__________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ ---------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE EDITOR by Hope Glass, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ We would like to welcome you to our December issue of the InterNIC News This month our cover article, IP Allocation Guidelines: Avoiding the Address Space Jam, profiles RFC 2050, which documents the policies adopted by IP registries to preserve IP space Tom Newell, Manager of Information and Education Services, interviews the RFC's author, Kim Hubbard, on the distribution of Internet address space and registry operations Chapman University is casting spells on their incoming freshman The InfoMagic program is providing university students with a system of hands-on training for information access systems Rich Landers talks with Multimedia Instruction Librarian, Dr Dallas Kenny, about the program's success Looking for more information about the Internet? In this month's End User's Corner, Jack Solock details why a good guide through the Internet doesn't have to be virtual This will be the first part of a series called Classic Books on the Internet by our Special Librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Worried about typing your credit card number into a web-based payment form? Secure online commerce systems are finally here Rich Landers takes a look at the options for payment transactions on the Web in It's a Wonderful Net: The Future of Electronic Commerce As always, we look forward to hearing comments and suggestions for article ideas You can contact us from our new Meet the Staff page Happy Holidays from InterNIC News, Hope Glass _________________________________________________________________ Send questions and comments to editor@internic net We look forward to hearing from you! _________________________________________________________________ December 1996 Volume 1, Issue 9 _________________________________________________________________ IN THIS ISSUE... It's a Wonderful Net: The Future of Electronic Commerce IP Allocation Guidelines: Avoiding the Address Space Jam InfoMagic: Multimedia Internet Training Emerges at Chapman University From the Editor Letters to the Editor & Meet the News Staff What's in a Name? A Graphical Look at Registration Information End User's Corner Classic Books on the Internet #1 The 15 Minute Series UPDATE The latest modules, feedback, and FAQs on the 15 Minute Series Performance Measures Stats for the most recent month User Feedback Tell us what you'd like to see in the InterNIC News _________________________________________________________________ Using this material Other ways to receive the InterNIC News __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ ----------------------FEATURE ARTICLE--------------------- IP ALLOCATION GUIDELINES: AVOIDING THE ADDRESS SPACE JAM by Tom Newell, Manager, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ While the InterNIC Registration Services, operated by Network Solutions, Inc , is perhaps more commonly known as the global registry for the COM, ORG, EDU, GOV, and NET Top Level Domains (TLDs), it also provides Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation services The routing of Internet-based information depends upon an addressing construct called the Internet Protocol (in concert with the Transmission Control Protocol) to exchange information The Internet Protocol is a communications specification which, besides defining datagram formats for information exchange, also describes the recipient (by network and host interface) using a 32 bit binary integer Perhaps more specifically, the IP address describes the network interface of a specific host (which may have multiple interfaces) Because these IP address assignments must be unique so as to ensure consistent and reliable routing, an authoritative agency must maintain a central database of allocations The InterNIC is one of the world's three principle IP registries which manage address space in cooperation with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Funded by the domain name registration fee, the InterNIC IP group carefully administers this limited resource in order to ensure that the IP "space" is allocated efficiently and fairly A challenging task at best given that not all requests for address space can be accommodated without a documented need and an organizational history of responsible subdelegations The InterNIC IP group is managed by Kim Hubbard and is staffed by five IP specialists Kim is the primary author of RFC 2050 which documents the policies adopted by IP registries to preserve IP space RFC 2050 was recently accepted by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) as a Best Current Practice (BCP12) for the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) In addition to describing the philosophy behind IP address conservation, specific application prerequisites and criteria are detailed by the RFC which the community generally agrees are necessary in order to preserve the resource until the deployment of the next "generation" of IP technology While the registries have followed these guidelines for some time, the purpose of documenting them as a BCP/RFC was to make the information more widely available We sat down with Kim recently to ask for her insight regarding allocation practices _________________________________________________________________ InterNIC News: What is the InterNIC's role with respect to IP numbers? Kim Hubbard: The IP group of the InterNIC allocates IP numbers in the Americas as well as South Africa and parts of the Caribbean InterNIC News: Are there any other organizations involved with the assignment and allocation of IP address space? K H : RIPE allocates IP space to the European region and APNIC allocates to the Asia Pacific region InterNIC News: So I need an IP number to be connected to the Internet Where do I go to get an IP number? K H : You should request the IP number from your Internet Service Provider InterNIC News: Why do I have to go through my Internet Service Provider for an IP number? K H : IP address space should be assigned hierarchically to preserve space on the routing tables The InterNIC allocates blocks of address space to ISPs who then reassign it to their customers This allows for address aggregation which helps limit the growth of the routing tables InterNIC News: Who makes the policies that govern the management and distribution of IP numbers? Why are these policies necessary? K H : The regional registries in cooperation with the IANA and a consensus of the IETF community work to create and approve the policies IP numbers are a limited resource so policies are needed to help clarify the criteria for receiving address space InterNIC News: Are we going to run out of IP numbers, and if so, when do you think that might happen? K H : It is expected that eventually we will run out of IP numbers There are many estimates as to when this is likely to happen but no one is sure of the exact time frame since many outside forces could play a role in this However, the registries along with the ISPs are working very hard to educate their customers on efficient utilization and their efforts are definitely paying off InterNIC News: Is the Internet community doing anything about this issue? Is the InterNIC doing