World Wide Web

The Information Superhighway, the Net, you name it, the hype just goes on and on... Ofir Gal finds out how music‑making Atari users can join the fast lane.

There is no doubt that the Internet is an excellent research tool, enabling files and information from almost anywhere in the world to be accessed as if they were stored on your own hard disk. I am sure many of you would like to 'surf the Net', or 'browse the Web', especially as the infectious enthusiasm for the Internet grows, but are maybe unsure of where to begin and what equipment is needed. This month, I shall take a look at the Net and what it has to offer the Atari user.

A Global Network

The Internet began as a group of computers situated around the globe, which were all connected to one another. These computers were mainly located in universities, large companies, military installations and similar sites, and were typically fast and powerful machines with a great deal of storage space. In their generosity, the organisations concerned made some of the files available to the public, so if you happened to work at a university for example, you could access files found at another university via the computer.

Things started to get more interesting when smaller companies, such as Demon and CIX began to offer an Internet connection to private users. This involves the connection of your own home computer to a larger one owned by the Internet service provider via a modem. While you are connected, you become part of the Internet and can access files on a worldwide basis.

What It Can Do

Two of the most commonly used features of the Internet are Email and FTP. Email is simply a method of sending text messages in a cheap and efficient way. Your Email messages can be prepared in advance, which means you only have to wait the few seconds it takes to transmit them once you are connected to the Internet. Email messages may also contain files, so you could, for example, send someone a MIDI file or a synth SysEx dump. Indeed, many people collaborate on projects, musical or otherwise, without ever meeting each other.

FTP (file transfer protocol) is a system that enables an Internet user to view lists of files and then transfer the files over from the remote computer down to his or her hard disk. Many universities hold massive archives of public domain and shareware programs that can be obtained freely via FTP. Software publishers, such as Steinberg, make bug fixes available to users via FTP. A credit card security system is currently being finalised, so you will also be able to purchase software via FTP by selecting the program you want, entering your credit card number, and minutes later you could be using the product.

Newsgroups form another important part of the Internet. They work very much like Email, but instead of sending a message to a single person, you can send it to a large number of people with the same interest. Further responses appear in public so that others can learn from the answers. Instead of just asking a few friends about the problem you are having with your synth, you could post a message that hundreds or even thousands may read, and therefore increase the possibility of someone being able to help. There are thousands of newsgroups dedicated to almost every topic under the sun, from music to astronomy, Frank Zappa to politics.

The World Wide Web

The Web is by far the most popular part of the Internet. Instead of having to deal with UNIX commands that only computer programmers and their friends understand, you find yourself in a colourful point and click world. The Web uses coloured backdrops, flashy icons, 3D buttons and images instead of boring old text. Essentially, the Web provides the same facilities the Internet always did, but it is a whole lot friendlier and easier to use. Web pages are the 'in' thing to have, so almost any major player in the music software business has a page or two on the Web. Besides info about their latest products, many software publishers allow you to point and click a button to get hold of the latest versions of programs (although this feature is not yet implemented on the Atari Web browser). You can also use these pages to voice your complaints or praise about the products.

The Atari Angle

Until recently, Atari users were restricted to the text‑only services of the Net. With the launch of CAB this is no longer true. CAB is a Web browser, much like Netscape or Mosaic on the PC and Mac. It relies on a desk accessory called STiK in order to access the Internet. Like most Internet related programs, STiK is difficult to set up, but fortunately UK support is available, as are several configuration files for popular service providers such as CIX and Demon.

CAB does not yet cover the full WWW specification — it is unable to support Email and FTP, but development in these areas looks promising, and Oasis can be used as an alternative in the meantime. CAB supports the display of colour images and dithers the images to monochrome when not running in colour, so although it doesn't offer the richness of features you will find in Netscape for example, it is more than adequate to get you started.

A typical Net‑surfing session starts by using one of the search facilities of the Internet to locate links for a topic. If you wanted to search for Web pages related to Akai samplers for example, you would enter the words 'Akai' and 'sampler' and press the search button. After a moment or two, a list of possible pages would appear. CAB provides several navigation tools, including the ability to open several windows, go back to previous pages, and save any pages of interest for later browsing.

Surprisingly, the Atari is well catered for on the Net. There are several Atari‑related Web pages available to browse, MIDI, sound, sampling and sound synthesis are all popular topics, and many Atari FTP sites exist around the world.

Finally

It is difficult to understand the Internet without actually using it, but I hope that reading this clears up some of the haze that seems to obscure the facts. The Web is useful for gaining access to information, while Email is a quick and cost‑effective way of communicating. I believe that we will all be using the Net sooner or later, so we may as well get an early start!