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Internet Facilities

Ways to use the Internet:

email

The most beloved function of the internet is the ability to send electronic mail. To do this there are several possible programs; on Unix systems the usual choices are pine, elm, or mail (/usr/ucb/mail or /usr/bin/mailx). For new users, pine is the best choice. Resize a terminal window to 80 characters by 24 lines, and type the command pine. This is an all-purpose program which allows you to compose, send, read and save email. All the basic commands are shown in a menu at the bottom of the terminal window, and even the editor for composing new email (the editor's name is pico) provides a menu to help the user.

All email coming to you from outside the campus will be directed to one computer which has been designated as your mailhome. To change/confirm your mailhome, type the command mailhome. This command may also be used to establish the preferred form of your email ``stamp'', the email address put into the header of your outgoing email. If possible, choose the form First.Last@Colorado.EDU (e.g. Jane.Smith@Colorado.EDU), since this will work as long as you are at C.U., regardless of which computer(s) you work with in the future.

talk

You may be able to communicate in real time with someone else who is currently logged on to another computer, by using talk. To talk with user "jjones" at math.colostate.edu, type the command
    pascal>  talk jjones@math.colostate.edu
If Jenny Jones is currently logged on to that computer, a message will appear on her console window, informing her that you want to talk. If she then types the correct response,
    math>  talk smith@pascal.colorado.edu
then both she and you will see the words ``(Connection established)'' at the top of your respective terminal windows, and a line drawn across the middle of the window. Whatever you type will appear in the top half, whatever she types will appear in the bottom half, and you can type simultaneously. Just like the telephone, except different. To quit, either one of you can type Control-C.

telnet, rlogin

These two commands, roughly similar in usage, are used to log you on to a different computer. To log on to your account on spot you can use the command
    pascal>  rlogin spot.colorado.edu
You will be prompted for your password for that computer.

finger

To get brief information about a user or users, use ``finger''. Examples:
    pascal>  finger smith
    pascal>  finger smith@spot.colorado.edu
    pascal>  finger @spot.colorado.edu

ftp

To copy files between your Unix computer and some other computer on the Internet, use ftp. You can either copy files to/from another computer where you have a login (this requires a password), or you can get files from a computer which provides ``anonymous ftp''. To transfer text files, use the ftp command ascii, and to transfer non-text files use the commmand binary. To copy a file from the local computer to the remote computer use the commmand put filename; To copy a file to your local computer use get filename. 

    pascal>  ftp spot.colorado.edu
Connected to spot.Colorado.EDU.
Name (spot:smith): smith
Password:
230 User smith logged in.
ftp> ascii
ftp> put info.txt
226 Transfer complete.
ftp> binary
200 Type set to I.
ftp> get a.out
226 Transfer complete.
ftp> quit

    pascal>
Other commands include dir, pwd,   cd and lcd,   mget and mput,   and prompt. See the manual pages for ftp.
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Bruce.Fast@Colorado.EDU