Traveling in CyberSpace: More Internet Tools and Services,
and the Intranet
J. Philip Craiger
R. Jason Weiss
University of Nebraska at Omaha
In our last Traveling in CyberSpace column, we discused some of
the ways you can use the Internet to communicate with other people.
In the rush to take advantage of this newfound ease of communication,
many people never learn about the vast stores of information available
in the Internet. If you know where to look, you can find graphic
images of fractal "landscapes," files describing grant
opportunities, utilities to help your computer run faster, and
games to play while you wait for everything else to download!
The first half of this installment discussed some of the facilities
available for accessing remote computers and navigating through
the vast reserves of available information. In the second half,
we discuss the popular concept of the Intranet. The term
was coined to describe closed corporate networks that mimic Internet
functions. Intranets have generated a lot of deliberation in
the popular business press in recent months, so we felt it necessary
to introduce them here.
Part 1: Communicating with Computers
We've discussed the World Wide Web in great detail in past columns,
and refer the interested reader to the October 1995 issue for
more information. It's worth noting that Web browsers integrate
a lot of the functions we discuss below. Virtually every Web
browser has FTP and Gopher functions, and most allow you to link
to a Telnet application on your computer. However, since these
programs all existed long before the Web grew to be so popular,
they are also available as stand-alone applications (i.e., separate
software applications that are not incroporated into a browser)
for virtually every type of computer and operating system.
FTP
FTP, which stands for file transfer protocol, allows you
to retrieve files from a remote computer to your local computer.
In addition, it allows you to put files on a remote computer.
You can use FTP for several purposes. The most common use is
to retrieve files from public repositories. For example, most
popular computer manufacturers have public FTP sites (i.e., sites
that can be accessed by anyone) from which you can download utilities
and support software for your computer, as well as files containing
information on a variety of subjects. An alternate use for FTP
is to transfer files back and forth between your home computer
and your account at work. This permits you to avoid dragging
a bunch of diskettes all over the place.
To begin an FTP session, you start the software program and type
in the address of the remote computer. (Every computer in the
world that is connected to the internet has a unique address,
so they can be located easily. My PowerMacintosh desktop computer's
address is cba308gmac.unomaha.edu.) For example, a popular remote
site for all types of files is the Washington University Archive
in Saint Louis. Its address is wuarchive.wustl.edu (for
those readers desiring more precision, the "wuarchive"
is the name of a computer, and "wustl.edu" is the domain
name, i.e., where the computer is located.) The remote computer
will respond and ask you to "log in." If you have an
account on that computer, you then enter your user name and password.
If not, you can enter the user name "anonymous" and
use your e-mail address as your password. Due to security and
resource demands, most popular FTP sites restrict the number of
anonymous users at one time and only permit access to certain
directories called pub or public.
Once you're "through the gates," you can navigate through
the directories and locate the file or files you want. Generally,
each directory has a description of its contents in a text file
with index in the filename. The next thing to do is to
transfer the file. Although some programs can make the adjustment
automatically, others require you to specify if the file is binary
or ASCII (text). If you download a file in the wrong format,
you end up with a garbled mess. It won't hurt your computer-you
just have to re-download the file in the proper format.
The original FTP program for UNIX required the use of a number
of text commands that were not always intuitive. Now, however,
there are plenty of excellent (and free!) packages that make FTPing
fast and easy. Windows users should take a look at WS_FTP.
Fetch is very popular among Macintosh users, as is Anarchie,
a shareware package. OS/2 users have a workable FTP program built
into Warp, but one of the present authors (RJW) prefers a shareware
program called Lynn's Workplace FTP.
Telnet
Telnet takes the link between local and remote computers one step
further than FTP. Using Telnet, you can run programs on remote
computers as if they were on your local machine. For example,
many of our colleagues use the Telnet program to connect up to
the university UNIX system and check their E-mail. The E-mail
program is actually running on the UNIX computer, but the Telnet
program allows the local computer to be used as a terminal.
To run a Telnet session, one simply starts the Telnet program
and gives it the name of a remote computer. The remote computer
may be running a university information system, a database of
information, a library catalog, a weather information system,
or many other types of applications. Hytelnet, an online
catalog of Telnet-accessible resources, is a popular tool for
locating the exact address of a given machine. Hytelnet organizes
addresses by theme and by geographical location, so it is easy
to quickly locate a desired site. You can use Hytelnet from many
UNIX and VAX/VMS computers.
There are a number of Telnet programs available for personal computers.
Freeware programs for Windows include EWAN Telnet and
NCSA Telnet. Users of Macintosh computers have their own
dedicated version of NCSA Telnet and another package called
Comet. OS/2 fans will find a very serviceable Telnet package
included in the Warp Internet Access Kit.
