Web Site Owner's Manual

Chapter 1 Internet Access

You've decided to build a Web site. Congratulations! You will find that it is an excellent way to reach potential clients, and also a great way to distribute information to current clients and the general public, if you wish. This chapter is a basic primer for beginners on connecting to the Internet. Experienced Internet users will probably want to skip ahead in this manual. When we say this chapter is basic, we mean it. This is basic information for the average user. In any event, the Internet is evolving so rapidly that much of what we write here will be outdated in a few months. If you have questions that are not covered here, please contact us.

Let's look at your basic equipment requirements first. Unless you're connected via something like a university or governmental network, to get on the Internet you'll need a PC or a Macintosh. If you're using a PC, it should have at least Windows 3.1, and 4 or more megs of RAM to view the World Wide Web's graphical interface. Of course, you'll need a modem and a phone line.

The next thing you'll need to think about is getting Internet access if you don't already have it. You can't access the World Wide Web to view your Web site and others without first having Internet access. Think of the Internet as a great global city, and the Web as a neighborhood in the city. To get to the neighborhood, you have to get to the city first.

There are currently three main types of Internet access providers:

1. commercial Internet Service Providers (ISPs);

2. the major online services such as CompuServe, AOL and Prodigy; and

3. institutional networks such as universities and governmental units.

(Strictly speaking, any organization that offers Internet access can be considered an ISP, including the major online services, but we are using the term here to refer to dedicated Internet service providers, as is conventional in the online world.)

In the wake of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, many other kinds of entities will be offering Internet access, especially telephone and cable television companies. Some major telephone companies (e.g., AT&T and MCI) have already plunged into the Internet access market in a big way, and perhaps they will come to dominate it. At present, the cable television companies appear to have inherent technological advantages in terms of infrastructure, capacity and cost-effectiveness, but so far they have not generally moved quickly to offer Internet services to the public. All things considered, at present we strongly recommend you get your Internet access from a dedicated, commercial ISP (unless you are fortunate to already have free institutional access).

ISPs are companies ranging in size from tiny mom-and-pop shops to large national organizations. It is the business of an ISP to make it possible for you to connect to the Internet through your modem (or through an even higher speed connection if you want to spend the extra money). We recommend that you look around for a good local or national ISP and get your Internet access through them. Here are some things you should keep in mind when you shop for an ISP:

1. The ISP should provide the basic software you'll need to access the Internet, if you don't already have it. The fundamental software requirement is to have the "TCP/IP protocol" running on your computer. Keeping things simple, TCP/IP means "Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol," the international standard that makes it possible for different kinds of computers to communicate with each other over the Internet. If you have Windows NT, Windows 95, or OS/2 Warp Connect, you're lucky--TCP/IP is built in. If you are just running Windows 3.1--which is perfectly OK for the Web--you'll need to start TCP/IP before connecting to the Internet. ISPs provide simple instructions for this. On a Windows 3.1 system, starting TCP/IP is typically integrated into the "dialer" program (typically called "Winsock") you use to "log on" to the Internet, so you don't need to know anything about it.

   Whatever operating system you're using, if you're connecting to the Internet over a modem you must have a dialer program of some kind, which the ISP should provide, or tell you how to get.

   The ISP ideally should also give you a basic package of Internet programs, including an email program, such as Eudora; some kind of FTP (file transfer protocol) software; a Usenet news reader; and a Web browser, preferably Netscape. You don't have to know what all these terms mean when you call the ISP. Just ask them if they provide these types of software.

2. The software above should come with clear and easy-to-understand instructions for installation and setup.

3. At present, you should never have to pay more than $20 to $30 a month for no less than 6 hours of access a day. (In major cities, you should be able to get a much better deal than that, such as $20 for unlimited access.) Don't pay more than this unless you absolutely have no other choice, such as if you live in a rural area and there is only one provider. If you live in an urban area and find that Internet access will cost you a long distance call each time you use it, look into the national providers and see if they have an 800 number you can use regularly instead.

4. Be sure your ISP will provide plenty of customer support and hand holding. If you are computer illiterate, be sure and tell them this up front and find out how much help you can expect to get in setting up. A good ISP should be ready and willing to provide you all the support you need to get started, and then all the support you need to keep going. Count on spending an hour or two getting set up--it's worth it!

