The Online World resources handbook

Practical tips http://home.eunet.no/~presno/bok/12.html
Explorer, click at "Tools," "Internet Options," select "MultiMedia," and unmark "Show pictures" (and
maybe some other stuff while you're at it.
Have a Macintosh? Why not check out the iCab browser out of Germany? For a long list of
alternatives for many platforms (including Windows and Macintosh), click here.
Lynx
When I was using DOS, most of my Web accesses were done using Lynx. It lets you enjoy the Web
using DOS and your old communications program. I called my Internet provider, got the Unix prompt,
and just entered "lynx URL" to get it at lightening speed. See Appendix 6 for details.
Electronic mail
Eudora Pro is my favorite email program. It has stronger filtering features (much needed), handles
html mail well, and around 100 incoming mails per day. There is a free (advertising supported) version
available, which works nicely.
Other great email programs with html handling and strong filtering features include Netscape
Messenger, Microsoft Outlook, Netscape (after 3.0). You should also check the free Pegasus Mail.
Chat
Check out the mIRC VKDUHZDUH SURJUDP IRU :LQGRZV [ DQG :LQGRZV 0DQ\ ,5& OLQNV DUH EXLOW
into mIRC for you. Just click and go.
Usenet netnews
A growing number of people use web services like Google Groups to browse Usenet netnews, read
and search resent postings, and look up things posted years ago. A specialized news program will
give you other things:
Free Agent allows dialup modem users to set it for online or offline operation in order to balance
convenience and economy. I have used my Microsoft Windows version successfully both over a PPP,
SLIP, SLiRP, and TIA/SLIP dialup connection. Having a color screen is important.
The program t lets you quickly sample threads and newsgroups. You can browse articles in one
newsgroup while retrieving headers for another at the same time, or download long articles while
continuing to browse. It does multi level article threading, using both the subject and the article ID. You
always know exactly what posting an article is responding to. It offers Watch and Ignore commands
for threads, and rapid navigation within and among threads.
You can post and receive articles with binary attachments, with automatic splitting and combining
to span multiple messages. If the attachment is viewable (images or sound), then you can view it from
within the news reader.
To hear what others think, check alt.winsock, news.software.readers, and the CompuServe
WINCON forum.
Speed and safety
Read about MNP, ITU TSS V.42, and V.42bis in Appendix 2. These are popular methods for
automatic error correction and compression of data. Compression gives faster transfers of data.
To use them, your modem must have these features built in. They must also be enabled in the
modem of the service that you are calling.
Compression is particularly helpful when sending or receiving text, for example news stories and
conference messages. It gives faster transfers.
They are not of much help when transferring precompressed texts and programs. They may even
make file transfers with protocols like ZMODEM, Kermit, and XMODEM impossible. If this happens,
temporarily turn off the MNP and V.24/V42bis settings in your modem (more about this in Appendix 2).
The more advanced your software is, the more time it may take to learn how to use it efficiently.
The rewards are lower telephone costs, faster transfers, and less time spent doing technical online
work.
Pegasus Mail and Eudora for Internet mail let you retrieve your full mailbox in one batch, and
reply to your mail offline. When finished, you can shoot them back to your mailbox for distribution in
one shot.
Some BBSes and online services let you retrieve conference messages using a get or grab
function. This function often comes in two versions:
Grab to display: New messages and conference items are received in an uninterrupted stream
without stops between items. Retrieval of text can happen at maximum speed.
Grab to compressed file: New messages and conference items are selected, automatically
compressed and stored in a file. The file is then transferred automatically using ZMODEM or
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