anything specifically? K H : A consensus of the IETF community has determined that IPv6 will be the next generation of IP The InterNIC along with RIPE and APNIC are currently working on allocation issues for IPv6 InterNIC News: What are the major objectives of BCP 12? K H : The major objectives are to establish allocation procedures and policies for the regional registries and ISPs to follow when issuing address space to their customers Basic criteria has been set for receiving address space as well as a determination of where the addresses should actually be assigned from, i e , ISP or regional registry InterNIC News: What impact will BCP 12 have on the problem of limited IP address space? K H : It has a minimum set of criteria that must be met before receiving address space For instance, end users must show a 25% immediate utilization and a 50% 1 year utilization of requested address space InterNIC News: Will the BCP 12 change the way end-users and Internet Service Providers acquire and use IP addresses? K H : The policies detailed in the BCP have been followed for quite a while already and there has been a marked improvement in the conservation of IP space as well as limiting the growth of the routing tables InterNIC News: What does the future hold? K H : Other issues have been raised with regard to IP allocation that the BCP/RFC does not answer Therefore, RFC 2050 is likely to be updated regularly for some time We should look at the BCP as a constantly evolving work The registries are currently working with the IETF community to improve the policies and have established the Internet Registry Evolution (IRE) working group at IETF to discuss in part, these matters _________________________________________________________________ Glossary ======== The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF - http://www.ietf.cnri.reston.va.us/) was formed by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) to address and resolve technical and operational problems on the Internet and to develop Internet standards and protocols The Internet Architecture Board (IAB - http://www.iab.org/iab/) is a technical advisory group of the Internet Society Best Current Practices (BCP - ftp://venera.isi.edu/in-notes/bcp) is a document which describes the best current practices for the Internet community Documents in the BCP category carry the endorsement of the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) Request for Comments (RFC - http://www.iana.org/rfc-editor/) is a series of notes about the Internet, started in 1969 (when the Internet was the ARPANET) More information regarding IP allocations may be found at the InterNIC Registration Services WWW site at the URL's: http://rs.internic.net ftp://rs.internic.net/rfc/rfc2050 txt _________________________________________________________________ Further Reading: 1 Internetworking with TCP/IP Volume I - Principles, Protocols, and Architecture 3rd Edition Douglas E Comer Prentice Hall - 1995 _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ ----------------------FEATURE ARTICLE--------------------- _________________________________________________________________ by Rich Landers, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ FORKING IT OUT ON THE INTERNET Commerce on the Internet is projected to be one of the most lucrative ways of doing business in the next decade or so; yet how many people today would feel secure about typing their credit card number into a web-based payment form? This question and its answer are the top priority for anyone who is considering a business future on the Internet, because the success of Internet commerce is dependent upon the ability to conduct secure payment transactions over the web System Example Anyone developing a commerce-enabled Internet presence needs to navigate through a sea of complex issues to find a suitable solution to electronic transactions On-line payment systems come in a variety of flavors and can be the first and most difficult problem in establishing a business presence on the Internet The most prominent transaction systems include secure credit card, electronic cash, and electronic check Examples of each kind of system, with links to sample vendors, are provided below: Secure credit card systems Encryption-based credit card systems CyberCash (http://www.cybercash.com) Process-based payment processing systems First Virtual (http://www.fv.com) Electronic cash solutions Digicash (http://www.digicash.com) Electronic check solutions NetChex (http://netchex.netchex.com) _________________________________________________________________ CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS Credit card transactions over the Internet involve a couple of unique problems that haven't been fully resolved yet First, it is easy to detect credit cards as they travel over the Internet, as opposed to the safety and relative confidentiality of the secure, private networks over which these transactions normally travel Second, connecting a web server to a secure financial network can be extremely complicated The riskiest solution is to use unencrypted credit cards, but another solution is to use encryption technology to protect the credit card number from unauthorized use Alternatively, process-based security schemes enable secure on-line transactions without the use of encryption Many sites allow the user to enter a credit card number directly into a form through their browser While there are significant opportunities for fraud in these cases, the biggest challenge is overcoming consumer perception Many consumers feel that entering their credit card on to a web-based form makes them vulnerable to fraud, even though it is probably more secure than giving your number over the phone or through the postal service To address this consumer concern, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) was created SSL establishes a secure channel between the buyer's browser and the merchant's web server Although SSL provides a secure channel, it does not protect the credit card information when it is being transferred from the web server to the credit card network This must be done by another set of software or even manually by the seller Another problem with SSL is its inability to gracefully maneuver around firewalls, often making the transfer stop dead in its tracks Another option for encryption is the "electronic wallet" utilized by CyberCash All you have to do is download and configure the software, and the credit card number will be encrypted and stored on the buyer's hard drive This process requires that a live connection be made between the buyer's computer and CyberCash's server Once the wallet is installed and activated, the buyer can make purchases anywhere on the web where CyberCash is accepted The seller cannot decrypt the credit card number Instead, the seller attaches a description of the transaction including the dollar amount This information is then forwarded to a gateway which decrypts everything and transfers the transaction to the secure credit card networks _________________________________________________________________ SECURE ELECTRONIC TRANSACTION PROTOCOL The Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) protocol is currently being developed as a joint venture between Microsoft, IBM, MasterCard, and Visa Its goal is to synchronize