__________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ ---------------------------------------------------------- January 1997 - Volume 2, Issue 1 FEATURE ARTICLES: [*] The InterNIC Year in Review [*] DC-ISOC: Keeping an Eye on the Internet Horizon [*] PNG For a Healthy Image REGULAR ARTICLES: Calendar of Events What's in a Name? A Graphical Look at Registration Information End User's Corner - FTP or not FTP: That is the Question. The 15 Minute Series UPDATE - The latest modules, feedback, and FAQs on the 15 Minute Series Performance Measures: Stats for the most recent month EDITORIAL SECTIONS: User Feedback - Tell us what you'd like to see in the InterNIC News Letters to the Editor Meet the News Staff Using this material Other ways to receive the InterNIC News _________________________________________________________________ FROM THE EDITOR by Hope Glass, Information & Education Services _________________________________________________________________ From the Editor What's in a Year? Well, if you are the company that operates the Registration Services and the Information and Education Services of the InterNIC, then a whole lot of domain names. In fact, an average of over 80,000 new domain names were registered by the InterNIC and Network Solutions, Inc. each month by the last quarter of 1996. Our cover story this month focuses on the accomplishments of the InterNIC and Network Solutions, Inc., as the size, international scope, and financial importance of the Internet continues to grow. One of the most significant contributors to the Internet's success, the InterNIC and Network Solutions spent the last year speeding down the highway on a quest for continued service and reliability for registry customers and the Internet community. We all make New Year's Resolutions in January, so maybe now is a good time to begin thinking of what you can do to improve your webpage graphics. PNG for a Healthy Image discusses the new standard for graphics enhancement which has been endorsed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It's bound to get your webpages in shape for 1997. Today, the Internet Society (ISOC) boasts more than 12 chartered chapters around the globe. In this month's InterNIC News, we focus on the DC-ISOC, a chapter which has become known in the Internet community for its ability to organize events which are fundamental to the open evolution of the Internet. Russ Haynal, in a interview with the InterNIC News, imparts his predictions for the DC-ISOC in 1997, and his own personal advice for effectively handling the flood of Internet information. In this month's End User's Corner, Jack Solock gives you a tour of using Internet resources to their full potential in FTP or not FTP: That is the Question. File transfer Protocol (FTP) is an Internet access method which allows you to quickly obtain enormous amounts of information. Jump on the Information Highway in Jack's industrial strength "eighteen wheeler" vehicle. Wishing you the best in 1997, InterNIC News _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ ----------------------FEATURE ARTICLE--------------------- THE INTERNIC YEAR IN REVIEW by Robin Murphy, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ March 1996 - 306,291 second-level domains... June 1996 - 456,400 second-level domains... September 1996 - 654,732 second-level domains... December 1996 - 897,567 second-level domains... The numbers don't lie. Networking technology races along at a dizzying pace, and the explosive growth of the Internet continually threatens to outstrip the physical, organizational, and societal infrastructures that support the network. Needless to say, keeping up with the demands of this expanding user community has kept the InterNIC and Network Solutions, Inc., the company that operates the Registration Services and Information and Education Services of the InterNIC, very busy over the past year. As we begin 1997, we thought we would take a moment to look back on the year that has gone by and review some of the highlights and accomplishments of 1996. New man at the helm Network Solutions, Inc. and the InterNIC will be moving forward under both old and new leadership. On November 1, 1996 Gabe Battista officially became the new CEO for NSI. Formerly president and chief executive officer at Cable and Wireless, Inc., Battista brings years of experience and leadership in the networking technology field to the top position at NSI. Don Telage continues in the position of chief operating officer, and Michael A. Daniels continues to serve as chairman of the board for NSI. "Gabe Battista's knowledge of and experience in telecommunications are expected to make a major contribution to Network Solutions," said Daniels. "We believe he is uniquely qualified to become CEO because of his understanding of the Internet, intranet technology, and the telecommunications needs of the global business marketplace." What does this mean for the InterNIC? As CWI's president and chief operating officer from February 1991 to 1995, Battista developed a "customer focused" business strategy which helped to increase the company's revenues from approximately $424 million to $736 million and more than triple its operating profit, from $22 million to $76 million annually during that period. From 1987 to 1990, Battista was the chief operating officer of National Telephone Services, the second largest long distance operator service company in the U.S. Under his leadership, the company grew from $12 million in annual revenues with operating losses in excess of $13 million in 1987 to revenues of $186 million with an operating profit of $8 million in 1990. The company was sold to Telesphere Communications, Inc. in the fall of 1990. Between 1984 and 1987, Battista served as president of US Sprint, Eastern Group, where he had responsibility for providing sales and services to customers in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for GTE Telenet and General Electric managing a variety of national and international business development projects. "Network Solutions and its customers will benefit from Gabe Battista's personal commitment to providing the highest quality management and services," said Dr. J. Robert Beyster, chairman and chief executive officer of Science Applications International Corporation (Network Solutions, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAIC). "SAIC's and Network Solutions' employee owners believe in putting the customer first." In the public eye While there was plenty to occupy the InterNIC in Herndon, Va., with the number of new domains being registered each month climbing to over 80,000 in the last quarter of 1996, we nonetheless managed to maintain quite a significant presence in the Internet community. As in other years, our staff and managers played an active role in the Internet Engineering Task Force, attending all three of IETF meetings held in 1996 (Los Angeles, CA, 3/96; Montreal, Canada, 6/96; San Jose 12/96). Kim Hubbard, Manager of the InterNIC's IP Section, which is responsible for the allocation of Internet Protocol Network Numbers and Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs), co-authored the document "Internet Registry IP Allocation Guidelines." The document was accepted by the IETF and its coordinating body, the Internet Engineering Steering Group, through the standard process of community review and consensus, and was subsequently released as Request for Comment (RFC) 2050 and accepted as Best Current Practice (BCP) 12 in November of 1996. The guidelines in the document outline the requirements for managing the increasingly limited IP address space and make recommendations for responsible, effective allocation and use of this resource by those involved in the process. A copy of RFC 2050 can be found at http://ds.internic. net/rfc/rfc2050.txt Other InterNIC and NSI staff criss-crossed the continent in 1996, participating in numerous meetings and conferences, delivering presentations, and addressing a wide segment of the Internet user community. Forums and topics included: Supercomm in Dallas, TX (presentation on the history of Internet technology); INET '96, the annual conference of the Internet Society, in Montreal, Canada (presentation on electronic mail, mailing lists, and discussion groups as tools for the K-12 classroom); ONE ISPCON in San Francisco, CA, (presentations on the InterNIC/NSI Domain Name Dispute Policy, as well as IP issues); the North American Network Operators Group (NANOG) in Washington, DC (presentations on Guardian, and an InterNIC update); the West Virginia Rural Development Committee (keynote address covering how the Internet can change the lives of rural communities); the Commercial Internet Exchange (CIX) Internet Administration Workshop (presentation on Registration Technical Policies); and finally, a meeting of the DC Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC) in Reston, VA (presentation on the InterNIC's history, growth, current role, and the issue of multiple top-level domains). Many of these presentations are available on our website at http://rs.internic.net/presentations/. The diverse and innovative activities of the InterNIC did not go unnoticed. On August 10th, 1996, NSI was awarded the prestigious Dvorak Telecommunications Award for Outstanding Commercial Internet Organization at ONE ISPCON in San Francisco, CA. Accepting the award on behalf of the company was Don Telage, chief operating officer for NSI. The John C. Dvorak Telecommunications Excellence Awards were originated in 1992 by internationally