A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

pic directory .

 The hardware you need to tap into the Internet : Any desktop or laptop computer

 that can connect to a modem . ( In other words , virtually any computer sold du

ring the past decade . ) A modem , preferably 9,600 bps or faster , that is comp

atible with your computer . A telephone line . Note : Be sure to disable call-wa

iting during online sessions . The software you need to tap into the Internet : 

Any off-the-shelf communications program . ProComm and Mirror are particularly g

ood for IBM compatibles ; zTerm and Microphone are good for Macs .

 About a decade ago , it would have taken you only a few hours to read every mes

sage posted on Usenet , a collection of special-interest groups commonly referre

d to as the `` Internet 's bulletin board . '' That would be an impossible task 

now : Each day , about 106 megabytes of information roughly equivalent to 106 50

0-page books is piped around the world to Usenet readers , said Gene Spafford , 

a computer science professor at Purdue University in Indiana . ( Spafford counts

 himself among those old Usenet hands who once read Usenet in its entirety daily

 . ) What could possibly fill 53,000 pages of text every day ? Cat lovers writin

g about their pets . Russian emigres writing about the situation back home . Fan

s of Pugsley in the old `` Addams Family '' TV show recounting their favorite ep

isodes . And arguments , known as `` flame wars , '' that go on for days about e

very religion , stripe of sexuality , computer and operating system . Indeed , e

very topic imaginable ( and many you can't imagine ) has its own forum in Usenet

 . These topics are called `` newsgroups , '' though little of what 's discussed

 bears any resemblance to news . The name newsgroup is a holdover from 1979 , wh

en Usenet was developed as a way to relay information about new product releases

 , seminars and other timely news , among university computer users . But like t

he Internet itself , Usenet has grown to include the rest of the world . To find

 your corner of that world , it will help to know a little bit about the structu

re of Usenet . Newsgroups are arranged according to general categories , or `` h

ierarchies , '' including : Computer-related information ( designated as comp ) 

, world and local news ( news ) , recreation ( rec ) , science ( sci ) , social 

studies ( soc ) , talk ( talk ) , miscellaneous ( misc ) and everyone 's favorit

e , alternative news groups ( alt ) , where some of the weirdest correspondence 

on the face of the Earth can be found . Within each of the hierarchies are subca

tegories . For instance , if you wanted to find the Usenet group where people ta

lk about bicycles , you 'd go to rec.bicycles . If you were looking for job list

ings , you 'd check out misc.jobs.offered . There 's even a group for discussing

 bad seafood , called alt.bad.clams . By Spafford 's estimate , there are 10,000

 Usenet newsgroups . With so many , it is something of a chore figuring out that

 rec.bicycles is the place to discuss bicycles , and that there isn't a group ca

lled talk.bicycles . Unless you have a book that lists Usenet groups , you 'll h

ave to spend some time looking around Usenet for what you want . Happily , most 

sites that provide full Internet access get daily feeds that include a few thous

and of the more popular Usenet newsgroups . Among the national online providers 

, so far America Online and Delphi offer Usenet , as well . To read and post mes

sages on Usenet , you invoke something called a `` news reader , '' which is a s

oftware menu system to help you navigate . News readers have their own rules , a

nd are usually pretty self explanatory ; typically , if you don't know something

 , typing a question mark will pull up a help file . On Panix , where I get my I

nternet access , I enter my news reader by typing `` N . '' From there , I can t

ype `` G , '' which causes the news reader to respond `` go to ? '' It 's asking

 me what newsgroup I want to browse . If I know the name of the group , I simply

 type it . But let 's say I 'm looking for a newsgroup where people can discuss 

gun control . If I type the word `` gun , '' my news reader , being no dummy , a

sks me if I want to go to the newsgroup rec.guns or talk.politics.guns . You can

 assume that rec.guns is about recreational gun use ; talk.politics.guns is the 

one for me . Aren't computers great ? You should be aware of the cultural conven

tions that have come to flourish among Usenet readers . If you 're interested in

 posting your thoughts to a newsgroup , it 's advisable to first read the FAQ . 

