Where do we start?
Let us begin with a simplified look at the Internet.
The Internet is a world-wide network of linked computer systems which can be looked at by people with suitably set up computers and accounts with companies who provide access to the network called Internet Service Providers (ISPs). As a user you would use a modem and computer to call the local access number for your ISP and connect, paying the cost of the telephone call on top of subscription fee.
The computers used by us as subscribers are most commonly IBM compatible PCs with software applications, which talk the same language as these linked computer systems and send/receive data to them.
Microsoft produces a selection of Internet software, and for the purposes of this article I will assume Outlook & Internet Explorer are the programs being used (because these are the ones I am most familiar with).
The World Wide Web
The most used service on the Internet is the World Wide Web (WWW) which is the pretty pages most often seen on TV when the Internet is discussed. These pages are viewed with a piece of software called a 'browser' of which Internet Explorer from Microsoft is an example. The pages themselves are just like word processor documents with instructions in them to tell the browser how to display them. 'Net-heads' like me call this looking at these pages 'surfing the net'.
The format of these documents is called HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML) and can be quickly learned by anyone who can use a word processor. We will return to this in future articles (if you, the reader want them) when I look at creating your own Internet sites.
NB: When looking at a web page consider who created it when examining the information it contains - there is no central control for the content of these pages and their creators have a virtually free hand as to the content and arguments presented on them.
Next comes email, a low cost way to send messages to other connected people. The software used here is called an 'email client' of which Outlook Express from Microsoft (again) is an example.
This type of software allows the creation of messages which it stores in an electronic out-tray, like the letter rack many of us have by the door for outgoing letters (mostly bills in my case). It sends them when you connect to the Internet, as well as picking up any that have been sent to you and placing them in the in-tray. You can then disconnect from the Internet and read/reply to them without running up a phone bill, then call in again to send your replies.
Other services are available but they are not needed at this early stage so I will not cover them unless the need arises.
What do you need? & What Does It Cost?
To get on to the Internet ('connected' or 'on-line') you will require some specific types of equipment. You will need a computer, a modem and communications software. If you have a PC running Windows95 you have the computer and 2/3rds of the software already. If you have a modem as well you're nearly there.
Additionally you will require an account/contract with a company who will provide a connection point to the Internet you can connect to. If, like me, you are lucky this may be via a company network. Indeed if you connect this way the company computer staff will probably set it all up as well. The downer is that they may restrict the parts of the WWW you can see and may check up on email content.
The more common (and less restrictive) option is to open and fund your own individual account with a specialist Internet Service Provider or ISP. The costs vary. The choice will depend, primarily upon the amount of time you wish to spend 'on-line' and whether you want the ISP to package the information for you or go roaming your own way. I recommend a magazine called 'Internet Magazine', sold at most newsagents, as a good way to see the range of ISPs and their costings.
For the novices amongst you who would like to duplicate the methods, which work for me, I will explain my set up below:
· An account with Nildram Ltd, which costs £17.63 per quarter for 10 hours time connected per calendar month and 5Mb (=5 floppy disks) of space for my own WWW pages.
· PC, Windows95 and the software provided by Nildram, a version of Outlook and Internet Explorer, which automatically installs from the CD-ROM they sent when I joined.
I used to subscribe to Demon Internet, another ISP, which cost £11.75 + calls per month for unlimited time connected. Since I tend to log on to collect and send mail during the week and for longer 'surfing' sessions at weekends only I was only on line for 3-5 hours a month and Nildram's costs at half of Demon's worked out cheaper for me. The ISP number can be one of your Friends and Family numbers if you are with BT saving 10% more.
Anyone who wishes to join Nildram contact me as they have a free month for new members introduced via current subscribers (and yes they give the introducing member a free month too), which will give you your first 4 months for £17.63 saving even more money!
