Network News 13 (March 28, 1994) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/nnews/nnews-13 Document: Network News - #13 List: nnews from listserv@ndsuvm1.bitnet or listserv@vm1.nodak.edu Archive: via listserv or ftp from vm1.nodak.edu in nnews directory Date: March 28, 1994 Comments: noonan@msus1.msus.edu Copyright: 1994 Dana Noonan Permission granted to redistribute the unmodified version of this newsletter provided no fee is charged for it. =========================================================================== N N N N EEEEE W W SSSSS NN N NN N E W W S N N N N N N EEE W W W SSSSS N NN N NN E WW WW S N N N N EEEEE W W SSSSS =========================================================================== an update to libraries and information resources on the Internet sponsored by Metronet =========================================================================== Number 13 NETWORK-NEWS March 1994 TABLE OF CONTENTS: New Guides WWW - World Wide Web Keeping up with the Usenet Newsgroups The Top Ten List for Internet Novices Software Toolbox ========== NEW GUIDES ========== At long last the revision of A Guide to Internet/Bitnet is complete. It's a bit shorter (50 pages), has a few new sections, and a longer bibliography. The guide is available as GUIDEV2 NNEWS on the listserv@ ndsuvm1.bitnet or via FTP from vm1.nodak.edu in the NNEWS directory. Most of the library specific material from the original guide has been moved to LIBCAT: A Guide to Library Resources on the Internet. This guide (110+ pages) includes 750+ library catalog listings, an extensive list of special collections and databases, selected lists for librarians, and a smattering of Gopher and World Wide Web listings. The LIBCAT files are also available via FTP from the site listed above. Print versions of both guides are available from: Metronet Metro Square, Suite 226 Seventh and Robert Streets St. Paul, MN 55101 A Guide to Internet/Bitnet costs $6 and LIBCAT is $12 ($17 for both). Minnesota residents should include sales tax. Low cost site licenses are available. ==================== WWW - WORLD WIDE WEB ==================== >From A Guide to Internet/Bitnet Version 2.0: WWW -- World Wide Web Like Gopher, World Wide Web is a distributed document delivery service using a client-server model to make it easy for users to search for and retrieve materials from remote sites. WWW uses hypertext to make browsing and searching local and remote sources of information easy and uncomplicated. Once connected to a WWW server you can connect to other information servers without being bothered by most of the details of Telnet or FTP protocols and addresses. WWW browsers, as the clients are called, are available for many platforms. Unlike Gopher, WWW integrates text, graphics, and sound as well as links to other resources on its pages. If Gopher menus resemble a collapsed outline, WWW pages contain the text that brings the outline to life. Web servers use a hypertext mark-up language (HTML) to produce visually appealing and easy to follow pages. (Graphic image of Brunel University's Web goes here.) In the example above, Brunel University's Information Service provides links to other pages and services (underlined items) in an easy to read format. The Web advantage is the ability to flesh out a simple outline of resources with text and multimedia as well as embedded links to other resources. Uniform Resource Locators World Wide Web has led the way in the use of standardized identification of network resources by integrating URLs into Web pages. Uniform Resource Locators identify the type and location of network and local resources. In the figure above Brunel's URL is http://http1.brunel.ac.uk:8000/ indicating the type of service and the protocol and address needed to reach the service. URLs come in the following flavors: WWW site http://www/site:port/directory/file.html http://nearnet.gnn.com/GNN-ORA.html Gopher menu gopher://gopher.site.edu/:port/ gopher://marvel.loc.gov/:70/ Telnet host telnet://site telnet://database.carl.org/ FTP archive ftp://site/directory/ ftp://ftp.law.cornell.edu/pub/ Newsgroup news:alt.mything news:alt.bbs File file://site/directory/filename.txt file://localhost/mysub/mypage.html Connecting to the Web The best way to connect to the WWW is with your own browser; check to see if your site has one installed. The LYNX browser for VT100 sites is available via anonymous FTP from ftp2.ukans.edu in the pub/lynx directory. If you don't have a browser, try one of the following services to find out how the Web works. Server Telnet Address Login CERN (home of the WWW) info.cern.ch none University of Kansas (LYNX) ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu www Cornell Law School fatty.law.cornell.edu www Here are a few WWW pages worth checking out: Dr. Fun (needs graphic interface) http://sunsite.unc.edu/Dave/drfun.html Legal Information Institute http://www.law.cornell.edu/ Map Viewer - XeroxParc http://pubweb.parc.xerox.com:80/map Maricopa Center for Learning & Instruction http://hakatai.