INews Newsletter - Aug 27, 1999
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* * * I N e w s * * *
A publication of Internet Nebraska, composed and distributed by
* * * manager@inebraska.com * * *
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Volume 2, Number 17 August 27, 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: Essential Mac Internet Software
Online Trading
Are You Ready for Some Football?
NebraskaNews.net
*** The Bare Mac Essentials ***
As promised in the last issue, here are some of the software packages Mac
users will want to try. None is _essential,_ but you might enjoy them as
you work to maximize your Internet experience. We've collected them in a
one handy-dandy location for download: http://www.inebraska.com/macsw/
Note: These programs are for Macintosh computers with PowerPC Processors.
Older Macs with 68k processors will NOT be able to run these applications.
Netscape Communicator 4.6.1 (12.7MB, Web browser)
Netscape Communicator provides a great Web browser, as well as e-mail
client.
Ircle 3.0 (936K, IRC client)
Ircle, is the most common, stable program for chatting on IRC (Internet
Relay Chat) with Macs.
MT Newswatcher (1.1MB, Usenet News reader)
MT stands for Multi-Threaded Newswatcher, a great program for reading
usenet news posts.
Nifty Telnet (252K, telnet client)
Nifty Telnet is the best telnet client for Macs. It supports terminal
window resizing, making it more convenient to use.
Internet Explorer 4.5 (8.9MB, Web browser)
Internet Explorer is the most current free Web browser from Microsoft.
MacAMP 1.0 Preview (1.9MB, MP3 player)
MacAMP is a great MP3 player for Macs.
Transmit 1.5 FAT (1.5MB, FTP client)
Transmit is a great drag-and-drop FTP program. It has a very Mac-like
interface, and is a must for any Web designer who uses FTP.
Real Player G2 (4.2MB, streaming audio/video player)
Real Player is the standard Internet streaming protocol for audio and
video over modems.
*** 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
*** Online Trading ***
In this INews, guest writer and former IN employee David Bialac discusses
online trading.
Online Investing is a conglomeration of Web sites providing financial
news, stock quotes, chat and trading capabilities to investors. In 1994,
trading services were offered over the Internet for the first time by a
discount brokerage named K. F. Aufhauser, Inc. The idea was to allow
investors to check their holdings and place trades online without the need
to speak with a broker. By lowering personnel costs and overhead, the
brokerage was able to offer the investor lower commissions for financial
transactions. Shortly thereafter, E*Trade Group, Inc., Datek Online and
Charles Schwab and Company began offering Internet trading to their
customers. Today there are approximately 137 brokerage firms offering
online trading services.
In general, all of these brokerages will offer the capability to trade
stocks, options, mutual funds and bonds online. What distinguishes one
online brokerage firm from another are the additional services the firm
provides its customers. For example, E*Trade provides free real-time
quotes and access to Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) to all visitors who
sign into a free non-trading account. DLJ Direct, Discover, and Schwab
all provide similar services as well, with the goal of providing you with
a one-stop financial center. In addition to E*Trade's free real time
quotes, these services will provide most, if not all, of the other
services discussed in this article. E*Trade has gone so far as to have
recently acquired a bank, putting it in the position to offer traditional
banking services as well as brokerage services. Other brokerages such as
Ameritrade, Inc., Waterhouse Securities and SureTrade, Inc. offer lower
commissions and fewer services for customers who primarily want to place
trades. Webstreet focuses on providing services for "daytraders."
Daytraders are investors who hold security positions for a very short term
and attempt to profit from the daily price fluctuations and volatility
experienced by many stocks.
One critical facet of online investing is research. Regardless of whether
you place your trades online or with a full-service broker, Arthur Levitt,
Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, strongly recommends
following traditional avenues of deciding which companies to invest in,
such as researching a company. The Internet is a great source for this
research, and for gathering financial information. CBS Marketwatch, CNN
Financial, MSN Investor, and Yahoo Finance all offer free access to news
on stocks, delayed stock quotes, charts, and portfolio tracking.
