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Tired of the "browser bloat" afflicting Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer? Check out Opera, a slimmed-down Web browser offering the functionality of its heftier siblings at a fraction of their system requirements. Also, David Strom explains how to keep up with email on the road without lugging a laptop; we clarify searching techniques; and FAQtoids answers questions about converting email nicknames and tracking IP numbers.
Contents:
Copyright 1997 TidBITS Electronic Publishing. All rights reserved. To subscribe to our weekly list, email <netbits-on@netbits.net>. Thanks to our sponsors for their financial support of NetBITS.
See You in 1998! This is the final issue of NetBITS for 1997, so tune in next year for the 08-Jan-98 issue. Thanks for all the kind words and support you've given us so far, and remember, we always appreciate recommendations to friends or colleagues. They can visit our Web site at the URL below or subscribe by sending email to <netbits-on@netbits.net>. Happy New Year! [ACE]
InstantMessageGram for Mr. Mongo! In "You've Got Call Waiting" in NetBITS-011, I failed to mention one of the most popular instant messaging tools - ICQ - which claims 5.4 million subscribers and over a million daily users. ICQ has lots of bells and whistles, and can even send files.
<http://db.netbits.net/getbits.acgi?nbart=04572>
<http://www.icq.com/>
Also, there was some confusion about the AOL Instant Messenger. If you go to Netscape's home page and register for the "Netscape AOL Instant Messenger," the download page notes that only Windows 3.1 and 95/NT versions are available. However, if you go to AOL's home page and register for the "AOL Instant Messenger," you're presented with Macintosh and Java downloads as well as the Windows options. Don't ask us why this isn't unified, but it explains the confusion our readers experienced when we said there wasn't a Macintosh version. (AOL Instant Messenger, by the way, lets you exchange messages with users logged in on AOL.)
<http://www.netscape.com/>
<http://www.aol.com/>
Some MIT students and alumni wrote to mention that Zephyr, a Talk-like messaging service, was widely used by students at MIT as far back as the late 1980s. Of course, MIT students have always spent more time using computers than students at most other institutions, making instant messaging more practical. (To be fair, there were plenty of other homegrown instant messaging programs on other campuses.) It's worth noting, too, that many colleges have networked dorm rooms now, meaning that students can be online 24 hours a day. Watch out for parents checking up on you electronically! [GF]
Search Me -- In response to last week's FAQtoid explaining how a search engine would work on an individual site, several readers pointed out that a little ingenuity enables you to co-opt a Web search engine to focus in on your Web site. Most Web search engine query forms create long URLs with search settings and parameters encoded in them. For instance, a slight modification of our demonstration query of "adam NEAR engst AND NOT netbits" looks like this in AltaVista-ese:
If you insert "+and+host:www.tidbits.com" after "and+not+netbits" in that URL, the search will be limited to just the TidBITS Web site. This isn't entirely effective, since search engines don't necessarily update their indexes to Web sites on a regular basis. Also, if you want to create a search form that leverages a Web search engine (instead of hard-coding a query in a URL), you may have to write a CGI or do some scripting to convert your user's search terms into the search engine's particular format and restrict it to your site. But it's still free. [GF]
Mea Culpa -- It may be just the end-of-the-year race to the finish, but we've been making more mistakes than we find acceptable, and for that we apologize. Our goal is to publish perfect issues, and although that may be impossible, we try to make issues as error- and typo-free as we can. As always, you'll find updates and content corrections in this NetBITS Updates section. [GF]
by Matthew C. Miller <m@usa.net>
If you're tired of the ever-increasing size and complexity of today's major Web browsers, you may be pleased to know there's now a reasonable alternative: the Norwegian-produced Opera browser. This new entry for Windows 95, Windows NT, and Windows 3.1 (coming soon for other operating systems) is not only functionally equivalent to both major players - Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer - but exceeds their features while using fewer resources.
The current stable version of Opera as I write this is 2.12, but the intrepid folks at Opera have just released beta 10 of the 3.0 version. I tested and evaluated beta 7 of the 3.0 version and found it crashed less often than the copy of Netscape Navigator 4.03 I had been using. (I haven't switched back, and don't plan to.)
<http://www.operasoftware.com/>
Small and Speedy -- After looking at the current crop of browsers produced by large companies, the folks at Opera decided to give it a go themselves. They built an Internet browser from scratch without relying on the NCSA Mosaic code base like Internet Explorer. They left out extras the big boys include in their packages and instead focused on making a truly useful browser that incorporates Web, Gopher, FTP, Usenet news, and WAIS access. What they produced weighs in at just over 1 MB when installed. Compare that to 8.4 MB for Netscape Navigator 4.0.3 and 10.8 MB for Internet Explorer 3.02 - and that's just for the basic packages, without extras such as calendar programs. Opera also boasts tiny RAM and processor requirements - its developers claim that Opera will work fine on a 386SX-based PC with 8 MB RAM.
