Internet: Introduction

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of Examiners in Optometry (IAB)


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Internet: Introduction

What is the Internet?

The Internet is like any other computer network, except on a grand scale. Over 20 million people can hook their computers together and share information. The Internet was started by the US Dept. of Defense to allow logins to remote computers and to exchange information across the country. It was initially paid for with tax dollars. Today, the government, universities, and internet service providers pay an annual fee for membership to Internet. This fee is passed along by each provider in various ways (monthly use fees, free, charges by amount of use)

Another important aspect of the Internet is the lack of a centralized authority. As long as you can afford the connection fee, you are able to share anything you wish with the entire Internet community. This could include the data from your state board of optometry, poetry, a new game, or just about any other service.

All this information at your fingertips is wonderful; however, two things make accessing it difficult. First, not all people think alike. Each service is the result of a particular thought process, and thus you may or may not be able to comprehend the way it works. A corollary to this is the lack of uniformity across the Internet, even among similar types of services. For example, each web resource (library, web page, ftp site) on the Internet may have a unique system and rules for accessing data and other information. Different web resources, may not work like the ones you have used before. Because these services are individually owned and maintained, they are subject to all the whims of these individuals. Information can disappear, move, or change form without notice.

Like the highway system around a city at rush hour, the Internet is subject to traffic slow downs, jams, and crashes. Often, you will be unable to access a service because too many people have already beat you to it. The machine that provides the service may be temporarily unavailable (e.g., it is turned off, the telephone lines is down, etc.). The key to using the Internet is patience -- sooner or later, you will get through, especially if you avoid rush hour.

Why Do I Want to Use the Internet?

Email

The most popular Internet service is also the one most people use first: E_Mail There are a number of way's of accessing email. 1) by telneting to your mail site and running a mail program like Pine/Pico. See Pine/Pico: Introduction 2) by using your web browser (Netscape and/or Explorer to read your email using either POP or IMAP internet protocals. 3) by using a separate mail reader that just reads mail using either POP or IMAP internet protocals, like PC-Pine, Eudora, MicroSoft Exchange etc. Email makes it very easy to communicate with your friends and peers.

Web Browsers

These software packages allow you to access information that is stored on the internet and display it using a graphical user interface (GUI) The two major borwsers are Microsoft's Explorer and Netscape's Navigator.

Lists

Another way to get information from other people on the Internet is to use lists. Lists are groups of people who get together via email to discuss a given topic. The mechanics of a list are simple: to subscribe, you send an email message to a listserver, which is the software that manages lists. The text of the message is usually the following: subscribe "listname" "your name". For example, to subscribe to AMLIT-L, a list that discusses American literature, John Doe would email the following message to the listserver address, which is listserv@umcvmb.bitnet: subscribe amlit-l John Doe

You do not need to include your email address; the listserver automatically takes it from your email header. The listserver will send back a message saying that John Doe is subscribed and giving other information, such as unsubscribing from the list. John will now receive all messages sent to the list. If he wants to respond to a message or post a new message, he will send his email message to the list address, amlit-l@umcvmb.bitnet. For more information on lists and how to subscribe to them, refer to Subscribing to a List.

Newsgroups

There are over 9,000 newsgroups that provide discussions on topics ranging from Taoism to gardening and molecular biology to chinchilla farming. The advantage of newsgroups over lists is that your mailbox doesn't become cluttered with multitudes of messages. Newsgroup messages reside on a news server which stores them for you to access. Using a news reader you can choose the group(s) that you are interested in subscribing to. For more information on reading news, check out the News Readers: Tin.

Other Internet Resources

Need to find out if that book you need is in the campus library? No need to walk to the library. You can check the catalog for almost any university library world-wide while sitting at a computer with Internet access. Many campus information servers provide a wide variety of information on campus events, job openings, class schedules, faculty/staff/student directories, etc. A myriad of servers out there give you access to free software, databases, weather information, and electronic books and journals. At some sites you can order pizza, check out sports schedules, or read the latest White House press release. The Internet is growing so rapidly that there's no telling what you'll find next. That's the exciting part of "surfing the net."

How can I Access the Internet?

The method that you use to access the 'net' depends on whether you are using a machine which is "directly" connected to the Internet or whether you are accessing through a modem at home or work.

If You are Using a Direct Connection (from your office)...

If you're not sure if your office machine is "directly" connected to the internet or not, you may need to ask your computer support person. A directly connected workstation will have appropriate hardware (network card), software, and will be configured with an Internet address (IP address). This IP address is a number that is the computer's exact address on the Internet. With it, information can be routed to and from your workstation properly. If you are using a Mac, look to see if you have NCSA Telnet; on a Windows-based computer you might have Lan WorkPlace. If you have these applications, you are probably setup for Internet use. If you are using a dedicated or "directly" connected workstation you will have the advantage of being able to use some graphical and user-friendly Internet client applications such as Netscape. More about this later.

