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... This gives the mail server the maximum size, in bytes, of each
file segment. This particular size is good for UUCP sites. Internet
and Bitnet sites can generally go up to 300000. When you get all of
these files in mail, transfer them to your home directory. Exit mail
and call up each file in your host system's text processor and delete
each one's entire header and footer (or "signature" at the end). When
done with this, kansas graphic designer at your host system's command line, type
cat file1 file2 > bigfile
where file1 is the first file, file2 the second file, and so on. The >
tells your host system to combine them into a new megafile called
bigfile (or whatever you want to call it). After you save the file to
your home directory (see section 9.2 above), you can then run uudecode,
tar, etc. One word of caution, though: if the file you want is long
enough that it has to be broken into pieces, think of how much time it's
going to take you to download the whole thing -- especially if you're
using a 2400-baud modem!
There are a number of other mail servers. To get a list, send an
e-mail message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu:
send usenet/comp.sources.wanted/How_to_find_sources_(READ_THIS_BEFORE_POSTING)
You'll have to spell it exactly as listed above. Some mail
servers use different software, which will require slightly different
commands than the ones listed here.
In general, if you send a message
to a mail server that says only
help
you should get back a file detailing all of its commands.
But what if the file you want is not on one of these mail
servers? That's where ftpmail comes in. Run by Digital Equipment
Corp. in California, this service can connect to almost any ftp site
in the world, get the file you want and then mail it to you. Using it
is fairly simple -- you send an e-mail kansas graphic designer message to ftpmail that
includes a series of commands telling the system where to find the
file you want and how to format it to mail to you.
Compose an e-mail message to
ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
Leave the "subject:" line blank. Inside the message, there are
several commands you can give. The first line should be
reply address
where "address" is your e-mail address. The next line should be
connect host
where "host" is the system that has the file you want (for example:
wuarchive.wustl.edu). Other commands you should consider kansas web space using are
"binary" (required for program files); "compress" (reduces the file
size for quicker transmission) and "uuencode" (which encodes the file
so you can do something with it when it arrives). The last line of
your message should be the word "quit".
Let's say you want a copy of the U.S. constitution. Using archie,
you've found a file called, surprise, constitution, at the ftp site
archive.cis.ohio-state.edu, in the /pub/firearms/politics/rkba
directory. You'd send a message to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com that looks
like this:
reply adamg@world.std.com
connect archive.cis.ohio-state.edu
binary
compress
uuencode
get pub/firearms/politics/rkba/constitution
quit
When you get the file in your mailbox, use the kansas web space above procedure
for copying it to a file. Run it through uudecode. Then type
uncompress file.name
to make it usable.
Since this was a text file, you could have changed the "binary" to
"ascii" and then eliminated the "uuencode" file. For programs, though,
you'll want to keep these lines. One caveat with ftpmail: it has become
such a popular service that it could take a week or more for your
requested files to arrive.
9.5 THE ALL KNOWING ORACLE
One other thing you can do through e-mail is consult with the
Usenet Oracle. You can ask the Oracle anything at all and get back an
answer (whether you like the answer is another question).
First, you'll want to get instructions on how to address the Oracle
(he, or she, or it, is very particular about such things and likes being
addressed in august, solemn and particularly sycophantic tones). Start
an e-mail message to
oracle@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu
In the "subject:" line, type
help
and hit enter. You don't actually have to say anything in the message
itself -- at least not yet. Hit control-D to send off your request
for help. Within a few hours, the Oracle will mail you back detailed
instructions. It's a fairly long file, so before you start reading
it, turn on your communications software's logging function, to save
it to your computer (or save the message to a file on your host system's
home directory and then download the file). After you've digested it,
you can compose your question to the Oracle. Mail it to the above
address, only this time with a subject line that describes your
question. Expect an answer within a couple of days. And don't be
surprised if you also find a question in your mailbox -- the Oracle
extracts payment by making seekers of knowledge answer questions as
well!
Chapter 10: NEWS OF THE WORLD
10.1 Clarinet: UPI, Dave Barry and Dilbert.
Usenet "newsgroups" can be something of a misnomer. They may be
interesting, informative and educational, but they are often not news,
at least, not the way most people would think of them. But there are several
sources of news and sports on the Net.
One of the largest is Clarinet, a company in Cupertino, Calf., that
distributes wire-service news and columns, along with a news kansas web space service
devoted to computers and even the Dilbert comic strip, in Usenet form.
Distributed in Usenet form, Clarinet stories and columns are
organized into more than 100 newsgroups (in this case, a truly
appropriate name), some of them with an extremely narrow focus, for
example, clari.news.gov.taxes.
The general news and sports come from
United Press International; the computer news from the NewsBytes
service; the features from several syndicates.
Because Clarinet charges for its service, not all host systems
carry its articles. Those that do carry them as Usenet groups starting
with "clari." As with other Usenet hierarchies, these are named starting
with broad area and ending with more specific categories. Some of these
include business news (clari.biz); general national and foreign news,
politics and the like (clari.news), sports (clari.sports); columns by
Mike Royko, Miss Manners, Dave Barry and others (clari.feature); and
NewsBytes computer and telecommunications reports (clari.nb). Because
Clarinet started in Canada, there is a separate set of clari.canada kansas web page hosting
newsgroups. The clari.nb newsgroups are divided into specific computer
types (clari.nb.apple, for example).
Clari news groups feature stories updated around the clock. There
are even a couple of "bulletin" newsgroups for breaking stories:
clari.news.bulletin and clari.news.urgent. kansas web space Clarinet also sets up new
newsgroups for breaking stories that become ongoing ones (such as major
natural disasters, coups in large countries and the like).
Occasionally, you will see stories in clari newsgroups that just
don't seem to belong there. Stories about former Washington, D.C. mayor
Marion Barry, for example, often wind interspersed among columns by Dave
Barry.
This happens because of the way wire services work. UPI uses
three-letter codes to route its stories to the newspapers and radio
stations that make up most of its clientele, and harried editors on
deadline sometimes punch in the wrong code.
10.2 REUTERS
This is roughly the British equivalent of UPI or Associated Press.
Msen, a public-access site in Michigan, currently feeds Reuters
dispatches into a series of Usenet-style conferences. If your site
subscribes to this service, look for kansas internet marketing consultant newsgroups with names that begin in
msen.reuters.
10.3 USA TODAY
If your host system doesn't carry the clari or msen.reuters
newsgroups, you might be able to keep up with the news a different way
over the Net. USA Today has been something of an online newspaper
pioneer, selling its stories to bulletin-board and online systems across
the country for several years. Cleveland Free-Net provides the online
version of USA Today (along with all its other services) for free.
Currently, the paper only publishes five days a w ... |