The French publication Magazine Planete Internet tested Opera 2.12 against the 4.0 versions of Netscape Communicator - the overloaded-with-add-ons version of Navigator - and Internet Explorer and found Opera was, in most cases, significantly faster at displaying Web pages than either of the others. In fact, when accessing CNN's Web site, it was 250 percent faster.
<http://www.netpress.fr/>
<http://www.operasoftware.com/mpi_press.html#chart>
<http://www.cnn.com/>
Functional Equivalence -- As far as features go, Opera is equivalent to the major commercial browsers in most areas: it will handle forms, frames, tables, Java, and JavaScript. The beta 7 release had a few problems with JavaScript but most of those were fixed in the beta 9 release.
In two months of browsing I have encountered only two pages that I couldn't access via Opera, one of which was on Microsoft's site and required Internet Explorer-specific extensions.
In addition to browsing the Web, Opera includes a Usenet news reader. It doesn't allow you to download entire threads, but it does store any articles you retrieved while online in a cache that you can browse while not connected. Support for automated retrieval of articles is planned for a future release.
Opera can send email, but doesn't receive email. The Opera staff is building a stand-alone email client that you'll be able to link to the browser. Opera, like other browsers, can pass mailto URLs to other email programs.
Opera can use Netscape plug-ins, and it can link a specific MIME type or document extension to an external viewer. If Opera doesn't know what to do with a specific document type, it lets you choose an appropriate action via a dialog box, as do other browsers.
Beyond Equivalence -- The Opera designers have worked hard to make their browser both easy to use and powerful. With users' eager suggestions, they succeeded admirably. For example, rather than hiding all of the preferences and settings in a dialog box, most aspects of Opera's visual presentation are a single mouse click or menu choice away. Buttons for toggling image downloading and background images are on the navigation bar. You can turn the navigation bar, scroll bars, and button bars on or off via the View menu.
Opera also offers a unique 20 percent to 1,000 percent zoom, useful for people with vision problems, although folks with 20/20 eyesight may appreciate it as well. If you prefer to use your mouse as little as possible, almost every feature in Opera is accessible via the keyboard - even the links within a particular Web page.
Opera's contextual menus (right-click on objects in Windows 95/NT) provide access to controls for images, backgrounds, and frames. They also include commands to stop the active download, go to the home page, and clone the current window. The contextual menus even link directly to your bookmark lists, saving you a trip to the menu bar, although you can also display a docked list of bookmarks at the left side of the window, or, if you prefer, a floating list of bookmarks.
Platforms and Price -- Opera is currently available on Windows platforms - a 16-bit version for 3.11 or NT 3.51 and a 32-bit version for 95 or NT 4. However, Opera's designers recently ran a month-long promotion to gauge support for versions for Mac OS, OS/2, Linux/X11, and BeOS platforms. Though the Linux support was rather weak, Mac and OS/2 supporters turned out in droves, and BeOS made quite a good showing for such a new platform. According to the developers, Macintosh and OS/2 programmers are currently being sought, and porting to those platforms will begin as soon as possible. They realize no one wants a simple port, however, and are taking steps to ensure each group's browser takes advantage of the specific benefits and unique features of each platform.
<http://www.operasoftware.com/alt_os.html>
The 2.12 version was priced at $30. The 3.0 version, when it's released, will be priced at $35. No pricing has been set for the other platforms yet, but they are expected to be in the same ballpark. Users who register their 2.12 version before the 3.0 version is released get a free upgrade. Both versions are available for a free, fully functional 90-day trial.
<http://www.operasoftware.com/pricing.html>
<http://www.operasoftware.com/download.html>
After trying the 3.0b7 release for a month, I decided not to switch back to Netscape Navigator. Opera loads faster, displays pages quicker, takes up less hard drive space, has better interface features, and is being pushed by developers who are responding directly to their user base. And, it crashes less often than Netscape Navigator, even though it's a beta release. I'm hooked!
[Matthew C. Miller is a systems engineer working in Des Moines, Iowa. When he's not finding new Windows 95 toys to keep him from actually having to work, he's at home exploring Mac OS and MkLinux.]
by David Strom <david@strom.com>
Hotels and modems are like oil and water: nothing is worse than getting to your hotel after a long flight only to spend the next hour trying to configure your laptop to communicate. Although things have gotten somewhat better since I wrote my first PC Week column on this subject over 11 years ago, it still isn't great.
I have a radical notion for you travelers: give up your laptops! Some new services and products - coupled with better Internet access and Web browser ubiquity - have at least made it easier to get your email when on the road.