FAQs are files that contain `` frequently asked questions , '' as well as their 

answers . FAQS are designed to prevent the same question from being asked every 

time a new person starts reading a newsgroup . Another thing to be aware of is t

his : Usenet is uncensored . If you are easily offended , or if you are a parent

 who doesn't want your child exposed to certain things , be warned that most Int

ernet sites that provide Usenet feeds take all the popular newsgroups . Some of 

the most popular groups are alt.sex-related groups , where people endlessly disc

uss some of the most intimate details of their lives , in extremely explicit lan

guage . And then there is the question of flame wars . There is definitely a sid

e to computer-based communication that resembles graffiti anyone can scrawl what

ever they want in a public place without fear of reprisal . Even if your name is

 attached to your message , it 's easier to provoke outrage through careless wri

ting than through face-to-face conversation . That 's partly due , I think , to 

the alienation people sometimes feel when they 're sitting alone , at their comp

uters , removed from their audience . `` A lot of people think they 're almost c

ompelled to abuse others , '' said Spafford , who has cut back in the amount of 

newsgroups he reads because of what computer-science people euphemistically refe

r to as a low `` signal-to-noise ratio . '' In other words , there 's a lot of g

arbage out there . ( Optional add end ) `` The problem 's gotten steadily worse 

, '' Spafford said . `` I think it 's because the entry cost of getting on the N

et has gone down to the point where people on the Net don't have an interest in 

developing harmony and cooperation . '' Spafford said that in Usenet 's earlier 

days , the users were mostly computer scientists or researchers who had a shared

 interest in `` promoting computer-professional demeanor . '' `` Now , '' Spaffo

rd said , `` you can get 14-year-olds , emotionally , who spend a few hundred do

llars to augment their PC , ( get on the Net ) and they can be as rude and crude

 as they want . ''

 Your computer 's modem is connected to a phone line . You 've figured out how t

o use the communications software that came with it ( or that you bought ) . You

 're ready to travel the Internet . So how do you get there from here ? If you '

re a college student , or work at a large communications company , you probably 

already have Internet access on site . ( Check with someone in your computer ser

vices department to find out . ) But for most home users , getting to the Intern

et means finding a company that retails Internet access . Then you instruct your

 computer to call its computer . If you 're lucky , you 'll have a choice of loc

al providers . Local access is desirable because it means you willn't be spendin

g money on long-distance telephone service on top of monthly Internet access fee

s that typically cost less than $ 30 a month . Real Internet access means more t

han merely being able to send and receive electronic mail . If you 're just look

ing for an Internet e-mail connection , there are many commercial services such 

as America Online , CompuServe , GEnie and Prodigy that will let you send and re

ceive e-mail to Internet users without giving you any other access to the Intern

et . Likewise , most local Internet providers offer e-mail addresses as part of 

their `` basic '' service plans at lower monthly rates than fuller service . Tru

e Internet access means being able to connect your computer directly to other co

mputers on the Net . It means being able to use a number of tools that help you 

navigate the online world and find things like archives of software for your IBM

 clone or Mac . Or card catalogs from the great libraries of the world . Or mult

iplayer games in simulated `` virtual worlds . '' It means being able to transfe

r large quantities of data at very rapid speeds . That said , you should know th

at what most home users purchase from Internet providers is `` gateway '' servic

e . Think of gateway service as an indirect ( and cheaper ) connection to other 

computers ( called `` hosts '' ) on the Internet . Most providers allow you to l

ink your computer to their computer , which , in turn , is connected by a high-s

peed phone line to the sprawling Internet beyond . Many providers may also offer

 to sell you a more direct connection to the Internet ( you might see these conn

ections referred to as SLIP or PPP connections ) . These connections allow your 

computer to communicate directly with other Internet computers , but require you

 to use at least a 14,400 bps modem and special software . They also cost signif

icantly more .

