INews Newsletter - Jul 30, 1999
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * I N e w s * * *
A publication of Internet Nebraska, composed and distributed by
* * * manager@inebraska.com * * *
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Volume 2, Number 15 July 30, 1999
Welcome to another issue of INews, Internet Nebraska's customer newsletter.
This biweekly newsletter communicates service bulletins, announcements and
other useful information to our customers. Please let us know what you think
of it. Archives of INews are located at http://www.inebraska.com/inews
In this issue: Parental Cyberhelp
Mac Online
MP3's and How to Hear 'Em
Satellite Tracking
Mr. Internet
Pay the Easy Way
*** Getting Wise to the Net ***
If you listen to AM radio, you've likely heard ads for various products to
make the Internet safe for children. In the past few days I've heard
spots for Mayberry, Th!s, and Crosswalk, each different, but all trying to
protect the kids -- and all trying to get your money.
Topping this week's hourly news programs is an item about a website called
GetNetWise. This promises to be one of the most high-profile efforts yet
mounted to combat the various evils found on the Internet. From their
website http://www.getnetwise.com :
"The Internet offers kids many opportunities for
learning, constructive entertainment, and personal
growth. At the same time, parents are concerned
about the risks kids face online. The challenge for
parents is to educate themselves and their children
about how to use the Internet safely. GetNetWise
can help..."
GetNetWise is backed by many big-time operators including AOL, ATT, The
Urban League, IBM, Net-Mom and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to name just
a few. Despite these many cooks in the kitchen, the website appears to be
living up to its promise of being a clearinghouse for concerned parents.
This is easily the most comprehensive collection of content-oriented
information that this grizzled Internet veteran has seen. There are three
dozen links in the "monitor net usage" category alone; it's going to take
quite a while to plumb the depths of getnetwise.com.
GetNetWise itself is a free resource: nothing is for sale here, although
many of the products and services described are commercial in nature.
Parents, librarians and educators can all find much value in the resources
catalogued at getnetwise. Bookmark this URL.
*** OptiMac ***
Several weeks ago, we presenting steps for optimizing your Internet
connection under Windows, and we thought it was about time to do the same
for the Macintosh. As most Mac users know, not much can go wrong with a
Mac, so there's not much to optimizing your Internet connection.
Note: This is intended for Macs running OS 7.5.3 and higher, and/or Macs
running Open Transport. To find out if you are using Open Transport, go
into the control panels and look for the TCP/IP control panel. If you
don't have a TCP/IP control panel, but rather MacTCP, then these
instructions don't apply to you.
1. Go to the control panels by clicking on the Apple Menu (upper left
corner) and choose Control Panels. Open TCP/IP.
2. In the "Connect Via:" dropbox, select "PPP". In the "Configure:"
dropbox, select "using PPP Server".
3. In the lower left corner, under "Name Server add." field, type
199.184.119.1 then press return, and on the line below, type
198.247.225.251
4. Close the TCP/IP window by clicking the close box in the upper left
corner of the window, and choose to save the changes.
5. Now click on the Apple Menu, go to Control Panels, and choose PPP. On
Macs with 8.5, it will be called Remote Access instead of PPP.
6. In the "Name:" field, type your username (lower case). In the
"Password:" field, type in your password.
7. In the "Number:" field, type in the local access number for your area.
8. Close the PPP or Remote Access control panel and save the changes.
9. Now click on the Apple Menu, go to Control Panels, and this time
choose the "Modem" Control Panel. Choose your modem from the list and
then close that window, and save changes.