the software requirements at the bank server, the seller's server, and on the buyer's computer to facilitate electronic commerce SET will, if it lives up to developer's expectations, provide the parties involved with Internet commerce a high degree of confidence that participants are who they say they are The SET protocol is only a technology standard, so a number of companies will take this standard and attempt to build compliant software While the SET group anticipates having demonstration software ready by the end of the year, wide use of SET technology will probably not occur until late 1997 _________________________________________________________________ SECURE TRANSACTIONS WITHOUT ENCRYPTION First Virtual offers a solution which eliminates the need for encryption software while simultaneously protecting the buyer's security The buyer provides First Virtual with his credit card in an initial set-up process The credit card is taken during a one-time toll free phone call and is stored on a server in a secure bank data center Thus, the credit card number never travels nor is connected to the Internet The buyer is given a Virtual Personal Identification Name (VirtualPIN), which becomes his alias First Virtual's VirtualPIN architecture offers a number of unique capabilities that encryption solutions cannot A buyer provides the VirtualPIN to the merchant rather than a credit card number The seller then sends the transaction over the Internet to First Virtual who, in turn, confirms it with the buyer through e-mail The buyer confirms each transaction This is akin to signing a credit card slip at a retail store Because the buyer confirms each transaction, it is unnecessary to encrypt the VirtualPIN If someone tries to misuse a buyer's VirtualPIN, the transaction will be stopped and the account frozen when the buyer replies, "Fraud" to the e-mail confirmation _________________________________________________________________ ELECTRONIC CASH SOLUTIONS Many people claim that electronic cash will represent the next great evolution in specie Electronic cash is an electronic representation of money Denominations, such as ten dollar bills, can be represented by unique serial numbers The same technology that is used in public key/private key encryption is used to make these serial numbers identifiably unique As a user of an electronic currency system, a buyer would deposit funds into a special bank account In return, the buyer would receive a number of these unique serial numbers to be stored on the buyer's computer When the buyer finds a seller who accepts this currency, the buyer allows these serial numbers to be transferred to the seller's computer Each time the transfer occurs, a trusted third party such as the issuing bank validates that the serial numbers are authentic The primary benefit to the electronic cash solution is anonymity and non-repudiation There is no way the seller can know who the buyer is, and the buyer cannot demand his currency back or prevent a transaction from being completed once it has been initiated Some critics contend that the money disappears if the buyer's hard drive is destroyed This issue concerns governments and financial institutions who want to insure the stability of their currency High transactional costs might also deter consumers _________________________________________________________________ ELECTRONIC CHECK SOLUTIONS Electronic checks are similar to electronic cash except that instead of depositing money into a holding account and receiving electronic currency, money is transferred directly between the bank accounts of the buyer and the seller In these transactions a trusted third-party, such as NetChex, brokers the process The buyer registers his bank account with NetChex Once registered, the consumer can utilize the NetChex system to generate electronic checks on their home or office PC Prior to Internet transmission, the NetChex system security replaces the consumer's confidential bank account information with a shadow account used to identify them to the transaction processing segment of the system The electronic check is then transmitted across the Internet to their closed systems for processing Once received on their system, the check is verified for authenticity against the member database After authentication, the shadow account is replaced with merchant and consumer account information Upon completion of a transaction, the consumer is sent an e-mail confirmation including the check number and transaction amount This confirmation also contains a customer service telephone number for any questions Once the transaction information is sent, standard banking rules are applied to complete the transfer of funds as if one had written a paper check _________________________________________________________________ In some shape or form commerce over the Internet is coming to a computer near you, and sooner than you think! There will always be people getting mugged on the streets and, undoubtedly, there will be cases of fraud on the Internet But once we begin realizing that the benefits of electronic commerce outweigh the risks, we can look forward to a time when paying for anything can be so easy that there will be time to spare for the things in life that really matter _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ ----------------------FEATURE ARTICLE--------------------- INFOMAGIC: MULTIMEDIA INTERNET TRAINING EMERGES AT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY by Rich Landers, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ Businesses today deal with computer and network technology on a daily basis; therefore, it has become increasingly important for colleges to develop curricula that teach Internet-information literacy skills At Chapman University, Multimedia Instruction Librarian, Dr Dallas Kenny has met this challenge by developing a unique and innovative multimedia course that instructs first-year students in the essentials of Internet technology In April 1995, the InfoMagic development program was launched at Chapman University to benefit students who lack effective Internet research skills After extensive discussions with the Library Director, faculty members, and students it was determined that instruction needed to be provided for everything from basic computer literacy (navigating Windows and using a mouse) to more research-specific areas such as how to search the Internet's vast resources and electronic databases Chapman University implemented the instructional requirements in a six minute stand-alone video and a 30 minute interactive multimedia computer module "Info Hotline," the stand-alone video, is a promotional piece for information access tools such as the Internet, World Wide Web, library on-line catalog and CD-ROM databases The video was produced by "in-house" university talent from the library, media services, film and television, and music departments The interactive multimedia computer module, "Library Explorer," provides hands-on practice for the information access categories addressed in the video, and was developed by Dr Dallas Kenny MacroMedia Director was used as the primary development platform and programming environment Three-dimensional models were rendered in Adobe Dimensions and animated in the QuickTime video format using Adobe Premiere Video