known columnist and author John C. Dvorak. Historically, these awards have been presented to individuals and corporate pioneers in the telecommunications industry whose vision and commitment have most significantly contributed to the advancement of telecommunications over the preceding twelve months. For the past five years, Dvorak and the awards committee - comprised of a panel of annually recruited industry experts - have selected the awards ceremony venue; identified award categories; solicited nominations through bulletin board services, Web pages and commercial online services; qualified and evaluated nominees; conducted the balloting process; and identified the award winners. "This Dvorak Award is particularly meaningful to us, considering the intense scrutiny that we have incurred due to our pioneering position in the marketplace," said Telage. "Network Solutions is at the center of the ongoing commercial metamorphosis of the Internet, and we have been keeping a sprinter's pace through the marathon process of explosive domain name registration and IP address space allocation. Our team is inspired by the recognition for doing a good job with a complicated and challenging task - facilitating the exponential growth of the Internet." The 1996 Dvorak Award also recognizes Network Solutions for its leadership in the new frontier of "cyberlaw" where no legislative or case law exists. "We have had to adopt policies to balance the rights of domain name holders and trademark holders," said David Graves, Internet business manager for NSI. "Our policies allow us to continue to register domain names while legitimate disputes are settled." A trademark by any other name... Traditionally, a company's presence in the business community has been tied to a singularly distinct element - their trademark. Those were the old days. Today, as the Internet moves at breakneck pace toward becoming a premier commercial marketing tool, domain names have taken on new importance in corporate strategy and identity. Although the value to a company of having a domain name that corresponds to their trademark is perfectly clear, the rights and responsibilities of domain name registrants vs. trademark holders have at times been, well, less than clear. And NSI, in its role as domain name registrar under the InterNIC agreement, has found itself squarely at the center of this uncharted storm. On August 9th, NSI announced the second revision of the Domain Name Dispute Policy. The policy, which went into effect 30 days later on September 9th, identifies the responsibilities of domain name registrants with respect to trademarks; outlines the steps that registrants and trademark owners should follow to provide reasonable safeguards against trademark infringement; clearly states that NSI plays no role in resolving or arbiting trademark disputes, and reiterates that domain names are registered on a first-come, first-serve basis. This policy framework balances the often divergent interests of a broad community and has been successful at both minimizing legal conflict as well as ensuring disputes stay between the two disagreeing parties. Only 17 lawsuits out of 850,000 registrations (.000024 or 2.4 ten-thousandths of 1%) have included the Registry as a defendant. The revisions to the existing Domain Name Dispute Policy, and in fact the existence of the policy itself, reflect the months of hard-won knowledge and experience NSI has garnered as a pioneer in the area of "cyberlaw." It has indeed been a challenge to confront both the abilities and limitations of our society's existing social and legal infrastructure where the electronic medium is concerned. The full-text of the Domain Name Dispute Policy, Second Revision is located at http://rs.internic.net/domain-info/internic-domain-6. html "So what do you guys do?...Oh, so you're the InterNIC..." Although Network Solutions, Inc., through its InterNIC activities, probably deals with more Internet users than any other company in the world, the InterNIC/NSI connection is still surprisingly unclear for a large number of the InterNIC's constituency. This past fall, NSI and the InterNIC took their show on the road to provide the networking community with a chance to "meet the InterNIC," ask questions, and hopefully gain a better understanding of both the InterNIC and NSI. We traveled first to Atlanta for Networld + Interop (Sept. 16-20, 1996), where a steady stream of visitors flowed through our exhibit booth. Our staff responded to hundreds of questions and comments about the InterNIC, NSI, domain name registration, our directory/database services, and our consulting activities. We then headed to the Big Apple for Fall Internet World '96 (Dec. 9-13, 1996). Inspired by our experience in Atlanta, we set up a help desk in our exhibit booth and provided live, on-site domain name registrations. Our help desk staff were kept hopping - registering new domains, handing out NSI tee-shirts, and making buttons personalized with visitors' domain names. In an interesting twist on Christmas shopping, a number of people abandoned the pull of Macy's and Bloomingdales to shop at the NSI/InterNIC booth instead, registering domain names for friends and family members as Christmas gifts. Throughout the three days, however, we were equally busy answering policy-related questions, explaining how the domain name system works, and introducing the networking community to the full range of InterNIC's services and NSI's business areas. _________________________________________________________________ InterNIC {http://rs.internic.net/} is a cooperative activity between the National Science Foundation {http://www.nsf.gov/}, Network Solutions, Inc. {http://www.netsol.com/} and AT&T {http://www.att.com/}. _________________________________________________________________ Network Solutions is the provider of domain name registration, Internet Protocol (IP) number assignments, and domain name database access. In addition, Network Solutions provides Internet-enabling services such as information and Internet tools for the research and education community. _________________________________________________________________ On the Research and Education Front... Network Solutions, Inc. and the InterNIC are much more than simply names and numbers. Over the course of 1996, the InterNIC's Information and Education Services Section was hard at work developing and refining a wide range of training resources, current awareness services, and resource discovery tools, as well as promoting awareness of these services within the research and education communities for whom they were developed. [CUSeeMe Window] The Information and Education Services Section grew out of an extended outreach program - aimed at the research and education community - that was conducted by the InterNIC over the last quarter of 1995 and the first quarter of 1996. The program was launched in the summer of 1995, when Tom Newell left the University of Texas at Austin and the ranks of the research and education community to join the InterNIC and assume the position of NIC Liaison. As NIC Liaison, Newell was charged with: 1) establishing a relationship between the InterNIC and the research and education community; 2) working with members of this community to identify the most significant problems and challenges they face in today's networked environment, and; 3) determine appropriate ways in which the InterNIC, given its role and mission, might assist the research and education community with meeting those challenges. Over the next 9 months, Newell became a familiar figure at the major academic conferences, delivering numerous presentations and inviting comment from researchers and educators on how the InterNIC might help them make the most of the Internet. The InterNIC also established a mailing list to facilitate discussion between the InterNIC and the research and education community, and distributed a web-based survey to solicit additional feedback and ideas. Culminating in May of 1996, the outreach effort concluded with a series of in-person and videoconferenced focus groups. The in-person focus groups were hosted in Herndon, VA, but the videoconferenced sessions actually used the Internet to discuss the Internet, employing CUSeeMe to link participants around the country and across the Atlantic. These focus groups gathered together prominent members of the academic and research community - all of whom have long standing involvement with networking technology and Internet development - to discuss ways in which the InterNIC might assist their community in meeting the rapidly growing challenges of the networked world. Several recurrent themes surfaced during the course of the outreach activities: organizations needed relief from persistent yet critical tasks such as training; intermediaries (computer services departments, libraries, faculty) needed filtering and selective reporting to help them stay on top of new technologies and Internet resources; and an awareness of what other institutions were doing with regard to networking would be very helpful to organizations in this community as they strive to use technology to help them fulfill their missions. [Internet Roadmap Graphic] [15 minute Workshop Logo] In response, we developed the 15 Minute Series, a collection of free, modular, and extensible training materials on Internet topics, designed specifically for the Internet trainer. Available as either Microsoft PowerPoint files or as compressed and archived HTML files, the training modules can be used either via the trainer's