Getting on the Internet

Getting connected to the Internet requires only three bits of hardware on your end: a computer, a modem, and a phone line. Most computers sold in the last two or three years have a modem, and you can get a good quality one for $75 to $100 otherwise.

Next, you will need an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that will allow you to connect your computer to their computer, which is one of the big ones more directly connected to the Internet. You will also need a program which allows your computer to communicate with others using the TCP/IP protocols; one will be provided by your ISP. Windows 95 has this built in.

You can get your Internet access through one of the global on-line services like America On-Line, Prodigy, Compuserve or the Microsoft Network. Or, you can get it through a local internet provider in your town (look in the yellow pages under "Computer - Online Services and Internet"). What's the difference?

The on-line services like Compuserve and AOL were originally designed as cultured alternatives to the more free-wheeling Internet, and originally were entirely self-contained. That is, Compuserve was a network which was not connected to the Internet in general. It provided its own internal email and file transfer and chat rooms.

As the popularity of the Internet grew, these online services began to provide some external links to the Internet, first with email and eventually the Web. However, such connections are not of the right type to allow you to do many of the other things the Internet is used for, like IRC, telnet, or videoconferencing. In addition, costs for the big on-line services are typically higher than local ISPs. A membership may cost you $5 a month for three free hours, at $2.50 for each additional hour. These costs can add up in a hurry.

Direct internet service providers, on the other hand, do not provide such a user-friendly interface, with controlled chat rooms and such. Through them, you are directly connected to the Internet itself, with all its warts. You should look for a provider that will give you unlimited Net access (no time charges) for $15 to $20 a month, and some (like FLASHNET) are as low as $99 a year. If you are associated with a university, you should be able to get Internet access through them, at substantial savings (I paid less than $45 a year for unlimited access during my years at the university).

Does it matter which Internet Service Provider you choose? Yes and no. Assuming you haven't cut a deal with some used-car-salesman-type for dirt-cheap access in exchange for your soul, changing from one direct provider to another shouldn't be much harder than changing your long distance carrier. You should look for a carrier that has at least 33.6 kilobit-per-second modems on every line. (Ask if all their modems support "thirty-three six".) Also, try to find out how many modems they have and how many subscribers. (You may have to do some digging to get this; the person who answers the phone probably doesn't know. See if you can track down someone who does.) If they have substantially more than 15 subscribers per modem they are biting off more than they can chew and you will get a lot of busy signals when trying to connect. Your unlimited access is not worth much if you can never get through. If you can't decide, then track down your resident computer whiz and ask him/her which Internet service provider they would recommend.

Once you have your connection, you will need programs that communicate over the Internet. Your internet service provider should have given you a bunch of software. If not (gasp!), then find someone you know who is already connected and borrow a copy of their Web browser and then use it to download your own copies. One of the best sites I've seen to do this (for Windows) is Stroud's Consummate Winsock Apps List, at http://cws.internet.com/. It features programs listed by category, with ratings and full reviews for each.

Most important is to find an email program, web browser, and FTP client you like. There are lots of good ones out there. These will provide you with the basic tools you'll need for using the Internet.

Getting Web Space

Once you're more familiar with the Internet, you may be interested in creating a Web page of your own or for your organization. Doing so requires allocating space for your web pages on a server which will give out your pages when they are requested. That is, to have a web page, you don't even have to have a computer! You just have to find (and pay) someone who does to serve your pages for you.

There are groups on the internet who offer free server space (for web pages) to noncommercial groups. The best such one I've found is Geocities, which will give you 1MB of space free, no strings attached. Find them at http://www.geocities.com/. Also check out http://members.tripod.com/~jpsp1/sites.html, which is a list of a ton of places which also offer free web space (some better than others).

There are also groups which give out free pages to Christian groups. One is Net Ministries (http://netministries.org/), which asks that groups agree to certain Christian principles, such as the Apostles Creed. The General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church (http://gbgm-umc.org/conferences/freeweb.html) does the same for local Methodist congregations. Both of these, however, only give out single pages for free, and not full sites. You can still do a lot with these, though, and the price is right.

Introduction · Uses of the Internet · Getting On the Net · What To Do With It · Recommended Reading