Dayton. Freelance Systems Programming, (513) 258-7745. $20 setup fee; $1 an hour. Voice: (513) 254-7246. Lorain. Lorain County Free-Net, (216) 233-5929. Users can "link" to the larger Cleveland Free-Net for additional services. Full access (including access to e-mail) requires completion of a written application. Free. Voice: (216) 366-4200. Medina. Medina Free-Net, (216) 723-6732, 225-6732 or 335-6732. Users can "link" to the larger Cleveland Free-Net for additional services. Full access (including access to e-mail) requires completion of a written application. Free. Youngstown. Youngstown Free-Net, (216) 742-3072. Users can "link" to the Cleveland system for services not found locally. Full access (including access to e-mail) requires completion of a written application. Free. ONTARIO Ottawa. National Capital Freenet, (613) 564-3600. Menus. Free, but requires completion of a written form for access to all services. Voice: (613) 788-3947. Toronto. Internex Online, (416) 363-3783. Both Unix and menus. $40 a year for one hour a day. Voice: (416) 363-8676. Toronto. The Wire. Graphical interface. Call (416) 214-WIRE for rates and dial-in number. OREGON Portland. Agora, (503) 293-1772 (2400 bps), (503) 293-2059 (9600 bps or higher). Log on as: apply. $6 a month for one hour per day. Portland. Teleport, (503) 220-0636 (2400 bps); (503) 220-1016 (9600 and higher). Log on as: new. $10 a month for one hour per day. Voice: (503) 223-4245. PENNSYLVANIA Pittsburgh. Telerama, (412) 481-5302. $6 for 10 hours a month, 60 cents for each additional hour. Voice: (412) 481-3505. QUEBEC Montreal. Communications Accessibles Montreal. To start account, call voice number. $25 month plus tax for 10 hours a week. Voice: (514) 288-2581. RHODE ISLAND East Greenwich. IDS World Network, (401) 884-9002. In addition to Usenet, has conferences from the Fidonet and RIME networks. $10 a month; $50 for six months; $100 for a year. Providence/Seekonk. Anomaly, (401) 331-3706. $125 for six months or $200 a year. Educational rate of $75 for six months or $125 a year. Voice: (401) 273-4669. TEXAS Austin. RealTime Communications, (512) 459-4391. Log on as: new. $80 for six months. Voice: (512) 206-3800. Dallas. Texas Metronet, (214) 705-2901; (817) 261-1127. Log on as: info or signup. $10 to $35 setup fee, depending on service; $10 to $45 a month, depending on service. Voice: (214) 705-2900 or (817) 543-8756. Houston. The Black Box, (713) 480-2686. $21.65 a month. Voice: (713) 480-2684. UTAH Salt Lake City. XMission, (801) 539-0900 Voice: (801) 539-0852. Menu and Unix. CSLIP/PPP usage no extra charge. $5 for the first month; $19 a month after that; $102 for six months. VIRGINIA Norfolk/Peninsula. Wyvern Technologies, (804) 627-1828 (Norfolk); (804) 886-0662 (Peninsula). $10 startup fee; $15 a month or $144 a year. Voice: (804) 622-4289. Williamsburg. Global Connect. For modem number, call voice number below. Menus or Unix. $15 a month or $150 a year for 40 hours per month; $40 a month or $400 a year for 70 hours of SLIP/PPP access a month. Voice: (804) 229-4484. WASHINGTON, DC The Meta Network. Call voice number below for local dial-in numbers. Caucus conferencing, menus. $15 setup fee; $20 a month. Voice: (703) 243- 6622. CapAccess, (202), 785-1523. Log on as guest with a password of visitor. A Free-Net system (see under Cleveland, Ohio, for information). Free. Voice: (202) 994-4245. See also: listing under Baltimore, MD for Digital Express and Clarknet, both of which have Washington, DC numbers. WASHINGTON STATE Seattle. Halcyon, (206) 382-6245. Users can choose between menus and Unix. Log on as: new. $10 setup fee; $60 a quarter or $200 a year. Voice: (206) 955-1050. Seattle. Eskimo North, (206) 367-3837 (all speeds), (206) 362-6731 (9600/14.4K bps). $10 a month or $96 a year. Voice: (206) 367-7457. Seattle. Seattle Community Network, (206) 386-4140. Log on as: visitor. Local conferences and information, access to many Internet resources and to other Free-Net sites in the U.S. and Canada. Complete access requires completion of written registration form. Free. 1.5 EUROPEAN AND OTHER PROVIDERS AUSTRALIA Canberra. InterConnect Australia. $95 set-up fee; $20 a month plus 15 cents a minute, $1 per megabyte of FTP'ed files. For dial-in numbers call one of their voice numbers: 008 818 262 or 03 528 2239. NEW SOUTH WALES Sydney. InterConnect Australia. See under Canberra. Sydney. DIALix Services, (02) 948-6918, log in as: guest. $80 a year minimum; 1 cent a minute plus 1 cent per every 1,000 bytes of Internet traffic. QUEENSLAND Brisbane. InterConnect Australia. See under Canberra. SOUTH AUSTRALIA Adelaide. InterConnect Australia. See under Canberra. Adelaide. APANA, (08) 373-5485, log in as: guest. $65 a year. VICTORIA Melbourne. InterConnect Australia. See under Canberra. WESTERN AUSTRALIA Perth. InterConnect Australia. See under Canberra. Perth. DIALix Services, (09) 244-3233, log in as: guest. $80 annual minimum fee; 1 cent per minute and 1 cent per 1,000 bytes Internet traffic. GERMANY Erlangen-Nuernburg. Free-Net Erlangen-Nuernburg, 09131-85-8111. Log on as: guest. Local conferences and information, access to many Internet resources and to other Free-Net sites in the U.S. and Canada. German and English menus. Complete access requires completion of written registration form, 2DM registration fee. Voice: 09131-85-2693. ITALY Milan. Galactica, 02/29.00.60.58 (up to 2400 bps); 02/29.00.60.91 (up to 14.4 Kbps). 