local web server or in a non-networked setting. We were also delighted to begin sponsoring Patrick Crispen's extremely popular email-based Internet tutorial, Internet Roadmap '96. Roadmap '96 workshops now start every two weeks, and an easy to navigate web version has been implemented for the "occasional" student. [NetScout Logo] The Net Scout staff also had their noses to the grindstone this year. Net Scout is a project of the InterNIC and is sponsored by Network Solutions under the National Science Foundation cooperative agreement that established the InterNIC. The perennially popular Scout Report, a weekly, annotated update on Internet resources and tools of interest to researchers and educators (as well as lots of other folks) that is distributed via email and the web, surpassed the 40,000 subscriber mark by the end of the year. During the first part of the year, the Net Scout turned to the community - to scout ideas as to how Net Scout's services might better serve the needs of its users. A survey went out to all subscribers of the Scout Report and the resulting data was analyzed by the Wisconsin Survey Research Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where the Net Scout staff is located. As a result of the survey, completed in July, Net Scout effected improvements to existing services and identified and implemented a number of new services. Notable among the new services was an Internet newsletter produced for K-12 kids by K-12 kids - K.I.D.S., or Kids Investigating and Discovering Sites. The newsletter, a cooperative endeavor between two school districts in Madison, WI, and Boulder, CO, released its first bi-weekly issue on November 5th. In addition, the Scout Toolkit, which provides summaries and descriptions of network tools, was updated to include a new look and an increased emphasis on critical analysis and emerging technologies. And in direct response to feedback from the survey, the Scout Report staff began this December preparing and distributing bi- monthly compilations of the resources and tools reported in the weekly update. These bi-monthly compilations are arranged under 8 broad subject headings: Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, Law, Medicine, Science, Social Science, Network Tools, and Weekend Scouting and are distributed to the subscribers of the Scout Report. To keep the Internet community informed of InterNIC's activities as well as new technologies, emerging issues, and other developments that will affect the future of the Internet, we launched our monthly electronic newsletter, InterNIC News, on April 1st. Picking up the thread of the earlier, print-based, NSF Network News, InterNIC News seeks to provide a forum for the exploration, examination, and discussion of today's news and tomorrow's technology. [Educom Logo] To promote the fruits of these labors, InterNIC/NSI staff, along with Net Scout staff, made the rounds at these academic conferences: the American Library Association's (ALA) annual conference in New York, NY; the Association for Computing Machinery/Special Interest Group for University and College Computing Services (ACM/SIGUCCS) in Chicago, IL; EDUCOM '96 in Philadelphia, PA; the Library and Information Technology Association/Library Administration and Management Association (LITA/LAMA) National conference in Pittsburgh, PA; and CAUSE '96 in San Francisco, CA. [Cause Logo] Between manning exhibit booths, holding poster sessions, and delivering formal presentations, the staff of the Information and Education Services Section spoke with literally hundreds of networking and information professionals from both the academic and commercial community, gathering valuable feedback to help us target our efforts more directly at the needs of this sector. The full range of InterNIC's Information and Education Services may be browsed at http://rs.internic.net/nic- support/ Back to school! Network Solutions, Inc. also went back to school this fall - armed with wiring kits instead of books. In October, NSI donated 2 wiring kits, one to Lake Anne Elementary in Reston, VA and one to St. Charles Borromeo Elementary in Arlington, VA as part of the Net Day East program. Net Day East was an effort to get the K-12 sector "wired" and ready to take advantage of technology in the classroom. Perhaps even more valuable, however, was the time many NSI staff members donated on weekends and afternoons to help with the wiring of the area schools and coordination of the Net Day East project. More information on the Net Day East effort is available at http://205.117.18.2:80/netday-east/ In addition, NSI volunteered in July to become one of three corporate executive sponsors, along with Cisco Systems and MCI Corporation, of CyberFair '97. CyberFair is a project of the Global SchoolNet Foundation that "encourages schools to use the Internet to share resources, establish partnerships, and work together to accomplish common goals." The first CyberFair, in 1996, was so successful that CyberFair '97 was immediately put in the works. For more information, consult the CyberFair '97 homepage, available via the The Global SchoolNet Foundation's website [http://www.gsn.org/gsn/cb/index.html]. Our Mission = our customers and the community The size of the task NSI and the InterNIC are charged with grows in direct proportion to the growth of the Internet as a communications and business medium. Developments in networking technologies also perpetually raise users' expectations and, consequently, the level and quantity of service demanded of those who support the network. As one might imagine, the activity level at the InterNIC accordingly resembles that of an airport on the day before Thanksgiving in the midst of a fare war. We have perhaps the largest and most diverse customer base in the field, possessing a tremendous variety of reasons for seeking our services. Our customers also have a great deal invested in the future success of the Internet, and consequently in the responsible and effective management of critical resources such as domain names and IP numbers. It is with all this in mind that we have listened to our customers and, over the past year, gone to work to develop and implement services, tools, and resources that take into account the needs of our customers today as well as the needs of the community tomorrow. Following is a summary of some of the more notable improvements and new services the InterNIC launched in 1996. The InterNIC Template Tool Suite was developed to provide an easy-to-use web interface for the registration process. Released in May, the Template Tool Suite offers registry customers the opportunity to search the Whois database, choose between a single page form for registration or step-by-step guidance through the process, and track the status of their registration - all via the web. The InterNIC Template Tool Suite can be accessed at http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/itts The implementation of fees for domain name registrations gave rise to an entirely new concern: billing and accounts receivable. In response to the many, many requests from our customers, we announced a new invoicing procedure on October 24th. The new procedure moved to one domain name per invoice, a change from the previous practice of billing multiple domains on a single invoice. We took this step to accommodate those organizations who may need to pass on the costs of domain name registrations to third parties. The new invoicing procedure actually represents the introduction of an alternative billing method, however, it does not lock our customers into the one domain per invoice option. Consolidated statements are still available for those customers who wish to be billed for multiple domains with a single invoice. To make the payment process both easier and faster for our customers, NSI and the InterNIC began seriously investigating web payment options as well as outsourcing for some of the billing and payment processes. The result? On December 2nd, NSI launched web payment for domain names via First Virtual Holdings, Inc.'s VirtualPIN(tm) system. "First Virtual will provide an essential component of our customer service operation," said Gabe Battista. "As we receive increasing numbers of domain name requests, First Virtual will facilitate registrations by streamlining our accounts receivable processing and by providing our customers with a secure option for electronic payment of their domain name registrations and renewal fees." The First Virtual system works by using its VirtualPIN(tm)as an alias for the customer's credit card, thereby allowing customers to make purchases via the web without sending their credit card number across the network. First Virtual confirms every transaction with a customer via email prior to charging the customer's credit card for the purchase. Customers who opt for the First Virtual payment method for their domain name registration fees can apply for a VirtualPIN(tm) via the InterNIC's website. A demo of the process, as well as additional information, is provided at the following URL: http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/fv/payment NSI also reached agreement with several other companies to provide billing and accounts receivable services for the InterNIC. These outsourcing arrangements are expected to considerably streamline and speed the entire payment process, benefiting both the InterNIC and its customers. In December, a new invoicing process went into operation. As a result, invoicing will occur much more quickly and invoices have been updated