Hooking up your modem and computer isn’t much harder than plugging in a phone. But you probably will need to Poll up your sleeves and plow through some “technical specifications” to get the computer, modem and software to agree that they really do want to be in your kitchen talking to a computer in Burkina Faso. Most new manuals are user-friendly and explain proto-geek terms like baud rate and null-parity.
When your When your computer is ready to start calling the outside world, it dials up other computers, called servers, which collect and store E-mail. Many servers also do complex tricks far beyond the needs of most users.
A net-journey of a thousand bits begins with a single keystroke. “H” is a good start, especially if it’s followed by “elp.” Getting around isn’t all that hard, but a few words of introduction can remove a lot of frustration. Most servers offer on-line help; some, like The World, in Boston, offers special primers that walk you through most of the functions. Less ambitious commercial providers, like Prodigy and America Online, look like video games and are more user-friendly than standard UNIX hook ups to the Internet.
Logging into the net can be like stumbling into that nadir of mall life, the food court. Instead of offering pizza and sushi, the cyber-world lets you choose from options as diverse as politics and porno pictures.
When you send E-mail, it bounces around until a server recognizes part of the electronic address and pushes it in the right direction. Delivery time from the U.S. to Europe: 10 seconds.
Users can access a giant electronic filing cabinet with files about everything from kite flying to Pakistani hotels. Internet users can send “articles” or read lengthy data-chats.
Everyone wants to get a digital hand in your wallet, and electronic services like banking, airline reservations and shopping are a popular approach. Some services let you pay bills on line.
Remember Dungeons and Dragons? It’s back and on line. Multi-user Dungeons are seducing everyone from adolescents to investment bankers. Players explore imaginary worlds from their computers.
Its easy to get lost on line, but there’s no shortage of digital gas stations eager to offer help. Most servers provide assistance over the net. Hardware manufacturers invariably have 800 numbers staffed with folks who talk in plain English.
Though cyberspace often appears as an idyllic information paradise, there are plenty of hidden dangers. Viruses aren’t a major risk, but a bad one can ruin an entire computer system. Most servers offer a free “shareware” virus-screening system worth using. Also, be wary of requests for credit-card numbers that pop up on your screen. Computers are starting to become a hotbed of electronic fraud.
