Getting Public Access UNIX and reading Usenet news
STEP 5. First E-mail
Getting Information on PSI
Getting Information on LISTSERV
You can do many, many things with the Internet. The information you have retrieved, especially the Internet Guides, will give you other ideas. We will go over some of the retrieval methods in Part III of this course. For now, you should experiment and explore, using the information you have as a starting point. The experience you gain will be useful when we come to the more systematic study of Internet research methods later.
<Chapter 7> Programs and Pictures
Evenually, as you gain experience finding and transfering information, you will want to try you hand at transferring binary files containing pictures or free software from one of the large FTP archives like
wustl.edu
sumex-aim.stanford.edu (Macintosh software)
simtel-20.mil (IBM and compatible software)
In fact, some of the first software you will want to get is software for compressing and uncompressing files (see next Chapter), processing graphics ("image files"), and perhaps some games.
First, what is a binary file? A binary file is one that you can't read. Unlike text, which consists of groups of eight bit code letters representing "a", "b", and so on, binary files have bits that are meant to be read only by programs. You cannot "look" at them by typing them out or with a word processor—unless the word processor understands the format of the file. Expensive word processing programs—including the most popular ones like Word Perfect and Microsoft Word—are increasingly able to read a large variety of binary files.