Miscellaneous Topics

Goals

Spend almost an hour learning about

• Using email
• Newsgroups
• How to use IRC to chat
• How to buy and manage software

Using email

• Information from your ISP
  • POP3 (Post Office Protocol)
  • SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
  • email account and password
  • NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol)
• email clients
  • You can always use your browser
  • I highly recommend Pegasus Mail which we'll take some time to quickly play with now
    • Top left pen on paper to send email
    • Folders for mail
    • F3 for address book
    • F6 for distribution lists
    • Online vs. offline modes
    • Filters
    • Shift-F10 to customize

Newsgroups

• NNTP from your ISP, then use web browser or try any number of freeware and commercial news readers
• Today we can do a DejaNews search and see how we could make appends
• Threads of information
• Great for special interests, getting help, establishing friendships centered on common hobbies
• Mailing lists are great too

Chatting with IRC

We'll just dive in and let you play with mIRC

1. Dismiss the About window (with author's picture)
2. Specify name, email address, and nickname
3. Random US DALNet is fine (or choose another server) then connect
4. Problems with nickname (not unique)? Try /nick newname
5. /join #DilipsWWWClass (or Commands ... Join Channel) (note name starts with pound sign)
6. Maximize window
7. Click on 4th icon from left - channels folder (this is based on v 5.4.1)
8. Chat in our class channel; double click on user name on right to privately chat

Buying and Managing Software

• Software professionals - pay for what you use
• Freeware, shareware, commercial
• Time to install and learn
• CD vs. diskettes vs. net
• BACKUP! Data vs. program, directory conventions

Created September 16, 1998

HTML by Dilip Barman, background courtesy of