to include more information so that our customers can more easily understand their accounts. For customers paying by check, we also implemented a new check processing procedure in December. When all steps in the process are complete, this new arrangement will result in check payments being posted to the customer's account the day after (and in some cases, the same day) they are received at the processing address. Our new invoices also reflect the PO boxes now used for check payments under this new system. For our credit card customers, we have taken steps to make it easier to pay with a credit card by phone. In January of 1997, we expect to implement a 1-888 number our customers can call seven days a week, 24 hours a day, to provide their credit card numbers and pay for their domain registrations. The 1-888 number will be able to handle an unlimited amount of traffic. NSI also continues to investigate options for credit card payments made directly via the web. The InterNIC processes tens of thousands of templates each month via email. The information provided on these templates comprises the content of a publicly available database (Whois) which facilitates the management of Internet-connected networks. To maintain the integrity of the database and provide a secure environment for registration activity, our staff must verify that requests to modify or change information in a database record come from a reasonable source - someone who is authorized to make such requests for that record. We also consider it important to know that the people who make the requests are who they say they are - this is authentication. Enter Guardian, a scaleable model for authorizing changes and modifications to database records and authenticating the sources of those requests. Guardian, which was released in May, enables the registry customer to specify one of three elective levels of security and authentication for the information they provide. Customers may choose from the following three options: "email from" - the email address of the sender must match the email address of an authorized contact for the record; encrypted password - a clear-text password is encrypted, sent with the request and must match the encrypted password of the information being guarded; and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), which enables the requester to "sign" the request with a secret "key" which must match a public "key" they keep on file with the InterNIC. A list of frequently asked questions about Guardian, along with the original proposal and other information is provided at http://rs.internic.net/guardian/. Looking ahead As we start 1997, we know what to expect. The Internet will continue to grow, society and its existing framework will continue to be challenged by that growth, and we will be part of this turbulent yet exciting scenario. And, of course, in many ways we do not know what to expect - technology and its users continue to break molds and surprise existing thresholds. Who could have predicted the growth over the past year? To return to the numbers, second-level domain name registrations in the COM, EDU, GOV, ORG, and NET top level domains grew from 198,741 at the close of 1995 to 897,567 at the close of 1996. The number of updates, or modifications, performed each month for existing domain names steadily increased, from 5,277 in December of 1995 to 152,816 in December of 1996. The number of email messages received at the hostmaster address, which handles email related to domain registrations at the InterNIC, rose from 89,673 in December of 1995 to 222,718 in December of 1996, peaking at 244,228 in November of 1996, with a daily average of 8,140 messages in that month. Between March and December of 1996, the percentage increase in InterNIC activities grew as follows: email requests - 107.4%; postal or fax requests - 297.1%; telephone calls - 61.6%; domain names registered - 65.4%; domain name record updates - 750.8%; autonomous system number allocations - 289.0%. The only area in which transactions decreased was IP number allocations. This decrease is deceptive, however, and in no way should the figures be interpreted to indicate less demand. The fact that fewer IP numbers were allocated reflects the circumstance of a finite resource and the increasingly difficult and complex task of effectively managing this resource in a manner consistent with the Internet community's interests. Fewer IP number allocations do not mean a lighter workload or an easier road for the InterNIC's IP Section; as demand increases and supply diminishes, conservation becomes more critical and IP number allocation becomes a more challenging task. As we step into 1997, we look forward to continuing to work with the Internet community to address the issues surrounding the numeric addressing scheme. As the task facing the InterNIC and NSI has grown, so have the project and the company. We have increased the size of our full-time staff threefold in the course of the year, and our physical space has likewise expanded threefold to meet the needs of the InterNIC project. We have added trunk lines to our phone system during the year to help us handle the steadily increasing volume of phone calls, and we are waiting for yet additional trunk lines to be installed around the beginning of 1997. And we continue to invest significant amounts in new hardware, software, and engineering talent to better enable us to handle the phenomenal growth that the Internet, and consequently our role, experiences daily. What has been the result of this investment? Over 85,000 domains were registered in the month of November alone, and over 90% of those requests were automatically processed by our auto-parser within 24 hours. We are not content to stop here, however. As the Internet stands poised to become truly the most ubiquitous communications medium in history, issues such as Internet II, Ipv6, new top-level domains, and secure electronic commerce are but a few of the challenges on the horizon. Although the road ahead promises to be uneven, it also promises to be exciting. NSI and the InterNIC view the events of 1996 as invaluable experience, and we look forward to continuing to put that experience to work for the Internet community in 1997. _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ ----------------------FEATURE ARTICLE--------------------- DC-ISOC: KEEPING AN EYE ON THE INTERNET HORIZON by Hope Glass, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ In the fall of 1994, Russ Haynal and three or four other Internet experts, began discussing the possibility of establishing a D.C.-metropolitan chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC). Four months later, in January of 1995, DC-ISOC gathered together the area's leading Internet specialists, and began striving to serve the interests of the US governmental-issues segment of the global Internet community. Internet Society Mission Statement: _________________________________________________________________ "To assure the beneficial, open evolution of the global Internet and its related internetworking technologies through leadership in standards, issues, and education." Today, a mailing list reminiscent of a "Who's Who of the Internet" forms the 1,500 membership names of the DC-ISOC. Membership includes leading Internet technology innovators from a variety of academic, government-research, and corporate backgrounds, as well as individuals who share a great interest in fostering an open evolution of the Internet. Using the mailing list as a medium, DC-ISOC members stay informed of upcoming meetings and chapter events. Early on, DC-ISOC realized its role in the technology revolution would not be one of government-issues facilitator, but that of a unifying Internet public meeting planner and agenda-maker. DC-ISOC helps strengthen relationships between key technology organizations by planning and sponsoring key events, thus allowing for the successful discussion and debate of timely Internet-related issues. _________________________________________________________________ Interview with DC-ISOC's Russ Haynal [picture of Russ Haynal] The InterNIC News talks with DC-ISOC's Co-founder, Russ Haynal, about last year's achievements, and how DC-ISOC's role could expand in 1997. InterNIC News: How many members are in the Washington D.C. chapter of the Internet Society (DC-ISOC)? Russ Haynal: We have informally defined the DC-ISOC to consist of any Internet Society members who are within driving distance to attend our events in the Washington D.C. Metro area. However, our events have historically been free and open to anyone to attend, so we have never checked for ISOC membership cards at the door. In reality, the DC-ISOC consists of anyone who has registered to be on our announcement mailing list that has grown to include over 1500 names. Anyone who wants to join this announcement-only mailing list may do so at http://www.dcisoc.org. InterNIC News: How does the D.C. Chapter differ from the other chapters of the Internet Society? "Chapters of the Internet Society serve the Society's purposes by serving the interests of a segment of the global Internet community through a local presence, focus on local issues and developments, use of local languages. Every chapter has an explicit statement of purpose." R.H. : We were one of the very first chapters to form. Initially, Vint Cerf and Tony Rutkowski expressed an interest in seeing a local chapter develop to provide a conduit between ISOC and the U.S. Government. Several volunteers, including myself, were "drafted" to start-up a local chapter. Unfortunately, the ISOC did not yet have a clear process defined on how it wanted to sponsor/sanction chapters. Most of the other chapters have formed spontaneously. Country chapters seem to focus on nation-specific issues and education of their growing Internet community. Part of the original motivation for having a D.C. chapter was from a concern that the ISOC headquarters (ISOC being an international organization) should not be overly involved in U.S. lobbying efforts. This is a role which the chapter has not yet stepped-up to. So far we have organized a series of public meetings, and brokered one meeting between the U.S. administration and ISP's concerning Internet access for rural areas. There are several other ISOC chapters that are self-forming in other U.S. cities, but there is currently no "US-national chapter of the ISOC." A partial list of ISOC chapters is located at http://www.isoc.org. InterNIC News: What were some of the major achievements of the DC-ISOC in 1996? R.H. : We held several large events which attracted hundreds of attendees to hear about timely issues. For example, last January we held a meeting about the Telecommunications reform act with speakers such as Tom Kalil (White House), Audrie Kraus (Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility), Chris Casey (Senate Advisor) and Brock Meeks (Hot Wired). Other events have included Vint Cerf, Tony Rutkowski, Don Heath and Network Solution's Don Telage. InterNIC News: What were some of the major obstacles and how did DC-ISOC overcome them? R.H. : The chapter has functioned with a budget of $0. Our biggest challenge is finding "free" large meeting places (200-300 seats). DC-ISOC members have volunteered sites - and more recently we have accepted corporate sponsorship of meetings. Another challenge for the DC-ISOC is that it operates based on the free time of volunteers. Most of these volunteers are heavily involved with the Internet, which means that they are probably experiencing a "feeding frenzy" of activity and must prioritize their time. A recent request to the DC-ISOC membership has generated a fresh group of volunteers as we head into 1997. InterNIC News: How has the DC-ISOC facilitated in the transition from technically-savvy Internet users to the average WWW Surfer? R.H. : This is beyond the scope that DC-ISOC has currently defined for itself. The D.C. area is fortunate that there are several different Internet related groups in the area, each one serving a particular user segment. For example, Gabe Golberg runs the Capital PC User Group - Internet Special Interest Group, which facilitates the sharing of knowledge that you have asked about. Jeff Graber runs the DC Internet Developer's Association which is geared toward the area's webmasters. The leaders of these various groups are able to stay well-informed because they all know each other, belong to each other's mailing lists, and attend each other's meetings. This leaves the DC-ISOC free to concentrate on industry-level topics and issues. InterNIC News: What recommendations do you have for "newbies" in regards to learning about the Internet? R.H. : This is a question I could spend all day on, since I happen to earn my living as an Internet consultant and trainer to many prominent companies and government organizations. Individual users should seek out a local Internet class to "jump-start" their knowledge and exploration of the Internet. The Internet represents so many concepts, that an initial training session will save countless hours during the person's first few weeks online. Look for a course that gets beyond the mechanics of the software, but also focuses on HOW to find things on the Internet. Organizations which are new to the 'Net, should clearly define what they want to accomplish with their Internet connection. Unfortunately, for many organizations, the Internet is a liability - not an asset. They get a T-1 connection and this program called "Netscape" proliferates onto everybody's workstation. It's no wonder that the Internet's reputation is tarnished for some organizations. I feel the responsibility lies with management to ensure that this powerful tool is successfully integrated into the organization's business practices. My suggestions for an organization's Internet training is in an online archive for a column I wrote: http://www.clark.net/pub/rhaynal/bpr/a0696trn.html. InterNIC News: The Internet has grown and evolved tremendously in the last couple of years. What aspect of the growth most pleasantly surprised the DC-ISOC? R.H. : It's hard to answer that with the voice of "the DC-ISOC" since the diverse DC-ISOC membership includes backbone ISP's, government employees, and average users. I will say that the Internet's growth has directly translated into a strong local economy since we are home to organizations such as UUNET, Sprint, MCI, PSI, Digex, AOL, NSF, Internic and dozens of other prominent organizations. The Internet's exponential growth is often mirrored in the explosive growth of these organizations (and sometimes their stock value). Many of the people I know have developed this glazed look of disbelief/exhaustion just trying to keep up with it all. InterNIC News: What will be the biggest challenge for the continued growth of the Internet in 1997? R.H. : There has been some recent attention given to the network collapsing under its own growth. I tend to be optimistic that with the ever increasing capital flowing into the industry that those challenges will work themselves out. Of course, the media will hype every hiccup as a catastrophe, but we will get there. I am more concerned about the user's interface to the Internet. The very rapid introduction of competing media formats is making it difficult for the average user to keep their computer properly configured. This is further exasperated by webmasters who seem more intent on showing off their multi-media capabilities than giving you access to the content. The introduction of graphical web browsers (with their point and click interface) was an improvement for most users, but I worry that we are losing some of that progress as I now need 20-50 Mb of competing browsers, helper applications, plugins, JAVA, Active X, Cookies, etc. The average user is not interested in replacing and configuring these applications every 3 months. Remember that the current Internet users already represent the more technically inclined of our population. To continue to grow, the Internet must be usable by people who may have never touched a computer or who "can't program their VCR." : -) InterNIC News: What does the future hold for DC-ISOC in 1997? R.H. : I look forward to a well-rounded agenda of events. There are always new issues with the Internet and we look forward to providing face to face opportunities for people to hear about the issues. Potential topics include intellectual property, Spammers, and of course, regulatory issues. There are many existing working groups, mailing lists and newsgroups that deal with specifically defined issues and it is not DC-ISOC's intention to duplicate any of that specialized work. However, the D.C. Metro area provides a unique membership base where a wide variety of people can exchange their views at our meetings. I also think the relationship between the ISOC and DC-ISOC (and other chapters) will become better defined. _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ ----------------------FEATURE ARTICLE--------------------- PNG: FOR A HEALTHY IMAGE by Rich Landers, Information & Education Services _________________________________________________________________ PNG origins Are the days of creating gif images for the World Wide Web coming to an end? Well, that's not likely to happen soon, but as graphics and web technology continue to merge and improve we can expect to see some significant enhancements to graphic capabilities. Perhaps the most notable WWW graphics enhancement to come along recently is the Portable Network Graphic (PNG). Before I go any further on this topic I feel obliged to inform my readers that PNG is pronounced "ping" by people who sound as if they know what they're talking about, and it also will appear as an extension to the PNG filename (for example, "image.png"). The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Internet specification organization, has endorsed PNG as a graphics algorithm. "On the web, images may be represented in many different formats," W3C remarks. "Clients vary as to the set of formats they support, and servers vary in the formats which they provide. The data is transferred in whatever seems to be the 'best' format which the client and server have in common." PNG has passed muster with the W3C, and the consortium has recently issued the following statement on PNG: PNG is an extensible file format for the lossless, portable, well-compressed storage of raster images. PNG provides a patent-free replacement for GIF and can also replace many common uses of TIFF. Indexed-color, grayscale, and truecolor images are supported, plus an optional alpha channel for transparency. Sample depths range from 1 to 16 bits. The Internet Media Type image/png was approved on 14 October 1996. A quick review of basic image-compression principles may help to clarify the true strengths and weaknesses of PNG. Image-compression techniques broadly fall into two different types: lossless and lossy. Lossless compression compresses the image so that it is identical to the original;Lossy compression compresses the image by permanently throwing out some of the image data. Nevertheless, well-implemented lossy compression schemes can achieve far higher compression ratios than any lossless method while producing results that the untrained eye cannot usually distinguish from the original. _________________________________________________________________ "PNG is the breakthrough in color imaging on the web that finally allows everyday users to easily display high-quality images on their web pages. HP and Microsoft are particularly pleased to have PNG support RGB in its effort to accurately communicate color across the web." -- Michael Stokes, Project Manager, Color Research, Hewlett-Packard Research Laboratories; Chairman, International Color Consortium _________________________________________________________________ Digitized electronic images .GIF, .JPEG and .TIFF. There are hundreds of file formats, but these are the most popular ones used by graphic artists, web artists and multimedia specialists. Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is the universal standard graphics compression algorithm and is an 8 bit 256 color graphic that is compressed by squeezing all colors in the graphic down to 256 colors. It was developed as a proprietary format for the digital transmission of images over Compuserve’s online service. Colors that are within an acceptable range to say a predefined green, are mapped to that green color during compression. The problem is that the Macintosh, PC and Unix platforms all define different system palettes, thus GIFs can look different on different platforms. Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) offers compression in stages, and is the industry standard for compressing 24-bit and 8-bit color or gray-image files. GIF images take up less space than JPEG images, but they represent only 8-bit images and 256 colors, whereas JPEG supports 24-bit images and 16.7 million colors. JPEG is also mainly used by Web artists but can extend to 16 million colors and is the preferred format choice for pictures that contain a lot of hues and complex colors. The quality is best with JPEG. Tagged image-file format (TIFF) are used mainly for desktop publishing and can contain RGB or CMYK color information. Graphic artists frequently convert TIFFs to JPEGs in webpage production. PNG as a New Internet Standard _________________________________________________________________ "Microsoft Office 97 uses Portable Network Graphics (PNG) as its native lossless compressed graphic image format. PNG allows us to drastically reduce the size of files that contain graphics and allows us to implement transparency in our new OfficeArt drawing component. Since PNG is a small and platform-independent format, Office users can easily exchange graphical documents across the web." -- Jon DeVaan, Vice President of Office product development, Microsoft Corporation _________________________________________________________________ The development of the PNG specification is supported by CompuServe, the original creators of the GIF format, who wished to see PNG become accepted as the new Internet standard format for lossless graphics. PNG was developed in response to a need for faster loading, enhanced quality cross-platform graphics. One of the features it will provide for the web enthusiast is a consistent visual effect on a variety of different platforms and browsers. Automatic gamma correction permits PNG files to be correctly displayed on Macs, PCs, SGI workstations, etc. (all of which have different gamma values) without appearing either too light and faded or too dark and contrasty. It accomplishes this by storing the source gamma used by the image author. Chromaticity data can also be stored in PNG files and used by Color Management Systems on the viewing platform to compensate for differing monitor types; an important capability where precise color matching is required (for example, brand recognition, product design, medical applications, fine art and on-line catalogs). PNG images are also more economical with memory space. During the W3C testing phase, indexed color PNG files averaged about 30% smaller than the equivalent GIF, and truecolor PNG files were 30-40% smaller than the equivalent (LZW compressed) RGB TIFF. Although the developers of PNG acknowledge that it produces a graphic that is far superior to GIF, it is not a competitor for JPEG, which is still the preferred graphics format for lossy storage of images. Also, since the GIF format is the accepted standard for web graphics on any platform, it is not likely to be replaced by PNG overnight. Nevertheless, the PNG enhancements are something that should be considered when creating web graphics, because PNG may very well become the lossless standard in the next few years. A technical specification for PNG is available at http://www.boutell.com/boutell/png/PNG-CRCAppendix.html, or for a spiffy demo on PNG interlacing see http://guest.jpl.nasa.gov/PNG/pngpics.html. Go to http://codelab.siegelgale.com/solutions/ to install a plug-in that allows you to see PNG images directly in your web browser. Now compare the images at http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/jan97/png.html. _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________REGULAR ARTICLE______________________ END USER'S CORNER: FTP OR NOT FTP? THAT IS THE QUESTION -- HOW TO DRIVE THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY WITH AN EIGHTEEN WHEELER by Jack Solock, Special Librarian _________________________________________________________________ When we do the Scout Report (http://www.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/ or http://rs.internic.net/scout/report/), we like to think of ourselves as guides, allowing users to start up their information vehicles and ride down the highway, perhaps stopping here and there to load small items into their trunks if they feel the need. The web is like that. It is a very pretty road to travel, and has many beautiful and useful sites to see. It is analogous to taking a nice Sunday drive (when the traffic isn't too terrible), stopping the car here and there to enjoy the beautiful vistas, and maybe even picking up a souvenir now and then. Before I came to InterNIC, I was a librarian at a Special Library at the University of Wisconsin. My job there was not information guide, but information hauler. The professors I worked for appreciated the nice tours I occasionally provided them. But they enjoyed it much more when I backed my information eighteen wheeler at their dock and unloaded a truckful of information that they could process into new knowledge. The Internet is about two things, communication and sharing of information. While one can get information from the web, its main function, it could be argued, is communication. Another Internet access method, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), is much more effective for industrial strength information sharing. It allows you to to trade in your nice Sunday car for an eighteen wheeler, fifty car freight train, or even a super tanker. It is the best way to quickly obtain enormous amounts of information from the Internet, and one of the great drawbacks of the Net is that information providers don't realize how much more useful sites could be if they simply provided FTP access as well as web access. This column will be a tour rather than a tutorial on FTP, although we will show the basic steps of how to obtain information via this access method. By taking you to just a few sites, we will demonstrate how you can use FTP to take full advantage of Internet resources. Not only that, but with just a little practice, you will be able to tell your friends that not only do you "surf the web," but that you also know how to drive an eighteen wheeler. " Before the tour, it is important to point out the key difference between FTP and web access, which is the ability to download multiple files (the mget command). There are other differences as well, but this is the most important one for users. First, for those who need to know how to use anonymous FTP (a type of FTP that allows any user access to Internet FTP resources), the best place to start is the FTP FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) at the Usenet FAQ archives at Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/faq). If you already have an FTP client, now is as good as any time to use it. ftp rtfm.mit.edu login: anonymous password: your email address cd pub/usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/ get faq bye (cd means change directories) (Note that in this and all cases, directories are separated by / and you may have to change directories individually, depending on your client.) For those who don't have FTP access tools, they can be obtained many places, one of the most effective of which is the PBS (Public Broadcasting System) Beginner's Guide to the Internet FTP section (http://www.pbs.org/uti/guide/ftp.html). Here you can find not only FTP information, but also connections to FTP programs for Windows® and Macintosh®, and file decompression software that you may need. It is very important, especially if you are new to FTP, to obtain this information before you continue. Now, let's take a look at a well-maintained FTP archive as a model for FTP maintenance, as well as to see advantages of the FTP access method. The 15 Minute Series (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min) This is the InterNIC Information and Education Services' set of materials for Internet trainers. If you access the 15 Minute Series through the web, you