Dialing In from Home or the Office

Many people like to access their email and other Internet resources from home or an office with a direct internet connection. To do this you must use your state services, if provided, or you may opt for fee-based access through an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Fee-based Access
If you choose to purchase Internet access through an Internet Service Provider (ISP), you will be provided with software (PPP or SLIP) and an IP number which will allow your computer to act like a "direct" Internet connection. This type of connection will allow you to use graphical programs such as Netscape for WWW browsing and PC-Pine or MailDrop for reading your email. For additional information refer to Using PPP Service.

Pros:	Allows you to use graphical programs such as Netscape
		Generally, you'll have more luck getting a connection. .
Cons:	It is not free!  Rates vary among ISPs.

Working in a Client/Server World

When you use a direct connection from campus or a "nearly direct" (read that as PPP/SLIP) connection from home, you can use software stored on your own desktop or hard drive to access Internet services. This desktop software is sometimes called a client (or client software). A client is a program that you can use to request a service from a server. A server is a computer (usually with more memory and physical disk storage space than the one on your desk) that responds to requests and provides the necessary resource. Using client software is usually a preferred method for accessing Internet resources because of the following factors: We'll talk more about clients and servers throughout the rest of this handout.

Internet Terms and Tools

The Dynamic Duo: Telnet and FTP

The two most basic commands for using the Internet are telnet and ftp. These commands allow you to connect to any machine in the world, as long as you know the address of the machine.

Telnet is the command you use to connect or login to a machine and browse through its resources. Different machines allow you to use information servers, search library catalogues around the world, and use a host of other resources. Telnet will not allow you to transfer data, however. The format for telnet is:

telnet machine.address
For example to reach the UNC library information server, you would use a telnet client to login to library.unc.edu (or type this in at the UNIX prompt(%): telnet library.unc.edu).

If you don't have an account on a machine, it may not recognize you. But many machines are designed to accommodate guests and will either have a generic login (e.g., guest) or no login at all. You will probably find that your most common use of telnet may be to login on library servers or possibly login to a server on which you have an account to read your mail.

FTP allows you to login to a server and transfer files -- unlike telnet, you will not be able to browse through files. What you can do, however, is send or receive data from a machine that you FTP to. The ftp syntax is identical to that of telnet: ftp machine.address. You might type: ftp sunsite.unc.edu to transfer files from SunSite at UNC.

Once you have ftped, usually you will be asked to login. If you don't have an account the machines you are connecting to, the Internet-wide standard is to use anonymous as your login name. (Note: this is where the term anonymous ftp originates from.) Once you enter anonymous, you will be asked to enter your email address as your password.

Tools for Surfing the Net -- Internet Browsers

Since the advent of telnet and ftp, newer Internet tools have been developed which make browsing the Internet even easier. Initially, when surfing the net, we did so in a very hierarchical fashion -- by searching through menus and directories to find the files that we wanted. Then folks started using another method for disseminating Internet information -- through use of WWW (World Wide Web). WWW is a method of using active text (hypertext) which when pointed at (or selected) will then link you (just like a spider web) to another site or document which provides more information about that subject. So, unlike menu-driven browsing of past days, WWW is text-driven browsing of the web which is much more interactive in nature. Another nice feature of WWW is that it allows Internet developers to incorporate graphics, sounds, and movies into their Internet documents. There are several browsing applications available -- lynx, Netscape, Explorer, and proprietary browsers from ISP's are commonly used. One nice thing about using a browser such as Netscape is that allows you to use other tools such as telnet and ftp from within the program if they are setup as helper applications. For more information on any of these browsers, please refer to the Web Browsing.

Tools for Searching the Net

As mentioned before, sometimes it is difficult to locate items of interest on the net. There are several programs which can assist you in finding what you need. Some programs such as YAHOO and other resource pages such as The WWW Virtual Library and the Clearinghouse for Subject-Oriented Internet Resource Guides provide you with subject-oriented links to resources on a variety of subject areas. Other tools such as Lycos, Hotbot, AltaVista and Internet Search (to name only a few) allow you to specify what you wish to look for and then search for that string of text in the title and/or the contents of web documents. If you are trying to find someone's email address, there are programs on the net, such as the Four11 White Page Directory and the Yahoo People Search, to assist you in your search. For more information on these search engines or subject-oriented directories, refer to Finding Stuff on the 'Net.

