Windows NT Internet and Intranet Development

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Microsoft Internet News


Microsoft Internet News can be used to browse Inter-net newsgroups and to post messages. Internet newsgroups are a rich source of information and can be used to find solutions to problems you encounter. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to connect to Microsoft's Internet News to discuss issues related to using Microsoft's Internet technologies.

Installing and Configuring Microsoft Internet News

Internet News is included with the full version of Internet Explorer, which can be downloaded from the Internet Explorer Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/ie/). If you did not download the full version of Internet Explorer, you can download Microsoft Internet Mail and News from the Microsoft Internet Mail and News home page.


URL:Visit the Microsoft Internet Mail and News home page for the most up-to-date information about Microsoft Internet News.

http://www.microsoft.com/ie/imn/

Internet News has to be configured before it can be used to browse newsgroups on the Internet. Internet News configures itself the first time it is invoked. If you downloaded the full version of Internet Explorer, Internet Mail can be configured for use by selecting Read News from the Internet Explorer Mail button (as shown in Figure 4.1). You can invoke Internet News by selecting Go | Read News from the Internet Explorer menu bar.

Figure 4.1. Select Read News from the Internet Explorer Mail button.

The Internet News Configuration wizard (see Figure 4.2) is displayed the first time Internet News is executed. This wizard asks a series of questions to configure Internet News. Click the Next button to configure Internet News. After Internet Mail is configured, settings can be changed by selecting News | Options from the Microsoft Internet News menu bar. Be sure to spend some time browsing the Internet News options menu to become familiar with the features and customization options of Internet News.

Figure 4.2. The Internet News Configuration wizard.

The dialog box shown in Figure 4.3 obtains your name and e-mail address. This information is used when messages are posted to Internet newsgroups so other users can identify you and respond to your messages.

Figure 4.3. Enter your name and e-mail address.

Microsoft Internet News can connect to any news server on the Internet. Contact your network administrator or Internet service provider (ISP) to determine whether you have access to a private Internet news server. If you do, check the My news server requires me to logon check box, and specify the user name and password required to log in to the private news server. This chapter shows you how to connect to Microsoft's Internet news server. Type msnews.microsoft.com as the address of the news server (see Figure 4.4) and click the Next button.

Figure 4.4. Specify address and login information for the news server.

Even if you have access to a private news server, I recommend that you configure Internet News to use Microsoft's news server as well. The wealth of information that can be gathered by browsing messages posted at Microsoft's news server is impressive. Use Microsoft's news server to keep up-to-date with various Microsoft Internet technologies and applications.


Note: Microsoft Internet News supports multiple news servers. You can use this feature to configure Microsoft Internet News to use more than one Internet news server (for example, Microsoft's Internet news server and a local intranet news server). After Internet News is configured, you may specify additional news servers by selecting News | Options from the menu bar and selecting the Server tab.

The dialog box shown in Figure 4.5 is used to select the type of Internet connection used by Internet News to connect to an Internet news server. If you are connected to the Internet via your LAN, select the I use a LAN connection radio button. Select I connect manually if you are not always connected to the Internet (as in the case of a mobile computer). If you have set up Windows NT RAS (remote access service) to connect to your ISP using a modem or terminal adapter, you may select a RAS entry, as shown in Figure 4.5.

Figure 4.5. Select the Internet connection type.

Microsoft Internet News is now configured and ready for use. Click the Finish button of the dialog box shown in Figure 4.6 to exit the Internet News Configuration wizard and begin using Microsoft Internet News.

Figure 4.6. Microsoft Internet News is configured and ready for use.

Subscribing to Newsgroups

After Internet News is configured, you are given the choice of subscribing to various Internet newsgroups using the Newsgroups dialog box, shown in Figure 4.7. Use the Display newsgroups which contain text box to locate newsgroups containing a certain string of characters (notice how this text box is used to locate newsgroups containing the string vb). Select a newsgroup and click the Subscribe button to subscribe to it. Microsoft Internet News provides easy access to subscribed newsgroups. You are not limited to browsing subscribed newsgroups; you may browse a newsgroup without subscribing to it.

Figure 4.7. Browse all newsgroups.

Click the Subscribed tab of the Newsgroups dialog box to browse subscribed newsgroups (as shown in Figure 4.8). Select a newsgroup and click the Go to button to browse it.

Figure 4.8. Subscribed newsgroups.


Reading Internet News

The Internet News window is broken into two panes: the Messages List pane and the Message View pane. Both panes can be resized as desired. Newsgroup messages are shown in the Messages List pane. Select a newsgroup message, and the Message View pane displays its contents (as shown in Figure 4.9).

Figure 4.9. Reading newsgroup messages with Microsoft Internet News.

Offline News-Reading Features of Internet News

Offline news-reading features of Internet News can be used to read Internet News messages when you are not connected to the Internet. Offline news reading is a very useful feature; I use it to download newsgroup messages to my laptop and read them when I am on the go (and not connected to the Internet). To read messages offline, choose a newsgroup while you are online and select one of the Offline menu options (Mark Message for Download, Mark Thread for Download, or Mark All for Download). After selecting messages to download for offline reading, select Post and Download from the Offline menu (as shown in Figure 4.10).

Figure 4.10. Select Post and Download to download selected messages.

Microsoft Internet Mail downloads the selected messages (as shown in Figure 4.11). Click the Details button to view additional information about the status of downloading Internet News messages.

Figure 4.11. Internet News downloading selected messages.

Summary

Microsoft Internet News can be used to browse Internet newsgroups. Because Microsoft Internet News is tightly integrated with Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Internet Mail, certain features of Internet Explorer and Internet Mail can be accessed from Microsoft Internet News. For example, Internet Explorer can be used to browse a URL contained within a newsgroup post.


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