joseph@panix.uucp (Joseph R. Skoler) (05/20/91)
This question might have been answered before. If so, I apologize. Also, if there's another place to ask this question, I'd appreciate someone letting me know about it. I'm associated with a large (nationwide) tractor-trailer distributor, and would like to know what benefit it would be to the company for it to get Internet access. This is really a broader question of what benefits all companies have by being connected. I suppose one benefit is the connectivity between each of its branches. But, I assume there's much more to be gained. Also, how does a large corporation become connected? Would local colleges be willing (in general) to give out some internet addresses? Thanks very much, Joseph R. Skoler UUCP: cmcl2!panix!kc2yu!joseph UUCP: panix!joseph BITNET: skohc@cunyvm.bitnet INTERNET: ak526@cleveland.freenet.edu AMPR NET: kc2yu@kc2yu.ampr.org [44.68.32.56] PBBS: kc2yu@nn2z.nj.usa.na
jona@iscp.Bellcore.COM (Jon Alperin) (05/21/91)
In article <1991May20.150134.11699@panix.uucp>, joseph@panix.uucp (Joseph R. Skoler) writes: |> |> |> This question might have been answered before. If so, I apologize. |> |> |> I'm associated with a large (nationwide) tractor-trailer distributor, |> and would like to know what benefit it would be to the company for it |> to get Internet access. Internet cannot be used for business purposes. It is mainly for research and educational purposes. It is also heavily used by system administrators all over the world, as well as developers of software, to exchange ideas and post problems which they cannot solve (and yes,...there is a lot of personal stuff that flows back and forth). You could use the internet for e-mail gateways, but I wouldn't trust sensitive business items (or stuff that you can't afford to lose during a transmission). |> |> Joseph R. Skoler |> |> UUCP: cmcl2!panix!kc2yu!joseph |> UUCP: panix!joseph |> BITNET: skohc@cunyvm.bitnet |> INTERNET: ak526@cleveland.freenet.edu |> AMPR NET: kc2yu@kc2yu.ampr.org [44.68.32.56] |> PBBS: kc2yu@nn2z.nj.usa.na -- Jon Alperin Bell Communications Research ---> Internet: jona@iscp.bellcore.com ---> Voicenet: (908) 699-8674 ---> UUNET: uunet!bcr!jona * All opinions and stupid questions are my own *
ted@nmsu.edu (Ted Dunning) (05/21/91)
In article <1991May20.170041.12885@bellcore.bellcore.com> jona@iscp.Bellcore.COM (Jon Alperin) mistakenly writes: In article <1991May20.150134.11699@panix.uucp>, joseph@panix.uucp (Joseph R. Skoler) writes: |> I ... would like to know what benefit it would be to the company for it |> to get Internet access. Internet cannot be used for business purposes. It is mainly for research and educational purposes. ... You could use the internet for e-mail gateways, but I wouldn't trust sensitive business items (or stuff that you can't afford to lose during a transmission). in fact, the Internet can be used for whatever you want. Certain _parts_ of the internet such as the NSFnet are funded by the NSF on the condition that they be used non-commercially, and certain other parts are private (such as DEC's or HP's internal networks), but the Internet is not a monolithic entity with a single consistent policy on acceptable use. There are a number of commercial suppliers of internet access who would be happy to provide Internet access to virtually anyone. -- if feeling bad is a justification for not living, then living is a justification for feeling good.
barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin) (05/21/91)
In article <1991May20.150134.11699@panix.uucp> joseph@panix.uucp (Joseph R. Skoler) writes: >I'm associated with a large (nationwide) tractor-trailer distributor, >and would like to know what benefit it would be to the company for it >to get Internet access. > >This is really a broader question of what benefits all companies have >by being connected. > >I suppose one benefit is the connectivity between each of its branches. >But, I assume there's much more to be gained. Yes, connectivity of branches is one benefit, although you could achieve this relatively easily with leased lines connecting your branches. And this would be more secure, since you wouldn't be sharing this network with lots of other people. One benefit of connecting to the Internet is professional management of the cross-country links, and potentially increased reliability. The Internet has many redundant paths, with the intent of providing almost full connectivity even when individual links are down. By connecting to the Internet you potentially gain data connectivity to other companies with which you do business. You also gain connectivity to organizations that provide access to databases or other services. Currently there aren't too many of these (things like Compuserve and Dow Jones are currently on dialup networks such as Tymnet and Telenet), but more are popping up. For those of us in the R&D industry, we get connectivity to universities. >Also, how does a large corporation become connected? Would local >colleges be willing (in general) to give out some internet addresses? In general, you can't just get Internet addresses from local colleges. They are generally connected to government-subsidized research & education networks, so their links can't be used for commercial purposes. Many of these networking providers also prohibit subscribers from reselling the service to third parties. There are a few commercial networking providers. The two I know of offhand are PSInet and Alternet. Sorry, I don't know phone numbers offhand. -- Barry Margolin, Thinking Machines Corp. barmar@think.com {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar
mcovingt@athena.cs.uga.edu (Michael A. Covington) (05/22/91)
