Internet Access
Public-Access Computer Systems Forum
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From: cra%med.pi...@CARNEGIE.BITNET (Caroline Arms)
Subject: Access to Internet for individuals
Someone asked about the opportunities for individuals to get access to
the Internet. The opportunities keep expanding. For instance, in New
York, NYSERnet provides a service aimed at individuals. In the December 1991
issue of NYSERnet User, this new NYSERnet service is mentioned. called
NYSERLink, it provides dialup mail-only access to the Internet. For a
flat fee (unspecified), you get unlimited message volume. There seem
to be dialup points-of-presence (POPs) in about 9 places, with more
planned. Phone (315) 443-4120 or send e-mail to in...@nysernet.org.
Other regional networks, such as PREPnet, BARRnet, and SURAnet have
been adding low-end access services.
I have attached a list I made up last spring (and therefore certainly
out-of-date as far as details are concerned) of outfits that provide
Internet access to non-academic users. PSInet (run by the same
organization -- PSI -- that runs NYSERnet) certainly offers dial-up
access in a number of cities. UUNET may also have low-end
arrangements suitable for an individual subscription. As far as I
know, ANS is more interested in high-volume customers.
Caroline Arms Head, Microcomputer & Media Center
Falk Library of the Health Sciences
University of Pittsburgh
c...@med.pitt.edu
ANS
Advanced Network & Services, Inc.
* Non-profit organization founded in late 1990 by Merit,
IBM, and MCI to operate NSFnet
* For advancement of education and research
* Incorporates all costs into single yearly fee
* 24-hour monitoring of equipment
* Also offers R&D and consulting in high-speed networking
* T3, T1, and 56K bits/second (no dialup)
Contact: Peter O'Neil
Director, Client Services
100 Clearbrook Road
Elmsford, NY 10523
(914) 789-5329
on...@nis.ans.net
PSINet
Performance Systems International, Inc.
* Founded by team that developed NYSERNet -- operates
NYSERNet
* Offers access to USENET and TCP/IP network to any
organization
* Turnkey service with annual fee
* Access to other TCP/IP networks requires compliance with
acceptable use policies
* T1, 56K, 9600 baud, + individual dial-up for terminals
or PCs
Contact: 11800 Sunrise Valley Drive
Suite 1100
Reston, VA 22091
(800) 82PSI82
in...@psi.com
Alternet
UUNET Technologies, Inc.
* Company primarily supports UNIX users, and access to
USENET
* Provides services to all types of organization
* Access to other TCP/IP networks requires compliance with
acceptable use policies
* One-time and monthly charges
* T1, 56K, 9600 baud -- not all speeds in all areas
Contact: 3110 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 570
Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 876-5050
in...@uunet.uu.net
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From: REM@suWatson
Subject: New version of toplevel index to the net available
The new version 0.16 of MaasInfo.TopIndex (64k bytes) is now online at
the University of North Texas (other archive sites for MaasInfo files
are delayed due to people being offline for the holidays I presume).
Thanks to Billy Barron <bi...@unt.edu> <BI...@UNTVAX.BITNET> for being
around at this time to install my files for anonymous FTP access:
ftp ftp.unt.edu (129.120.1.4) ARTICLES/MAAS/MAASINFO.TOPINDEX
This file is a toplevel index to all the major indexes of
InterNet/BitNet/UseNet services etc., including a description and
access information for each index. The indexes themselves cover:
interest groups (mailing lists, newsgroups, digests, etc.), special
sites (list&file servers, file archives, public-access dialup hosts,
online library catalogs, etc.), documents & tutorials (both online and
hardcopy) related to these networks. I also list some other toplevel
indexes that are available, both official such as the InterNet Resource
Guide and ad hoc such as Marty Hoag's "GLOBAL LISTS". All the actual
indexes and meta-indexes I cite are online, accessible by FTP and/or
file server, even where some or all entries within some of the indexes
themselves may refer to hardcopy documents not available online. Nearly
all are plain text files.
The new version of MaasInfo.DocIndex (21k bytes) is also now available
at the same site & directory. This file is my version of a
comprehensive bibliography of online documents and tutorials describing
how to use various network services: General network tutorials,
glossaries, advice about electronic mail, requesting files indirectly
via e-mail, how to get information, 'archie' file-finding
database&service, special interest groups (INFO-NETS, HELP-NET, PACS-L)
and their specific collections of documents & archives, services
specific to BITNET or InterNet, some special services, and generally
useful reference information. Some documents contain both tutorial
information and listings of services, thus are both a document and an
index, so I had to make the decision where it would appear. My rule is
that if an expert user of the service would nevertheless find a useful
listing of particular sites then it's considered an index whereas if
the only purpose of listing any sites is to illustrate the tutorial
then it's considered a document instead; but sometimes that decision is
difficult to make.
The new version of MaasInfo.HowNet (9k bytes) is also now available at
the same site & directory. This file contains very brief information
about how to use several very useful network services that aren't
documented elsewhere or are documented only in places you might not
think of looking or in places that are difficult to access: InterNet
domain-name to number lookup, BitNet - InterNet equivalences, "white
pages" (name of person or institution to user@host), Gutenberg, WAIS,
gopher, Cleveland FreeNet, Library of Congress catalog. I'm hoping that
someday other people on the net will write up medium-short documents to
replace all the items in this file and place those documents online for
anonymous access so that this file can be eliminated.
MaasInfo.Files (3k bytes, 1991.Dec.23 version, at the same site &
directory) lists&describes these and the other MaasInfo files,
including latest-version identification so you can be sure you are
getting the latest version if you are getting the larger files from
some other site closer to your location. Only users in the Americas
(Canada&Alaska thru South America) should access these files from UNT,
except for MaasInfo.Files which is small enough to be e-mailable to
anywhere in the World. Non-BITNET users elsewhere may want to just
obtain MaasInfo.Files now, then wait until their local archive sites
(Austraila and Europe) have the new versions of the larger files
available. I'll be posting a follow-up when the other major archive
sites for MaasInfo files have all the new versions.
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From: REM@suWatson
Subject: New version of toplevel index to the net via email
This is an update to my announcement of a few days ago that new
versions of some MaasInfo files (TopIndex version 0.16, DocIndex,
HowNet) are now online at ftp.unt.edu (North America #2) for anonymous
InterNet FTP access.
As of today (Dec.31), the new versions are also available at SHSU.edu for
both FTP and e-mail access. Users who don't have InterNet connections
will now be able to get these new (Dec.23) versions:
North America #1 (problems to bed...@SHSU.edu):
To: FILE...@SHSU.edu (BitNet: FILESERV@SHSU)
SENDME MAASINFO (to send the whole package, which includes all the below:)
SENDME MAASINFO.TOPINDEX* (just the three pieces of this one 57k file)
SENDME MAASINFO.DOCINDEX (etc. for all the other files, none of them split)
DIRECTORY MaasInfo (annotated directory of MaasInfo files in server format)
ftp Niord.SHSU.edu (192.92.115.8) maasinfo/
MAASINFO_FOR_FTP.TOPINDEX (57k, all in one piece for FTP only)
MAASINFO.DOCINDEX (etc. for all the other files, none of them split)
ftp Niord.SHSU.edu (192.92.115.8) MAASINFO.DESCRIPTION (annotated directory)
InterNet users near Australia, and misc. users near Europe, may wish to
wait until the new versions are available locally (mainland Australia &
Tasmania; Britain & Greece), except for the smaller files which can be
ordered from anywhere without excessively overloading the
inter-continental links. MaasInfo.Files (3k bytes) in particular is
small enough to be ordered from anywhere.