Outline for February 24, 1998:

Hard/Software Continued; Case Study: NPTN's Rural Information Network Program

GLFN made NPTN realize demand for smaller, friendlier systems
RIN program established to channel grant money into prefabricated, inexpensive Free-Nets
first RINs used FirstClass but proved too expensive, tech support lacked
NovaServer 3.1 had some bugs, but 3.5 would be perfect... right?
fateful confused contract between NPTN and ResNova, followed by departure of RIN executives and demise of both organizations
my experience: giving people square wheels is little better than telling them to reinvent the wheel.
the RIN model: Mac server, NovaServer software, dial-up service
Advantages:
- NovaServer allows limited Web access in addition to local CMC, using very inexpensive hardware on both the client and server ends.
- Text interface is satisfactory and includes a lynx-like Web browser.
- Since many administrative tasks can only be done from the server itself, the server is theoretically impervious to hackers.
- Web pages can be filtered for individuals or groups of users, based on domain names (e.g. discovery.com allowed, playboy.com not allowed).
Disadvantages:
- Neither the graphical nor text-based browsers support forms, so users have difficulty using Web search engines.
- NovaServer loses most of its stability when serving more than one user at a time!
- ResNova ceased supporting NovaServer before officially discontinuing it, so many major bugs went unfixed.

tags: <begin>, </end>, &character;
document structure: <HTML><head><title></title></head><body></body></HTML>
formatting of source code: since returns, tabs, and multiple spaces are all treated like single spaces, format your code however you like!
exception: the <pre> tag
headlines, paragraphs, breaks, center, blockquote
bold, italic, font size & color
lists: ordered, unordered, definition
anchors: hrefs and names; absolute, relative, and root-based references
<img src= height= width= align= border= alt="">
tables
Get novice volunteer to create a simple "Hello World" page from scratch.