That's it. Simple, Elegant, Macintosh. 8-)
*** Schaefer's TV & Appliance Center - Advertisement ***
Schaefer's is an independently owned and
operated television, appliance, and home
theater retailer in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Born out of a small corner drugstore four
decades ago, Schaefer's TV & Appliance is a
22,000 square-foot "superstore" today,
specializing in commercial/professional-grade
appliances, whole house sound systems, home
theater and central vacuum systems. The
success of Schaefer's is key to repeat
business. If a customer happens to have a
problem with a product, Schaefer's will bend
over backwards to get it solved. Our service
center is the largest in the city, and has been
voted Lincoln's #1 servicer for 10 years in a
row! A knowledgeable sales staff, express
delivery, easy financing, and our customer
service representatives are just a few of the
ways in which we at Schaefer's distinguish
ourselves from the rest. Stop by our showroom
at 48th and R in Lincoln, or call us at
402-464-8888, and see for yourself.
-- http://www.schaeferstv.com/index2.htm
*** MP3 Primer ***
One of the hottest topics on the Internet right now is downloadable
music -- CD-quality songs you can download from the Internet and play on
your computer. Although there are a couple of different formats, by far
the most popular is known as MP3 (shorthand for MPEG Layer 3 Audio).
MP3 music is compressed, but done is such a way that it retains near-CD
quality. MP3 files are about 1 megabyte in size for each minute of music,
so a typical 4 minutes song is roughly 4 MBs in size, much more manageable
than the 35 or so megabytes that an equivalent WAV format sound file would
be.
If you're interested in listening to music in MP3 format, you need to get
a program to play MP3s, known as an MP3 player. Although there are
several really good MP3 players, the most popular are WinAMP (for Windows)
and MacAMP (for the Macintosh). You can download either of these players
(and a slew of other players for nearly any operating system) from the
software page of MP3.com ( http://www.mp3.com/software/ ).
Now that you've got the program, you've got to get your hands on some
music. Much of the music on the Internet (such as all the music you'll
find at MP3.com) is fully licensed and legal to download and play on your
computer. However, some of the MP3 files you'll find on the Internet are
illegal copies, created from CDs without the artist's consent. Music
piracy is bad, so you should make sure to download all of your MP3 files
from well respected legal MP3 sites.
For more information on MP3s, you may want to check out the following
sites:
MP3.com
http://www.mp3.com
MP3 Now
http://www.mp3now.com
Fast MP3 Search
http://mp3.lycos.com
Daily MP3
http://www.dailymp3.com/main.html
*** Satellite Fun ***
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/realtime/jtrack/3d/JTrack3d.html
What does everybody do when they get a new telephone book? They look to
see if their name is listed!
What did I do when I first loaded up JTrack-3D? I looked to see if there
were any satellites directly above Nebraska. Since there are 500
satellites in the JTrack database, it takes a while to look at every one
but not as long as you might expect; this program is very quick.
NOAA9 had been over Nebraska a few minutes before I checked its orbit.
At the time of this writing, it's making its way across Canada heading
north.
SAFIR2 is in the Pacific, south of the Yucatan, and it looks like it will
pass over Nebraska within a very few minutes. When the JTrack settings are
on "Real Time" you can see the position change every 1/2 second. In the
time it took to write this paragraph, SAFIR2 is already approaching Mexico
City. Fast.
POLAR has a weird orbit. You'll just have to take a look. The orbit is
very off-centered, as are the IUE satellite and several others. The
JTrack program also shows the surface location that's directly below the
satellite. For these off-centered orbiters, their ground path (I'm no
astronomer and don't know what the correct terminology is) takes on some
really cool and unusual shapes. It looks like the combined movements of
CHANDRA and Planet Earth make CHANDRA appear to reverse direction from
time to time. And of course UFO1 simply cuts figure 8's over the South
Pacific.
Well, SAFIR is over the Pole and starting its journey to the South. I
heartily recommend this website. Tune in during the next Shuttle
mission....
*** The Capital Soccer Association - Advertisement ***
Capital Soccer Association specializes in
teaching soccer. However we recognize that
soccer, or any other youth sport is merely
one tool in the development of a young
child. Teamwork and sportsmanship through
knowledge and proficiency of the game are
our main goals.
