NOTHING BUT NET

I received an America Online disk in the mail about a year ago. Great! I wanted to dive off into cyber-space. But I knew it would be a whole new language and technology. I remembered how brutal it was converting from a manual to a computerized accounting system. I came up with all sorts of excuses for not taking the dive. The AOL disk collected dust on the corner of my desk.

Then I met Kathy Love of Gene Love Plumbing in Columbia, SC. Kathy assumed I had an e-mail address and asked me for it so we could correspond via the Internet.

"Uh, I've been meaning to get hooked up," I stammered.

"Well, it's easy," Kathy insisted, "Get yourself online and send me an e-mail for practice."

Kathy is the kind of person people say, "Yes, ma'am!" to, so I blew off the dust, slipped the disk into my computer and off I went to cyberspace and beyond.

Now, you technical guys are going to snicker here, but I didn't realize that you needed a modem to get online! Perhaps there was some psychic connection that bound the users together?

Anyway, for any of you who might be in the same boat that I was, here is a list of what you need to get up and online.

1. Your computer should be a 386 or better. More is better! Mac or IBM is fine.
2. You need a pretty fast modem. Modem speed is measured in bits per second (bps). You should have at least a 14,400 bps modem, but a 28,800 is nicer. Waiting for the graphics to download seems to take forever and is it ever BORING! If possible go for a fax/modem - does double duty.
3. Start with a commercial online service, such as America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe or Microsoft Net. Don't have new business cards printed with your e-mail address right away; you may want to switch to a less expensive, less user-friendly service once you find your way around. A service gets you online with a local call - no phone charges. But you pay for time spent on the Internet.
4. The modem requires a phone line. It's nice to have a dedicated line. Otherwise, callers will get a busy signal if you are online. Also, if you share a line with a fax or phone, make sure no one picks up the other extension. This could disconnect you from the Internet. Also, if you have call waiting, tom it off while you access the Internet. (As I indicated, better yet, get a dedicated line for the modem.)
5. Get a beginner's Internet manual. I recommend Internet and World Wide Web Simplified from the MaranGraphics group, published by IDG Books. It starts with the basics, defines all the cyber-babble words, has lots of cartoon pictures and assumes you are an Internet idiot.

Getting Started :Ready, set ... GO! Spend a rainy weekend afternoon or a home-alone evening and get going. You can always call the 1-800 number on the demo disk for help. It took about 10 minutes of on-hold time for me to get online help, but the call taker was professional and helpful. (See how critical it is to have good phone skills.)

When you select a screen name, remember it is for keeps. Your screen name becomes your electronic mail (e-mail) address. You can "sign on" with a different name when you connect to the net, but it won't change your e-mail address.

I bring this up because there are weird folks out there. The cloak of anonymity allows slightly sick people to develop into first-class loonies. You might want to "lurk" (just observe) in chat rooms and bulletin boards before you contribute anything. Click onto all the areas that interest you ... news, education, Kids Only. (Already, you will feel the need for more speed.)

When you get back to the Webcrawler (or whatever search vehicle you have) type in http://www.nyoha.org. Here the New York Oil Heat Association has put together a web site with information for consumers, facts about oil heat and heating equipment, and profiles of member oil companies. Members of the NYOHA use a password to get further into the web site. Here they find "Hot Issues" in the legislature, membership updates and even an interactive form for registering for the next meeting. What a great way for a trade association to help keep its members up to date.

Rich Rutigliano of Primedia put this site together. Reach him at 800/796-3342.

Future Services: Now that I've taken the world wide web plunge, my mind goes wild with all the possibilities for our industry. You could advertise via a web page. Some say that Internet web pages win replace Yellow Pages entirely in the years to come.

Alex McNeely of George Brazil Services in Seattle, WA put together a web page. Check it out at http://www.georgebrazil.com. His customers can schedule service, find out why they would benefit from a service agreement and ask technical questions. Isn't this great?

One word of caution - if you are the obsessive - compulsive type, be careful. I found myself checking my "mailbox" several times a day in the beginning!

Ready, once a day is fine. Figure out the "Flash Sessions" feature on your service. It sends and receives e-mail quickly, then signs off, keeping your online time to a minimum.

At any point in time 1.5 minion people are on the Internet. How about you? Surf's Up!

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