24.000 lire/month; 71.400/three months; 178.500/year, including IVA. Voice: 02/29.00.61.50 Milan. Agora, (02) 48403680 (see under Rome). Pavia. Telnet, 0382 529121. Voice: 0382 529751. Rome. Agora, (06) 69920412, (06) 6990532 and (06) 69200112. Also available via ITAPAC: NUA 26430303, 26420265 (1200 bps). Voice: 06 6991742/3 Rome. MC-link Technimedia Srl, (06) 4180440 and (06) 4513900. ITAPAC: NUA 26410420. 216.000 lire per year or 72.000 lire per quarter. Voice: 06 418921. UNITED KINGDOM London. Demon Internet Systems, 44 (0)81 343 4848. 12.50 pounds setup fee; 10 a month or 132.50 a year. Voice: 44 (0)81 349 0063. 1.6 IF YOUR TOWN HAS NO DIRECT ACCESS If you don't live in an area with a public-access site, you'll still be able to connect to the Net. Several services offer access through national data networks such as the CompuServe Packet Network and SprintNet, which have dozens, even hundreds of local dial-in numbers across the country. These include Holonet in Berkeley, Calf., Portal in Cupertino, Calf., the WELL in Sausalito, Calf., Dial 'N CERF in San Diego, Calf., the World in Brookline, Mass., and Michnet in Ann Arbor, Mich. Dial 'N CERF offers access through an 800 number. Expect to pay from $2 to $12 an hour to use these networks, above each provider's basic charges. The exact amount depends on the network, time of day and type of modem you use. For more information, contact the above services. Four other providers deliver Net access to users across the country: Delphi, based in Cambridge, Mass., is a consumer-oriented network much like CompuServe or America Online -- only it now offers subscribers access to Internet services. Delphi charges $3 a month for Internet access, in addition to standard charges. These are $10 a month for four hours of off-peak (non-working hours) access a month and $4 an hour for each additional hour or $20 for 20 hours of access a month and $1.80 an hour for each additional hour. For more information, call (800) 695- 4005. BIX (the Byte Information Exchange) offers FTP, Telnet and e-mail access to the Internet as part of their basic service. Owned by the same company as Delphi, it also offers 20 hours of access a month for $20. For more information, call (800) 695-4775. PSI, based in Reston, Va., provides nationwide access to Internet services through scores of local dial-in numbers to owners of IBM and compatible computers. PSILink. which includes access to e-mail, Usenet and ftp, costs $29 a month, plus a one-time $19 registration fee. Special software is required, but is available free from PSI. PSI's Global Dialup Service provides access to telnet for $39 a month plus a one-time $39 set-up fee. For more information, call (800) 82PSI82 or (703) 620-6651. NovX Systems Integration, based in Seattle, Washington, offers full Internet access through an 800 number reachable across the United States. There is a $24. setup fee, in addition to a monthly fee of $19.95 and a $10.5 hourly charge. For more information, call (206) 447-0800. 1.7 NET ORIGINS In the 1960s, researchers began experimenting with linking computers to each other and to people through telephone hook-ups, using funds from the U.S Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). ARPA wanted to see if computers in different locations could be linked using a new technology known as packet switching. This technology, in which data meant for another location is broken up into little pieces, each with its own "forwarding address" had the promise of letting several users share just one communications line. Just as important, from ARPA's viewpoint, was that this allowed for creation of networks that could automatically route data around downed circuits or computers. ARPA's goal was not the creation of today's international computer-using community, but development of a data network that could survive a nuclear attack. Previous computer networking efforts had required a line between each computer on the network, sort of like a one-track train route. The packet system allowed for creation of a data highway, in which large numbers of vehicles could essentially share the same lane. Each packet was given the computer equivalent of a map and a time stamp, so that it could be sent to the right destination, where it would then be reassembled into a message the computer or a human could use. This system allowed computers to share data and the researchers to exchange electronic mail, or e-mail. In itself, e-mail was something of a revolution, offering the ability to send detailed letters at the speed of a phone call. As this system, known as ARPANet, grew, some enterprising college students (and one in high school) developed a way to use it to conduct online conferences. These started as science-oriented discussions, but they soon branched out into virtually every other field, as people recognized the power of being able to "talk" to hundreds, or even thousands, of people around the country. In the 1970s, ARPA helped support the development of rules, or protocols, for transferring data between different types of computer networks. These "internet" (from "internetworking") protocols made it possible to develop the worldwide Net we have today that links all sorts of computers across national boundaries. By the close of the 1970s, links developed between ARPANet and counterparts in other countries. The world was now tied together in a computer