The Online World Part 1

The Online World.

by Odd de Presno.

PREFACE

This is the ASCII online distribution of the Online World. It deals with the practical aspects of using the rapidly growing global online information resource.

The book is distributed in a form that is designed to be easily accessible with the maximum range of computers, printer types, and search programs. Also, it has been designed to be compatible with electronic reading devices for the blind. Therefore, many frills (such as fancy formatting, extraneous characters or tags) have been omitted.

The main subject of the book is what you can get out of the online resource.

Expect an outline, not a comprehensive list or directory of all available offerings. This book explores selected applications across network and service boundaries, to show how these needs may be satisfied.

In the process, it gives access information for a large number of specific online offerings.

The applications range from entertainment and the bizarre to databases and special services for professionals and organizations.

You are not expected to live in the United States or in Norway.

Emphasis is on major international offerings available through services and networks like the Internet, BITNET, CompuServe, Echo, FidoNet, Usenet, Dialcom, Dow Jones/News Retrieval, MCI, NewsNet and UUCP. These services can be accessed from almost anywhere.

Talking about the Internet, we do not expect that it will be easy for you to get full access. We a.s.sume that most people can get access to this network by electronic mail only.

I wrote The Online World for parents and youth, teachers, students, business people, social workers, psychologists, young, old, for anybody interested in knowing a bit more about our current "Global Village."

You can read it like a novel, to get an idea of what is going on. It can be used as a practical guide book to online data bases and news sources, or as a book of reference.

You need not be a computer expert or an experienced "onliner"

to find it useful.

While not being a textbook on data communications, it contains much information to help novices get started. For an introduction to telecommunications, check out appendix 2 and 3 before continuing with Chapter 1.

Before you start, one word of warning. New online offerings are born each day, while others are being closed down. Chances are that most services in this book will still be around when you read it, but I will need to update the text regularly. Therefore, all feedback is welcomed with thanks.

Please do also tell me what you like, what you don't, and what you feel I may have missed -- or have gotten hopelessly wrong. Send by electronic mail to me at [email protected] .

This book is not free --------------------- The Online World book is NOT public domain. It is copyrighted work and may be distributed only pursuant to this license.

You are granted a limited read and use license of the book to see if it is for you. Any unregistered use other than to determine if the book meets your needs is a violation of this license and is forbidden.

If you like the book, please become a registered reader. Your contribution will support further research and development of the text.

The important benefit of registering is that you will receive the latest version of the book on diskette (MS-DOS only). This will allow you to have current information on your hard disk that you can search whenever you want to.

The online world is dynamic. Services and offerings come and go. So read appendix 8 to find out how to stay updated.

The registered shareware version of The Online World including shipping and handling is

NOK 105.00 for payment by credit card (around US$ 15.00) US$ 20.00 for all other types of payment (check or SWIFT bank transfer)

As an alternative, you can also register for six updates of the book during one year. The updates will be mailed you on computer diskette:

US$60.00 for all types of payment

The special rates for organizations to make the text available to employees etc. over a network are explained in appendix 8.

Please note: As I do not receive any renumeration from vendors of shareware disks, you must register your copy to have a legal license for use of the book beyond an evaluation period.

Please give to others --------------------- Permission is with this granted to reproduce and distribute the Online World book so long as:

(1) No remuneration of any kind is received in exchange.

A distribution fee may be charged for the cost of a diskette, shipping and handling, as long as the total (per disk) does not exceed US$8.00.

(2) Distribution is without ANY modification to the contents of all accompanying text files, including the copyright notice and this license. All of the files in this package are to be distributed together.

(3) No publication of the book or individual articles from the book in print is permitted, in any language, without the express written consent of the author.

If archiving this book for BBS use or library use, please include all files and use the name ONLINE10, for example, ONLINE10.ZIP, or ONLINE10.LZH. This will provide consistency for future updates.

No copy of this book may be distributed without including a copy of this license. Any other use, including bundling of any of the book's chapters or appendixes for your own distribution, is prohibited without express, written permission in advance from the author.

The Online World book is regularly being updated. Information about where to get the latest version of the book can be retrieved from TOW, a mailing list set up to support the project. For information, send electronic mail to [email protected] ([email protected] on BITNET) containing the command "GET TOW MASTER".

How to read the book -------------------- You may read the book using any ASCII viewing or text searching program. My private favorites are:

LIST - Shareware MS-DOS file viewing program,

LOOKFOR - Shareware boolean text search program.

Print versions of The Online World ---------------------------------- The Online World does not cover any specific area of the world.

Local versions will be printed and published in several countries through joint venture partners. These versions of the book will be adapted to local conditions, and contain many local examples and references.

The following local version of the book is available:

"Ut i verden fra egen skjerm," Norwegian text, Dataforlaget A/S, 1992. 220 pages. Phone: +47 22 63 61 62. Fax: +47 22 63 60 09.

Price: NOK 245,-. ISBN: 82-90628-67-6.

Local language versions of the book are due be published soon by partners in Denmark and Germany. For information, please contact:

Claus Berg (Denmark) at [email protected] Publisher: Teknisk Forlag A/S, Skelbaekgade 4, 1780 Kbh.V., Denmark. Fax: +45 31 21 09 83.

Dr. Karl Sarnow (Germany) at [email protected] Publisher: Verlag Heintz Heise GmbH & Co KB, Helstorfer Stra.s.se 7, D-3000 Hannover 61, Germany.

Fax: +49-511-53 52-129.

Do you want to be a partner?

---------------------------- If you are interested in becoming the author of a local language version of the book in your country, please write me at [email protected] to discuss the possibility of a joint- venture.

Saltrod (Norway), September 1, 1993

Yours,

Odd de Presno

Chapter 1: Going online will make me rich, right?

The number of services is enormous. It takes time to find the truly interesting stuff.

- Knowledge is power.

- A large personal network gives you a punch.

- The value of information, and of having a good time.

Knowledge is Power

My wife has a rare and dangerous kidney disease. One day her doctor joined us on an online research session to look for experiences and advice in other countries.

We sat down in my office in Norway. I turned on my personal computer and started a communications program.

After some keypresses, we could hear the attached modem dial the number of CompuServe, a North American information utility. (A modem is a piece of equipment that converts computer signals to and from sound codes, so that data can be sent by phone.) It took just a few seconds to make the connection. Soon, a greeting scrolled over our screen, followed by a menu of available choices.