I haven't owned a laptop since January 1997, and, instead, make use of a series of local libraries, public terminals at various airports, and cybercafes. At worst, I've borrowed a client's computer and network connection. (A friend of mine mentioned how he once managed to "borrow" some bandwidth at an overseas Cisco office to get connected back home.)
To find a convenient cybercafe, search for that word, perhaps along with the name of the city you're visiting, in Yahoo or Lycos. Ernst Larsen also has a Java-based map with listings all over the world.
<http://www.yahoo.com/>
<http://www.lycos.com/>
<http://www.netcafeguide.com/cafeindex.htm>
Using a cybercafe or a library can be cost-effective, since they offer good bandwidth at reasonable prices. Many cafes have T1 or other high-speed connections to the Internet, better than you would usually get using a 33.6 Kbps modem in your hotel room. And, their charges typically are under $10 per hour of access, which can be less than many hotels charge even for local phone calls of any duration.
Once you get to the cybercafe, there are several choices, depending on your circumstances. If you need your own email account, then check out one of the several free email services that are available (searching Yahoo for "free email" will uncover about a dozen). A few of these vendors, such as RocketMail and HotMail, offer email accounts that don't require special client software: you merely connect to their sites with your Web browser, enter your user name and password, and proceed to your email activities.
<http://mailexcite.com/>
<http://www.hotmail.com/>
<http://www.juno.com/>
<http://www.rocketmail.com/>
<http://mail.yahoo.com/>
If you do decide to use these services when on the road, remember to clear the browser's cache and exit the program before leaving the computer. This is important when you are sharing a public machine, since some of these services can save your user information in memory, making it easy for the next person who uses this shared machine to gain access to your account.
If your mail server supports POP, then you can also use either ReadMail or MailStart. Point your browser to either service's site, type in your email ID and password, and in a few seconds these sites will retrieve your mail from your server. You can delete, reply, and save this mail just as you would any other POP account - the only difference is that these actions happen inside the browser's frame. [Please note the inherent security risks in these services: you're sending your password to a unknown third party via an unsecured Web connection, and that party in turn sends your password over an unsecured POP connection. -Glenn]
<http://www.readmail.com/>
<http://www.mailstart.com/>
ReadMail has the better interface, and with both services you can leave your email on your server so you can download it to your desktop when you later return to the office. Both claim not to store any identifying information such as your password, but it is still a good idea to clear the cache and exit the browser if you are accessing these systems on a shared or public machine.
When I said earlier that I didn't use a laptop, I wasn't giving you the whole truth: I do carry a device to access my email when I am out and about, but that device is an AT&T PocketNet CDPD cell phone. The phone has a small but serviceable screen and can connect to my POP server. Replying with anything more than a few words is painful, but for getting mail quickly, it is a champ.
<http://www.attws.com/nohost/data/pocketnet/index.html>
Another service you also might want to check into is eNow, which I haven't used. You set up an account with them and can hear your email being read to you via a phone call. Call 1-888-HEAR-E-NOW (1-888-432-7366) for a demo.
A warning: some of these services don't work if your POP server is behind a firewall, or if your ISP has turned off the capability to access the POP server from outside their network. And, if you aren't using a POP mail system, you are almost out of luck.
Almost, that is, unless you have an Internet gateway to your LAN-based mail system. There are other products that work as Web-based gateways to these mail servers: typically, you must first install them on a Web server that is part of your LAN. The Web-based gateway products don't always offer the same functionality found in a dedicated client: something - such as calendar access - is usually missing with these groupware products.
This is still an emerging field, and I am sure that there are many more products than I have highlighted here. Stay tuned to a page devoted to the subject for more links.
<http://www.strom.com/browsergui.html>
[David Strom is an author and researcher who covers electronic commerce, Internet servers, and developing Web technologies. This article originally appeared in Web Informant #92, 14-Nov-97. Article copyright 1997 by David Strom, Inc. Web Informant is a (r) registered trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.]
<http://www.strom.com/awards/previous.html>
Question: How do I convert email nicknames? Daniel Mao <mao79@i-2000.com> asks, "I recently purchased a copy of Eudora Pro 3.1 and installed it on my Mac at home. I couldn't find instructions in the manual for importing email addresses from Netscape Navigator. Is this possible, and if so, how?"
Answer: In classic "code-first, think-later" style, I failed to look closely at the excellent Eudora help sites on the Internet (a few of the best ones are linked on my Eudora page at the URL below) and wrote a Nisus Writer macro to convert from Netscape Navigator 3.0 format to Eudora Nickname format. (Anyone who uses Nisus Writer and wants a copy of the macro, send me email at <ace@tidbits.com>). I was feeling quite pleased with myself until Hank Zimmerman, who maintains one of the big Eudora help sites, posted a response to a similar question on Usenet, listing several ways of doing this for both the Mac and Windows. That will teach me to do my research first.
