Chapter 6

TELNET

(Note from the Author: Check back again soon, for the suggestions for the Topic wise sites to telnet to )

Telnet is a service on the Internet which allows you to log on to a remote system, provided you have the userid and password. There are however computers around the world which permit guest logins, including VSNL's host computer, for the Terminal account. In case you have an account on some remote computer, e.g. arbornet or cyberspace.org, which provides services that are not provided by VSNL (till the time of this writing), then, in order for you to use those services, you have to learn to use guest login.

Like any large community, cyberspace has its libraries, places you can go to look up information or take out a good book. Telnet is one of your keys to these libraries.

Telnet is a program that lets you use the power of the Internet to connect you to databases, library catalogs, and other information resources around the world. Want to see what the weather's like in Vermont? Check on crop conditions in Azerbeijan? Get more information about somebody whose name you've seen online? Telnet lets you do this, and more. Increasingly, information once available only via telnet is being disseminated by the World-Wide Web-- see Chapter 7-- but it can still be useful to learn your way around telnet.

To start using telnet, select item 3 from the First Menu, and you will get a telnet prompt as shown

in Fig.6-1:

Fig.6-1 Using "telnet" to logon to other computers

At telnet prompt type "open telnet-site-name". In this case we typed "svpal.org" , a computer in California. The telnet utility logs on to that site and informs you that the computer you have been connected is running Sun's Operating System UNIX and gives you a login prompt. In this case, this not being a free site, you have to have an account there to log on, like what you require to log on to VSNL's GIAS. If you supply a valid userid and password you will be in the account and your computer terminal will act as a terminal to that account.

This is all there is to telnet. Of course there are advanced features to telnet, but unless you are going to use this service extensively and for more than logging on to a computer, you have no need to bother about it.

Below we list all the other options available with this service:

The commands given above are some of the most frequently used ones, but there are many more and also there are sub-commands. Try the command "set ?" to see the list of these offered by your operating system.

There are lots of sites around the world which allow you to log on without a password. They can be searched on the NET.

THE LIST

AGRICULTURE

PENpages

International Food & Nutrition Database, National Family Database. The 4-H Youth Development Database, agricultural and weather statistics, market news, newsletters, and drought information. This resource is provided by the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences.

Comment: Login with the two letter abbreviation for your state (e.g., PA)
Address: psupen.psu.edu

ARCHAEOLOGY

National Archaeological Database

A database of over 100,000 reports of archaeological investigations. Search by key word location, author and publication date.

Address: cast.uark.edu
Login: nadlab

BBSs (BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS)

FedWorld

FedWorld BBS is sponsored by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) and is tasked by Congress to help this disseminate vast amounts of scientific and technical information along with other, non-technical information. As a central point of connectivity, NTIS FedWorld offers access to thousands of files across a wide range of subject areas. You can find information ranging from environmental protection to small business.

Address: fedworld.gov

BUSINESS AND FINANCE

European Commission Host Organization

ECHO offers scientific, language, business and research database in many languages.

Address: echo.lu
Login: echo

Stock Market Report

Daily stock market summary report, provided as a free service of a2i.

Address: a2i.rahul.net
Login: Guest

COMPUTERS: LITERATURE
HPCwire

HPCwire publishes weekly news bulletin on high performance computing i.e. distributed to thousands of users on the Internet. Topics range from workstations to supercomputers, with news briefs, feature stories and in-depth, exclusive interviews.

Address: hpcwire.ans.net
Login: hpcwire

EDUCATION:

Higher Education Resources and Opportunities (HERO)

A 24-hour, online database service that provides access to valuable information from colleges and universities on scholarships, grants, fellowships, conferences, faculty and student development, research, opportunities, partnership initiatives and other opportunities for minorities and women.

Address: fedix.fie.com
Login: new National Referral Central Mater File

The National Referral Center Resources File (NRCM) provides thousands of descriptions of organizations qualified and willing to answer questions and provide information on many topics in science, technology and the social sciences. The file is updated weekly, and each entry in the files lists the name of the organization mailing address and other information.

Addrss: locis.loc.gov
Password: Organizations

EDUCATION: STUDENTS

Academic Advice

Sound suggestions for attacking poor study habits, relieving stress, and making it happily through college—and life.

