*** ANSWERMAN INTERNET EXTRA *** For the week of May 5, 1997 This is the free weekly newsletter for the community of Internet users on America Online. This week, AnswerMan investigates fast x2 modem technology and CJ Eagle delves into Internet genealogy sites. =*=*= IN THIS ISSUE =*=*= AnswerMan's Update -- is x2 4 u? Eagle's Exploits -- Genealogy sites Upcoming Weekly Focus -- What's coming up The End -- How to contact us or unsubscribe =*=*= WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK WITH ANSWERMAN =*=*= Go to keyword: For: ANSWERMAN Daily tips and Internet message boards AM FOCUS New Internet info added weekly. NET HELP Get quick help for your Internet questions NET TUTORIAL A journey of 1,000 miles begins with this keyword AM GLOSSARY Decrypt that Internet jargon Here are direct links for AOL 3.0 users: Go to keyword ANSWERMAN Go to keyword AM FOCUS NET TUTORIAL =*=*= ANSWERMAN'S UPDATE -- is x2 4 u? =*=*= Hiya. This week's newsletter is a little more technical than usual. Stand by -- next week's will go the other way, dedicated to those of you who are just getting started on the Internet. I remember clearly the day that I got my first modem. A blue plastic box that plugged into the joystick port (!) of my Atari 800, my modem was built to communicate at 300 bits per second -- about 30 characters a second. By pushing the envelope, I could get the modem to talk at a whopping 450 BPS. It was pure bliss. That modem is still here in my office, but is of course today beyond obsolete. I am now -- as are many of you -- cruising at 28,800 bits per second, some 96 times faster than with my little blue box (actually, more, since the Atari modem didn't have compression to speed things up even further.) Questions have started pouring into my e-mailbox about the next level of modem technology, called x2. x2 modems promise to deliver information to your computer at 56,000 bits per second -- twice as fast at a 28.8 modem. Do we all need to run out and buy x2 modems now? Will our 28.8 modems end up on the shelf with the dusty blue box? Perhaps in time -- but today, x2 modem technology is still in its infancy. If you're an early adopter -- gotta be the first on your block with the next big thing -- x2 might be for you. But if you don't like to futz with something that may not work right out of the box, you'll probably want to wait a little while. Here's the scoop: x2 modems can send data from America Online (or any Internet service provider with the necessary equipment) to your computer at up to 56 KBPS (that is, 56,000 bits per second.) So downloads and web browsing can be nice and fast. But x2 is "asymmetric" -- information from your computer to AOL moves more slowly, at 33.6 KBPS. Most AOL and Internet users receive far more information than they transmit, so this isn't a problem. Before you run out and buy an x2 modem, you need to understand that you can't just plug it in, dial your regular AOL number and enjoy a high-speed connection. To talk at 56 KPBS, both your computer and the one you're talking to need to have an x2 modem. An x2 modem can indeed talk with "regular" modems at normal speeds of 33.6 KBPS and slower. But you can't just dial any old 28.8 modem and expect it to talk at 56 KBPS. (The computer that you're talking to also needs to have a special digital connection to the phone company. This means that although you can connect to AOL at high speed, you won't be able to connect to a local bulletin board system or dial a friend's computer for a 56K networked computer game -- they don't have the digital connection.) x2 is being tested by AOL right now in a few cities. When the trial is complete, AOL will make x2 modems available in "most metropolitan U.S. cities, followed by Europe and the Far East." For now AOL has x2 modems in six cities: Washington, D.C.; New York, NY; Skokie, IL; San Francisco; Chicago and Pittsburgh. If you're out of these areas, you can dial long distance for an x2 connection, or use AOL's surcharged 1-800 x2 lines. My old 300 baud modem would have conniption fits if the phone line was the least bit noisy. Today's 28.8 modems are for more graceful -- if there is some line noise, the modem will slow the connection down a little bit so your data makes it through intact. As you might expect, x2 modems are even more finicky: for blazing fast speed, good quality phone connections are a must. If there's the slightest bit of garbage on your line, the modem will fall back to a slower speed. So you may not get the fastest