can do many interesting things, such as search or browse the materials, or even download each set in HTML or PowerPoint format. The site is also useful in that it provides exhaustive instructions about decompressing and using the materials. However, if you were interested in downloading all the materials in the Index and Search Services section, for example, FTP would be a much more effective way to do it. ftp rs.internic.net login: anonymous password: your email address cd NIC-support/15Min At this point, if you didn't know where the Index and Search materials were, you would download (or view, if your FTP client were able to) the files called "table-of-contents.txt" and "instructions.txt." get table-of-contents.txt get instructions.txt bye If your client doesn't support viewing files, you must download these files (index and help files) and look at them first to see what files you want to download. Admittedly, this is cumbersome, but sometimes driving an eighteen wheeler is cumbersome. Remember that it is the data you can obtain that is the advantage of FTP. In this case, InterNIC has provided the information you need to know about where to find the index-search materials, as well as instructions on how to differentiate the HTML from PowerPoint files. This is good FTP netiquette, and any effective FTP archive will have some sort of table of contents or instruction file that identifies the files in the archive and how to use them. Now, if you viewed the two files in your client, you can simply go to the index-search directory. If not, you might need to open another FTP session to get the files. ftp rs.internic.net login: anonymous password: your email address cd NIC-support/15min/index-search Here we see that there are some text files (instructional in nature), some tar.gz files (HTML materials) and .zip files (PowerPoint materials). Now, if you want to download, say, all five searching modules in PowerPoint format: binary prompt mget *.zip (for PowerPoint materials) bye Note that you told the client to download in binary mode, and turned the prompt toggle off so that you are not queried before each file is downloaded. Then, using the mget command (multiple get), you got all the files with one command. * tells the client to get everything with a .zip extension. With the proper decompression software, you have access to all the files. Note that it is crucial to tell the client to download binary files in binary mode, or the files will be useless. You have left your car and are now driving a small truck. You could have done all this through a web browser (using the format ftp://...), and the browser would even recognize the binary format when downloading, but you would only be able to download one file at a time. The advantages to FTP become clear when you decide you want to download the entire 15 Minute Series (31 modules at present.) ftp rs.internic.net login: anonymous password: your email address cd NIC-Support/15min/modules binary prompt mget *.zip OR mget *.tar.gz Sit back and have a cup of coffee while FTP loads your truck with the 15 Minute Series. The above is a case where the web was a good place to find out what the 15 Minute Series is about, how it is organized, and what a module looks like. Once you have seen that, use FTP to get the goods. Now, for just a few examples of how FTP can help load the information goods in your eighteen wheeler. We will look at both the web and ftp sites of these information repositories, in order to see how you can use both to aid in your information mining. 1. USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Economics and Statistics System. If you are interested in U.S. dairy statistics you can go to the web site (http://www.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/) and do a title lookup on "dairy." Here you would find the Dairy Yearbook, a compendium of over 100 time series. The series are available in Lotus spreadsheet format, and with the proper helper applications installed, you could look at them one at a time. Via FTP, you can download the entire Dairy Yearbook with one command. ftp usda.mannlib.cornell.edu login: anonymous password: your email address cd usda/data-sets/livestock/89032 binary prompt mget *.wk1 bye The problem in this case is that the web site does not directly point you to FTP access or explain the directory structure. If you didn't already know that FTP access was available, you might never find it. You would have to send a help message to the Albert R. Mann Library (Cornell University) to find out about the FTP site, or access the gopher archive, (gopher://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu) where FTP access information is available. This, of course, is an information maintenance problem, not an FTP problem. But it is a common one. 2. Social Sciences Oriented Subject Bibliographies (http://coombs.anu.edu.au/CoombswebPages/BiblioClear.html) Here is a repository of over 160 Social Science bibliographies maintained at the Australian National University. If you are interested in Chinese studies related bibliographies you can find 10 here. You could read, print, or download them one at a time. Via FTP you can download 5 of them at one time (as the FTP archive is not as complete as the web archive.) This, again is a problem with archive maintenance, not FTP. ftp coombs.anu.edu.au login: anonymous password: your email address cd coombspapers/subj-bibl-clearinghouse/ prompt mget chin*.* bye Since these are text files, no binary command is necessary. 3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Selective Data Access (http://stats.bls.gov:80/sahome.html) This is a marvelous site, where you can retrieve selective data by querying a form. If you are interested in Local Area Unemployment Statistics, you can find them here. Via FTP: ftp to stats.bls.gov login: anonymous password: your email address cd pub/time.series/la binary prompt get la.area get la.area.type get la.contacts get la.doc get la.measure get la.period get la.series get la.data.58.Wisconsin bye In this case you get all the monthly information available about Wisconsin (a 1.6 megabyte file), along with all the documentation to explain the file. Through FTP, BLS has provided the entire Local Area Unemployment dataset, which you could then use other statistical programs to analyze. The above download would fit in an eighteen wheeler, but if you wanted to, you could fill a supertanker with Local Area Unemployment information about all the states. Users should note that in all the above examples save the 15 Minute Series, it was difficult to directly correlate the web to the associated FTP information. If you want to use FTP for downloading lots of information, you should expect this, and expect to contact the information maintainers or your librarian to help you. Driving an eighteen wheeler is often more difficult than driving in your car. It will continue to be so until information maintainers realize that easy FTP access is as important as easy web access. Unfortunately, this is not a widely held principle in the Internet community. That said, if you really want to exploit the resources of the Internet, a working knowledge of FTP is required. And by the way, webmasters use it extensively to set up the pretty web scenery that we all enjoy. That is called uploading FTP files, but that is something for another place and time. _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________REGULAR ARTICLE______________________ 15 MINUTE SERIES UPDATE by Anna Carts, Information & Education Services. _________________________________________________________________ Introduction The Information and Education Services staff took to the road again in December, this time showcasing our resources at CAUSE '96 in San Francisco. Conference attendees viewed the 15 Minute Series modules via a live Internet connection, and enthusiastically asked when we would be coming out with more (See New Modules below). Thanks to all of you who stopped by our booth at CAUSE. Some of you merely wanted to say "Thanks" for providing the 15 Minute Series, others stopped out of curiosity, and still others provided feedback on our services. In addition, our Poster Session was very well attended, and was met with positive comments and a great deal of interest. _________________________________________________________________ Coming in 1997: We are committed to providing Internet trainers with useful, up-to-date training materials. To complete this goal, the 15 Minute Series will continue to grow throughout 1997. You can count on both new modules and new features in the coming year. Look for the following additions to the 15 Minute Series in 1997. This is by no means an exhaustive list. As we implement new features, and as the 15 Minute Series evolves throughout the year, we will continue to count on your feedback. * NEW MODULES We hope to have close to 150 total modules in the 15 Minute Series by the end of 1997. Titles that will be appearing in first months of the new year include the following. FROM THE "BASICS" CATEGORY: 1. What is the Domain Name System? 2. What is a top level domain? 