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What You Need to Access E-mail

In order to send and receive e-mail you will need a few things. First of all, you have to have a computer or at least access to a computer. That computer has to have access to the Internet. The computer has to have software capable of either accessing e-mail or running a terminal session to let you use software on the server to access the e-mail. At UF there are numerous computer systems available. The CIRCA labs are probably the most likely place to find a computer, but there are other labs on campus.

Also, even if you have a computer and the appropriate software, you won't be able to use e-mail without an account. You can get accounts from some departments, and accounts are available from CIRCA and NERDC for very economical rates. You may even be assigned an account as part of a course. The only problem with those accounts is that they end shortly after the semester ends.

There are typically four different situations where you can access your e-mail account: a PC or terminal in one of the labs on campus, a PC with a network connection in a dormitory, a remote connection via modem, or a PC in an office on campus. We will discuss the first three of these situations and will exclude access from an office.

PC (or terminal) in a Lab on Campus

Using the PCs in the labs is typically easy since all the configuration has been done. The CIRCA (Center for Instructional and Research Computing Activities) labs have hundreds of computers available for walk-in use. Labs are located in CSE E211, Weil 408, Bryan 232, Arch 118, and Norm G514. The hours for each lab vary. You should have your Gator One UF-ID card with you when you go to the labs.

All the PCs in the CIRCA labs will emulate terminals and are fully configured with both DOS and MS Windows software. Simply reboot the system and follow the prompts to get to the menu system. Initially you will be presented with a menu asking you what resolution you want to run MS Windows in. You can make a choice and run Windows or press [Esc] to back out to a menu for DOS applications.

If you need help while in the labs you can ask one of the lab assistants on duty. They should be able to answer all your questions. The CIS department provides student consultants for some of its courses. They are usually in the consulting room inside CSE E211. You can also go to the UF Computing Help Desk in CSE E520D, or call the Help Desk at 392-HELP.

Remote Connection Via Modem

Using a PC at home and connecting to the network using a modem is probably the most difficult of the three situations we'll discuss. But it isn't that tough. You will need a PC with a modem. If all you will do is e-mail, then you might get by with a fairly slow modem (9600 baud), but if you want to surf the World Wide Web or much of anything else you will want at least a 14400 baud modem. You should use your system documentation to configure your PC and modem to work properly. When this is done you are ready to get a dial-up account and get hooked up.

You can find out about getting a student dial-up account at the CIRCA office in CSE E520. Make sure to take a couple of high-density 3.5" diskettes to trade for their diskettes full of all the software (SLIP/PPP) you'll need. These diskettes are for MS Windows systems. The personal dial-up accounts are not free, but they are very economical. Once you have the account you will need to configure your system to use it. First you must install a TCP/IP stack. This is software that allows your computer to communicate in the standard Internet language (TCP/IP). The Help Desk has a document available for getting and installing the Trumpet Winsock software for use with MS Windows 3.x. Once you have this done, simply install the software on your two disks following the instructions in the CIRCA documents and you're in business. These two documents are titled, "Trumpet Winsock" and "CIRCA Internet Software Package for Windows", respectively.

There is other dial-up access to various systems besides the personal dial-up accounts. Each system has its own phone numbers and log-in sequence. You can get a document called "Dialing Campus Computer Services" from the Help Desk in CSE E520 which lists all the phone numbers for the most common systems.

If you are a CIS major, you can obtain a special CIS account which also has dial-up access by going to CSE E309. Ask a consultant for assistance. You should get the same set of disks from the CIRCA Help Desk in CSE E520 since the CIS lab does not offer the software on disk.

No matter which system you dial-in to, you will need to configure all your software appropriately for your servers' addresses and your account information. Your e-mail software will need to know your SMTP and POP server names, and your POP server username and password. If you don't see it somewhere in the documentation already mentioned, ask at the Help Desk or at the department where you have an account.

PC in a Dormitory

Some of the Dormitories on campus have direct network connections to the rooms. You can use this connection to access the Internet at very high speeds. Getting your connection set up requires a few steps though. The hardware connection does not automatically give you an account so you will still need to get one.

The first thing you will need to do is get the connection to your Dorm room activated. You can do this by going to the Division of Housing's Student Accounts section. You will need to fill out the "DHNet Port Service Agreement" and pay a fee ($60 per semester). Your connection will be activated and assigned a static IP address. Make sure to get all the IP configuration parameters (Host names, etc.).

Once you have the activated port, you will need to get an ethernet card with a 10BaseT connector and cable. Follow the instructions that came with it to configure it for a TCP/IP network. Typically in a DOS/Windows 3.x environment that means loading low level network drivers in the CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT files and loading the TCP/IP stack driver prior to running Windows. Windows will also have to be configured to recognize the TCP/IP stack and the card. When this last driver loads, it will request the IP address from the server for this physical connection.

Configuring your network card is the partt of the process most likely to give you trouble. You can avoid trouble by purchasing a network card from the UF Computer & Electronic Technical Services (CETS) office (also called the Digital Design Facility). After purchasing the card, you can hire CETS to install it and configure all the drivers correctly for only about $60. You can reach them by phone at 392-2464.

Once you have your card working properly over your connection, you can install and use any Internet software, like Netscape's Navigator. You can get the software CIRCA distributes by taking a couple of high-density 3.5" diskettes to the CIRCA office in CSE E520 to trade for their diskettes full of all the software you'll need. These diskettes where originally intended for dial-up accounts so be sure to ask specifically how to install the applications without installing the Trumpet Winsock (TCP/IP stack). You can also get a document called "CIRCA Internet Software Package for Windows" with the disks. For any other questions regarding your software installation or configuration contact the CIRCA Help Desk in CSE E520. Their phone number is 392-HELP.

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