Connecting to the World Wide Web

A Guide Prepared by Harvey J. Greenberg

While you are a student, you can use any of the computer systems and servers, notably carbon and math. You will need a (free) PPP connection, which is described by CINS. (You can also get a CD from them to ease the installation, but that is not really necessary if you follow the clearly written explicit instructions.)

A broad range of alternatives was given by Andrea Dean, a former student in the Undergraduate Seminar (Math 3000). Her first suggestion, to find a free internet provider, has been done by Channel 9 News. In fact, you will see a provider that pays you to surf the world wide web. Their incentive for this is to have you see advertisements (analogous to free TV). The ones listed let you access the web, but most do not allow you to have your own web site. Andrea cites http://www.freeservers.com/ as a provider, but the main disadvantage is the limited space you are allocated. This could change as the cost of space decreases and the demand to advertise increases.

If you are new to the web, it is best to use the UCD system because it is free and you can get a lot of help. Once you have your webbery skills and know more about what you want to do with it, you can consider your own site. BE SURE TO KEEP BACKUPS OF ALL FILES; remember that your provider could go out of business, and you do not want to lose all the hard work you put into making your site.


Last update: April 30, 2000 by Harvey J. Greenberg