clips were digitized then edited in Premiere High resolution photographs of campus information access technologies and sites were scanned into digital format and edited in Adobe Photoshop Interactive routines were programmed with Lingo, Director's scripting language, which is similar to Basic and HyperTalk During the interactive multimedia program, students are introduced to campus information access sites and participate in realistic database search and Internet/WEB navigation simulations They also receive hands-on practice of boolean search techniques and simulated e-mail sessions As the students complete each stage of the interactive program, their progress is recorded to a data file on the diskette At the end of the tutorial, they are asked to evaluate the interactive experience Input is saved to the disk for later analysis The finished interactive multimedia program occupies approximately 100 MB of hard disk space and is booted off a floppy disk which is distributed free of charge to all incoming freshmen The program is installed in twenty-five Power Macintosh computers in a computer lab on central campus Upon completion of the tutorial, students return their diskettes to the library, where the data file is printed-out as a progress report and distributed to their freshman seminar instructors _________________________________________________________________ Interview with Dr Dallas Kenny, Multimedia Instruction Librarian InterNIC News: I wanted to give our readers some insight into the finer details of the InfoMagic project What are the technical specifications of the equipment you are using? Dr Kenny: Production of modules: PowerMac 8100/100 AV (64MB RAM) and PC/75mhz Pentium 32 (MB RAM) End-users: PowerMac 6100/16MB RAM, PC/75mhz Pentiums InterNIC News: How does the English 104 module accomplish research training? Dr Kenny: This module, which is administered to all freshman during their second semester required writing course, includes the following units (This module has a linear format to assure that all students complete all units ) 1 Introduction to Wilson Humanities Index 2 Distinguishing between magazines and journals 3 What is an on-line journal index? 4 Introduction to database structure (the parts of a record) 5 Overview of how to find journal articles 6 How to sign-up for a Chapnet/Internet account 7 Signing-on to Chapnet from computer labs, library & home (modem) 8 Accessing Wilson Humanities Index via Chapnet/Telnet 9 How to do a "Simple Subject Search" (using on-line thesaurus - Humanities Index) 10 Identifying the parts of a record (Humanities Index) 11 How to return to the search screen (Humanities Index) 12 Using boolean "and"/"or" in multiple subject searches (Humanities Index) 13 Using subject identifiers as cross-references to similar records (Humanities Index) 14 How to determine if the library owns a journal 15 How to find journal articles in the stacks 16 Document delivery: procedure for ordering journal articles from the library 17 Using "LC Subject Headings" as source for subject search terms 18 How to do subject searches using authors names (on-line catalog) 19 Review of keyword searching unit for on-line catalog (optional) InterNIC News: How does InfoMagic simulate the Internet? Dr Kenny: By using screen shots of actual Internet log-on, telnet, and WEB sessions, and replicating the appropriate keyboard and mouse actions used to navigate or carry-out typical on-line research activities Typically, a narrator, gives the user a problem (i e , how to find information about Japan on the WEB) and suggests the proper mouse/keyboard sequences for connecting to and using a search engine (e g , WebCrawler) to find the information Other examples include simulating a telnet session to allow the user to access other library catalogs via the Internet, and using Netscape to find on-line tutorials for Eudora, ftp, etc InterNIC News: What is the primary purpose/goal of InfoMagic? Dr Kenny: The purpose of the explorer series is to provide university students with a system of hands-on training for information access systems To provide Internet research instruction that is network independent To empower both teachers and learners to shape the content and style of the interactive instructional environment via two-way feedback mechanisms (tracking/reports to instructors/administrators, ideas/criticisms to program developers/programmers), via the built-in survey mechanism To free library, academic computing, and technical support personal from the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that are a burgeoning byproduct of quickly developing information technologies The purpose of InfoKiosk is to make all of these multimedia tutorials freely accessible to the university and broader community InfoKiosk is a non-tracked, random access program, available on computers around campus The purpose of InfoMagic's "InfoAccess" Web page (http://www.chapman.edu/library/services/InfoAccess html) is to build a clearinghouse of web-based tutorials in the use of technology to access information Although bandwidth prohibits general access to real multimedia, it is hoped that the links listed here will be primarily for tutorials which contain graphic depictions and at least some interactivity Anyone can become an official sponsor of this page by submitting URL's for useful tutorial sites InterNIC News: What special features does Macromedia Director offer that enables realistic web simulation? Dr Kenny: It gives one the ability to program screen-shots to simulate actual web/Internet/telnet/log-on, etc sessions The trainer can use instructional voices, video, music and animated "pointers" to stimulate learner interest It provides an easy to learn programming language for tracking progress, collection survey data and generating reports InterNIC News: Will this course be expanded or modified in the future? Dr Kenny: It is updated at the end of each term to incorporate user and instructor suggestions We plan to do more on Internet search and navigation techniques InterNIC News: What sort of response has InfoMagic received from the student body? Dr Kenny: The response has been quite favorable Most students feel that the program is useful Most common criticisms pertain to style or technique For example, some students felt the 30-40 minute tutorial was too long, while others found the narrator (me) boring The narrator problem was addressed by over-dubbing my voice with a variety of campus personalities and using their faces to help personalize the presentation When this was corrected, users found other things to criticize, which is exactly what we want! For more information on this innovative approach to teaching the Internet in the classroom, visit the InfoMagic website at http://www.chapman.edu/library/services/infomag html _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________REGULAR ARTICLE______________________ END USER'S CORNER: CLASSIC BOOKS ON THE INTERNET #1 by Jack Solock, Special Librarian _________________________________________________________________ END USER'S CORNER: CLASSIC BOOKS ON THE INTERNET #1 The Whole Internet for Windows 95: User's Guide and Catalog By Ed Krol and Paula Ferguson O'Reilly and Associates, Inc , Sebastopol CA , 1995 625 p ISBN 1-56592-155-0 More information: http://www.ora.com/catalog/twiwin/noframes