Jon, please remove me from your e-mail list. I am no longer affiliated with
MPA.
>From: Jonathan Falk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: [folkschool-list] August HelpNet News
>Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 13:09:25 -0400
>
> HELPNET NEWS
> AUGUST 2001
>
> ********NEXT HELPNET MEETING********
>
> WHEN: 12:00 - 1:30, Thursday, August 16(Bring Your Lunch)
> WHERE: Peace and Justice Center, 170 Park St., Bangor
> AGENDA: This will be a meeting of HelpNet's Steering Committee,
>the advisory group which helps direct our project. Everyone is invited to
>attend and join.
>
> ********************************
>IN THIS ISSUE:
> **STAYING ONLINE AND STAYING SANE - YOUR ORGANIZATION'S INTERNET
>CONNECTION AND INTERNET PRESENCE
> **MULTIPLE TASKS, MULTIPLE PROVIDERS
> **YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION
> **A PLACE FOR YOUR WEB SITE
>
> *****************************
>STAYING ONLINE AND STAYING SANE - YOUR ORGANIZATION'S INTERNET CONNECTION
>AND INTERNET PRESENCE:
>
>In the last few months, I've spent a fair amount of time helping
>organizations deal with their connections to the Internet -- what ISP's are
>good and bad, how to set up a domain name, etc. -- and there have been a
>number of posts on this subject. With all the ongoing changes in the
>Internet economy -- dot.com collapses, ISP mergers and buyouts,
>disappearance of "free" services -- it can be a real pain keeping up and
>keeping connected. So I decided to try to pull some information
>together,into this month's and next month's newsletters.
>
>MULTIPLE TASKS, MULTIPLE PROVIDERS:
>
>When we think of a small organization's Internet use, there is actually a
>number of different things that the organization needs to do:
> (1) connect to the Internet, either through dial-up or some form
>of broadband connection (cable, DSL, etc.)
> (2) be able to send and receive E-mail, and perhaps manage mailing
>lists
> (3) have a Web site
> (4) have a unique "domain name" (e.g. ournamehere.org) for their
>Web site and E-mail. This is not necessary, but is very helpful in
>establishing your on-line identity.
>
>While it is possible to get all 4 of these through the same provider, it is
>not necessary, and some groups may not need all 4. For instance, a small
>organization with no offices of its own, whose work is carried by people in
>their own homes or offices, won't need its own Internet connection (#1),
>but may still want items 2, 3 and 4. For many organizations, the best
>strategy will be to shop around for a combination of providers of these
>different services. We'll deal with #'s 1 and 3 (Internet connection and
>Web sites) this month.
>
>YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION:
>
>Unless you already have an Internet connection available to you (for
>instance, if you are affiliated with the University), you need to find some
>way to connect to the University. A year or 2 ago, the choices included
>local and national ISP's, as well as a number of free services. Most of
>these free services required you to look at ads. With the return of the
>dot.com economy, these have either been converting to paid services, or
>have been going under. Bluelight.com, K-Mart's Internet service, is one of
>the ISP's that has eliminated its free service recently. Juno.com still
>has a free service, but I don't know how long it will be there. In
>general, I'm wary of any company that uses the economic model of giving
>away its product, and paying for it with Web advertising. (This includes
>Topica, the free host of this mailing list -- more on this next month.)
>
>So the choice is between local and national companies. I prefer to deal
>with local Maine businesses, but I worry that small companies may be more
>likely to be swallowed up by bigger companies, with negative effects on
>service (as happened with MINT, in my opinion). Two local companies that
>I've heard good things about are GWI (www.gwi.net) and MidMaine
>Communications (www.midmaine.com), and I'm sure there are number of others
>list members can suggest.
>
>As for national ISP's, PC Magazine's August 2001 issue has ratings of 8
>national ISP's, based on a reader survey. AT&T WorldNet was the top-rated
>dial-up ISP, with Excite@Home and RoadRunner getting top ratings for
>broadband (cable) access. AOL was in last place, with MSN not much better.
>
>The question of dial-up vs. DSL vs. cable is something we should take up in
>a separate newsletter. For dial-up access, expect to pay $10-20+/month,
>depending on whether you need limited unlimited access, multiple E-mail
>accounts, etc. For instance, I'm now paying MidMaine $15.95/month for
>unlimited access, 4 E-mail mailboxes, and 5 Mb of Web space.
>
>A PLACE FOR YOUR WEB SITE:
>
>In the last paragraph, I mentioned that 5 MB of Web space came with my
>MidMaine dial-up account. However, I'm not using this space, and there is
>no requirement to house your Web site on the servers of the ISP that is
>provides your Internet connection. The Web site can be anywhere, so long
>as it is on a server with a permanent Internet Connection. Web hosting is
>a specialized line of business, quite different from providing Internet
>access. Depending what Web services you need, your organization may be
>better off using one company for your Internet access, and another to house
>your Web site. A separate Web hosting company may be less expensive, and/or
>they may provide services that are not available from the company that
>provides your Internet connection.
>
>For instance, PICA (www.pica.ws) has recently moved its site to Interland
>(www.interland.com), a leading national hosting company, with headquarters
>in Atlanta. PICA did this because it is embarking on a project involving a
>database-driven Web site, which local ISP's could not support. I'm
>planning to move the www.ptfolkschool.org site to another national host
>soon -- I'll report on the experience.
>
>In the next issue, I'll take up E-mail, domain names, and E-mail aliasing,
>forwarding, and mailing lists.
>
>Jon
>
>Jonathan Falk
>
>Pine Tree Folk School
>RR 2, Box 7162
>Carmel, ME 04419
>(207)848-2433
><http://www.ptfolkschool.org>
>
>
>
>**Folkschool-list archives are at:
><http://www.mint.net/folkschool/helpnet/archives.htm>
> Sponsored by Pine Tree Folk School
>
>
>
>
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