web. In the 1980s, this network of networks, which became known collectively as the Internet, expanded at a phenomenal rate. Hundreds, then thousands, of colleges, research companies and government agencies began to connect their computers to this worldwide Net. Some enterprising hobbyists and companies unwilling to pay the high costs of Internet access (or unable to meet stringent government regulations for access) learned how to link their own systems to the Internet, even if "only" for e-mail and conferences. Some of these systems began offering access to the public. Now anybody with a computer and modem, persistance and a small amount of money -- and persistence -- could tap into the world. In the 1990s, the Net continues to grow at exponential rates. Some estimates are that the volume of messages transferred through the Net grows 20 percent a month. In response, government and other users have tried in recent years to expand the Net itself. Once, the main Net "backbone" in the U.S. moved data at 56,000 bits per second. That proved too slow for the ever increasing amounts of data being sent over it, and in recent years the maximum speed was increased to 1.5 million and then 45 million bits per second. Even before the Net was able to reach that latter speed, however, Net experts were already figuring out ways to pump data at speeds of up to 2 billion bits per second -- fast enough to send the entire Encyclopedia Britannica across the country in just one or two seconds. Another major change has been the development of commercial services that provide internetworking services at speeds comparable to those of the government system. In fact, what started as a government experiment is now largely a private enterprise. 1.8 HOW IT WORKS The worldwide Net is actually a complex web of smaller regional networks. To understand it, picture a modern road network of trans-continental superhighways connecting large cities. From these large cities come smaller freeways and parkways to link together small towns, whose residents travel on slower, narrow residential ways. The Net superhighway is the high-speed Internet. Connected to this are computers that use a particular system of transferring data at high speeds. In the U.S., the major Internet "backbones" theoretically can move data at rates of 45 million bits per second (compare this to the average home modem, which has a top speed of roughly 9,600 to 14,400 bits per second). Connected to the backbone computers are smaller networks serving particular geographic regions, which generally move data at speeds around 1.5 million bits per second. Feeding off these in turn are even smaller networks or individual computers. Unlike with commercial networks such as CompuServe or Prodigy, there is no one central computer or computers running the Internet -- its resources are to be found among thousands of individual computers. This is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. The approach means it is virtually impossible for the entire Net to crash at once -- even if one computer shuts down, the rest of the network stays up. The design also reduces the costs for an individual or organization to get onto the network. However, thousands of connected computers can also make it difficult to navigate the Net and find what you want -- especially as different computers may have different commands for plumbing their resources. It is only recently that Net users have begun to develop the sorts of navigational tools and "maps" that will let neophytes get around without getting lost. Nobody really knows how many computers and networks actually make up this Net. Some estimates say there are now as many as 12,000 networks connecting nearly 4 million computers and more than 20 million people around the world. Whatever the actual numbers, however, it is clear they are only increasing. The Net is more than just a technological marvel. It is human communication at its most fundamental level. The pace may be a little quicker when the messages race around the world in a few seconds, but it's not much different from a large and interesting party. You'll see things in cyberspace that will make you laugh; you'll see things that will anger you. You'll read silly little snippets and new ideas that WILL make you think. You'll make new friends and meet people you wish would just go away. And you'll do it all in a community that transcends state lines and national borders. major network providers continue to work on ways to make it easier for users of one network to communicate with those of another. Work is underway on a system for providing a universal "white pages" in which you could look up somebody's electronic-mail address, for example. This connectivity trend will likely speed up in coming years as users begin to demand seamless network access, much as telephone users can now dial almost anywhere in the world without worrying about how many phone companies actually have to connect their calls. Today, the links grow ever closer between the Internet and such commercial networks as CompuServe and Prodigy, whose users can now exchange electronic mail with their Internet friends. All of the major commercial networks, such as CompuServe and America Online are gradually bringing internet access to their users (one network, Delphi, already offers complete access). And as it becomes easier to use, more and more people will join this