html This article begins a series of occasional articles that will discuss great Internet books Discussing Internet books brings up the slightly paradoxical notion that a good way to learn about using the Internet is reading a book about it Yet I think this can be one of the best ways to learn to use the Internet, in spite of some inherent caveats that must be invoked with any book about the Net A good guide through the Net doesn't have to be virtual "Almost any book about the Internet will have a very short 'shelf life' because of the nature of its topic " First, the caveats Almost any book about the Internet will have a very short "shelf life" because of the nature of its topic Things change so rapidly on the Internet that any book that doesn't contain Net-based updates can become out of date quickly Secondly, any book about the Internet that discusses only one operating system can be difficult to understand for people who use another platform In the Internet "Middle Ages" (1992-93), many books were written giving examples based on the UNIX platform UNIX commands are arcane and inherently difficult for anyone not familiar with its operating system Thirdly, any book about the Internet that concentrates on "great sites" is very much subject to the first caveat, on two grounds The first is that there simply is no permanence of sites The second is that even if a site is still up six months after a book mentions it, there is no guarantee that the URL given will still be correct Given these caveats, The Whole Internet for Windows 95: User's Guide and Catalog doesn't look too promising An October 1995 copyright date in Internet time would be equivalent to reading Allan Nevins' original Ordeal of the Union (copyright 1947-1971), the eight volume history of the Civil War era, and thinking that you now were up to date on Civil War scholarship Not very promising indeed, and yet when you read this book, which is an enhancement and update of The Whole Internet: User's Guide and Catalog, originally published in 1992, you quickly realize that Ed Krol is the Allan Nevins of his field The worst thing that can be said about this book is that parts of it might be out of date The best thing that can be said is that it makes the Internet understandable to the non-computer specialist In doing that, Krol has provided a monumental service for the Internet community, just as Nevins did for his In fifteen chapters, readers get a quick tour of all available Internet services at the time of printing This is done in a breezy, informal style that makes a Net newbie feel at home with a possibly intimidating technology The book covers a little about the history of the Internet, about how it works, and about the netiquette of its community But that is only the beginning The core of the book discusses the six major Internet applications, in the approximate order of their use: email, web, network news (Usenet), telnet, FTP, and gopher There is also a chapter on WAIS (wide area information service), although this is a somewhat obsolete service In addition, there are valuable chapters on finding files (Archie) and finding people (several services) There is a short discussion of some ancillary services, as well as a troubleshooting section, list of regional ISP's in the U S and Canada, and a glossary One of the key points made in this book, often forgotten in the gush of publicity about the web, is that the Internet is more than just the web Even though many of the services discussed are available via the web, the web is not the best delivery method for all of them The key to each chapter is Krol's systematic and concise description of each service Although the heart of each chapter contains precise descriptions of how to use the service in the Windows 95 environment and may or may not be applicable to you today, it is the descriptions of the services that are the lasting value of the book By reading these descriptions, it is easy to see the obvious advantages of web over gopher, but it is also easy to see the advantages of using an FTP client over a web browser to FTP, or using a news reader or email package rather than a web client to read and post Usenet news or email By demonstrating these advantages, Krol shows us that the well prepared Internaut will have many access tools in his or her arsenal, not just a web browser After explaining the services, the bulk of each chapter is devoted to a step by step tutorial on how to use the service, explaining a Windows 95 application that was available at time of publication In addition, for email, Eudora is discussed along with Exchange For gopher and archie, public clients are also discussed The tutorials are of varying usefulness depending on your operating system and version of software However, the underlying simple methodology is useful to everyone There is no magic to using the Internet No matter what service you are using, systematically investigate the application's tool bars, drop down menus, and help files to see how they work The best chapters in the book are those concerning email, FTP, and finding people They are concise yet thorough The email chapter includes important information on considerations for choosing an email service, and a listserv discussion that explains the difference between a listserv machine address and a list address (a difference that is still too often misunderstood, as anyone who follows many lists knows) FTP includes specific instructions for logging on and uploading or downloading single or multiple files (text or binary) in five operating systems The best points made in the finding people chapter is that there are many ways to do it (not just web-based services), that you should use them all, and that you should not become discouraged if none of them works Not surprisingly, the web chapter is rather weak, with the book being overtaken by the changes in web technology in the last year And this is not the book to read if you're interested only in creating your own web pages Perhaps the best aspect of The Whole Internet is the style in which it is written Krol eschews the "in your face" hot-cool arrogance of the Wireds of the world, which intimidate a new or uncertain Internet user with the attitude that this medium is only for the technologically "elect," preferring instead a gently positive "this is a great thing, check it out, if you make a mistake, don't worry, nobody is looking over your shoulder " It is acceptable to not know everything, and the book encourages you to try everything Very few people in the Internet community have more experience or know more about it than Ed Krol What he knows most and best is that the Internet is about people, not machines It is about sharing information and communication It is a human thing, and he has written one of the most humane books about it _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________REGULAR ARTICLE______________________ 15 MINUTE SERIES UPDATE by Anna Carts, InterNIC Information and Education Services WHAT'S NEW? _________________________________________________________________ New Modules _________________________________________________________________ We recently released ten new modules! These new modules populate three more training categories of the 15 Minute Series (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/): "Internet History", "Internet Organizations" and "Tools" The titles of the modules are: 1 What is netiquette? 