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ Museum of Paleontology http://ucmp1.berkeley.edu/welcome.html Novell, Inc. http://www.novell.com:80/ Special Exhibits - University of Texas, Austin - Library http://www.lib.utexas/Exhibits.html The Global Network Navigator http://nearnet.gnn.com/gnn/GNNhome.html The Whole Internet Catalog http://nearnet.gnn.com/wic/newrescat.toc.html The Virtual Hospital http://vh.radiology.uiowa.edu/ Tolkien Resources http://gopher.usask.ca/~friesend/tolkien/rootpage.html Wired Magazine http://wired.com/ World Wide Web Worm http://www.cs.colorado.edu/home/mcbryan/WWWW.html On Lynx clients, type G(o) and then enter the entire URL starting with http. ================================= KEEPING UP WITH USENET NEWSGROUPS ================================= Note: Some interesting mail has been received over the past few years because of the confusion resulting from a poor choice of title for this newsletter. For example, requests have been received from folks wanting to get alt.sex.very-strange from the nnews listserv. It is not a service we provide. The following service may be of interest to those folks as well as those who seek other sorts of information. >From A Guide to Internet/Bitnet Version 2.0: Netnews Filtering Server One of the most intriguing and potentially useful services on the Internet is Stanford's Netnews Filtering Server that links Usenet news articles, Wais full-text indexing, and listserv-type delivery. The service responds to user selected profiles that include search term(s), threshold scores, and length of subscription. Depending on the profile, the service will send a single message containing a batch of Usenet articles related to the topic either daily or weekly. The news articles contain only the first 15 lines of text, just enough to decide whether or not a particular article is worth retrieving from the service. The service only indexes and retrieves the most recent Usenet articles. The service uses the original Wais software which does not support Boolean or wildcard searches. The default threshold score is set at 60 which may be too low to filter-out off-topic material. Search terms must be chosen with care in order to exclude off-topic material. For example, searches for the term "library" would retrieve items about program libraries as well as traditional libraries. To obtain a copy of the documentation send the following message to netnews@db.stanford.edu: help. To try the service send the following message to the same address: search online service. Within minutes you will receive a summary of the day's Usenet messages related to the topic. Full-text of specific articles can be retrieved by sending a message to the same address: get article such-and-such. For folks without easy access to Usenet newsgroups, Stanford's Netnews Filtering Server offers a convenient way to read news articles related to their own specific interests. For researchers, the service offers a chance to try a type of selective dissemination of information that may be as essential in the future as access to online library catalogs and databases. ===================================== THE TOP TEN LIST FOR INTERNET NOVICES ===================================== >From A Guide to Internet/Bitnet Version 2.0: Following the David Letterman tradition, here is one list of the top ten things to do once connected to the Internet. 10. Browse one of the online bookstores for new Internet books. A new one is issued every ten minutes. 9. If you live in the north country, be thankful for ice and snow and that you don't live in an earthquake zone. Finger quake@geophys.washington.edu. 8. Vax users: create a LOGIN.COM file to make life easier and set mail_dir [.mail]. 7. Send mail to a friend. If really desperate, send mail to yourself or the White House. Don't expect a prompt, personal response from president@whitehouse.gov. 6. Try the Infoslug Gopher. Telnet to infoslug.ucsc.edu and login as infoslug. If you have a gopher client, use it to connect to gopher.ucsc.edu 70. Set a bookmark or two if using a gopher client. 5. Get lost in the "web." Telnet to ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu and login as www. Use the Go command to visit the library of the University of Texas. The URL is http://www.library.utexas.edu/. If you have a Mosaic or Cello browser, the library has some great online exhibits. (Aside: Cello is much nicer than Mosaic for Windows!) 4. Sample Usenet newsgroup messages via the Netnews Filtering Server. Send the following message to netnews@db.stanford.edu: search online services or a topic of your own choosing. Perhaps you ought to send a message with just the word "help" first to get a guide to using the service. 3. Search the global List of Lists for your favorite topic. Send the following message to listserv@bitnic.bitnet: list global/my_favorite_topic. 2. Check out public library services on the net. Gopher or telnet to library.cpl.org. 1. Subscribe to the newsletter that updates this guide. Send the following message to listserv@vm1.nodak.edu: sub nnews your name. ================ SOFTWARE TOOLBOX ================ If you use an IBM PC to capture the results of online catalog searches, you may be interested in NOPE NNEWSZIP. NOPE removes the online help, blank lines, and other screen clutter from these files. It's easy to configure and comes with PALS, Notis, DRA, Geac, and Dynix filters. It takes less than a minute to pare a 170K Notis file down to 60K. NOPE NNEWSZIP is a binary file and should be renamed NOPE.ZIP before it is unzipped. If all this appears to be gibberish, this is not the program for you. The Minnesota Alliance for Children recently commissioned an IBM PC program to estimate federal Earned Income and Minnesota Working Family tax credits. The program is available on MetroLine (612) 224-8086. If you would like more information about the program, write Sherry Lampman (sherry.lampman@metronet.lib.mn.us). =========================================================================== Please do NOT reply directly to the list or this newsletter. Send corrections and/or comments to: Dana Noonan Metronet (612) 825-9312 (612) 224-4801 (612) 224-4827 (fax) noonan@msus1.msus.edu Library User Network BBS (612) 772-7635 Metroline BBS (612) 224-8086 =========================================================================== Metronet >--< linking Twin Cities area libraries and media centers