worldwide community we call the Net. Being connected to the Net takes more than just reading conferences and logging messages to your computer; it takes asking and answering questions, exchanging opinions -- getting involved. If you chose to go forward, to use and contribute, you will become a citizen of Cyberspace. If you're reading these words for the first time, this may seem like an amusing but unlikely notion -- that one could "inhabit" a place without physical space. But put a mark beside these words. Join the Net and actively participate for a year. Then re-read this passage. It will no longer seem so strange to be a "citizen of Cyberspace." It will seem like the most natural thing in the world. And that leads to another fundamental thing to remember: You can't break the Net! As you travel the Net, your computer may freeze, your screen may erupt into a mass of gibberish. You may think you've just disabled a million- dollar computer somewhere -- or even your own personal computer. Sooner or later, this feeling happens to everyone -- and likely more than once. But the Net and your computer are hardier than you think, so relax. You can no more break the Net than you can the phone system. If something goes wrong, try again. If nothing at all happens, you can always disconnect. If worse comes to worse, you can turn off your computer. Then take a deep breath. And dial right back in. Leave a note for the person who runs the computer to which you've connected to ask for advice. Try it again. Persistence pays. Stay and contribute. The Net will be richer for it -- and so will you. 1.9 WHEN THINGS GO WRONG * Your computer connects with a public-access site and get gibberish on your screen. If you are using parameters of 8-1-N, try 7-1-E (or vice-versa). If that doesn't work, try another modem speed. * You have your computer dial a public-access site, but nothing happens. Check the phone number you typed in. If correct, turn on your modem's speaker (on Hayes-compatible modems, you can usually do this by typing ATM1 in your communications software's "terminal mode"). If the phone just rings and rings, the public-access site could be down for maintenance or due to a crash or some other problem. If you get a "connect" message, but nothing else, try hitting enter or escape a couple of times. * You try to log in, but after you type your password, nothing happens, or you get a "timed out" message followed by a disconnect. Re-dial the number and try it again. * Always remember, if you have a problem that just doesn't go away, ask! Ask your system administrator, ask a friend, but ask. Somebody will know what to do. 1.10 FYI The Net grows so fast that even the best guide to its resources would be somewhat outdated the day it was printed. At the end of each chapter, however, you'll find FYI pointers to places on the Net where you can go for more information or to keep updated on new resources and services. One of those resources is Everybdy's Internet Update. Every month, this free electronic newsletter will update you on new Net services and resources. Look for it in Usenet's alt.internet.services and comp.org.eff.talk conferences (see chapter 3) and on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's archive site (see chapter 7). InterNIC, the Internet Network Information Center, maintains lists of systems that provide public access to Internet services. They're available on the network itself, which obviously does you little good if you currently have no access, but which can prove invaluable should you move or want to find a new system. To access the lists, use gopher (see Chapter 8) to connect to ds.internic.net. From the main menu, select "InterNIC Information Services" and then "Getting Connected to the Internet." Benoit Carl Lips maintains a list of Internet access providers in Europe. It's available via the World-Wide Web at http://www.earth.org/~lips/ (see Chapter 9 to decipher this) or via FTP at sumex-aim.stanford.edu in the /info-mac/comm/information directory (see Chapter 7 for details on this). The Society for Electronic Access in New York maintains a comprehensive list of Internet providers in the New York/Tri-State area. You can get a copy by using Gopher to connect to gopher.panix.com. At the main menu, select SEA. Zik Saleeba maintains a list of Australian sites. You can get the most current version of the list (which also includes information on sites that provide e-mail and Usenet access) via ftp/ncftp and World-Wide Web. For the former, connect to archie.au (again, look in Chapter 6 to decipher this). Look in the usenet/FAQs/alt.internet.access.wanted directory for Network_Access_in_Australia_FAQ file. For the former, point your Web client at http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~zik/netfaq.html Steven Levy's book, "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution," (Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1984). describes the early culture and ethos that ultimately resulted in the Internet and Usenet. You'll find numerous documents about the Internet, its history and its resources in the pub/Net_info directory on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's ftp server (see chapter 7 to decipher this). Chapter 2: E-MAIL 2.1 THE BASICS Electronic mail, or e-mail, is your personal connection to the world of the Net. All of the millions of people around the world who use the Net have their