ROOTS-L Resources: Miscellaneous Internet Resources

    Not necessarily related to genealogy, but useful as you wander about the Internet, we list here informational files about gopher, the SimTel archives, compression software, FTP, and other tools and techniques and resources you'll want to know about.

    Getting Around the Internet

  • genealog.internet: What is the Internet, by Paul Jones. Written back when the information highway (the phrase is actually used) consisted mainly of electronic mail, FTP, and telnet, and when the population of the Internet was comparable to that of a small city....
  • faq.gopher: FAQ about using gopher. This one is dated July 1993. A newer one may be found, er, I'm not sure where's there's a newer one. Are questions about gophers "frequent" any more, anyhow? We also have genealog.gophers, which explains what "gopher" is and how can it be used, plus a long list of sites with gophers.
  • faq.inetinfo: A pre-WWW guide of how to get around on the Internet and where to go. Dated November 1993. The Internet is way too big nowadays to fit in a single file.
  • genealog.intercon: Special Internet Connections -- a list organized by category (such as Agriculture, Astronomy, Aviation, etc.) of connections (mail, ftp, telnet and so on) on the Internet. See also the Web version (complete with links!).
  • genealog.internmg: The Inter-Network Mail Guide, from June of 1993. Directions on how to send electronic mail from one network (such as Applink or BITNET) to another (such as the Internet or GEnie) and vice versa. BITNET? GEnie? Are our files getting a bit dusty and out-of-date?

    Getting Onto the Internet in the First Place

  • genealog.costint: Cost comparisons from December 1993 of different ways to get access to the Internet.
  • genealog.interbbs: Another period piece -- the complete listing (in December 1991) of BBSes with Internet access. Why a period piece? Well, there all of 30 or so listed... See Richard S. Mark's The Guide to Select BBS's on the Internet for a longer list.
  • genealog.pdial014: The Public Dialup Internet Access List (pdial). This one is from 1 Dec 1993. For something more recent (but I'm unsure how complete), you might try the The List which is organized by nation and area code. (I was unable to find a newer pdial out there anywhere. Anyone?)
  • genealog.uk-inter: Dated November 1993, a list of various commercial and private providers offering access to the Internet from the UK. On the Web, there is a long list of providers compliments of inetuk. Similar lists can be found for Australia and New Zealand.

    Information about FTP or File Transfer Protocol and Related Tools

  • genealog.ftpbegin: A Beginner's Guide to using FTP, by Brian O'Neill.
  • genealog.ftpsamp: A sample FTP session, so you'll know what to expect.
  • genealog.archive1: A report about archive utilities (compression software) such as ARC, PKZIP, etc.
  • genealog.binbegin: Someday, you'll impress your grandchildren by telling them you used computers when the monitors were amber on black, or that you once had to keypunch your data, or even that you used to get binary files via e-mail, uudecode them, and use kermit to download them. Or maybe you need to do that now? (Get binary files by e-mail, I mean.) Here are some tips on how to do just that.

    The Famous SIMTEL20 Archives

    If you want to use those FTP skills you just perfected, the famous SIMTEL20 archive is a good place to go. Be aware that although they're still called SimTel, they're not at SimTel anymore. One good mirror site is oak.oakland.edu.
  • genealog.archives: Some not very transparent information about (I think!) Simtel mirrors.
  • genealog.asimtel: Very dated overview about accessing the SIMTEL archives. (The files have since moved to another site.)
  • genealog.simarch: An overview of the SIMTEL20 FTP Archives.
  • genealog.simgetup: A discussion of how to get files from the SIMTEL20 archives, and how to upload files there. Note that now that the archives have moved, this information is probably not directly applicable.
  • genealog.simtelz: Another look at the simtel20 archives, with a focus on DOS files.

    Return to ROOTS-L Resources Page.


    Hosted by RootsWeb
    Most recent update: Sunday, 04-Mar-2001 15:52:30 MST
    Copyright © 2001-2003 Karen E. Isaacson, karen@mtpinos.com