5. Ask how much slow-down you might expect to experience during peak hours. On weekdays peak hours are usually between noon Eastern Standard time (when California goes to work) and 10 p.m. or so. Also ask if you will sometimes encounter busy signals. You may also want to dial the tech support number before you sign up to see how long the wait is. If you sign up with an ISP and find out you're experiencing regular slow-downs or busy signals, you may want to find another provider. Some ISPs do not have enough modems or bandwidth (the size of their connection to the Internet) to handle all the business they have taken on. Look for a customer to modem ratio of 10:1 or better.

How can you find an ISP? Surprisingly, at least in the areas we're familiar with, there is still no listing in the Yellow Pages for Internet Service Providers (or even a listing for the word "Internet"). If your local newspaper has a business section, check there for ISP ads. (In New York, check the New York Times' Tuesday Science section.) Ironically, one of the best places to learn about ISPs is from the Internet itself. If, once you're signed up, you decide you'd like to switch ISPs, you may want to check the Web itself for candidates. One excellent resource is The List [http://www.thelist.com].

For users in much of the Southeastern United States, we recommend MindSpring Enterprises of Atlanta [http://www.mindspring.com], with whom we have a partnering agreement. Check with us to see if you're included in Mindspring's expanding service area, and we'll be happy to order the service for you. (If you order directly from Mindspring, please go out of your way to record that you were referred by us.)

The second kind of Internet access is through the major online services. Online services such as CompuServe, America Online, Prodigy, and the Microsoft Network all now offer Internet access. They all currently have their own proprietary browser software that allows you to access the Web. One advantage to this kind of Internet access, especially for AILA members, is CompuServe's AILA Infonet, an excellent resource. Another advantage is that it is often very easy to set up: you can call CompuServe and have them send you computer disks to install, or you can download the necessary software over your modem, and then they'll walk you through the process. And getting to the Web itself is generally a well-marked trail on the major online services. For computer novices, especially those who are a little terror-stricken at trying to use a computer, much less a modem, signing onto the Internet at first through an online service might be a good way to cure the phobia. However, we do not recommend this type of access for heavy Web use, for the following reasons:

1. It is much more expensive than ISP access. Online services generally provide a few free hours per month, and anything beyond that is billable by the hour, often $3 an hour or more. Once you start using the Web, you're almost certain to spend more hours than you think over the course of a month. Internet access bills from companies like America Online can run into hundreds of dollars a month. With many ISPs advertising unlimited access for a flat monthly rate of $20 to $30, why would anyone pay by the hour to cruise the Internet?

2. Online services tend to be much slower than direct ISP access, for many reasons. The online services generally have their own software, which may take time to load. They are often very busy; in the evening, for example, you may have to dial 10 times before getting an open phone connection to Prodigy. Also, they may have their own networks which are independent from, but connected to, the Internet, and which are based on different underlying protocols (coding schemes). The movement of information between the different networks can be very slow and unwieldy, because every "packet" of information must go through an extra step of being translated to the appropriate protocol. (A packet is the basic unit of data transmission on computer networks; a single email may be chopped up into hundreds of little packets, each labeled with a to and from address. TCP/IP packets are coded differently from the "X.25" packets used on CompuServe, for example.)

3. Online services have their own Web viewing software, also known as Web browsers. Unfortunately, to date these proprietary Web browsers have never been able to match the quality of Netscape, which is the industry standard. If you view your Web page through one of the online service browsers, chances are it will look different (and nearly always worse) than it would look to someone viewing it through Netscape. Colors may look different. Lines that are centered in Netscape may not appear so in your browser. Pages and lines may break differently. Graphics may be distorted. Special functions such as animation may not work at all. If you start out viewing the Web through an online service browser, we strongly recommend that you move up to Netscape if possible. Some online services, such as CompuServe, allow you to set up Netscape in place of the proprietary browser.

As soon as you have your Internet access and get a good Web browser, you'll be ready to access the Web. You may want to start browsing the Web to get ideas for your Web site. Be sure to make it a point to stop by http://ilw.com, the home of Immigration Lawyers on the Web. There you can see examples of effective and well-planned Web sites, as well as links to other valuable resources and an email link to our Webmaster, Gordon, who will guide you through the process of setting up your own Web site.

For more information on this topic, see c|net's The Ultimate Guide to Internet Service Providers [http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reviews/Compare/ISP/howto.html].

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