There are some 100 ISPs in the UK each with their own pricing and levels of service. I recommend those wanting to go on line to think about the main use they are going to be making of the Internet and chose an ISP scheme which best matches their needs. I am, of course, happy to advise any of you who ask. So, those of you with questions related to the above, please feel free to contact me.
In the previous issue we looked at the main components of the Internet and what they can be used for. In this section we will concentrate on email.
Email, or electronic mail, is the process of sending electronic messages to other people over the Internet.
Like the postal service, email allows users to send a variety of things across the network. Simple typed messages are the equivalent of letters, computer files such as word processing documents are like parcels.
When using email, the network does not need to know what is in the message, the process allows for each type to be 'packed', 'addressed' and sent in the same way. The recipient is left with the task of interpreting the information in the correct way.
So, how do we send email? When you have established an Internet connection, your ISP will give you access to a number of computer servers. These are special programs or computers specifically tasked with providing the ISP customers with Internet services. One will be concerned with providing an email service and is referred to, strangely enough, as a "mail server".
Client Server Explanation
On your own computer, you will need a program called an "email client". Windows 95 comes with Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft are making Outlook Express readily available via magazines and the their Internet web site. These are just two of the many such programs which are available. There are many other email client programs, costs and features vary, but they all send and receive email.
Your email client will usually include an address book and editor and will require setting up to access the mail server on your ISP. Whichever software you are using the mail server will usually be a POP3 for incoming mail and an SMTP for outgoing.
POP3 is Post Office Protocol 3, used to transfer messages between servers. SMTP, Serial Message Transfer Protocol, is a client to server transfer process. Both of these form part of the TCP/IP protocol family used to access the Internet.
Your ISP will tell you the server details when you sign up and it will be a matter of filling in the appropriate dialogue configuration boxes with their names. The defaults are often POP3 and SMTP. So when configuring your software and not having been given any additional information try 'pop3.(ISP name here).co.uk' for incoming mail server address and 'smtp.(ISP name here).co.uk' for the outgoing server address.
Once you have entered you server addresses, the software will ask additional questions about your account or connection. These will differ depending upon your software. Usually they will ask if you wish to connect when the software is started ( sometimes you may wish to prepare mail without connecting or 'off line' and send it in bunches when you have finished writing) and whether or not to stay connected when all mail has been sent and received ( I advise selecting disconnect when finished to stop unnecessarily high telephone bills ). There may be additional options too. Use the technical helplines for your software and/or ISP for help if required when configuring software.
For the purposes of this article let us assume you have configured the software under Microsoft Windows and it has connected to the Internet and downloaded some mail. I will use Outlook Express for reference, as it is the email client I am most familiar with.
The incoming mail will be displayed in a window as a list of items, which can be selected and read. There may be an additional window which shows the text of the message if this display option is enabled. Outlook will also show a paperclip if there are any attached files with the text, and email addresses are underlined in blue which can be clicked on with the mouse to write a reply.
Email addresses are similar to postal addresses in that they uniquely identify you to the mail servers on the Internet. For example my own email address is draco@nildram.co.uk. This tells you I am called draco to my mail server (draco), my ISP is at (@) nildram (nildram) and they are a company in the United Kingdom(co.uk). The components are separated by full stops and on the whole usually written in lower case.
Just by looking at my email I can see who sent it and if there are any components attached. If I wish I can examine the 'header' information which can also tell me who else has been sent the message and the route it too to reach me, however this is most often not required and ignored by most users.
If I have been sent a file with the message I right click with the mouse and can select a folder to save it to. Later I can open it with an application able to read the file. (When sending files ensure that the recipient can properly open the file and/or it is sent in a commonly used format).
When I click on the senders email address the editor program starts and I can compose a reply to the sender , attach any files needed and put it in my outbox ready to send when I next connect to my ISP. By the end of the day I may have several replies ready and waiting . When I connect next, they are sent out and any new mail is received (or downloaded) and the process repeated.
It is far simpler to do than to read about and takes a few minutes per message to write and seconds per message to send. Try, you'll be hooked by the convenience and ease of use.