Here’s How to <i> Gopher</i> a Global Ride on the Internet : LAWRENCE J. MAGID
A lot of people talk and write about the Internet, but far fewer actually use it on a regular basis. That’s because it’s no picnic. Even experienced users of on-line information services such as America On-Line, Compuserve and Prodigy often find the Internet daunting.
To begin with, the Internet isn’t a single computer service. It’s a worldwide network of thousands of computers located on every continent. Once you’re connected to the Internet, you can “cruise the digital highways” to other connected machines. You don’t have to pay any extra fee or phone charges, because many libraries, universities, companies and government agencies allow guests to browse through their data banks, even if they don’t have accounts on their systems.
You can probably get a free or low-cost account if you’re affiliated with a college or university. Some government agencies and companies also offer employees access to the service.
Commercial Internet carriers include Delphi, The Well, Portal and Netcom. Netcom ((800) 501-8649), whose prices start at $17.50 a month for unlimited access, is the least expensive option for people who want to spend a lot of time on line. Delphi ((800) 695-4005) offers a plan for $10 a month that includes four free hours. Additional access is $4 an hour.
There are some Mac and Windows programs that make the Internet easier to use, but these require a special type of account called a SLIP (Serial Line Interface Protocol) or PP (Point to Point). Programs include Mosaic (Mac, Windows and Unix), which you can download for free, and Air Navigator (Windows), a commercial program for local area networks from Spry Communications of Seattle.
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The Internet will get easier to use later this year. America On-Line, a service for Mac, Windows and DOS users, has announced that it will offer limited Internet access starting this month. Several current Internet carriers, including Delphi and Netcom, reportedly are working on software for Windows and Mac users.
In the meantime, there are some tools to make life easier for people who want to start exploring the Internet right away.
These work with just about all Internet services and require no special software to use them.
Once you get an account, you can access the service and these programs with any terminal program, including the one that comes free with Microsoft Windows.
One of the most useful tools is Gopher, a menu system that links you to other Internet sites around the world. You don’t have to buy or even download Gopher. It’s available from most Internet systems just by typing the word gopher .
The best known of all Gophers, developed at the University of Minnesota, is available from most Internet providers. It can be accessed by typing “gopher gopher.tc.umn.edu” from any prompt.
There are lots of other Gopher systems, such as the one at University of California, Santa Cruz (type “gopher scilibx.ucsc.edu”), which give quick access to weather information, electronic books and other interesting material.
Gopher, by the way, is a triple metaphor for (1) a rodent that does its work by tunneling underground and out of sight, (2) go for as in “go for some information” and (3) the mascot of the University of Minnesota.
When you access Gopher, you get a series of menus, one of which lets you connect with other Gophers in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and elsewhere around the world. After logging on to Netcom, I was able to use Gopher’s various menus to log on to computer systems at Harvard and Oxford universities and other campuses around the world. I was also able to tap the University of California library system, which provides information on just about all UC library holdings, even those that have been around since long before the catalogue was kept on a computer.
Another Gopher option through the Library of Congress Information System makes it possible to peruse the library’s catalogues of books, periodicals (serials), maps and other items. Federal legislation from past sessions of Congress (back to 1973) and the current one can also be obtained.