A simple solution for a small corporation would be to use MCI Mail, which can send and receive messages from the Internet. MCI Mail is very easy for beginners to use. -- ------------------------------------------------------- Michael A. Covington | Artificial Intelligence Programs The University of Georgia | Athens, GA 30602 U.S.A. -------------------------------------------------------
mdf@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Mark D Freeman) (05/22/91)
In <1991May21.182416.12784@athena.cs.uga.edu> mcovingt@athena.cs.uga.edu (Michael A. Covington) writes: >A simple solution for a small corporation would be to use MCI Mail, >which can send and receive messages from the Internet. CompuServe, my employer, also offers an email gateway to the Internet, along with AT&T Mail, and soon to X.400 and MHS-based LAN email systems. -- Mark D. Freeman M.FREEMAN@csi.CompuServe.COM Manager, Microcomputer Services 70003,4277 CompuServe; Columbus, OH Posted from a guest account (614) 457-8600 x2818 at The Ohio State University
rbraun@spdcc.COM (Rich Braun) (05/22/91)
mdf@tut.cis.osu-state.edu (Mark D. Freeman) writes: >>A simple solution for a small corporation would be to use MCI Mail, >>which can send and receive messages from the Internet. > >CompuServe, my employer, also offers an email gateway to the Internet... As do Telenet (not my employer), uunet, et al. Probably there's a heading in the Yellow Pages for this, by now. Ask around. UUCP connections to friendly local Unix shops are generally a lot cheaper than what these commercial companies will charge, if your usage is low. Keep in mind that CompuServe, MCI Mail, uunet, and Telenet offer services which bear little resemblance to the full suite of Internet services. The gateways presently tend to be e-mail only, and don't support real-time connections, high-volume file transfers, and so on. They also don't carry netnews, to my knowledge. This will all change in the not-too-distant future, I would expect. -rich
lee@wang.com (Lee Story) (05/29/91)
In article <1991May20.150134.11699@panix.uucp> joseph@panix.uucp (Joseph R. Skoler) writes:
I'm associated with a large (nationwide) tractor-trailer distributor,
and would like to know what benefit it would be to the company for it
to get Internet access.
[....]
Also, how does a large corporation become connected?
I've read some of the other responses to this, and am surprised that most
posters are as ignorant of the rules and mechanics as I am. Here goes:
Advantages:
1. Fast and pretty reliable email to virtually all universities and
computer/communications R&D-related companies, plus most smaller
colleges and many other corporations.
2. INTERACTIVE access to public data archives (uunet, government, many
colleges and universities) by ftp. This greatly improves on access
by email only (getting a directory listing one day, downloading
through a mail server the next, or paying a service like uunet to
perform the retrieval).
3. Possible high-speed net news feed (though you'll have to arrange for
this IN ADDITION to the Internet access).
Contacts: (these folks might be able to sell you service, or point you
to the right place)
1. AlterNet, run by UUNET Comm. Services, phone 703-876-5050, email
info@uunet.uu.net (I'm not sure that AlterNet is directly
interconnected with the research networks. Can someone confirm?
UUNET also offers net news services.)
2. NEARnet, phone 617-873-8730, email jrugo@nic.near.net
(Research users only?)
3. PSInet, (no address)
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lee Story (lee@wang.com) Wang Laboratories, Inc.
(Boston and New Hampshire AMC, and Merrimack Valley Paddlers)
------------------------------------------------------------------------ebersman@uunet.uu.net (Paul Ebersman) (05/29/91)
In <LEE.91May28150915@meercat.wang.com> lee@wang.com (Lee Story) writes: >1. AlterNet, run by UUNET Comm. Services, phone 703-876-5050, email > info@uunet.uu.net (I'm not sure that AlterNet is directly > interconnected with the research networks. Can someone confirm? > UUNET also offers net news services.) We are connected to the NSFNet backbone via redundant T1's and give Internet connectivity to any AlterNet customer, pending NSF approval. All AlterNet customers who have wanted Internet so far have been approved. -- Paul A. Ebersman @ UUNET Communications uunet!ebersman or ebersman@uunet.uu.net The difference between theory and practice in practice is greater than the difference between theory and practice in theory.
rbraun@spdcc.COM (Rich Braun) (05/29/91)
lee@wang.com (Lee Story) writes: >2. NEARnet, phone 617-873-8730, email jrugo@nic.near.net > (Research users only?) NEARnet stands for "New England Academic & Research Network", though it's not limited to research only. Their January marketing blurb includes in its target audience "development staff in industry" and "anyone whose work requires interacting with members of [the research environment]". It is working in cooperation with some commercial enterprises which have little to do with research, so I suspect there really isn't a limitation, provided that non-research traffic is limited to NEARnet itself. It was created to provide high-speed 10M microwave links which didn't exist before the last couple of years, between the six hub sites (Boston University, Harvard, MIT, Lincoln Laboratories, Prospect Hill, and BBN) and others which have more recently joined. Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with NEARnet, so take these words with a grain of salt. I'm keeping in touch with those who are developing a 100M fiber-optic network in the Prospect Hill industrial park, which should provide future access to NEARnet for my company. -rich (P.S. Hi Lee, welcome to The Net! How's Wang?)