Internet E-Mail: The ability to exchange electronic mail with anyone who has an Internet address is a fundamental feature. The ability to keep group or personal mailing lists is a nice additional feature. An Internet address consists of the user's account name or identifier, separated by an @ symbol from the "host name" of the network service provider. Here are two examples: Internet Services
aalm@igc.apc.org and rocky.rohwedder@sonoma.edu.
Gopher: The Internet Gopher lets you browse for resources anywhere on the Internet using menus.
It's an easy way to "go fer" information (bad gopher humor; it actually was named after the mascot at the University of Minnesota, the "Golden Gophers"). Some systems offer graphical Gopher client programs, which provide a "point-and-click" interface. Text-only Gopher is available on many systems via a menu option.
Telnet: Telnet, a feature selected via a menu option on many host systems or via a graphical icon on others, allows you to visit any public or private (if you have been given access) computer on the Internet. There are a number of "sites" on the Internet that are especially valuable for EE. Some interesting telnet sites are included under "Network Service Providers" in the "File Folder" section.
Usenet-style Newsgroups or Conferences: If on-line conferences are stored in standard formats, they can be shared between multiple computers on the Internet. Thousands of public conferences already are shared this way, many of them a part of the Usenet conference distribution system. Some systems offer text menus for browsing conferences; others provide graphical point-and- click "newsreader" software for your computer. More on conferences can be found under "Network Service Providers."
FTP:The Internet File Transfer Protocol is the fastest way to transfer files between computers on the Internet, and the only way to retrieve some files, like satellite images of the Earth or map data. FTP can be difficult to use, since it requires some knowledge of UNIX commands. But tools like Gopher and WWW (World Wide Web) can make file retrieval via FTP simple.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC): "Chatting" with others by exchanging text messages while simultaneously connected to the Internet is a popular feature on some networks. Interactive audio and video links are available on some high-speed networks.
World Wide Web (WWW): WWW links documents on the Internet as "hypertext," allowing the user to browse from document to document by selecting highlighted links. A link may be a word or a graphical image. Viewed via graphical client programs, WWW is a visually exciting, point-and-click way of exploring that portion of the Internet that contains "web" documents. Text-only WWW services such as Lynx are available on some networks.
User Support: Good support is a part of telecomputing that can't be left entirely to machines. Having a human to call or e-mail who can answer users' questions is a key element in network services. User manuals, on-line help utilities, and support forums also are important to consider when choosing a network.
For ease of use and convenience, you might want to review the following features.
Graphical User Interface (GUI): Using a pointing device such as a computer mouse to select options on a computer network, rather than typing commands at a keyboard, is easier for many network users -- especially for hunt-and-peck typists. More and more computer networks are offering this feature.
Off-line Mail and News:Where network connections are expensive and budgets are small, the ability to read and write electronic mail and to participate in on-line conferences while not connected to a network can be a real cost-saver. In schools, this can broaden the availability of networking to students and teachers. Off-line mail readers, provided by some networks, connect to the network only to send or receive mail; all of your reading and writing gets done in your personal computer. News readers, similarly, allow review and responses in on-line conferences to occur in an off-line setting.