This page is still under construction and the author is open to suggestions. The aim is to be helpful to university physics departments in every country in the world, so suggestions of generic benefit are particularly welcome.
You must already have one to read this, but maybe you have other computers that you would like to bring into action, if only to insure yourself against breakdowns. Also, if you produce your own website, you would do well to look at it with different browsers, particularly NCSA Mosaic.
Information about Windows-based web browsers can be found on
http://www.netscape.com for Netscape Navigator, now known as Netscape Communicator
http://www.microsoft.com for Microsoft Internet Explorer
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/ for NCSA Mosaic
http://www.lakeshoreconn.com/files/
Information about DOS-based web browsers can be found on
Remember that an old DOS computer with no modem can still run an off-line browser and do useful work, particularly in teaching.
as given away on CD-ROMs is usually not worth the bother. Two categories of software which may be worth looking at are web browsers and Unix-like operating systems. If you are a visitor from another country where free software is not available, try looking for these to take back home. The prices of CD-ROM players are falling all the time, so it is worth collecting CD-ROMs even if you cannot play them.
is what every DOS or Microsoft Windows user has for file compression. Several files may be packaged into one ZIP file, sent over the Internet, and unpackaged at the other end, and this is the standard way to do it for many applications. ZIP files have their own MIME type, and it is even possible to send a program in unzip-and-go mode (see the author's website for details). CompuServe and AOL users can probably obtain PKZIP as shareware, and perhaps your ISP can help. Otherwise contact
where shareware versions can be found. You might also see PKZIP on a CD-ROM when looking for free software.
If you only know the product name, try a search on Infoseek, AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, Lycos or WebCrawler. It is best to search in lower-case letters, so search for 'pkzip' rather than 'PKZIP' or 'Pkzip'. If you know the company name then add that to the search like 'pkware pkzip'. Many companies have standard domain names like PKWARE's name above, so if a company is called 'Acme' then you could try opening the address http://www.acme.com and if there is no such address, you will just get an error.
You can also search for people's names. Try your own name on Infoseek or AltaVista. Look up old friends (or enemies). If there is an old song you want to look up, search with the words you know, and see what you get.
If you are starting a new subject and you just want to browse or daydream, then try the libraries Yahoo, Galaxy, World Wide Web Virtual Library or Magellan for ideas. Search in these libraries for a topic, take note of which page it appears on most frequently in your search returns, and then go to that page. Try a speculative search in MetaCrawler to see what you get.
If you are looking for free software, then the magic word is download or downloadable. Try starting up MetaCrawler or Yahoo and searching on strings such as
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