-- http://www.capitalsoccer.com/
*** Mr. Internet ***
Q: I keep reading about this Instant Messaging and the fight between AOL
and Microsoft about it. What's the deal, and how can I InstantMessage if
I'm on Internet Nebraska?
A: Why, yes, you can. And since this is the summertime when we're all
supposed to be seeing repeats, anyway, I'm going to reprise what we like
to call an "INews classic" from June 5, 1998. Some links have been
changed, and some no longer exist, so this is sort of a "modernized
classic" in that it's been updated. No colorization, though.
------
Have your friends stopped calling you because you're on-line 24 hours a
day and your phone is always busy? No need to kick your Internet Habit
just to chat with your friends. You can do both at the same time.
AOL-users (and the growing ranks of former AOL-users) are already familiar
with "buddy lists." Using AOL's Instant Messaging software, users can be
notified automatically whenever anyone on their "buddy list" is on-line,
so they can chat in real time.
You do not have to be an AOL user to take advantage of these
(unfortunately named) "buddy lists." The AOL Instant Messaging software
is available free for anyone with an Internet account. In addition, there
are now several other "buddy list" programs available for downloading. The
most popular of these include ICQ, Ding, ichat, People Link and Yahoo
Pager, and there are new ones cropping up every day.
To download any of these programs, go to the following sites:
AOL Instant Messenger: http://www.aol.com/aim/
Ding: http://www.activerse.com/products/download.cfm
ICQ: http://www.icq.com/
Yahoo Pager: http://pager.yahoo.com/pager/
Excite PAL: http://talk.excite.com/communities/excite/pal/
ichat: http://www.ichat.com/
People Link: http://www.peoplelink.com
MSN Messenger http://messenger.msn.com/
(You have to get a Hotmail account for this one.)
All of the software referred to is provided free of charge. Use at your
own risk. Technical support questions regarding the use of these products
should be directed to the individual software vendors.
------
Mr. Internet is a regular feature of the INews, and he welcomes questions
of any kind. Just mail them to mrinternet@inebraska.com, and he'll answer
one or two each issue. Those he doesn't use will not necessarily be
answered, and you should still use 'manager' and 'accounts' for regular
business.
*** Direct Payment ***
We know we write about this too often, but here we go again. It's such a
great deal for everyone that we want to remind you that payment by
electronic funds transfer (direct payment) is available at Internet
Nebraska.
Direct payment is an efficient electronic payment alternative to paper
checks. Instead of you writing a check, your bank will automatically make
the payment on a predetermined date. It's that simple. Direct payment is
easier for you -- your bank, instead of you, will worry about paying us
each month -- and it reduces our operating costs, which enables us to
continue offering high-quality services at low prices. And, you don't
have to pay the interest a credit card company would charge you for the
same convenience. You retain total control of your account and payments,
and Internet Nebraska provides you notice of all charges. Customer
satisfaction is a high priority at Internet Nebraska -- we are members of
the Better Business Bureau, and you have our personal guarantee that we
work to resolve all problems, including billing problems, to our
customers' satisfaction.
Visit http://www.inebraska.com/sysinfo/eft.html today and get on the
direct payment plan. You have enough to do already, and we all want to
save time and trouble where we can.
*** Advertise on Our Home Pages ***
What better way to advertise your business than on a Web page that is seen
tens of thousands of time every month? None, if you're paying as little
as we charge for it!
We are now offering banner advertising that rotates on all our pages, and
which is priced based on the number of impressions (viewings) per month.
Your banner can reach thousands of Nebraska residents, and this is a
unique way to advertise your Nebraska business to residents in the area.
Prices for banner advertisement can be found at:
http://www.inebraska.com/ad.html
We will also be selling links from our main page. Please contact
erikw@inebraska.com, or give us a give us a call at our office,
402-434-8680, and ask how you can reserve banner spots on some of the
hottest URL's in the state. The advertisers in this issue did, and we
recommend them highly.