The World Wide Web and Gopher
Although the Web is largely responsible for the popularity of
the Internet today, it is not based on a particularly new concept.
Before the World Wide Web came to be, there was Gopher. Developed
at the University of Minnesota (where the gopher is the school
mascot), gopher servers contain information grouped into hierarchically-organized
lists. The lists make it easy to quickly locate the precise
information you seek. As well, most Gopher servers also contain
links to other Gopher sites, making it easy to find related information.
Despite the rush to the World Wide Web, many organizations still
have vast amounts of information in their Gopher servers.
There are several popular Gopher packages for Windows users.
WSGopher, Gopher Book, and Gopher for Windows all
have fans. Macintosh users are fond of Turbo Gopher.
OS/2 Warp includes a useful gopher program.
Part 2: Intranets
Not to be confused with the Internet, an Intranet is a term used
to describe Internet technologies employed within a corporate
environment (JSB Computer Systems, 1996). In other words, the
Internet is a network which connects computers throughout the
world, whereas an Intranet is a network which connects computers
within an organization. The defining property of an Intranet
is that it allows employees to use existing Internet technologies
within the corporate environment.
Intranets allow corporate employees access the current documents
and data, search corporate directories, and so on, exactly as
they do when using their Web browser normally used to "surf
the Internet." Organizations such as Federal Express, Information
Week, AT&T, Domino's Pizza, Nordic Track, and yes, even the
White House, have implemented Intranets as a means of facilitating
communication and disseminating information (Erlanger, 1996).
Interestingly, a recent study by Zona Research, a marketing-research
firm, estimated that in 1998 revenues from the sale of Web servers
for Intranets will be four times that of those for the Internet
(Derfler, 1996)!
How Intranets are Used
Any type of information or activity that can be provided over
the Internet can also be provided over an Intranet. According
to JSB Computer Systems (1996), Intranets are being used for the
following purposes.
- Publishing corporate documents, including resource guides,
newsletters, annual reports, maps, and so on.
- Access to searchable directories, in particular phone and
e-mail books.
- Corporate/Deparment/Individual homepages. Search engines can
be used to find out who has a particular piece of information.
- Simple groupware applications, including sign-up sheets, surveys,
and simple scheduling.
- Software distribution. Systems administrators can use an Intranet
to deliver software and upgrades "on-demand."
- Mail. Although many corporations employee an e-mail system,
an Intranet-based Web browser allows the transmission of not only
text, but audio, video, graphics, animation, and simulation.
Intranets Reduce Costs
Intranets are growing in popularity because of the time and expense
that is saved by disseminating information electronically as opposed
to the traditional publishing method. Consider the cost and
time associated with traditional publishing process: preparation,
typesetting, production, distribution, mailing, not to mention
labor costs and overhead. The total cost for even a modest report
may be staggering. Complicating the matter is that the half-life
of information is declining rapidly. Information that is relevant
and accurate today may not hold true a week, or even a day from
now. One method of reducing costs and increasing the currency
of information is to make it available "on-line."
Maintaining the currency of important information is relatively
simple on an Intranet. Similar to the Internet, information internal
to a company can be changed very quickly and uploaded on an Intranet
(we should know because we do it almost every day!). Another
advantage is that information on the Intranets need not be maintained
by a single person or department. On the contrary, sales figures,
marketing reports, financial files, and so on, can be developed
and maintained within their department, a system we like to call
"distributed computing."
A desirable factor in installing an Intranet is that it can take
advantage of a corporation's existing hardware and software.
Hardware and software costs, including purchase and maintenance,
can be a large part of a corporation's budget. Using existing
technologies allows corporations to essentially "kill two
birds with one stone."
If you would like more information about Intranets, a good place
to start is Netscape's homepage. The URL is: http://www.netscape.com.
This site contains a number of pages (and related links) devoted
to a discussion of Intranets.
Coming to Traveling in Cyberspace
Over the past year we have devoted this column to discussions
of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Alas, we now feel that
we've covered most topics that most of the readers will find useful.
In upcoming installments of Traveling in Cyberspace we
will turn out attention to the topic of computers and work. Topics
will include computer-based training, electronic performance support
systems, groupware, and related topics. Of course, if their is
an emerging technology that we feel is useful to the readers,
we will report on it. We hope you've enjoyed reading Traveling
in Cyberspace as much as we've enjoyed writing it!
References
Derfler, F.J., Jr. (1996, April). The Intranet platform: A Universal
Client. PC Magazine, pp. 105-108.
Erlanger, L. (1996, April). Corporate Intranets: The Web Within.
PC Magazine, pp. 101.
JSB Computer Systems, Inc. (1996). The Intranet: A Corporate
Revolution. [On-Line]. Available: http://www.intranet.co.uk/intranet/intranet.html.