TCS - OnLine Communications Sig Report
OnLine Communications Sig Report
by Don Singleton
Tulsa Computer Society
From the September 1997 issue of the I/O Port Newsletter
At the July 12 OnLine Communications Sig Meeting (10am to noon on Super Saturday) we responded to the following questions:
What is Push Technology?
With the World Wide Web you go to a site when you want to receive data from it. This could be called Pull Technology, because you pull data when you want it. The best example I can think of for Push Technology is the PointCast Program we demonstrated about a year ago. With it you have some special software which runs as a WinSock Client, and when you initially set it up you identify what sort of news you are interested in -- if you want stock market values, which stocks, if you want sports news, what types of sports (baseball, football, golf, etc), do you want national news, regional news, etc. You also tell the winsock client how often it can poll the server to see if there is any new news in the areas in which you have indicated an interest, and if so it sends it to that program. In the case of PointCast it is a screen blanker, so whenever your computer has been idle for more than a certain selected period of time the screen blanker pops up, and shows the news categories in which you indicated an interest.
What is the Controversy between Netscape and Microsoft?
Well if you mean what is one company doing that upsets the other company, it is continuing to exist. The two companies don't really like each other much. However I suspect you are referring to Java vs Active X. Netscape is willing to provide just straight Java, but Microsoft wants some extensions to Java, called Active X. The problem is that those extensions, while making it more powerful, expose the user to the possibility that a site could introduce an active-x virus and do damage to the user's machine. No known active-x virus exists, but it would not be hard to write one. Java works in an "electronic sandbox" where it only has access to objects it has created, or which the user has explicity given it access to. Active-X uses something called Certificates which supposedly are digitally signed to indicate where they came from, and before active-x code is allowed to run, the user must accept a certificate which pops on the screen, saying it "trusts" that source. The problem here is it is human nature that when you go to a site to do something, and a certificate pops up asking do you want to allow your computer to do it, too many people will just click yes, of course let me do what I said I wanted to do, and some will even click the box that says don't bother me about this in the future. But what if you have been lured to a site promising to do something wonderful, but where you don't know who actually runs the site, and it pops up a certificate asking you to authorize it to do that wonderful thing, and once you have allowed it to do it, it turns out the wonderful thing is to erase your hard disk.
What Assurance Do We Have that a
Certificate of Assurance Regarding Active-X is OK?
Good question. That is why I don't like Active-X. Java may be less powerful, but you don't have to try to determine whether you can really trust a site that wants you to approve it's certificate.
Should You Have Virus Scanners Turned On
When Downloading Files from the Internet?
That is up to you. I don't like virus scanners that run all the time, because they frequently may conflict with other things. I prefer to manually scan files I download, if they came from some site that I don't completely trust (I trust TUCOWS and STROUD). But the nice thing is that downloading a file, even one with a virus, does not activate the virus. You have to actually run the file. So if you download your files to a common directory, and before running any of them if you run a standalone virus scanner on that directory, you should be save.
Have OnLine Services (like AoL and CompuServe)
Been Hurt Much by the Explosive Growth of the Internet
They have certinaly been hurt some, but because they also provide access to the Internet itself, they have not been hurt nearly as much as BBSs. I don't encourage members to use OnLine Services as their Internet Service Provider; they can get much faster and more reliable service, and one that they can cancel more easily or get support for more easily, if they deal with one of the Local ISPs for Internet Access, and use the OnLine Service just for its own proprietyary forums. But BBSs have really been hurt by the growth of the Internet. If you take a look for example at the November 95 I/O Port you will see a listing of IBM Compatible BBSs in Tulsa that is over 17 inches long, and with other platforms and nearby cities the list is nearly 23 inches, and in August 1997 the IBM Compatible BBSs in Tulsa is less than 10 inches, and adding the other platforms and nearby cities the list is less that 13 inches. The number of BBSs in the Tulsa area, and in fact everywhere, has been significantly impacted by the Internet.
Which ISPs Which Brands of 56kb Modems?
The only two ISPs that I know for sure are Galaxy Star Systems, which uses the K56PLUS standard from Rockwell, and Internet Oklahoma, which uses the X2 standard from US Robotics. We print voice numbers for a number of ISPs in the Tulsa Area; I suggest you call each one to see which ones handle the modem standard you have selected. If you have not already bought a 56kb modem, you may want to wait to see which approach is adopted as an International Standard.
Can You Have More Than One Internet Service Provider
At the Same Time?
Certainly. My luggable is set up in Windows 3.1 to support four different ISPs, and in Win95 to support two different ISPs, and it would not be difficult to support four or even more in each. Whether it makes sense for you to pay for multiple Internet Service Providers is a seperate matter. We have our system set up for multiple ISPs because several ISPs make demo accounts available for us to use at meetings, and I attempt to rotate between them, so as not to imply a preference for any particular ISP. The Internet is the same, regardless of which ISP you use, so unless you are in a transition between one provider and another, and want to remain on both for a while so you can get email, or unless one of your providers is an OnLine Service which could give you access to the Internet, but which you keep on your system primarilly to access their proprietary forums, it is not clear that most people would have a need for multiple ISPs, but it is certainly possible. Obviously at any point in time, your modem can only be connected to one of your ISPs.
How Do You Set Up More Than One ISP?
In Windows 3.1, using Trumpet Winsock, make a copy of your logon.cmd file, and call it isp1.cmd. Then edit that file, replacing $number with the actual telephone number for isp1, replacing $name with your login name for isp1, and replacing $password with your password for isp1. Then set your system so that it does not automatically logon when Trumpet Winsock is started, and instead of clicking Dialer, Logon click Dialer, ISP1.
In Windows 95 with the Internet Connection Wizard (available in the Plus package) use the ICW to set up multiple "Connect" Icons, and put each on the desktop, and/or in a folder on your Start Menu.
What is ISDN?
ISDN is a special service available from the telephone company that provides lines that are 64kb, and with some ISDN modems you can actually take two 64kb lines and treat them as one 128kb line. The service is a bit expensive, especially here in Tulsa, although it is much lower now than it has been in the past.
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Tulsa Computer Society 08/15/97
Don Singleton, President
tcs@galstar.com