The INTERNET is exploding all around us, and promises to dramatically change the way we live our lives and run our businesses. To prepare for these new challenges/opportunities, INFONETICS has developed a series of products/services to enable you to exploit these opportunities of electronic commerce on the net.
WINDOWS ’95 PC/WORKSTATION & INFONET NETWORKING
The foundation for our Internet based products is the ubiquitous personal computer (PC) workstation running the Windows ’95 operating system. With its graphical user interface, it has brought a whole new way of computing to the desktop. High quality word processing, spreadsheet, personal database and entertainment software are just a point-and-click of the mouse away. And, no PC/Workstation would be complete without our INFONET networking product. Capable of running five concurrent terminal sessions connected into your main INFONETICS Unix system, the PC/Workstation completely duplicates the functionality of a simple dumb terminal. And the Networked File System allows your Unix system to function as a file server for organizing, storing and exchanging all of your PC/Workstation data files.
WINDOWS ’95 FAXING
Faxing from your PC/Workstation programs is now possible thanks to the Windows ’95 Operating System. Its built-in Microsoft Exchange fax server allows faxing of all PC/Workstation data (from any PC/Workstation on the network) directly through a single fax modem. Receiving of faxes is now also possible due to the graphical nature of the Windows ’95 operating system. Faxes received can be viewed on screen, distributed electronically among the networked PC/Workstations, and/or printed on Laser/Inkjet printers. A common address book, shared by all networked PC/Workstations can hold the name, address, fax number and e-mail address of all your contacts. And, data from the INFONETICS Customer Master and Vendor Master files can be periodically imported into the common address book to keep your Windows faxing system up to date. We’ll setup/configure your networked fax server, design a custom fax cover sheet with your logo, establish a common address book to be shared by all networked PC/Workstations and provide the export/import routines to integrate contact information from your INFONETICS UNIX system into your common address book as part of our service.
INTERNET ACCESS PROVIDER/DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION
An Internet Access Provider can be thought of as your on-ramp to the Information Super Highway. These companies provide the local telephone access to the Internet for a variety of service levels. Typically, dial-up connections at 28.8 Kbaud are available on an unlimited use basis for $20-25/month. Higher levels of service for faster connections, dedicated lines and multi user access are also available.
Domain Name registration on the other hand, can be thought of as the official street address of your company on the Information Super Highway. Once registered, your domain name will be reserved for your use as your E-Mail and World Wide Web address. We’ll research available internet providers in your area, make recommendations, assist with technical details, as well as research the availability of your desired domain name and perform the actual registration of it with the InterNic as part of our service.
INTERNET E-MAIL
One of the earliest (and perhaps most used) services provided by the Internet is the transmission of Electronic Mail (E-Mail). An endless variety of electronic documents can be sent virtually anywhere in the world via your simple Internet connection for free. We’ll configure Microsoft’s Exchange Internet Mail client software for you, and establish an E-Mail address book which can be shared among all PC/Workstations. Note; pricing for E-Mail distributions for multiple user names varies according to your Internet Access Provider.
WORLD WIDE WEB BROWSING
The World Wide Web (WWW) is a networked conglomeration of computers offering up rich graphical content and information. Browsing the WWW is unquestionably the most popular and visible aspect of the Internet these days. With a PC/Workstation and a simple piece of software known as a Web Browser, you can be surfing the net, searching out interesting Web sites and accessing a wealth of information. We’ll load/configure Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 3.0, establish a common Favorites/Bookmarks directory/folder (shared among all networked PC/Workstations) with links to some of the most popular sites and Internet Search utilities.
MULTI-WORKSTATION INTERNET ACCESS
Access to the Internet for multiple PC/Workstations through a single dial-up modem connection can be an interesting feat. With special software though, we’re able to arrange for the main PC/Workstation’s modem to be connected full-time to the Internet and serving all the requests of your networked PC/Workstations at once. Of course, as your use of the Internet grows, higher speed and greater bandwidth access may be needed to support the throughput demands of your users.
WORLD WIDE WEB BASIC HOME PAGE
Once you’ve begun “surfing the web” as World-Wide-Web browsing is known, you’ll quickly come to the conclusion that your company should be hosting a web site of its own. Here you can place an assortment of advertising, company information, newsletters, and e-mail access that is viewable by any of the estimated 40 million computer users connected to the Internet. The amount of information that can be hosted depends on the available disk space offered by your Internet Access Provider with your account. Our web masters can design/craft a web site hosting anything from a basic home page to a sophisticated multilevel information site for you, and can incorporate anything from your existing computerized documents to custom materials developed from scratch.
WORLD WIDE WEB COMMERCE SITE DESIGN/MANAGEMENT
Of course, the eventual goal of any well designed web site is to draw interest from your companies customers and strategic partners. And that is accomplished through content. Through special “INTRANET” software developed by INFONETICS, we hope to build a commercial web site for you that can dynamically query your INFONETICS Unix accounting system, and display (to authorized customers only) things like; cylinder balances, inventory part number/description information, current quantity on hand and special pricing information. This web-site could even take an order from the customer and post it to your Order/Invoicing database! True electronic commerce on the Internet is only in its infancy today, but most certainly is positioned to dramatically change the way we all do business in the future.
As you can see, the Internet offers astounding possibilities. In some ways, too enormous to grasp until you’ve actually experienced it. The road to this information superhighway though starts at your local PC/Workstation with simple Internet access, and can only be experienced when you sit down at the keyboard and punch “Start”. Get started now by giving us a call.