COMPUTING FOR THE BEWILDERED By Bill Hayles Hello, again. THE INTERNET - Part 2 Last time, we looked at what The Internet actually was - a vast network of computers - how it started and how you can access it. Today, we'll discuss the costs of the various options, and make a start on looking at the various facilities The Internet has to offer. WHAT WILL IT COST? Let's look at the three of the access methods of access we discussed last time. The commonest way is to use your own computer and telephone line to connect into the computer system of an ISP, an Internet Service Provider. The computer can (almost) cost you as much or as little as you want. You do not need the latest or most powerful machine if all you wish to do is to access the net. Indeed, a secondhand model will be perfectly adequate, and you could pick a suitable machine up for less than 300 Euros. An average new computer would cost 1000 to 1500 Euros, including printer. Your machine will need a modem. All modern machines have these as standard, but even if not, a modem won't cost more than 50 Euros. You will need a telephone line. You computer can plug into the same socket as your ordinary telephone – you may need a 2 to 1 adapter for a Euro or so. ISPs have various charge schemes depending on how heavy a user you are, but the simplest and most suitable for newcomers is a "free" account. The ISP won't charge you, but you will access your ISP through a special, local rate number. All the time you are on line, Telefonica will be charging you for a local rate call. Some of this money will be passed on to your ISP – that's how they get their cut! Local rate is much more expensive between 0800 and 1800, so most people with these accounts try to avoid trying to go on-line at these times, which is why things can get pretty congested in the evenings. An increasingly common and cost efficient way is to have a permanent ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) connection using your existing telephone cable. Much of what was said above for a dial-up connection also applies to an ADSL connection. It's still true that you won't need the latest fastest computer, but if your ISP is going to supply you with an ADSL "modem", which is, technically, a small network device, you will need a USB port. Most computers built in the last five years come ready equipped. Even if yours doesn't, USB cards can be bought as an add-on. Telefonica will make the necessary upgrade to your phone line, and your chosen ISP will supply you with a kit consisting of the modem (or router) and necessary cables and filters. This is intended for you to set up yourself, but it isn't easy, especially for a novice, so you may prefer to pay your ISP to come and do it for you - then if it doesn't work, they can't blame you! Because ISPs are aggressively marketing ADSL, you may find that the kit is offered free as part of the deal, or at a very reduced price. The monthly flat fee for ADSL is currently around 40 Euros a month irrespective of how little (or much) you may use it, and to get the "free" offers you may have to commit yourself for two years. Time limited connections are currently becoming available for less - around 30 Euros per month.  Another way, particularly suitable for a novice or occasional user, is to use the services of an "Internet Cafe". You can expect to pay around 3 Euros for a half hour session, plus extra for any printouts (hard copy) you may want, plus, of course, the cost of any food and drink consumed! WHAT CAN I DO ON THE INTERNET? Let's look at some of the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) about the four main uses of the Internet. 1. E-Mail. (a) One of your e-mail address is billnot@telefonica.net. Why, and what do the various bits mean? My ISP is Telefonica. They own the Internet name, or domain, telefonica.net. Like all Internet domains, this is registered centrally. My user name with them is billnot. When somebody sends me an e-mail, it is routed to telefonica.net, a known, listed destination. When it gets there, the local (Telefonica) system places it in the mailbox named billnot. When I call in to collect my mail, I must give my user name and password before I am allowed access. Once I have collected my mail, it is removed from my mailbox so that there is room to receive some more. (b) How can I be sure nobody else can read the e-mail I sent you. In absolute terms, you can't. Just as you have to take it on trust that mail sent through the ordinary post ("snailmail") won't be tampered with, so it is with the Internet. With the many millions of e-mails sent each day, the administrators have better things to do than to examine your e-mail arranging a meeting next Friday!! (c ) What can I send by e-mail? As well as text messages, you can send pictures, sounds, program files or proprietary format files (PFF) such as Microsoft Word Documents. You can also send short movies or longer pieces of music if you have the right sort of connection (i.e. ADSL). All these are called "attachments". (d) Can I send the same message to several people? Yes. All e-mail software has the facility to send a "carbon copy" to as many people as you wish, simply by specifying their e-mail address. If you don't want them to know they aren't the only recipient, you can even send "blind carbon copies". The unjustified sending of multiple copies of a message to unsolicited recipients is called "spamming", but a legitimate use of a "mail shot" would be to advise all your friends of your new e-mail address! (e) How do I remember all these e-mail addresses. You don't have to. If you reply to an email you receive, the software will automatically address it to the original sender. You can also tell the software to add the sender's details to your "address book" to make it easier next time. (f) How can I avoid receiving "spam" Once again, in absolute terms, you can't, anymore than you can avoid receiving junk mail in your normal post. Most spam is best simply ignored. However, if it becomes persistent or offensive, there are ways of complaining to the sender's ISP. (g) How can I avoid receiving viruses? We'll talk about this whole issue later. 2. Newsgroups. (a) I've never heard of these. That's not surprising. They're one of the oldest uses of the Internet around. They even have their own network name – Usenet. Because they are, in the main, simple text forums, they don't have the glitz and "street cred" of the more glamorous uses of the Net. But they are invaluable in enabling those interested in a particular topic, wherever they may be in the world, to ask questions, discuss and enjoy their hobby or whatever. I find the support group for my particular medical disorder invaluable in keeping me in touch with latest products and ideas. There is a second group of Newsgroups, called the binary groups, for the exchange of pictures, sounds, movies and software. Most are fine, but there are a number of groups containing content which some might find objectionable, although they are amongst the most popular groups on Usenet. (b) How many Newsgroups are there? Over 60.000 and growing daily. Something for everybody. (c ) How can I access Newsgroups? Your ISP will probably have a News Server, which you can access with the news reading software built into your e-mail system, or a dedicated (free) news reading program. If your ISP doesn't have its own news server, for the text groups there are a couple of free services. For a good binaries feed, you'll probably need to pay a commercial news server - there are many.  3. FTP. (File Transfer Protocol. A way of moving files from one computer to another) (a) Why would I need FTP? To download a piece of software, or some other file. Most browsers have FTP facilities built-in, but if you find yourself downloading a lot, you will probably make use of a specialist FTP program. This will be particularly true if you need to upload anything to the Internet, for example your own web page!! 4. HTTP. "The World Wide Web". Oh dear, I seem to have run out of room. We'll need to leave that for next time! That's all for today. Next time, I'll be looking at The World Wide Web, and dealing with excuses for not going on-line. IF you wish to contact me, you can do so by e-mail to questions@billnot.com. Although I can't promise to give everybody an individual reply, I do read everything. My main computer related website is http://cftb.net. If you wish to join our computer chat discussion group (mailing list) you can do so by sending an e-mail to computerchat@billnot.com with the single word SUBSCRIBE as the subject. If you have been, thanks for reading this.