Getting caught in the Net.

Last month, I introduced you to ATLA NET, ATLA's exciting new online service for lawyers. This column, the second in a series, will focus on two items of software that can greatly enhance your use of ATLA NET.

As I mentioned last month, you can access ATLA NET's home page on the World Wide Web by either subscribing to one of the commercial online services--America OnLine, Prodigy, Compuserve, and the Microsoft Network--or by signing up with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in your area. Most people, especially "power users" who are online 10 or more hours a month, will find ISP online rates cheaper than those offered by the large commercial services.

To get around the Web and communicate with others online, you need both e-mail and "Web-browsing" software. Commercial online services include both e-mail capability and Web browsers in their software packages. But if you sign up with an ISP, you will need to install Web-browsing and e-mail software.

Two products I use and recommend--Netscape and Eudora--provide most of what you will need to become an ATLA NET power user.

Netscape

Netscape is Web-browsing software. Using it, you can navigate from Web site to Web site, viewing text, graphics, pictures, and information stored on computers around the world. Netscape can be purchased from Netscape Communications Corp., 501 East Middlefield Rd., Mountain View, CA 94043, tel. [phone], fax [phone].

Once the Netscape software is loaded on the hard disk of your computer (IBM-type or Macintosh versions are available), it is easy to use. Just double click on the Netscape icon.

Once you are logged on, you will see Netscape's home page on the Web. A home page is the first screen that appears when you call up a specific Web site. If you want to view a different home page every time you log on, you can do this. All you have to do is change the configuration settings that come with the Netscape program.

Netscape keeps track of the pages you view. The fist of pages, called a "history list," appears in the "Go" menu at the top of the screen. To return to a page you have already viewed, click on the word "Go," and then click on the title of the page you want to return to. You are immediately returned to the selected site.

Suppose you have wandered the Internet and surfed and surfed and finally found a page that you want to be able to return to, but you have already forgotten how you got there. Netscape solves this problem by letting you keep a list of Web site addresses, called uniform resource locators (URL). This is done with a feature called "Bookmarks," which appears in the menu bar at the top of the screen. To save a URL, click on "Bookmarks," and then click on "Add Bookmark," which appears in the pull-down menu.

When you want to return to a location on your Bookmark list, pull down "Bookmarks" again, click on the place you want to go, and you're there.

Netscape makes searching for information on the Internet easy, too. Just click on the "Net Search" button to jump to a page that describes how to use several search utilities. Simply choose one of them, and then follow the on-screen directions. Most utilities allow for simple Boolean-type searches.

The best way to learn to use Netscape is to use it. I recommend buying the commercial version from the vendor to get the latest version, customer support, and an excellent manual.

Eudora

The other major resource you will use on the Internet is electronic mail. The Netscape Navigator Personal Edition, which costs $39.95, comes with a simplified version of an electronic mail program called Eudora. However, I strongly recommend buying the complete version of Eudora from QUALCOMM, Inc., 6455 Lusk Blvd., San Diego, CA 92121-2779, tel. [phone], fax [phone], URL http://www. qualcomm.com. The complete version has useful features that the simplified version does not have. The price is about $65 to $90, depending on which version you buy.

After you load Eudora on your computer, send me electronic mail and tell me what you think of ATLA NET. Before you can send mail, you need to know the intended recipient's e-mail address. My address is in the biobox on this page. Type the address after the word "To." Then hit the tab button and type your message.

To send the message immediately, just click on the "Send" button. If you want to send several messages at one time, click on the "Main" menu item and select "Queue" from the pull-down menu. This will store the message, along with any others you want to send, until you click on "Send Queued Messages" from the same pull-down menu.

You can customize your e-mail messages, too. For example, you can automatically attach your name, e-mail address, law firm name, and telephone number to each message you send. Just select "Signature" from the "Window" menu. A blank signature window will be displayed. Type in your signature information, and then close the window and click on "Save" when you are automatically prompted to do this.

Click on the icons on the top menu bar to select options like automatic word-wrap (this allows you to type continuously without hitting the return bar each time you come to the end of a line) or to make copies of messages.

You can save money by sending messages off fine. Simply compose your messages before you dial the ISP.

When you want to check for mail, select "Check Mail" from the "File" menu along the top of the computer screen. After entering your personal password, a window will open and display the number of messages you have received while the software downloads the messages to your computer. If you have selected the "Alert" option in the settings area of Eudora, a separate window will open advising you that you have new mail. A list of the mail is displayed, which includes the date it was sent, the name of the sender, and the subject of the message.

Have an experienced Internet user, a "techie" who knows both Netscape and Eudora, not only install and configure the software but also show you how to use it. Although both programs are user-friendly, you will only find them easy to use if you have them installed properly and you understand how they work.

Remember how you learned to drive a car? Most likely, you had someone who had a lot of driving experience teach you. Learning how to use these software programs is like learning to drive. Be certain to try the programs out yourself before the techie leaves. Close all open applications, exit the operating system, and shut off your computer. Then, in the expert's presence, start your system, activate your ISP-accessing software, log on to your ISP's computer system, activate Netscape and Eudora, tool around the Internet with Netscape, and create and send me a message with Eudora.

Make notes as you go along. If you pass your test, you are ready to go it alone. If you make mistakes, ask the techie to show you what you did wrong. Then, do it again until you get it right.

If you follow these instructions, you will soon be teaching others to use the Internet. In my next article, I'll say more about the benefits of ATLA NET.