51动漫

YOU鈥橵E got your computer, your modem and you鈥檝e paid a handsome sum to a network provider. Now it鈥檚 time to set sail on the World Wide Web 鈥� that sea of gorgeous graphics and grainy photos.

Well, perhaps not. In the midst of all the Net hype, what isn鈥檛 always clear from the blurb, and what buyers often forget to ask, is exactly what 鈥淚nternet access鈥� means.

Yes, Netropolitan has another gripe. 鈥淚nternet access鈥� may be on the list of goodies that service providers such as CIX, CompuServe and Delphi offer, but it may not be the kind of Net access you expect.

These kinds of companies link your computer to theirs, which does have a direct Netconnection. There is obviously some 鈥渁ccess鈥� to the Net, because you can send e-mail to people connected to other networks and receive news from Net newsgroups. But this access comes courtesy of the computers owned by the service provider 鈥� your computer is a mere appendage.

However, if you want to play with sight and sound on the Web, you need to connect your computer directly to the Net and operate as a 鈥渘ode鈥�. With a direct connection, you can use all of the services used by the world鈥檚 fastest supercomputers, including the Web.

So Internet access is another case of 鈥渂uyer beware鈥�. Always read the small print and be sure to ask the question you really want answering. Namely: 鈥淲ill my computer be a node on the Internet?鈥