 Scattered throughout the Internet are free files and computer programs that tea

ch you how to use the Internet . This has always struck me as sweetly ironic : I

f you knew how to find any one of them ( hint : try using archie ) , transfer it

 ( using ftp ) , move it from your host computer to your PC ( using zmodem ) and

 decompress it ( using God knows what ) , what more would you need to know about

 the Internet ? Of course , these files were placed on the Net so that veteran I

nternetters could retrieve them , and print them out for Net newcomers . These f

ree files are typical of the Internet 's spirit and explain something that you s

hould know by now : Here is a community that has flourished because its inhabita

nts believe that the world is a better place when information flows freely and f

or free . Indeed , until about two years ago , the only way you could learn abou

t the Internet was from other people who 'd been there , or from these free file

s . Virtually no how-to books were available at bookstores . That 's changed . I

n a bookstore in New York City last week , there was an entire section devoted t

o Internet books . Every major publisher , and lots of small presses , have thei

r own authority on the subject . Most of these books are indistinguishable from 

each other . Some of them are marketed by exploiting your insecurity about new t

echnology . If you really want to understand more about the Internet , you 'll s

tart amassing your own library , which , it seems to me , should be built on a f

oundation of three books : a comprehensive how-to guide ; a directory of places 

to go and things to do on the Net ; and a comprehensive computer dictionary , wh

ich will help fill in the blanks left by the other two books . Here are some boo

ks , published during the past year , that I can recommend : HOW-TO GUIDES `` Th

e Whole Internet : User 's Guide & Catalog , '' by Ed Krol ( O' Reilly & Associa

tes ; $ 24.95 ) . This is the book that started it all , way back in 1992 , and 

is one of many Internet-related offerings from the Sebastopol , Calif. , publish

er . More than 250,000 copies are now in print , which explains why other publis

hers have jumped into the market . Recently updated , Krol 's book is a straight

forward account of how the Internet works . It also has a brief list of places t

o go and things to do . Best of all , it has a nifty `` quick reference card , '

' that gives you a short list of commands you need to know to use telnet , ftp ,

 archie and Usenet , among other things . `` Internet Starter Kit : Everything Y

ou Need to Get on the Internet , '' by Adam C. Engst ( Hayden Books ; $ 29.95 ) 