<http://www.tidbits.com/eudora/>
<http://www.ka.net/eudora/mac/util.html#nicknames>
<http://www.ka.net/eudora/win/convert.html>
The neatest service listed on Hank's site is Interguru's E-Mail Address Conversions, a converter implemented as a CGI on a Web page (the author, Joseph Davidson, asks for a $20 shareware payment if you use it successfully). The fact that it's a CGI means you don't have to download any software at all, and it should operate equally well for all platforms. Even better is the fact that Interguru's E-Mail Address Conversions supports nine input formats and eight output formats, so you can convert address books to and from almost any common email program (still missing is Lotus Notes in the Convert From list). It may not do a perfect job from some reports, but if you're switching from one email program to another and want to convert your address book, it's worth a look. [ACE]
<http://www.interguru.com/mailconv.htm>
Question: Can I be identified by my IP address? Greg Newman <greg_n@compuserve.com> asks, "I have noticed a number of Web sites that display my IP address. As a member of CompuServe, can people use this address to identify me and add me to their mailing lists either directly using the IP address, or indirectly by asking CompuServe to identify the user of that IP address?"
Answer: The answer is "probably not." Here's why. Every computer connected to the Internet, whether permanently or for just minutes or hours via a modem, has an IP number. Computers that are permanently connected to the Internet generally have "static" IP numbers, meaning they have the same IP number all the time. For example, www.netbits.net uses the static IP number 207.149.188.6.
Temporary dialup connections, such as an individual's Internet connection through an ISP, use "dynamic" IP numbers. Each time you connect to the Internet, your computer is assigned a different IP number from a pool. For instance, I just looked at our Web server log and noticed this machine connecting: 1cust63.max19.philadelphia.pa.ms.uu.net, which is equivalent to the IP number 153.35.156.63. That IP number undoubtedly points to a specific individual. But, not only do I have no way of finding out who that person is, it would almost certainly be someone else were I to see it again.
Of course, the fact that I can't do something doesn't mean that it isn't possible. The machine name has uu.net in it, which identifies the dialup connection as one run by UUNet, an ISP and network service company that rents its dial-up modem pool to other ISPs. With this knowledge, I could go to UUNet and tell them that I needed to know exactly who was using that IP number at 10:40 PST on 10-Dec-97. They would probably tell me to go jump in a lake. If I returned from my dip with police officers and a subpoena, assuming there was some seriously nefarious activity going on, they would provide the information I wanted by consulting their logs, which associate ISPs, accounts, modem phone numbers, and dynamic IP addresses.
However, without a court order, there's no easy way to find out the connection between your email address and your computer's IP number. Although the connection might exist somewhere, as in the above example, the mere fact that it exists doesn't mean that anyone can automatically retrieve it. Since you're using a CompuServe dialup account, it's likely you have a dynamic IP number. That makes you pretty much untraceable.
All that said, there are other ways people can find your email address and add it to mailing lists. Most of them are relatively obvious (you post to a mailing list or a Usenet newsgroup or fill in a form on a Web site, for instance). There's an insidious tendency for spammers to "spider" a Web site - to follow all links and analyze the pages retrieved - to suck out email addresses. Some folks defeat this technique by not putting their email address in a computer-readable form on their site, but instead explaining in a sentence how to reach them. (A spider would know <bilbo@baggins.net> is an email address, but the phrase "put bilbo@ together with baggins.net to send me email" is only human readable.) There's also a program called wpoison that generates an infinitely recursive series of fake email addresses and links, which gives spammers undeliverable addresses, but may trap their spider in your site.
<http://www.e-scrub.com/wpoison/>
<http://www.popco.com/cgi-bin/wpoison/>
If you enter your correct email address in your Web browser preferences, unethical sites can try to force your browser to send email from your machine without your knowledge. They use the incoming email sent to them to capture your address. Sometimes your browser can pick up your email address from other system preferences, so you may not even know that it's available in this way. If your browser can send email, be sure you've enabled any security preferences that alert you whenever the browser tries to send a form via email; if this is unchecked, a site can still hijack your address.
If you don't use your Web browser for email, you could consider setting your email address to a secondary or a fake address, which would solve any such problem. [ACE]
[Please send us any and all Internet questions whose answers have evaded you to <faqtoids@netbits.net>, and include your full name and email address. Questions may be edited for content and length. We cannot guarantee publication or a reply.]
Non-profit, non-commercial publications and Web sites may reprint or link to articles if full credit is given. Others please contact us. We do not guarantee accuracy of articles. Caveat lector. Publication, product, and company names may be registered trademarks of their companies. NetBITS ISSN 1096-4908.
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