Address: selway.umt.edu
Login: health

ENVIORMENT

EnviroNet

A menu-driven, user-friendly resource with environmental data in textual graphic and tabular form.

Address: envnet.gsfc.nasa.gov
Password: henniker

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

A menu-driven system that provides information on the EPA and what they’re up to.

Address: epaibm.rtpnc.epa.gov

GAMES

Games Server

Choose from mutitude of exciting on-line games including Bucks, Moria, Tetris, Sokoban, Reversi, Nethack, and many adventure games, including MUD’s.

GEOGRAPHY

Geography Server

Get information about cities, regions, countries, etc. Including populations, latitude and longitude, elevation and so on.

Address: martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000

GEOLOGY

Earthquake Information

Get up-to-date news about earthquakes around the world.

Address: geophys.washington.edu

Login: quake
Password: quake

GOVERNMENT: CONGRESS

Congressional Legislation

these files track and describe legislation (bills and resolutions) introduced in Congress, from 1973 (93^rd Congress) to the current Congress (103^rd). Each file covers a separate Congress.

Address: locis.loc.gov
Password: Federal Legislation

HEALTH

AIDS statistics, including daily summaries from newspaper articles, details of those at risk, and the full text of Aids Treatment News.

Address: selway.umt.edu
Login: health

HISTORY

History Database

A menu driven interface for databases, electronic texts, journals, and other archive sites for American And European historical topics.

Address: unkanix.cc.uknas.edu
Login: history

INTERNET

InterNIC Information Services

Find information about people, organizations and resources on the Internet. Also find and retrieve documents from all over the world with lookups by the name or keyword.

Address: ds.internic.net.

Address: rs.intenic.net

INTERNET: RESOURCES

Internet Services and resources

The LIBS system is a comprehensive collection of Internet resources presented in an easy-to-use menu-driven interface. The system operates like a bulletin board, but offers direct access to remote resources.

Address: garam.kreonet.re.kr

Login: nic

Address: info.anu.edu.au

Login: library

Address: nessie.cc.www.edu

Login: libs

LANGUAGE

Webster’s Dictionary Servers

Online Webster’s dictionary and spelling reference. This service repeatedly prompts you for a word. If you misspell a word, the system will prompt you to choose between a number of similar words. Gives spellings, pronunciation and definitions.

Address: chem.ucsd.edu

Login: webster

LIBRARIES

Carl System

A computerized network of library system. Search for keywords from any of five databases (library catalogs, current articles, information databases, other library systems, library and system news).

Address: pac.carl.org

NEWS

USA-Today. Sample articles from USA Today.

Address: freenet-in-a.cwru.edu

Login: visitor

Address: freenet-in-b.cwru.edu

Login: visitor

Address: freenet-in-c.cwru.edu

Login: visitor

Address: yfn.ysu.edu

Login: visitor

PHYSICS

National Nuclear Data Center Online Data Service

All the data you could possibly want regarding nuclear physics and statistical measurements, including radiation levels and other information for the U.S.

Address: bnlnd2.dne.bln.gov

SPACE

NASA Spacelink

History, current events, projects and plans at NASA.

Address: spacelink, msfc.nasa.gov

SPORTS AND ATHLETICS

NFL Schedule

Get the day’s game schedule for your favorite NFL football team. Enter "help" for help. Full schedules are also available.

Address: culine.colorado.edu 863

TECHNOLOGY

Hot of the Tree (HOTT)

A weekly publication containing excerpts and summaries of information technology articles.

Comment: For the telnet site, type, "show hott" after logging in.

Address: melvyl.ucop.edu

Login:<your terminal type>

TRAVEL

Subway Navigator

Find the right route in the subways of severral of the world’s largest cities, including Subways in France, Germany, Spain and Canada.

Address: metro.jussieu.fr 10000

WEATHER

Weather Reports

Get up-to-date weather reports for any location on the planet. An easy-to-use interface guides you through the process of selectiong a city or location, and then viewing the weather report onscreen or downloading it to your computer.

Address: downwind.sprl.umich.edu 3000

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