 Resources for MFL 195: Getting
Connected
In order to connect to the internet from home, you will need three things:
a modem, an internet access provider, and appropriate software. In
addition, you may want FREE e-mail or FREE web space for your web pages.
Modems
Most home computers now come equipped with a modem, a device that
connects your computer to your telephone. The moral of the modem
tale is: the faster, the better! Get the fastest one you can
afford. A bare bones minimum speed would be 28.8K, but 33.6 is preferable.
The wave of the future is with 56K modems, but few connections can handle
speeds this fast right now. If you're really feeling flush (and spend
a lot of time on the internet), you might want to consider investing in
a cable modem (available from Intermedia,
your friendly cable provider). It's a little pricey (about $100 installation
fee plus $40/month), but well worth it if you use the internet a lot.
The main advantage to a cable modem is speed--no more twiddling your thumbs
waiting for pages to download.
Internet Access Providers
The following two listings are the most commonly used commercial services.
Both are similar and offer many services (such as forums, chat rooms, e-mail,
etc.) in addition to internet access. Prices are comparable.
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America Online (commercial service with
internet access) - unlimited service for $21.95 per month. Other
plans available (ex: 5 hours/mo. for $4.95).
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Compuserve (commercial service
with internet access).
Other internet access providers in our area include:
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Mindspring offers four pricing
plans: light ($6.95 for five hours), standard ($16.95 for 20 hours/mo.),
unlimited ($19.95 for unlimited access), and the works (unlimited access
+ 10 mb of personal web page space). They also charge a one-time
startup fee of $25.00.
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BellSouth provides unlimited access
for $19.95 per month. Other pricing plans are available.
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Microsoft also offers internet access
at comparable prices.
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Locally, Greenville Online
offers unlimited access for $17.76/month.
Software
In order to view documents, images, sound, and movies on the Web, you will
need appropriate software. At the moment, the war is on between the
two major players in the web browser market. Both are free to educators
and can be downloaded from the web:
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Netscape is my preferred browser
and the one that is used at Furman. The current version is Netscape
Communicator 4.0.
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Internet Explorer is the reason
Bill Gates is spending so much time in court these days! The current
version is IE 4.0.
Free e-mail accounts:
The two primary sources of free e-mail accounts are:
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Hotmail from Microsoft - easy to use
interface with lots of options. Accessible via the Web with no additional
software required.
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Free e-mail from Juno - another good
choice.
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I'm sure there are lots of other sources on the Web, but I happen to like
Hotmail a lot, so have looked no further.
Free Web Space Hosting
If you develop web pages for your classes, you will need to find a server
somewhere that is willing to give you the space to post them on the web.
The first place to look is within your school district. At this time,
there is very little space available in Greenville County, but this may
change soon. In the meantime, you might want to try:
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Geocities will be more than happy
to host up to 11MB of web space for free. The catch is that you must
tolerate an annoying advertising window that pops up on your home page
every time you access it. A small price to pay for free web space!
We will be using Geocities this summer for the pages we develop during
this course.
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Both commercial services (America Online
and Compuserve) include a limited
amount of web space for personal home pages. This service is included
in your monthly access fee.
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Homework Central
will also provide free web hosting for your school or organization.
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A search for "free web space hosting" on Infoseek netted thousands of hits.
You might want to check some of these out.
This page is maintained by Pat
Pecoy.
Last updated June 29, 1998
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