Recap of Internet Tools and Terms

The following is a summary of important Internet tools and software clients for the Macintosh and Windows environments as well as the commands to use if you are using the a host server to issue commands.
Tool Purpose Mac Clients Win 3.1 Clients Win 95/Fee-based Access Clients Free Modem Access
Telnet Login and browse NCSA Telnet Lan WorkPlace: Host Presenter Ewan telnet
FTP Login and transfer files Fetch Lan WorkPlace : Rapid Filer WS-FTP ftp
Email Read/sendelectronic messages MailDrop PC-Pine PC-Pine pine
WWW Browsers Hypertext driven browsing Netscape Netscape Netscape lynx

Other Terms to Remember

Client/Server - the client is a piece of software you can use to request a service from a server. A server is responsible for servicing or responding to your requests.
FAQ - (stands for frequently asked questions) documents found in many locations across the Internet which provide answers to the most prevalent questions asked about Internet tools and services.
FTP - (file transfer protocol) a program used to transfer files from remote servers electronically. Part of the TCP/IP standard suite of protocols.
Hypertext - data in documents which provide active links to other documents through key words or phrases.
IP address - a number address, unique for each machine on the Internet.
Server - A computer that provides access to information and resources.
TCP/IP
- (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) the standard language (or protocol) used on the Internet that allows data to be transferred between two computers.
Telnet - a program used to login to remote servers. Part of the TCP/IP standard suite of protocols.
World-Wide Web (WWW)- a distributed Internet information system based on use of hypertext-based documents.

Internet Addresses

The Internet is a great deal like the real world. Each computer that is hooked up to it can be thought of as a building (residential, commercial, etc.) and thus has its own unique "street" address. An example is email.unc.edu. The different parts of this address give you a lot of information. The ending (also known as the domain), "edu," tells you that the machine is at an educational institution in the US. The next part, "unc," specifies the name of the institution. And "email", tells you that the machine is named email. As long as you know the address of a computer, you can connect to it and use its resources.

Here are a few more conventions for the endings of machine addresses. You will note that instead of having the type of institution as an ending, foreign countries will have a country code:

com  commercial                      org  private organizations
gov  government                       au   Australia
mil  military                         ca   Canada
net  network organizations            uk   United Kingdom
You will also notice that machine addresses look a whole lot like an email address, except that they are not prefaced with a person's name. Here is a typical email address: johndoe@email.unc.edu. As you can see, email addresses are the union of a computer address with the name of a person who "lives" there. Johndoe is a user who has an account on email.unc.edu. These two parts together allow you to do all sorts of neat things. You can email Johndoe, talk to him, and find out information about him.

URLs

Another form of addresses was introduced with the use of the World Wide Web. WWW addresses are called urls (short for uniform resource location). Here's an example of a url which takes you to the IAB's home page -- http://sunsite.unc.edu/iab/iab.html/. Here's the basic breakdown of a url:
service_type://host-name/directory/file.html
where the service_type might be http (hypertext transfer protocol), telnet, ftp, or some other type of service. For more information on web address formats refer to the Web Browsing .

Try It Out...Some Neat Internet Sites

If you're ready to start exploring the Internet, you might use the following examples to try out the various tools/clients.

Telnet Sites

In general you might use telnet to login to a server where you have an account or to login to a library server to browse the archives.
The UNC Libraries On-line Catalog
host: library.unc.edu
login: library
LOCIS: Library of Congress Information System
host: locis.loc.gov
login: none required

FTP Sites

For FTP sites, login in as anonymous, and use your email address as your password. Use the get command to download a file or the put command to upload a file to a server.
Unofficial Internet Booklist. This list is updated twice a month and can help determine the book for you.
host: rtfm.mit.edu
directory: pub/usenet/news.answers/internet-services
filename: book-list
Answers to Commonly Asked New Internet Users Questions. This document not only answers questions, but has a suggested reading list and a glossary of common Internet/networking terms.
host: ds.internic.net
directory: rfc
file: rfc1594

WWW Sites

If you're using Netscape, choose File, Open Location and then type in the address (url) of the site you wish to view. If you're using lynx, at the Unix prompt type lynx http://and_the_rest/of_the_address/.

"Available Internet Documents"

Below are some additional handouts for more information:
Topics Covered: Classes and/or Handouts
General Internet InformationIntroduction to the Internet
Email or Email Clients Email: Pine/Pico
Email for Windows: PC-Pine Intro
WWW BrowsingWeb Browsing
WWW Searching Finding Stuff on the Net
WWW Page Development Web Page Authoring Basics
Web Page Advanced Authoring
Telnet and FTP Windows: Telnet & FTP
Lists and Newsgroups Subscribing to a List
News Readers: Netscape/Explorer
Connecting to the Internet from Home or Work
"fee-based"access
Internet@Home/Work with PPP (for Windows)
WWW Searching Glossary of Internet Terms


The IAB Data Collection thanks the University of North Carolina for provding the basic layout for these web pages. The original document was a web page from the The Office of Information Technology at The University of North Carolina that has been modified/updated for general use. The information contained in these pages is intended to help beginning internet users to use the World Wide Web (WWW). It is written to help IAB members, State Board Members, and others find and use information on the internet. It may be copied for individual or non-profit use. Please send any comments/suggestions to Ernie_Patterson@unc.edu.