Review of Services

Prepared by Jessica Cohen
October 17, 1999


                            CONNECTIVITY

NCF offers access to dialup PPP, dialup text, and telnet (text) connections.

PPP access on: 

    520-1135 (includes 520-1130 lines by auto-forwarding) max. connection
    speed 14.4 bps
    520-9013 (includes autoforwarding to 520-7835) max. connection speed 
    28.8 bps
    Mitel lines:(extended access) 271-9768  max. connection speed 28.8 bps

Text access on:

520-1135 (includes 520-1130 lines by auto-forwarding) and 520-7835.

All text connections (dialup or telnet in) use FreePort menus.


                         MAIL SERVICE

FreePort: mail checking and mail sending both available using either
     a) mr : the mailreader built into FreePort
or  b) elm : a standard Unix mailreader, modified for use with FreePort

PPP: (FreeMail)

POP server (for checking mail):  Users can check their NCF FreeMail from
either an NCF dialup PPP connection, or from an outside internet
connection.  Users connected to the main NCF phone lines (not the extended
access sites) can access other POP servers besides NCF

SMTP server (for sending mail): Users on an NCF dialup PPP connection can
send mail anywhere through NCF's SMTP server.  Users connecting to NCF's
SMTP server from an outside internet connection can send mail to NCF
addresses only through the NCF SMTP server. To send mail to outside
addresses, they must use their own internet connections SMTP server.


                           NEWS

FreePort:  Newsreading is available using mgnr (and nr) , programs built
into the FreePort system.  

PPP: 

Through a dialup PPP connection, users may read all newsgroups through the
NCF NNTP server.
 Through an outside internet connection, users may read
NCF newsgroups through the NCF NNTP server.


                   WWW: WebPage Hosting

NCF offers space for both personal homepages, and information provider pages.
CapitalFind: directory of Ottawa services.  CapitalFind accessible via WWW
to anyone.

       
   (WWW, Gopher, FTP, telnet etc: (as in "I am surfing the Net" )

PPP: 
Users connected to NCF via a dialup PPP connection have a full Internet
connection available to them (accessing websites, accessing gopher sites,
using FTP, using telnet, using ICQ, hearing music files, file downloads,
international IRC and other global chat programs, etc.)

FreePort:
FreePort users can access websites using lynx.  Lynx is modified to
disallow any type of connection other than an http:// connection (so no
downloads, telnet, ftp, gopher or anything similar). FreePort users can
access the gopher using a modified gopher server. The modified server only
can access places that can be found by crawling through the directory
structure.  Linking to a specific site is disabled. FreePort users can
telnet to other sites, only on port 23 (telnet port). (go telnet).

To download or FTP files (from sites outside NCF), or access IRC or other
chat servers that are outside NCF, users must connect via PPP.


                    CHATTING (NCF specific):

NCF has an IRC server, allowing only NCF members to connect.  This is
possible through both a text connection (using a standard Unix IRC client
modified for NCF usage), and through a dialup-PPP connection (using mIRC). 
Users on outside internet connections cannot access the IRC server unless
they then telnet into NCF.  

NCF also offers a web-based Chat forum called ChatStreet.  Currently
anyone , NCF member or not, may connect to NCF ChatStreet, from either an
outside Internet connection or a dialup PPP connection.

NCF also has messaging software available over text connections (the
toolbox one line message program).  PPP users can still use this if they
then telnet into NCF.  Program is similar in construct to the Unix
"write" command or "mesg" command.


                       MISCELLANEOUS

The FreePort menu system includes a number of other services.  Those that
cannot be accessed properly via the web can still be used by PPP users who
then telnet into NCF.  In many cases these services are redundant to PPP
users

a)  screen

The screen program allows FreePort users to setup several simultaneous
screens at the same time, to effectively multitask.  PPP connections
already provide this functionality by definition. (E.g. a PPP user can
check their mail while surfing the web and reading news and writing a
document in their word processor)

b)  UPS

A built into FreePort.  UPS allows users to send text or binary files to
another NCF user.  (This functionality is provided for PPP users by the
fact that most offline mailreaders allow mail attachments to be added and
received)

c)  PDA

PDA offers common software programs , particularly Internet connection
software for download.

d)  e-fax

This service is actually provided by outside sources, however we make a
link to it available.