Setting up on the Internet source of many questions
I NEED urgently to provide a turnkey quotation setting up a database as an information provider on the Internet. I need to provide international closed-user access to an interactive service, using the Internet network.
Sounds simple, but I have failed to get any sense out of the universities and other Internet suppliers, who only seem to understand the user side. They all say 'you must buy TCP/IP'. How simple? Have you any pointers? IAN WALLACE Hong KongI PRESUME you want to set up an on-line service that other Internet users can access via telnet with the right password.
First, factor in the cost of the on-line system itself. Assuming it will be set up like a bulletin board service, work out the cost of the BBS software in relation to the number of users you expect for the service.
Applications such as Galacticomm's Major BBS support Internet connectivity, and charge by the number of users registered for the service in multiples of eight.
Major BBS, for example, comes with E-mail, file area and database modules, although better third party applications are available.
The hardware comes next. A decent BBS can be set up with a single PC, provided it has sufficient storage space for your database. Take into account the cost of such peripherals as CD-ROM systems if some of your data is CD-ROM-based.
Modem and telephone line costs can be worked out based on the number of users you expect.
I have been told by people who have set up similar services that it is important to start up with at least 10 lines if you expect to have anything in the region of 150 regular users to begin with. This, of course, depends on whether or not you want to provide direct dial-up access to your database.
To connect to the Internet, factor in the cost of a leased line to one of the Internet access providers. Hongkong Telecom - or the service providers themselves - can provide you with the rates. These service providers also have their own monthly or quarterly charges for such connections.
You will need a pair of routers to help establish the connection, one on your side, the other at the service provider's end. Cisco makes good routers but they do not come cheap.
Once all the equipment and lines are in place, the Internet access provider you pick can help you set up your connection so that Internet users can telnet into your database.
One point, the word on the street is that a new Internet service provider will be set up this month with the specific goal of providing leased line connections to people such as you.
Make inquiries about the costs for the above connections and equipment with the existing providers, but also wait a week or two for announcements to be made about the new provider and check there, too. DO you know of a good source for fonts I can use with my Windows applications such as Word and PageMaker? I have tried some local bulletin board services with limited luck, and even Shamshuipo vendors, but I would like to register with a font provider who, besides selling me a single package, will keep me up-to-date on new arrivals. NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED YOU should write to Monotype Typographic Inc, Suite 504, 53 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Ilinois, 60604, USA, or telephone (312) 855-1440.
Monotype has long produced the typefaces used by Adobe, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Microsoft, and looks to me to be just what you're looking for.E-mail Larry Campbell at larry mp.
com via the Internet.