connections every time -- downloads can range from 32 to 56 KBPS. x2 is still a new technology. In fact, it's still being perfected. If you want to use an x2 modem, you'll have to occasionally upgrade the modem -- that is, run a special program on your computer that actually updates the program embedded in the modem's chips. Eventually the standards will be firmed up and upgrading won't be necessary -- but for now, if you don't want to bother with upgrades, don't use x2 yet. Under the right conditions, x2 means you can get screaming fast connections. x2 is a promising technology. Because it's so new, it is not for everyone...yet. It may, in time, become the standard for high-speed online communications. You can get more information about x2, and info on how to use an x2 modem with America Online, at keyword: X2. Here are direct links for AOL 3.0 users: Go to keyword ANSWERMAN Go to keyword AM FOCUS Go to keyword X2 =*=*= EAGLE'S EXPLOITS -- Genealogy on the Web =*=*= by Aminie D. Elsberry (CJ Eagle) Genealogy, the study or investigation of ancestry, is a subject near and dear to my heart as I've done quite a bit of research on my own family's roots. Where to start? How about the National Archives web site located at http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/. The site does not contain a lot of data -- the actual historical info you are looking for -- but the web site does provide information on how to obtain this information, and believe me there is a lot of it stored in the National Archives. You can obtain catalogs related to the following subjects: Census Records, Military Service Records, Immigrant and Passenger Arrivals, Genealogical and Biographical Research, Federal Court Records, American Indians and Black Studies. There is even information on genealogical workshops and classes. Also available is a list of free publications that you can obtain from NARA. You can also find out the Soundex code for your family names by using their nifty Soundex Machine. The soundex code helps when trying to research NARA's census microfilm holdings. My next stop was the companion page to the PBS series Ancestors, at http://www.kbyu.byu.edu/ancestors.html. Here you will find all sorts of information on how to research your family history, info about the TV show and tips and tricks from genealogists. There is also a page dedicated to links to other genealogical sites. There is even a genealogical trivia game that you can play -- this as a great place for any genealogist! Then I found http://www.onlinegenealogy.com/, the Journal of Online Genealogy, a monthly publication. This month's topics include: "Be Careful Out There," by April Leigh Helm "New Service Matches Data Between GenWeb Sites," by Gary B. Hoffman "Genealogy by E-mail," by Elizabeth Powell Crowe "Is It Safe to Order from Online Genealogy Companies?" by Matthew Helm Our last stop is the Genealogy Home Page at http://www.genhomepage.com/. This is a well-organized set of links to genealogy resources across the Internet. If you're interested in tracing your family history, you'll want to visit this site again and again. The resources listed here are categorized by help and guides, libraries, geography, newsgroups and mailing lists, North American resources, international resources, software, societies, upcoming events, and commercial services. There are also some miscellaneous links, such as the genealogy anonymous FTP Site. To stay abreast of new resources, check the What's New section. Here are direct links for AOL 3.0 users: National Archives and Records PBS Ancestors Jounal of Online Genealogy Genealogy Home Page =*=*= UPCOMING WEEKLY FOCUS =*=*= Every week, AnswerMan focuses on a particular facet of using the Internet. Here's what's coming up: Newsletter for newbies Job hunting with the Internet Shockwave =*=*= THE END =*=*= That's all for this week. Got comments about this newsletter? We want to hear them! Send 'em to AnswerMan. The e-mail address is AnswerMan@aol.com. We would hate to see you go, but if you must leave, there are two easy ways to unsubscribe yourself from this newsletter. You can use either. #1: Send an e-mail message -- To: LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Subject: UNSUBSCRIBE Body: UNSUBSCRIBE ANSWERMAN #2: For AOL 3.0 users only: Click here then press "Unsubscribe". Freedom ain't a place like Maine or Virginia, Freedom ain't across some county line. Freedom is a state of mind. Copyright 1997 by America Online, Inc. All rights reserved.