and import graphics in any of these formats, especially TIFF and EPS.

In addition, you may find files in proprietary formats like Macintosh 
PICT files.  These formats serve as standards for their line of 
computers but not across different brands.  Fortunately you can find 
free software that will convert TIFF to PICT or _vice versa_.

  STEP 3.  Transmission to point of use

Suppose you have a graphics file or a word processing file containing 
your brochure.  How do you send that file to someone?

If you work in an academic environment, it is quite possible that one or 
the other institutions is an Anonymous FTP site.  You may be able to use 
the Anon. FTP site as a "mailbox" to transfer the file in binary mode--
or you could exchange passwords and transfer the file directly, if both 
have a direct connection to the Internet.

More commonly, you will have to send the file by E-mail.  Say you've 
just finished a brochure and you want to send it cross-country.  Let's 
suppose that your business has two branches--one in New York and one in 
Los Angeles, and that both offices have Macintoshes with Microsoft Word 
and that you both have one of the free "Usenet software kits" for the 
Macintosh (not necessarily the same one).  Then, you proceed as follows:

  A.  Using UUENCODE (or BINHEX, if you like) you convert the Microsoft 
Word file to a coded text file.

  B.  If your mail has a size limit, you may have to break up the file 
and send it in parts.

  C.  At the receiving end, reassemble the file and strip any headers 
and trailers added by the mail system.  The file should look like

     begin  <very first line>
     M  
     M  
     M  


     M  
     end  <very last line>

and be saved as a TEXT file.

  D.  Run UUDECODE (or BINHEX) and recover the binary file.

  E.  Run Microsoft Word, open the binary (MS Word!) file and print.

There may be one slight glitch.  Macintosh files have two parts, a 
"resource" part and a "data" part.  The resource part contains such 
information as the name of the application to run when you click on the 
file and how to draw the cute little icon pictures.  Some of the simpler 
programs do not encode the resource part so you may get a generic 
document that you can't open by clicking on it (the infamous 
"application busy or missing" message).  That's OK.  Open it from 
*within* Word and then save it as a Word document.  It should recover 
the missing parts.  And get smarter software.

Certainly this procedure is complicated--and you might want to do a dry 
run before you try beating a 5 o'clock deadline--but the capability of 
transfering a computer file cross-country in seconds can be crucial to a 
business.  The fact that it can be done with free software and a casual 
$10/month E-mail connection is astounding.  Play around and learn to do 
this.  In the future, printers may commonly accept submissions by E-mail 
or by direct transfer over telephone lines.  Imagine not having to 
figure out how to keep your camera-ready copy dry on a rainy day or 
having to rush across town minutes before your deadline!

  STEP 4.  Image enhancing and/or color separation

One of the great advantages of having a graphic in a computer file is 
that you can use free software (or shareware) to play around with the 
image.  Cropping, rotating, streching, zooming, and so on are all 
common.  In addition, you can convert color to black and white or 
greyscale, enhance the image, make halftones or color separations, and 
even play with the spatial frequency spectrum if you want.  (Color 
separations are the four images needed by printers--separate ones for 
Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, and Black ink).  

  STEP 5.  Importing or embedding in a word processing or desktop 
publishing program

Once you are happy with the picture you import it as a graphic into your 
DTP or word processing program.  If your program reads the format the 
picture is in, this is easy.  If not, you will need to get free software 
that converts from the format you have to the one you need.  This 
process is very experimental.  I've found that I have better results 
converting from an obscure format to a standard and common format like 
GIF or TIFF before converting to a proprietary target format.  This is 
even true if the software says it reads the obscure format directly.  

  STEP 6.  Printing on a laser printer or other equipment

If a graphic is not solely intended for display on a (color) monitor, 
like a slide presentation, it must be printed out.  And there it is.  
Your picture in print.



<Chapter 8>  What to Do When You Only Have E-mail

The very first thing to do is to get information on getting a better 
Internet connection!  But barring that, there are many reasons that you 
might need to know workarounds that only require E-mail:  you might be 
stuck somewhere (like work) where there is no Internet access, or you 
could be borrowing access from a friend.  Since Internetworking is about 
communicating with others, in many ways this is the most important 
chapter in this course.

First we consider methods for 


<Section 8.1>  FTP by Mail Servers


<Section 8.2>  Archie by Mail


<Section 8.3>  Mailservers and Fileservers


<Section 8.4>  Mailing lists and how to find them


<Section 8.5>  E-mail to FAX

Fax is not a useful as E-mail, except in regard to one thing.  


<Section 8.6>  The Top Ten Fun Things to Get by E-mail List

Now that you know the techniques, try getting some of the things on the 
"Top 10" list, in Appendix E.


<Chapter 9>  Employee Development:  How to Get Your Employees 
Internetworking

This short Chapter contains a little advice on how to learn about the 
Internet.  It should be clear from the preceding Chapters that learning 
how to use the Internet is a survival skill for many businesses.  
Effective use of the electronic medium 

  o  Saves employee time--time lost in phone tag, lost messages, and 
they three day time delay of surface mail.

  o  Avoids circuitous means of transfering data like printing a 
document, faxing it, and then rekeyboarding the data at the receiving 
end

  o  Allows businesses and individuals to self-publish, and distribute 
their work efficiently, whether or not the text or the graphical 
appearance is primary.

  o  Provides access to information, allows communication and 
distribution of documents in a single, uniform fashion.

It should also be clear that Internetworking is not yet a smooth, easily 
learned process.  It requires knowledge and skills that are not 
presently taught anywhere except on the Internet itself.  

The next section discusses specific needs of different segments of 
people.  The final section contains a fairly systematic exposition of 
the methods and skills needed to Internetwork effectively.  But far from 
representing these sections as the last word on the subject, I would 
like to stress that the only way to learn Internetworking is through 
undirected exploration of the Internet.  

This means you have to let your employees play, at least on their own 
time:  play with programs, play with Anonymous FTP, and play with Usenet 
news.  None of these activities are directly productive, but the playing 
pays off when you need a new program and someone in your office can

     o  pick the right Usenet newsgroup and retrieve its FAQ

     o  read the FAQ and learn about free software that will solve your 
problem and where to find the latest version

     o  connect to the software archive and (correctly) transfer the 
program--even though the intervening machine is of the "wrong" make.

     o  properly decompress and install the software.

When all this is done competently, in less than half an hour, you will 
have attained the goal of employee development.

A final caveat:  *don't neglect Usenet news.*  Usenet news is the most 
difficult of the "Internet basic services" to get because it is not 
really an Internet service.  It is commonly found on Internet computers 
and commonly transmitted over the Internet, but it does not fit into the 
E-mail-FTP-telnet scheme of things.  If your Internet provider does not 
provide the news, you may have to ferret it out by (1) getting an 
account on a public access UNIX system and (2) learning to use UNIX.  
Command-line UNIX is no easier than command-line MS-DOS, but it is worth 
learning how to get on a UNIX system for the "rn" (readnews) command 
alone.  All you need to know to get that far (and more) is contained in 
Appendix D.

Any guide like this will soon be dated in terms of information sources, 
techniques, and software.  But Usenet is up to the minute.  There, 
hidden among the many diversions of alt., talk., and soc. hierarchies, 
is the latest information on the computing environment of modern 
Internetworking.  In the opinion of this author, learning to use a 
newsreader and reading the network news regularly is the *single most 
important Internetworking skill*.  The Usenet newsgroups are Dewey 
Decimal System of the the true world library.  Information can be found 
in plenty elsewhere, but guides to information are rare and priceless--
and the Usenet news is the guide to the Internet.
----------------------(end of part 1 of 3)----------------------------