 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Don't let fear of UNIX lock you out of cyberspace Carol Daniels |
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If you are unable or unwilling to use a Windows-based program for your Internet access, all is not lost. Despite rumours to the contrary, the UNIX-based shell account is not that difficult to comprehend. The absence of pretty pictures to view and clever icons on which to click your mouse are the key differences between shell and SLIP/PPP access. This just means that, like in a DOS-based program, you must enter commands. For your initial forays into cyberspace, this is not as daunting as it might sound.
In fact you'll find some of the more common activities in cyberspace, sending/ receiving e-mail and reading/posting information in newsgroups, are remarkably simple. In part because extensive online help is available in most of the standard Internet applications.
I'm not a computer guru of any sort, so my own experience should ease any lingering fears that you need to be a card-carrying member of "Propeller Heads Anonymous" to explore the Internet via a Shell account.
In its first incarnation, the Melbourne PC User Group's Internet service was a lot like Henry Ford's first car; you could have any sort of account you liked, as long as it was a shell account. The obvious value of the service far outweighed the no-frills approach and there was no shortage of members eager to submit to the UNIX experience.
I am sure that I am not the only member who planned on smoothing their Internet initiation with a little research and planning. Before the hoped-for acceptance letter arrived I knew which book I was going to use to guide me in my travels in cyberbia. But being the youngest person ever inducted into the "Procrastinator's Hall of Fame" meant the inevitable happened: the acceptance letter arrived long before I got around to purchasing the book.
Did I delay logging in to the service until after I made my purchase? Get real! I jumped in. I followed the login instructions although, to be truthful, I expected to be able to do that and nothing more. Instead, during that first session I was able to send e-mail and read newsgroups, simply by experimenting with a few logical commands such as "mail" to start the e-mail program, and "news" to start the news reader. Once into these programs I used the online help to find the commands for everything I wanted to do.
I had the most difficulty logging off, trying "goodbye", "bye" and "end" before striking pay dirt with "exit."
Since that first session I have purchased a book or two on the Internet, the most useful of which has been The Instant Internet Guide by Brent Heslop and David Angell (Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, RRP $28.95). My copy opens automatically to Chapter 7, "UNIX in About an Hour". I have found though that if you have even the most rudimentary familiarity with command lines in a DOS environment, you will soon be comfortable exploring the furthest reaches of cyberspace.
When I say rudimentary, I really mean it. If you can
- make a directory
- change from one directory to another
- delete files, and
- open, edit and save a simple file in the DOS editor
The key point you must remember is that UNIX is case sensitive. This small, but important, difference means that whether you are at the UNIX prompt or within most UNIX-based applications, entering "C" usually has a different effect from that which occurs when you enter "c". And if you want to do something with a file named "File", entering "file" isn't going to work. No matter how many times you try it.
In this respect UNIX is less forgiving than DOS, though UNIX error messages are often more informative than those in DOS. I haven't found the consequences of making a mistake to be terribly distressing however, although you can sometimes cause the system to do something other than what you originally intended. In this respect I have trouble with my fingers accidentally hitting the wrong key. I'm still not sure which key, or combination of keys, I pressed during one of my early explorations. All I know is that I found myself staring at a seemingly endless scrolling list of newsgroup names, thousands of them from alt.1d to talk.rumors and everything in between.
But I'm used to this sort of self-inflicted frustration in computerland. It's usually accompanied by me gritting my teeth as I snarl, "I am following the instructions exactly, why doesn't it work!" After a little swearing, a stabbing pain starts just behind my right eye. I might throw a book across the room or slam a door for dramatic effect. Then I reluctantly decide to check the instructions (for the first time or maybe the 100th time). To my surprise (and if there are any witnesses, embarrassment), I discover that I'm not quite as exact as I thought I was.
During the year or so that the Internet service has been up and running I have found that some things are more straightforward than others; but in the main I have been able to achieve everything I have set out do, from sending and receiving e-mail and participating in newsgroups, to searching remote databases and transferring files from remote sites to my computer.
Once accustomed to the fact that UNIX is case sensitive I think almost anyone would be as successful as I have been. Accomplished UNIX users will be able to do even more, and do it more efficiently, I am sure.
I did consider switching to a SLIP account when the revised service was launched. I decided however to stay with the shell account since I have been able to do all that I want, and I have neither the desire nor the need to use the Internet to look at pictures.
Another consideration was that I do not find using icons and the other features of Windows or Windows-like programs all that intuitive. I do use some Windows-based programs, but only when the benefit of a graphical interface outweighs the costs. Nor do I like the way Windows-based programs hog system resources and slow the computer. When that reduction in speed is compounded by the slowdown from data transmission over telephone lines, even using a 14,400 or 28,800 bps modem, the trade-off is just not worth it. If I had a dedicated connection I might feel differently about using a graphical interface for my travels in cyberspace.
My advice to any would-be cybersurfers is not to let any UNIX horror stories you might have heard keep you from getting your feet wet. Sign up for a Melbourne PC User Group shell account and dive right in, the water's fine.
Reprinted from the June 1995 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