Netscape Personal Finance offers these same services plus free real time
quotes. The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition provides access to
the contents of the print edition plus news archives, quotes, and other
research materials. The Motley Fool and Bloomberg Financial Services
offer internally written articles and investment suggestions, as well as
reviews of stocks. Some research sources are free; others, such as
Bloomberg, charge for their services.
As with anything else online, beware of the information you read.
Securities fraud perpetrated over the Internet is on the rise. The
Internet provides a thief quick, easy and anonymous access to a large Web
audience. Through several different avenues, a con artist can advertise,
chat or solicit investors regarding "a company that is about to go
public," "a stock that's about to take off and cannot lose," or "important
insider news." Therefore, it is critical for you not only to research the
companies in which you plan to invest, but also to research the Internet
companies with which you do business.
With the advent of the Internet, trading stocks and researching
information has never been easier. Listed below are the Web addresses for
several companies mentioned in this article.
Brokerages:
Who Website
------------------- --------------------------------
Ameritrade http://www.ameritrade.com/
Charles Schwab http://www.schwab.com/
Discover Brokerage http://www.discoverbrokerage.com/
DLJ Direct http://www.dljdirect.com/
Datek http://www.datek.com/
E*Trade http://www.etrade.com/
SureTrade http://www.suretrade.com/
Waterhouse http://www.waterhouse.com/
WebStreet http://www.webstreet.com/
Research Centers:
Who Website Pay Service
------------------------- -------------------------------- -----------
Bloomberg http://www.boomberg.com/ Yes
CBS Marketwatch http://www.cbsmarketwatch.com/ No
CNN Financial http://www.cnnfn.com/ No
Motley Fool http://www.fool.com/ No
MSN Investor http://moneycentral.msn.com/ No
Netscape Personal Finance http://quote.netscape.com/ No
Reuters Moneynet http://www.moneynet.com/ No
Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com/ Yes
Yahoo Finance http://quote.yahoo.com/ No
*** 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/
*** 110% Smashmouth In-the-Trenches No-I-in-Team etc., etc. ***
Fans, the time is here. Scrimmages, preseason polls, injury and arrest
reports, and some pretty baseless speculation will finally give way this
Saturday to a little honest-to-Gosh college football.
Three of the nation's top four teams help kick off the season
with top-ranked Florida State opening at home against Louisiana Tech, and
No. 4 Arizona at No. 3 Penn State in the Pigskin Classic. While the
Seminoles are five-touchdown favorites over the Bulldogs, Arizona-Penn
State shapes up as one of the best season-openers in years.
Cornhusker fans will have to wait 'til September 4 to see the Big Red
Machine in action against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
For those of you who would like to follow college football on the Web, we
have listed a very few of the Web sites you should check out. As always,
a good search engine query will yield you hundreds more links than we list
in the INews.
Huskers Links
http://huskerwebcast.com/sports/football/
http://www.adnet.net/cornhuskers/
http://www.nebraskafootball.net/ (beginning August 30)
ESPN Sports
http://espn.go.com/ncf/
USA Today Big 12
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/sfc/sfccc.htm
Yahoo! Sports College Football
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf
While we certainly do not advocate gambling, we thought some of you might
enjoy checking out a few point spreads.
http://www.caribsports.com/ALL.publines.html#CF
http://scoresandodds.com/
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot/odds/stardust.htm
*** NebraskaNews.net Almost Here ***
(York)--Telfast Communications will begin publication of its new online
news and sports magazine for Nebraska on Monday afternoon, August 30th.
The main Nebraska football coverage, featuring sports columnist Mike
Babcock, will begin in this preview issue. Other sections will cover news
and high school sports, as well as agriculture and agribusiness.
The magazine can be found at www.nebraskanews.net beginning Monday
afternoon.
*** 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.