Surfing the Internet
An Online Seminar for Introducing the Internet
What is the Internet?
Main Internet Features
- Email
- For sending messages to one or more users.
- Advantages: Easy to send or forward copies to several users. Beats phone tag.
- Disadvantages: Your meaning could be misconstrued. Use "smiley" faces.
- Software for email: Eudora, Netscape, Elm, Pine.
- Telnet
- For signing onto a computer on the internet.
- Advantages: You have complete access to resources on the computer.
- Disadvantage: You must know how to work with the computer you are signed onto.
- Software for telnet: WS-Telnet, QVTNET, "telenet" command.
- Gopher
- Uses menus to organize and access information on the Internet.
- Demonstration of the Univ. of Minnesota Gopher
- Software for gopher: WS-Gopher, Netscape, Lynx.
- FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
- Used for transferring files and programs between computers on the Internet.
- Software for FTP: WS-FTP, QVTNET, Netscape, "ftp" command.
- WWW (World Wide Web)
- Uses hypertext to organize and access information on the Internet.
- Advantages: Easy to use - just point and click. Can show graphics in-line.
- Disadvantages: User can get lost. Too much Information.
- You must have a direct or SLIP/PPP connection to see the graphics.
- Hint: Use the "search engines" -- e.g. Alta Vista, InfoSeek, Lycos, Yahoo, WebCrawler.
- Demonstration of the DeVry/NJ Web Site - http://www.nj.devry.edu
- Software for WWW: Netscape, Mosaic, Lynx.
- Newsgroups
- Use of electronic bulletin boards for several users to share messages.
- Software for newsgroups: Netscape, Winqvn.
Other Internet Features
- CU See Me - For full audio/video communication between two users.
- Internet chat - For interactive text message exchange between two users.
- Internet talk - Full audio communication between two users.
Types of Internet Connections/Accounts
- SLIP/PPP Connection - Dial up account. Provides full graphical access through a modem.
- Shell Account - Dial up account. Provides text access only -- No graphics
- Direct Connection - Used by organizations generally to connect their networks to the internet.
Definitions
- Listserv
- A listserv is an email address that represents a group of people. You can join a listserv by sending a message to it. Any message you send to the listserv will be sent to all of the people in the group.
- URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
- A URL is a unique name that identifies a document or location on the internet.
- Ex. The URL for the Stevens Institute Home Page is: http://www.stevens-tech.edu
- Ex. The URL for the University of Minnesota Gopher is: gopher://gopher.micro.umn.edu:70/1
- Ex. The URL for the DeVry File Transfer Site is: ftp://ftp.devrycols.edu
- You can generally type the URL into any browser (e.g. NetScape), and the browser will connect you to the specified location.
[Author: Bhupinder S. Sran, (bsran@admin.nj.devry.edu), DeVry Institute, North Brunswick, NJ. This document is meant to be used for personal, or educational, non-profit purposes only.]
