The Internet on a Budget - Part 3
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Connecting Your Computer to the Internet:
First you need to get a local "ISP" (Internet Services Provider). The ISP
will either give you a disk (or CD-ROM) that will configure the computer
and install the basic tools needed to get on the 'Net or give you the
information needed to get and install those tools. You'll need three
things: a "TCP/IP stack" (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
-- the basic driver that "speaks" to the Internet); an "API" (Application
Programming Interface -- the connection between the driver and the
applications); and the Internet applications themselves. Of course you
will also need a "modem" (MOdulator-DEModulator -- it transmits digital
information over the 'phone lines)and a telephone connection to physically
connect to the 'Net.
Each computer platform (Windows 3.1, Macintosh, Linux, etc.) needs a
different set of these tools so I won't go into any detail here, you'll
find the information needed for each platform from your local user group
or computer guru. Installation and configuration is also different for
each platform so follow the instructions given you by your ISP
Some of the applications you'll need will be a "dialer" (a way to dial and
connect the modem with the ISP's computer -- usually supplied by the ISP)
and a "browser" that allows you to "surf" the World Wide Web and which
usually contains an "e-mail" application and a "news reader" application
in addition to "ftp" for transferring files.
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Prepared by Peter Conrad Cumminsky, consultant, ASEE, CET, Team OS/2
(707) 987-9484
Visit my Computer Taming web site at
URL:
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/taming/
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