Isn't technology wonderful? As recently as four years ago, the complexity of communicating with professional colleagues in other time zones and on other continents was so confusing that most health care professionals simply used the international postal system (to call it a postal service would be an oxymoron). Only a few sophisticated technophiles among the academic elite of health care professions bothered to use the electronic computer networks. Today such communication is commonplace for many health care professionals. This book provides a guidebook for those health care professionals who are new to the information highway. Perhaps it is somewhat of an anachronism that this book, presented in a paper-based medium, provides a guide to the future electronic medium that may ultimately replace it. Perhaps the author will next write a multimedia interactive computer program for the material contained in this book. This book provides the novice on the information highway with inforยญ mation about access routes and destinations. It also serves as a driving instructor for the novice who wishes to join the queue at the access ramp for the information highway. For the experienced surfer on the Internet, this book suggests byways, short cuts and side routes to explore along the information superhighways. No one really knows what the future holds. One thing is certain, it will be a very exciting and exhilarating ride for those health care professionals who use this book to accelerate along the information highway
CONTENT
1 What Is the Internet? -- What Is the Internet? -- Who Owns and Operates the Internet? -- What Does the Internet Look Like? -- Where Did the Internet Come From? -- What Can I Do with the Internet? -- How Do I Get There from Here? -- 2 How Does the Internet Work? -- Connecting to the Internet -- Types of Internet Connections -- What to Look for When Choosing an -- Internet Provider -- Finding Information on the Internet -- 3 Using Electronic Mail (E-Mail) -- Anatomy of an E-Mail Message -- Legal Issues -- E-Mail Etiquette -- Mailing Lists -- 4 Newsgroups -- What Is Usenet? -- Components of a Usenet Article -- Joining a Newsgroup -- Reading Articles -- Posting Articles -- Final Thoughts -- 5 Telnet and FTP: Remote Login and Retrieval of Information -- FTP -- Locating Files Using Archie -- 6 Finding Information on the Internet -- The Gopher -- WAIS -- World Wide Web -- Final Thoughts -- 7 Implications for the Future: Science Fiction Versus Reality -- Variables -- Impact of the Internet on Health Care -- Conclusion (or Beginning?) -- Appendix I Sources of Additional Information -- Appendix II Health-Related Internet Resources -- Profession Specific -- Health-Related Topics -- Resources