3. What is a name server? FROM THE "ELECTRONIC MAIL" CATEGORY: 1. What is MIME? 2. What is electronic commerce? FROM THE "INTERNET ORGANIZATIONS" CATEGORY: 1. Who is APNIC? * NEW LOOK We will be improving the web interface of our home page (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support15min/). Don't worry - the modules themselves will not be changing!! * NEW LANGUAGES We will be following up on some requests that we have received to translate the 15 Minute Series. We are planning for Spanish to be the first language that will be available. * OUTSIDE CONTRIBUTORS We will be finalizing plans to solicit contributions for modules from the Internet community. This will be your opportunity to write a module in your area of Internet expertise to be added to the 15 Minute Series. _________________________________________________________________ User Feedback KUDOS We continue to receive a lot of e-mail thanking us for providing the 15 Minute Series. Below is a sampling of some of the comments we have received in the last two months. Please keep your comments and suggestions coming by sending e-mail to 15min@internic.net, or by using our feedback form (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/form.html). * "I truly enjoyed your page! Thanks for the cool site." * "Thanks for the great templates and pages in your 15 minute series..." * "I would like to congratulate you on a job well done on the 15 Minute Series!! Keep up the good work..." * "This is GREAT! I think this is a leading edge approach to Internet education for mankind. The community praises your ideas on this project." * "Keep up the good work. [They] are nice materials!" * "This is such a wonderful resource for those of us who need training materials on the Internet. Thank you." INNOVATIVE USES OF THE 15 MINUTE SERIES We have heard from a few users of the 15 Minutes Series who have downloaded our modules and made them available on their web sites. In some cases, users have modified the modules as we have suggested can be done in our "Instructions for Using the 15 Minute Series" section, under the heading "Extending and creating 15 Minute Series modules" (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/help.html). In other cases, users have simply referenced our modules "as is." Below is a sampling of the ideas we've received. If you have used the 15 Minute Series in an innovative or customized way, please tell us about it! Send us your ideas (with URLs if applicable) via e-mail to 15min@internic.net, or by using our feedback form (http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/form.html). John Minter, from John Minter Associates, Inc. writes: "A great concept! We're using them to train Rotarians on using the Internet in District 5450 Central Colorado and 5110, Central Oregon. You can check it out at http://bcn.boulder.co.us/community/rotary_district5450/rdtutor.htm The University of Colorado is hosting our club sites on Boulder Community Net. We're having a ball! Thank you!" Randy Whitson, from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga writes: "Our library has adapted many of your pages and merged the resultant pages into our own library web..." http://www.lib.utc.edu/pages/ _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________REGULAR ARTICLE______________________ CALENDAR OF EVENTS by Ashleigh Dockery, InterNIC Information and Education Services _________________________________________________________________ JANUARY CALENDAR OF EVENTS _________________________________________________________________ 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, Canada http://events.iworld.com/winter97/canada/ Internet World Singapore January 20 - 25, 1997 Singapore http://www.focusevents.com/internetworld/index.html "Economies of Digital Information and Intellectual Property" January 23-25, 1997 Cambridge, MA http://ksgwww.harvard.edu/iip 22nd Annual Conference for Industry & Education Collaboration sponsored by the American Society for Engineering Education January 27 - 31, 1997 Tampa, FL World Movers January 30 - 31, 1997 San Francisco, CA _________________________________________________________________ ONGOING/COMING SOON _________________________________________________________________ Classroom Connect Training Seminars Visit http://www.classroom.net/classroom/conf.html to select the location and date near you! Telecommunications & Information Policy: Doing it Right in Minnesota February 6, 1997 Cowles Auditorium S. Minneapolis, MN ISOC Symposium on Network & Distributed System Security February 10 - 11, 1997 San Diego, CA http://info.isoc.org:80/conferences/ndss97/ Association for Educational Communications & Technology National Convention February 12 - 16, 1997 Albuquerque, NM ConTEXT '97: A Conference on Textbooks & Technology February 13 - 15, 1997 Houston, TX ALA Midwinter Meeting February 14 - 20, 1997 Washington, DC http://www.ala.org/alaevents/mw97prospectus/ Internet Expo & Email World February 17 - 19, 1997 San Jose, CA I2 - Internet & Intranet Expo February 18 - 20, 1997 Boston, MA Web Design & Development February 22 - 26, 1997 San Francisco, CA __________________________________________________________ To Submit your listings to the InterNIC News Calendar of Events, send e-mail to ashleigh@internic.net __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________REGULAR ARTICLE______________________ REGISTRATION SERVICES PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR NOVEMBER 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 n/a Postal/fax 944 Phone 30,090 Information Server Performance Type Connections Retrievals Gopher 8,014 27,157 WAIS 31,502 20,394 FTP 55,786 101,879 Mailsrv n/a Telnet 71,284 HTTP 3,592,320 WHOIS Queries Client Server 677,393 7,587,989 Second-Level Domain Registration Summary These figures are cumulative from August 1993 through November 1996. Top-level domain Number COM 734,674 EDU 3251 ORG 48,117 NET 38,768 GOV 543 Other country 194 Total 825,547 _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________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 its 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: 11/30/96 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 Nov-96 825,581 _________________________________________________________________ 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: 11/30/96 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 75,264 Oct-96 86,074 Nov-96 84,775 _________________________________________________________________ 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: 11/30/96 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 Nov-96 128,024 _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ / _/__ / /____ ____/ |/ / _/ ___/ / |/ /__ _ _____ _/ // _ \/ __/ -_) __/ // // /__ / / -_) |/|/ (_-< /___/_//_/\__/\__/_/ /_/|_/___/\___/ /_/|_/\__/|__,__/___/ _____________________EDITORIAL SEGMENT____________________ 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 of a general nature. Specific questions related to the status of a registration request should be sent to hostmaster@internic.net. _________________________________________________________________ pmorgan@morgan-news.com (Morgan Newsletters Peter Morgan) writes: > Is it correct to assume that the figures you provide in > the Internic e-newsletter are for Internic registrations > only, that is, they don't include European nor Asian > domains? Response from InterNIC News: That is correct. They account only for .COM, .ORG, .NET, .GOV, .EDU, and the one each for the ISO-3166 country codes. > If that's the case, you can provide on occasion, the > full Net numbers? I'm afraid that as we do not maintain the registry database for the other country-code domains (nor for .INT) we do not have access to such figures. > Is it possible to occasionally provide country breakouts, > such as the number of domains in, say, Canada or > (hopefully) by state or province, as this would be useful > for business purposes. Sure, we will work on such a measure. We have in the past provided a break-out by state (US I'm afraid) of the contacts for such domains. I will work on a similar feature for a future column but which highlights contacts by country. Many thanks, Tom _________________________________________________________________ Question from PIWETZ_M@HCCS.CC.TX.US (Michael A. Piwetz): I am the Assistant Vice Chancellor for a 2-year educational institution. Our college is currently registered as a second-level domain underneath the "US" top-level domain. Is it possible for us to register under the "EDU" TLD? Response from InterNIC News: Hi Michael, It was a pleasure to speak with you at the CAUSE conference. I have talked to my manager regarding your desire to change the HCCS top level domain to "EDU". It appears that there really is nothing you can do about it now. Apparently, EDU was always meant to be reserved for 4 year institutions, but some 2 year institutions did manage to register under EDU. So, the IETF issued RFC-1591 to be the final authority on TLD use. You can view RFC-1591 at http://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1591.txt I wish I could have given you happier news! Hope you have a nice holiday season, Anna _________________________________________________________________ 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 [YOUR NAME] 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. _________________________________________________________________ Peter Crowe is a digital artist for the InterNIC Information and Education group and functions as a traditional graphic artist. He is also a PC systems specialist with an emphasis in software\hardware troubleshooting, networking and a healthy interest in 3D modeling and animation. _________________________________________________________________ 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 acompanied 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. _________________________________________________________________