Introduction

Internet access is a three step process. First and foremost, you need a modem. We'll address that first. Secondly, you need software to use in conjunction with your modem to transmit and receive what are known as TCP/IP packets, the behind-the-scenes couriers of information on the Internet. We'll address that after we've covered modems and in this document we will be discussing how to do all of this with a Macintosh. Lastly, you need an Internet Service Provider, a company to provide your modem-software combination with a telephone number to dial and a "pipe" out to the Internet. That's where we come in, Novia Internetworking.

First, let's talk about your modem:

Your Modem's Job

The information your computer sends and receives - whether it originates on a floppy disk, CD-ROM, or online service - is digital in nature. Digital communication is perhaps more appropriately described as binary communication, or the transmission of data entirely through the use of zeros and ones. Because ours is a universe of tens - and has been so ever since our earliest ancestors counted their fingers and toes - it is easy to forget that our most flexible creations, computers, live in a base two - not ten - world.

Satellites, cellular telephones, and fiberoptic communications are just a few of the workhorses of the digital communications revolution. However, there is one corner of the telecommunications world where the zeros and ones of binary communication cannot travel, a place known as the subscriber loop.

The subscriber loop is the pair of copper wire that connects our home telephones to the rest of the telephone network. Subscriber loops congregate in automated "switches," from which out- and in-bound calls are routed by a computer. Subscriber loops, some of which are quite ancient, were designed to convey the human voice through the transmission of analog wave forms, the electrical echoes of the vibrations we create when speaking into a telephone receiver. Since subscriber loops are built to convey this,

… while computers might represent the same information like this,

… we cannot simply run a cable from our computer to the telephone jack and join the online revolution; our computer will need some additional assistance. It will need a device to modulate its binary transmissions into analog waveforms to send data, and it will need a device to demodulate incoming analog transmissions into their original binary form to receive data. One device that performs both jobs is a modem.

Modem Q & A

The growth in recent years of online services, as well as dial-up Internet service providers (ISPs) has generated a parallel growth in modem vendors. What was once an obscure add-on to a computer system is now considered standard equipment.

The speed of a modem is a function of its throughput, a measure of the number of binary digits or bits that can be transmitted in any given second under ideal conditions. The march to contemporary high-speed modems began with a throughput of 2400 bits per second or bps, but thanks to data compression technologies, today modems can be purchased that operate at a throughput rating of 28,800 bits per second, or 28.8 kbps. The next jump appears to be 33,600 or 38,400.

We recommend a 14.4Kbps (or faster) modem. A 9600 bps modem is acceptably fast for the patient user.

There was a time when the answer to this question consisted of three words: "Modems are modems." However, with the arrival of the 28.8Kbps standard in particular, industry-wide problems with different vendors' modems talking to one another appeared for the first time. Tracking down the origin of these problems is complicated by the nature of high-speed telecommunications. Trying to pack nearly 30,000 bits of information every second into a pair of copper wire never built for anything more expansive than the demands of the human voice is a daunting task. What this means in practical terms is that high-speed modems are more prone to experience problems with the hisses, clicks and buzzes we associate with normal telephone conversations (line noise). To compensate for these impurities, modems are designed with error-correction circuitry to detect and eliminate connection problems. The V.n designation after your modem, (V.34 for example), references which form of industry-approved error correction your modem supports. Part of any good error correction scheme is the ability to lower connection speed in the event of line noise much like an airline pilot might lower altitude to avoid turbulence. Modems are somewhat schizophrenic in this regard, however, for while some of the modem's circuitry devotes itself to compensating for line noise - to the point of dropping connection speed - other components of the modem's circuitry work equally hard to speed the transmission of data by compressing it.

Currently the industry is experiencing certain difficulties with a particular kind of modem known as "RPI," an acronym for Rockwell Protocol Interface. Rockwell Inc. manufactures much of the circuitry used in the thousands of modems that are sold every year. RPI modems do not perform error correction or data compression. Instead, these features are located within software that is loaded on the computer to which the RPI modem is attached. While this approach is in theory perfectly sound, many users of RPI modems have reported problems with connecting to various online services such as America Online, Compuserve, Prodigy - and yes - Novia Internetworking. If you have already purchased an RPI modem, we will do our best to get you up and running. However, it may be the case that in the absence of improved software, your modem simply will not work with our service or anyone else's. If you have not yet purchased your modem, we currently recommend against buying an RPI.

We recommend you use a V.34 modem from a reputable manufacturer (Hayes, US Robotics, Supra, Zoom, or Practical Peripherals)

Not really, but there are some common problems you can avoid by doing this: run a reasonably short (five to ten foot) length of telephone wire from the line jack on the back of the modem directly to the wall outlet.

Many answering machines and cordless telephone units are equipped with two jacks, allowing you to chain together multiple telephone devices (one length of wire goes to the wall, the other to the next device in the chain). At each device along the chain, there is an opportunity for the signal on the wire to degrade. Making your modem part of such a chain is not recommended.

Hooking up to the Internet

You will need two pieces of system software to get started, one to provide TCP/IP capability, the other to provide PPP capability.

