Electronic mail, or email, allows computer users to exchange messages locally and around the world. Each mail user has a mailbox address that is used to send messages. Messages sent via email can be received in seconds.
A powerful aspect of email is the ability to send electronic files to one’s email address. Non-ASCII files, known as binary files, can be attached to email messages. These files are called MIME attachments. MIME stands for Multimedia Internet Mail Extension and was developed to help email software handle different types of files. For example, a document created in Microsoft Word can be attached to an email message and retrieved by the recipient using the appropriate e-mail program. Many email programs, including Eudora, Netscape Messenger, and Microsoft Outlook, offer the ability to read files written in HTML, which is also a type of MIME.
TELNET
Telnet is a program that allows you to log on to a computer on the Internet and use online databases, library catalogs, chat services, and much more. There are no graphics in a Telnet session, only text. To Telnet a computer, you need to know its address. These addresses can be words (domain names) or numbers (IP addresses). Some services require you to connect to a specific port on the remote computer. In this case, type the port number after the Internet address.
Telnet is available on the World Wide Web. Perhaps the most common web-based resource available through Telnet is library catalogs, although most catalogs have now migrated to the web. A connection to a Telnet resource may look like any other connection, but it initiates a Telnet session to establish a connection. The Telnet program must be installed on your local computer and configured with a web browser to work.
With the increasing popularity of the web, Telnet is becoming less commonly used as a means to access information on the internet.
FTP
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a program and method for transferring files between computers. Anonymous FTP is an option that allows users to transfer files from thousands of computers hosted on the Internet to their computer accounts. FTP sites contain books, articles, software, games, images, sounds, multimedia, courses, datasets, and more.
If your computer is connected directly to the Internet via an Ethernet cable, you can use one of several PC software programs, to perform the file transfer.
FTP transfers can be made on the World Wide Web without the need for special software. In this case, a web browser is sufficient. Whenever you download software from a website to your local computer, you are using FTP.
E-MAIL DISCUSSION GROUPS
One of the benefits of the Internet is that it allows people all over the world to communicate through e-mail. The Internet is home to a large community that has active discussions organized around topic-based forums distributed via email. These forums are maintained by software programs. Perhaps the most common program is the listserv.
A wide variety of topics are covered by the listserv, many of which are academic in nature. When you subscribe to a listserv, messages from other subscribers are automatically sent to your electronic mailbox. You subscribe to a listserv by sending an email message to a computer program called a listserver. Listservers are located on computer networks around the world. The program handles subscription information and distributes messages to and from subscribers. You must have an e-mail account to participate in listserv discussion groups. Visit Tile.net in /http://tile.net/ to see examples of sites that offer searchable collections of e-mail discussion groups.
Majordomo and Listproc are two other programs that manage e-mail discussion groups. The commands for subscribing and managing your list members are similar to the listserv.