NOTES FROM THE FIRST OLYMPUSNET USERS GROUP MEETING

• A group of new Windows and Macintosh users who prefer to learn by doing rather than reading manuals banded together for self-help. Several days after the meeting they agreed to produce a WWW page to help other new users over the hurdles that they recently overcame. In addition to having links to Internet training sources such as Roadmap. The preliminary title of the page is 'Orientation! You are Here!' which you clicked on to get here.
• Tim McNitt outlined the book he has nearly completed on Virtual Reality and the 'Net. He enthusiastically referred to WorldsChat where you can get the (Windows) software for Virtual Reality Chat. More information is available at Sting - one of World's Chat's regulars. Tim is convinced that this kind of software will soon transform the WWW and volunteered to tell us about it at our November Users' Group Meeting.
• The implementor of the Leader OnLine, Steve Schumaker sketched his use of the AutoWeb tool on the Macintosh. He's automated the production of the Leader's WWW pages to cut the cost of keeping the news up-to-date.
• Steve O'Keefe, a regular contributor to Internet World, mentioned that his next article might cover the Internet's 'Web-chat'.
• Both Phoenix and Bob Ritter generously volunteered their services as mentors. Phoenix (of quimpers fame) offered to do 'light' research for those in need.
• Bob Ritter enthusiastically pointed us to his favorite 'top-level' site that's filled to the brim with different search engines. It's a terrific resource which you may find on OlympusWWW under 'Elsewhere on the Web' called 'All-in-One'
• Gary Hardin's contribution was the name of the most exotic cross-reference tool I've seen. You choose the name of an Internet Newsgroup and it returns references to URLs (usually WWW sites) that have recently appeared in that Newsgroup. Look for 'Green Eggs' under Elsewhere on the Net: High-Level Reference Sites. Caution - you need a lot of memory to look at the list of Newsgroups it downloads. But if you run out of memory you still can see its astounding variety of URLs.
• Chris Hanson and Seth Anderson of Networks will be putting on a fall course on privacy and the Internet. They'll talk about security on the 'Net and using the PGP tool that encrypts your files and email. They hinted that they might put on a Windows 95 workshop.
• Jason and Jay Cline as well as Jim Armini and Bob Ritter thought that a Sequim/Port Angeles Users' Group meeting would be viable.
• Since there are 13000 odd newsgroups on the 'Net and Olympus carries but 1400, someone had to Censor the difference. And that censor was Ned. He mentioned that he would use similar policies for Newsgroup selection that libraries use for their acquisitions. Other suggestions are welcome. He also noted that we need a separate server to carry a full feed which is a cost we can't afford right now. The issue that we will soon be facing is not the lack of newsgroups. In a few years the 13000 will be 50000; the WWW will dwarf the newsgroups which will be available from larger distribution centers rather than from the extremities of the 'Net.