The specific "language" of Internet connectivity is known as TCP/IP or Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. For you to send Internet e-mail or browse the world-wide web, your Macintosh will need to be able to send TCP/IP packets. A part of the Macintosh's operating system - the control panel known as MacTCP or TCP/IP - addresses this need. Since the release of System 7.5, Apple has included MacTCP or its equivalent, TCP/IP, in all Macintosh models. If your Macintosh is running an older version of the system software, acquiring TCP/IP capability for your Macintosh will be the first step toward using the Internet.

If you don't know what version of the operating system is installed on your Macintosh, click the mouse in the upper left-hand corner of the screen - on the apple menu - and drag down to About This Macintosh ...

In this particular example, the Macintosh in question is running System 7.5.1. It will have the MacTCP control panel. System 7.5.3 and higher utilizes OpenTransport (although it can be configured to use MacTCP if desired). Users of these versions of the operating system will have a control panel entitled TCP/IP rather than MacTCP, though both serve the same function. Please take a few moments now to use your About this Macintosh… dialog box to determine whether or not you are an OpenTransport user.

With the release of System 7.5.2, Apple began a migration to a new network software approach known as "OpenTransport." On Macintoshes running OpenTransport, a control panel called "TCP/IP" carries out the tasks previously handled by MacTCP. Among OpenTransport's many benefits is the fact that it was written specifically for the PowerPC chipset found in newer Macintosh models. This makes it somewhat faster than MacTCP for PowerPC-based Macintoshes.

PPP, or Point-to-Point Protocol, allows TCP/IP datagrams (packets) to be received and transmitted over standard telephone lines or ISDN links. As in the case of MacTCP, a Macintosh with PPP capability has a PPP control panel of some kind which, when correctly installed and configured, allows the Macintosh to access the Internet. At present, Apple does not offer PPP as a built-in feature of the operating system. Luckily, thanks to the work of Yan Arrouye, Steve Brecher, Jim Browne, Alec Carlson, Steve Dagley, Tom Evans, Joe Husk, Cliff McCollum, Edward Moy, Richard Reynolds and John Stephen, a very good implementation of PPP known as FreePPP is available to Macintosh users - as its name implies - free of charge.

If you already have PPP and MacTCP or TCP/IP, feel free to skip ahead to the next section. If not, hopefully the information below will assist you in acquiring what you need.

First and foremost, consider upgrading your system software. Any upgrade to System 7.5 would address the absence of TCP/IP software. System 7.5 typically sells for around $100 through Macintosh mail-order outlets (MacMall, MacWarehouse, MacZone, etc.) While upgrading to new versions of any operating system can be a painful experience, in the long run nursing its outdated alternative is more costly in time and money.

Another attractive means of acquiring TCP/IP and PPP support is to buy an integrated Internet access package, a software "suite" that includes MacTCP and FreePPP, as well as a web browser, news reader, and electronic mail package. The only caveat with such packages is that in some cases integrated packages bundle together free software readily available on the Internet. FreePPP, for example, is just that: free. Of course there is a catch-22 here. There are numerous places on the Internet to download FreePPP, but you cannot get to them until you have FreePPP. Thus in a sense the price tag of an integrated package represents the cost of MacTCP plus the convenience of being able to pop in a few floppies or a CD-ROM and watch as everything you'll need to surf the Internet is installed in one, painless process.

Understanding that the following should not be perceived as an endorsement, here are some integrated Internet access packages currently available for the Macintosh (prices are a rough estimate based on mail order quotes)

Apple Internet Connection Kit ($50)

Includes MacTCP, PPP, Netscape Navigator (web browser), Claris EMailer Lite (e-mail), StuffIt Expander (used to decompress Macintosh software files distributed on the Internet)

Internet Valet ($40)

Includes MacTCP, PPP, Enhanced Mosaic (web browser) and Eudora (e-mail)

Internet Starter Kit ($25)

Includes MacTCP, MacPPP, Eudora (e-mail)

At Novia, we recommend you use FreePPP 1.0.5. We can provide it for you on floppy disk. Just call our office at 895-2633 between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. Another option would be to purchase an integrated access package (described above).

You should have your Novia account established and ready-to-go before actually attempting to configure your Macintosh for Internet access.

Call us at our business office between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM Monday through Saturday. The number is 895-2633. The following dial-up account types are available:

Account Type	Setup Fee	Monthly Charge	Hours of Monthly Connect Time
Basic	None	$ 9.95	20
Intermediate	None	$14.95	60
Surfer	None	$19.95	200
Extended	None	$29.95	Unlimited

One dollar per each hour over.

No. The rates listed above apply only to connections that utilize Novia's bank of dial-in modems.

All of the above. We also do pay-by-check billing. We do not maintain credit card records on any of our Internet-connected computers, by the way.

No … you would need to change its settings, but the software itself will work fine.

Installing PPP

If you purchased and installed an integrated access package like the Apple Internet Kit, the following instructions - which detail where to put the control panels and extensions for PPP - will be superfluous. Your installer probably already placed these items in the appropriate locations. You should skip ahead to the next section, Configuring PPP.