2 What is client/server computing? 3 What is the history of the Internet? 4 What was ARPANET? 5 How did the NSF get involved? 6 Who is the InterNIC? 7 Who is the Internet Society? 8 Who is the Internet Engineering Task Force? 9 Who is the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority? 10 What is Netscape Navigator? Development of the next ten modules continues Look for these new module titles in the coming months: 1 What is a domain name? 2 What is an Internet Service Provider? 3 What is a computer virus? 4 What is HTML? 5 What is a web page? 6 What is WAIS? 7 What is a packet? 8 What is Lynx? 9 What is Microsoft Internet Explorer? 10 What is Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)? _________________________________________________________________ Help us help you! _________________________________________________________________ As always, we encourage your feedback, questions and ideas You can contact us via e-mail at 15min@internic net or by using our feedback form (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/form html) If you encounter problems while using the 15 Minute Series, particularly if you are experiencing difficulty downloading the PowerPoint or "packaged" HTML versions of the modules, we'd like you to tell us We do ask, however, that you be as specific as possible when describing the situation to us Please include any of the following information that may be applicable to your question: 1 Platform used (PC, Macintosh, etc ) 2 Version of PowerPoint or PowerPoint Viewer 3 Filenames or titles of modules that you are trying to download 4 Name and version of web browser 5 Name and version of decompression software being used 6 The word-for-word text of any error messages you receive Some difficulties you encounter may be due to problems with your computer or local network, and should be forwarded to your local computer support personnel before contacting us _________________________________________________________________ 15 Minute FAQs _________________________________________________________________ We have received some interesting questions from users of the 15 Minute Series Here is a summary of some recent queries: Q: The last time I downloaded a PowerPoint module at the anonymous ftp site, I noticed several new files with " tar gz" extensions What are these? A: These files are the "packaged" HTML versions of the 15 Minute series training modules Each of these files contain all of the images and HTML files required to view a complete module Modules are provided in this format so that trainers can easily place a complete module on a local server, or use them directly from a desktop computer and browser For complete instructions on downloading, decompressing and extracting the "packaged" HTML versions of the modules, please see the documentation for this new feature in the "Instructions for using the 15 Minute Series" section of the 15 Minute Series website (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/help html), and then select "About the HTML versions" Q: I receive the message "client not available for viewing information" when using Microsoft Internet Explorer Netscape Navigator seems to work fine Maybe you have an explanation? A: We have tested the 15 Minute Series site using both Macintosh and PC machines, as well as a variety of popular browsers, and have neither encountered this error message, nor could we re-create it However, we do know that both the compressed PowerPoint and HTML files can be handled successfully in multiple environments We also know that other people are currently connecting to the site, viewing the documents, and downloading the modules without difficulty The fact that the error message refers to a "client" seems to indicate that the problem is related to the configuration of your local network or browser at your end In addition, our servers are not experiencing any problems, are up and running, and the documents are in place and available for viewing The 15 Minute Series modules are also available via anonymous ftp from ftp://rs.internic.net/NIC-support/15min/ The ftp site includes the documentation such as the "Introduction" Q: When I try to download the PowerPoint version of a module, I get the message "Internet Explorer cannot download Invalid Handle " Can you share any suggestions on how I can download? A: We have tested downloading of both the PowerPoint and HTML files on Macintosh and PCs using a variety of browsers We know that Internet Explorer is capable of successfully handling both formats It is possible, judging from the information you have provided, that you may need to look at the way your browser is configured, and make sure that you have properly associated the zip extension with compressed files We can't say for certain what the error message indicates, but our suggestion is to make certain that you configure Internet Explorer to handle the zip file extension Alternatively, you may want to simply use ftp directly to retrieve the PowerPoint files Simply ftp to rs internic net, change directory to NIC-support, change directory to 15min, then change to the directory that represents the category you are interested in (i e technology), and then select the file that you want to download The PowerPoint version of the module will have a zip extension, the HTML version of the module will have a tar gz file extension Q: Have you considered translating the 15 Minute Series into other languages? A: We are definitely interested in pursuing multilingual versions of the modules We are currently investigating a number of avenues for accomplishing this task We have not yet decided on a course of action and are still considering our options _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________REGULAR ARTICLE______________________ CALENDAR OF EVENTS by Ashleigh Dockery, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ CALENDAR OF EVENTS _________________________________________________________________ Web World December 2 - 4, 1996 San Diego, CA CAUSE96 December 3 - 6, 1996 San Francisco, CA http://cause-www.colorado.edu/ VISIT THE INTERNIC AT BOOTH #1109! 5th International Conference on Telecommunications/Multimedia December 5 - 8, 1996 Tampa, Florida USA & Monterrey, Nuevo Leon MEXICO http://isteonline.uoregon.edu Enterprise-wide Information Strategies Fall '96 Task Force Meeting of the Coalition of Networked Information December 6 - 7, 1996 San Francisco, CA http://www.cni.org/tfms/1996b fall/ Licensing Electronic Resources: The State of the Evolving Art Sponsored by the Office of Scholarly Communication of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Coalition of Networked Information (CNI) December 8 - 9, 1996 San Francisco, CA http://arl.cni.org/scomm/licpr html 1996 Mid-Winter IETF Meeting Sponsored by Cisco Systems, Inc December 9 - 13, 1996 San Jose, CA http://www.ietf.org/meetings/SanJose html Internet World Fall '96 December 11 - 13, 1996 New York, NY http://events.iworld.com/fall96/iw/ VISIT THE INTERNIC/NETWORK SOLUTIONS, INC AT BOOTH #830! Internet Security for System and Network Administrators December 12, 1996 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.sei.cmu.edu/products/prod descriptions/internet sec html The Internet Leadership Institute - A Compass for Education Sponsored by the Communications Technology Center for the Washington Community and Technical Colleges December 16 - 18, 1996 Bellevue, Washington http://www.ctc.edu/~ett/ _________________________________________________________________ Ongoing/Coming Soon _________________________________________________________________ Classroom Connect Training Seminars Visit http://www.wentworth.net/ to select the location and date near you! American Library Association Mid-Winter Meeting January 1, 1997 Cincinnati, OH Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing Biocomputing Education II: Further Challenges & Opportunities January 6 - 9, 1997 Maui, HI http://cgl.ucsf.edu/psb/ HICSS 30 (Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences) January 7 - 10, 1997 Maui, HI Internet World Canada January 7 - 10, 1997 Toronto, Ontario "Economies of Digital Information and Intellectual Property" January 23 - 25, 1997 Cambridge, MA http://ksgwww.harvard.edu/iip _________________________________________________________________ To Submit your listings to the InterNIC News Calendar of Events, send e-mail to ashleigh@internic net _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________REGULAR ARTICLE______________________ Return to the Index of Performance Measures for all months REGISTRATION SERVICES PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR OCTOBER 1996 by Rich Landers, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ PURPOSE The following performance measures are provided in accordance with the requirements of Amendment 4 to Cooperative Agreement No NCR-9218742, Network Information Services Manager(s) for NSFNET and the NREN: INTERNIC Registration Services PERFORMANCE Communication Received by InterNIC Registration Services Type Number of contacts E-mail to hostmaster@internic net 246,283 Postal/fax 3,466 Phone 41,672 Information Server Performance Type Connections Retrievals Gopher n/a 33,623 WAIS 44,908 29,780 FTP 832,660 2,411,842 Mailserv n/a Telnet 93,804 HTTP 4,673,017 WHOIS Queries Client Server 330,124 8,686,336 Second-Level Domain Registration Summary These figures are cumulative from August 1993 through October 1996 Top-level domain Number COM 662,660 EDU 3,171 ORG 43,960 NET 30,259 GOV 541 US 3,613 Other country 194 Total 740,785 _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________REGULAR ARTICLE______________________ WHAT'S IN A NAME? by Tom Newell, Manager, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ Each month the InterNIC develops this column to share interesting, and hopefully useful, demographic information related to the domain name system and the registration process We will include here in table and graphic format, indications of the size of the "name space" available for Internet trainers to use in curriculum development In this month's column, we provide: + Cumulative Registration Numbers + New Registrations by Month + Domain Name Update Requests by Month + Root Name Server Information Note: A frequent reader will observe that the figures for both cumulative and new domain name registrations have changed from previous counts In reviewing the methodology used for domain name registration counting, the InterNIC has revised the counting model employed as part of it's reporting requirement to the National Science Foundation While the numbers do not change significantly, we apologize for any confusion this may cause If a particular demographic would be of interest, let us know and we will work to include the information in future columns Suggestions for future material may be sent to meter@internic net _________________________________________________________________ CUMULATIVE REGISTRATIONS The figures below describe the total second-level names from the Top Level Domains of COM, NET, ORG, GOV, and EDU as well as the two-letter country codes The numbers reflect the total registrations at that point in time The actual number of active domains for the TLD's indicated is actually lower accounting for name deletions (non-payment, requested deletions, etc ) Information cut-off date: 10/31/96 Cumulative Registrations (1096) Nov-95 174,789 Dec-95 198,739 Jan-96 226,155 Feb-96 263,716 Mar-96 306,294 Apr-96 351,720 May-96 400,852 Jun-96 456,404 Jul-96 512,950 Aug-96 579,437 Sep-96 654,713 Oct-96 740,785 _________________________________________________________________ NEW DOMAIN REGISTRATIONS BY MONTH The figures below describe the total second-level names from the Top Level Domains of COM, NET, ORG, GOV, and EDU as well as the two-letter country codes The numbers reflect the total registration actions completed for the given month Information cut-off date: 10/31/96 New Registrations (by Month) Nov-95 17,840 Dec-95 23,949 Jan-96 27,414 Feb-96 37,564 Mar-96 42,575 Apr-96 45,436 May-96 49,121 Jun-96 55,553 Jul-96 56,559 Aug-96 66,485 Sep-96 75,284 Oct-96 86,074 _________________________________________________________________ DOMAIN NAME UPDATE REQUESTS BY MONTH The figures below describe the monthly request rate for modification of information for the second-level names of the Top Level Domains of COM, NET, ORG, GOV, and EDU as well as the two-letter country codes Information cut-off date: 10/31/96 Update Requests (by Month) Nov-95 8,824 Dec-95 5,277 Jan-96 11,504 Feb-96 15,265 Mar-96 17,961 Apr-96 18,222 May-96 19,950 Jun-96 33,005 Jul-96 25,095 Aug-96 35,192 Sep-96 43,624 Oct-96 141,893 _________________________________________________________________ ROOT NAME SERVER INFORMATION (For period 11/1/96 - 11/25/96) The InterNIC/Network Solutions, Inc operates one of 9 global root name servers in support of the DNS The information below graphically depicts the aggregated sustained query rate (per second) and the types of queries The impact of the sustained query rate is the equivalent of the outbound bandwidth consumption of a T-1 (1 5 million bits per second) connection For more information related to DNS, see http://rs.internic.net/help/domain/dns html _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________EDITORIAL SEGMENT____________________ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR by Hope Glass, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor is intended as a question and answer section for InterNIC-related questions Questions related to personal inquiries on accounts should be sent to "hostmaster@internic net" not "editor@internic net" _________________________________________________________________ dcedotal writes: I am presently putting together a proposal for the design & publishing of a web site for my local regional transit authority (non-profit local government) Would it be appropriate for me to register their domain name under the gov category? And if so, are there any special considerations I should be aware of? Response from InterNIC News: I'm afraid that as described in RFC 1591 (Domain Name System Structure and Delegation) the GOV Top Level Domain (TLD) is restricted to: GOV - This domain was originally intended for any kind of government office or agency More recently a decision was taken to register only agencies of the US Federal government in this domain State and local agencies are registered in the country domain A more appropriate TLD would probably be ORG For more information, RFC1591 