Locate the FreePPP Folder:

… and open it up:

Depending on your system's configuration, the Config PPP and PPP icons may appear differently. Don't let this alarm you. Drag the Config PPP and PPP icons on top of your closed System folder:

The Macintosh will notify you that these items need to be located within subfolders of the System Folder.

Click OK.

At this point, you have installed - but not yet configured - PPP. Choose "Restart" from your Special menu.

Configuring PPP

When your system has finished booting back up, open your Control Panels folder (under the apple menu) and double-click Config PPP:

Click the New … button to create a PPP server configuration for Novia Internetworking. When prompted for the name of the server, type Novia and click OK or strike the Return key. Technically, the name of the PPP server is not critical. You can call it anything you like, but "Novia" seems logical.

To configure your connection to Novia, click the Config … button. This is how you will want to modify the resulting dialog box for Novia Internetworking.

Port Speed: This is not the speed of your modem, but rather the speed at which your computer will exchange data with the modem. In our experience, 57,600 bps is a fast, stable setting - but you can certainly try the two higher speeds, 115K and 230K. Just be mindful of the fact that errors in transmission are more common at higher speeds. Depending on the quality of your subscriber loop, dropping below 57,600 bps may be necessary. For 28.8kbps modems, there really is no good reason to set the port speed any higher than 57,600. For 14.4kbps modems, there really is no good reason to set the port speed any higher than 38,400.

Phone num: Novia's data line is 390-2638. The number is prefixed in this example by "*70," which for users with call waiting would dial *70 and pause one second before dialing Novia proper; the pause allows the modem to "wait" for the new call-waiting-free dialtone. If you do not have call-waiting, the Phone num: text field should simply contain the number, 390-2638.

Modem Init: This refers to your modem's initialization string, the commands it needs to receive prior to connecting to an online service or sending a facsimile. The "ATZ" command string simply instructs the modem to operate at its factory default settings. This is a useful command if you are using FAX software that loads at startup on your computer. Oftentimes such software will conflict with other packages that may use the modem. If the manual that came with your modem recommended a specific initialization string for optimum performance, you may type that string into the Modem init: text field. Ninety-nine percent of the time, ATZ works just fine.

Now click the Authentication button:

Enter the username and password of your Novia account. Be sure to enter the username in all lowercase letters. At this point you can click OK, followed by Done to conclude the configuration process. You may now close the Config PPP control panel. Our next step will be to configure the TCP/IP stack .

If you are running OpenTransport, please skip ahead to, Configuring TCP/IP Under OpenTransport. Other users should read, Configuring MacTCP.

Configuring MacTCP

Open your control panels folder and double-click the MacTCP icon.

Click the PPP icon to instruct the Macintosh that it will be accessing the Internet via a PPP dial-up connection.

Now click on the More… button.

Obtain Address: This section of the dialog box determines how your Macintosh will acquire its unique Internet Protocol or IP number. The correct value here is Server, but due to some quirky behavior inherent in MacTCP, you may find yourself having to click on the Manually button to change the other settings described below. Don't let this frustrate you. Just be certain that before you click OK and close the dialog that the Server button has been reselected.

Gateway Address: This value will be assigned by Novia's PPP server. It doesn't matter what you enter here.

Domain Name Server Information: As described above, Novia's domain is novia.net and our domain name server's IP is 204.248.24.2. A backup name server exists at 204.248.24.1. Be sure to enter these values and make certain that the Default radio button next to 204.248.24.2 is selected.

IP Address: Your assigned IP number will be a Class C address.

Click OK and close the MacTCP dialog box.

You are now ready to access the Internet with your Macintosh. Whenever you launch an Internet application, such as a web browser like Netscape Navigator, FreePPP will intervene and connect to Novia to establish your connection.

Configuring TCP/IP

Under OpenTransport

Open your control panels folder and double-click the TCP/IP icon.

Connect via: Click in this drag-down menu and select MacPPP

Configure: This menu determines how your Macintosh will be assigned its Internet Protocol number (IP address) and the IP address to which it will send packets requesting routes to various Internet hosts you may attempt to access. Drag down the Configure menu until Using PPP is hilited and release.

Name server addr: Type 204.248.24.2 and 204.248.24.1 as depicted above. Be sure 204.248.24.2, the primary DNS server, is listed first.

Implicit Search Path: Starting domain name: In the vocabulary of the Internet, a fully-qualified domain name or FQDN is a completely described Internet address - oasis.novia.net, for example. If you attempt to access a site and do not specify its FQDN, this setting determines where your Macintosh will begin "looking." Type novia.net into this field. Do the same in the Additional Search domains: text box.

Close the TCP/IP control panel. When prompted to save your settings, do so.

You are now ready to access the Internet with your Macintosh. Whenever you launch an Internet application, such as a web browser like Netscape Navigator, FreePPP will intervene and connect to Novia to establish your connection.

Disconnecting

Open the Config PPP control panel and click on the Close button.

If I neglect to do this, will I run up a huge bill?

No, our server is configured to disconnect you automatically after fifteen minutes of inactivity.

That's all there is to it! Happy surfing. If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call at 895-2633 or send e-mail to "staff."

Thank you for choosing Novia!