is available at the URL: ftp://rs.internic.net/rfc/rfc1591 txt Additionally, a complete guide to the registration process can be found at: http://rs.internic.net/help/domain/ Regards, Tom _________________________________________________________________ Qin Xiaohu writes from Beijing China: Can a company in a country other than the US get its domain name ended with com while the server is in its home land? Is this possible if someone in the US applies this domain name for the third party and puts it in a server in the US? Because I've found a Chinese company's Web address is ended with com and it does not have operations in America, as I know Response from InterNIC News: COM is an international Top Level Domain and anyone, anywhere may register a domain name within it For more information, see RFC 1591 at the URL: ftp://rs.internic.net/rfc/rfc1591 txt Regards, Tom _________________________________________________________________ Send questions and comments to editor@internic net We look forward to hearing from you! _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________EDITORIAL SEGMENT____________________ GET THE INTERNIC NEWS by Hope Glass, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ The InterNIC News will be published monthly You may visit the InterNIC Support Services Web Site (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support) to see the latest issue (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/) and to peruse back issues (http://rs internic net/nic-support/nicnews/archive/) The newsletter will also be made available in a plain-text version, for access at the InterNIC's FTP site (ftp://rs.internic.net/NIC-support/newsletter/) and for distribution via an electronic mailing list To subscribe to the newsletter distribution list, you may either use our Web-based interface at http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/lwgate/NEWSLETTER/, or simply send e-mail to listserv@internic net with the command SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTER in the body of the mail message _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________EDITORIAL SEGMENT____________________ MEET THE STAFF OF THE INTERNIC NEWS by Hope Glass, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ WHO'S WHO ON THE INTERNIC NEWS STAFF Hope Glass is the Editor of the InterNIC News She is in charge of all editorial activities of the publication _________________________________________________________________ Dan Rinzel is Delivery Manager for the InterNIC News and Webmaster for the InterNIC Information and Education group, with responsibility for maintenance and development of all aspects of the user interface of the InterNIC external and internal Web Sites _________________________________________________________________ Ashleigh Dockery, as Event Coordinator for NSI, is responsible for coordinating NSI/InterNIC's involvement in industry tradeshows, as well as designing, implementing, and managing NSI conferences and meetings _________________________________________________________________ Dabe Murphy is a UNIX Systems Administrator and acts as the technical "jack-of-all-trades" for the InterNIC Information and Education group _________________________________________________________________ Rich Landers is the Special Projects Coordinator for the InterNIC Information and Education group He is also a regular contributor to the InterNIC News _________________________________________________________________ Anna Carts is the Training Materials Specialist for the InterNIC Information and Education group She supports the development of the 15 Minute Series training modules _________________________________________________________________ Jack Solock is a Special Librarian with InterNIC Net Scout Services at the University of Wisconsin-Madison He is regularly featured in the End User's Corner of the InterNIC News _________________________________________________________________ Agnes Tatarka is the new "Lead Webmaster " She and members of the web team will be providing technical and graphic support to the Information and Education Services group _________________________________________________________________ Robin Murphy serves as the project manager for the 15 Minute Series She also conducts community outreach and provides project management and product development for a range of InterNIC services aimed at the research and education community She is a regular contributor to the InterNIC News _________________________________________________________________ As Manager of the InterNIC Information and Education Services Group, Tom Newell coordinates all customer information and education programs, including Internet-based information services, WWW resources and tools development, research and education liaison activities, community liaison activities, electronic mailing list administration, and tradeshow, conference, and events planning Tom also serves as the contract liaison for the Net Scout Services project of the InterNIC, hosted at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Finally, Tom coordinates project integration efforts for the InterNIC and NSI which have a WWW component _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________EDITORIAL SEGMENT____________________ USER FEEDBACK by Tom Newell, Manager, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE INTERNIC NEWS? Our goal is to produce an interesting, informative publication that addresses the needs of the Internet's diverse population, both information providers and information seekers Tell us what you'd like to see in future issues of the InterNIC News How can we address your information needs? We also welcome any contributions you are willing to make to the InterNIC News The InterNIC staff looks forward to working closely with you to inform the Internet community about your R&E projects, technological developments, and user services You may contact the editor of the InterNIC News via e-mail at editor@internic net In addition to story ideas or contributions, we sincerely appreciate your comments and suggestions on how we can make this newsletter a publication that satisfies the needs of the Internet community Please note that we can only respond to questions and comments that are accompanied by a valid e-mail address Thank you for your input Tom Newell Manager, Information and Education Services liaison@internic net _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________EDITORIAL SEGMENT____________________ USING MATERIAL FROM THE INTERNIC NEWS by Hope Glass, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ You are encouraged to use and redistribute the InterNIC News, provided the following conditions are met: Permission to copy or use material from the InterNIC News is hereby granted subject to inclusion of the following statement: "This article is reprinted with permission from the InterNIC News, published by the InterNIC " This newsletter and its contents may not be sold for profit or incorporated in commercial documents without the written permission of the copyright holder This material is based on work sponsored by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement #NCR-9218742 The Government has certain rights in this material _________________________________________________________________