. An excellent find for Macintosh users since , in addition to being a solid how

-to book , it comes with a diskette that contains five genuinely useful programs

 for Net surfing , including Stuffit Expander ( a compression program ) and Inte

rSLIP ( a high-speed protocol for connecting to the Net ) . There 's also a Wind

ows version if you 're so inclined . `` The Internet Navigator , '' by Paul Gils

ter ( John Wiley & Sons Inc. , $ 24.95 ) . Gilster writes a regular column for T

he News & Observer in Raleigh , N.C. , so he speaks a form of English most peopl

e will readily understand . The book is written in a way that makes you feel as 

if you were looking over Gilster 's shoulder ; he tells you where he 's going an

d how he got there . `` Zen and the Art of the Internet , '' by Brendan Kehoe ( 

Prentice Hall ; $ 23.95 ) . This guide started as an online file ( and you can s

till find it at many sites on the Net ) . It was published in book form for the 

first time last year . Kehoe really knows his stuff . `` The Internet Guide for 

New Users , '' by Daniel Dern ( McGraw-Hill Inc. , $ 27.95 ) . Dern , editor at 

the magazine Internet World , has put together a comprehensive guide , with the 

right mix of information on Internet tools and Unix commands . DIRECTORIES OF PL

ACES TO GO AND THINGS TO DO `` Netguide , '' by Michael Wolff & Co. . ( Random H

ouse ; $ 19 ) . The best attempt yet at categorizing and organizing all the grea

t stuff you can find out there . Netguide also includes non-Internet cyberspace 

material , such as forums on the main commercial online service providers . Plan

s are under way to put all this information up on an online database , but until

 then , this book is definitely worth owning . As evidence of its popularity , i

t 's the book people keep stealing off my desk at work . `` The Internet Directo

ry , '' by Eric Braun ( Fawcett Columbine/Ballantine Books ; $ 25 ) . Instead of

 approaching the Internet by category , this directory breaks it down into secti

ons that index mailing lists , Usenet newsgroups , online library card catalogue

s , ftp sites and various navigational sites . Impressively comprehensive , with

 a good index in the back of the book . `` The Whole Earth Online Almanac , '' b

y Don Rittner ( Brady Computer Book ; $ 32.95 ) . The Whole Earth folks have bee

n way out in front on the Info Revolution , and their book is well laid out and 

complete . `` Internet : Mailing Lists , '' edited by Edward T.L. Hardie and Viv

ian Neou ( Prentice Hall ; $ 29 ) . The book is little more than the comprehensi

ve List of Lists , a list of all the e-mail groups that anyone on the Internet c

an subscribe to . E-mail groups focus on any topic you can think of , from dog o

wnership to `` Mayberry RFD '' fans . A DICTIONARY The Computer Glossary : The C

omplete Illustrated Desk Reference , '' by Alan Freedman ( Amacom ; $ 25.95 ) . 

Of the half-dozen or so computer dictionaries , this is my favorite . Lots of pi

ctures and charts . The explanations of arcane computer technology are simple an

d direct and willn't make you feel like a Complete Idiot-Dummy .

 Scientists at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in New Jersey announced t

his week that they have set a new world record for the amount of power produced 

in a nuclear fusion reactor : 9 million watts . Last December , the same reactor

 set a series of new world records at 3 million watts and 5.6 million watts . Th

e new power level , which was maintained for about one-quarter of a second , app

roached the reactor 's design-maximum of 10 million watts . The experiment was d

one in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor , a $ 1.4 billion device that is not inte

nded to produce sustained power but to operate in bursts so that scientists can 

learn how to control the hot , ionized gases , or plasma , that creates the powe

r . Once they learn to control the plasma , the scientists hope to build a react

or that will operate continuously , generating enough energy to sustain itself a

nd have enough left over to generate electricity . In this experiment , however 

, the reactor consumed about three times as much power as it produced . `` This 

was a major success , '' said lab director Ronald Davidson . `` We 're discoveri

ng a lot of intriguing phenomena in these experiments . '' The reactor works by 

feeding two forms of hydrogen gas deuterium and tritium into a doughnut-shaped c

hamber and heating the particles with electromagnetic energy until they move wit

h such speed that they overcome their natural repulsion , slam together and fuse

 .

 WASHINGTON The U.S. . Sentencing Commission , which sets prison sentences for f

ederal crimes , has long been a target of criticism from defense lawyers , liber

al judges , civil libertarians and the like . Critics complain the 7-year-old co

mmission merely replaced the unchecked sentencing power of federal judges with a

 Republican-controlled , computer-like operation of fixed sentences that ignored

 differences among criminals . Some even thought that the Clinton administration

 , with four vacancies to fill on the seven-member commission , would seize the 

opportunity to put its stamp on federal sentencing . But the commission , which 

went part time ( except for the chairman ) on Jan. 1 , is limping along doing no

thing controversial while it awaits the administration 's actions . This is one 

the Democrats can't blame on the Republicans . The holdup seems to be a fight am

ong powerful Democrats over who will be succeed the chairman , William Wilkins J

r. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy , D-Mass. , wants Boston federal Judge David Mazzone ,

 who is now a commissioner . Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. , D-Del. , wants his law s

chool chum , Commissioner Michael Gelacak , in the job . Attorney General Janet 

Reno had been interviewing candidates last fall . Another list of candidates is 

being put together now .

 WASHINGTON A draft presidential executive order was circulated by the White Hou

se last week calling for a `` bulk declassification '' of 48.8 million pages of 

documents held by the National Archives . Half of the material is World War II-r

elated and the other half concerns selected records up through the Vietnam years

 . The draft was sent out with a very short turnaround time for responses becaus

e the White House was hoping to make an announcement before President Clinton to

ok off for his D-Day trip . But the agencies came in asking for more time to rev

iew the material . The World War II stuff is mostly Army papers . There is some 

State Department material , as well as some Office of Strategic Services ( the o

riginal CIA ) documents . It is going to be tough for some of the classification

 zealots to defend holding 50-year-old documents , but some may give it a try , 

using the old `` sources and methods '' approach . That might still work if any 

of the sources are living . Word is the executive order will be signed shortly a

fter Clinton returns .

 He wanted his wife to quit smoking . It was a simple wish , yet its consequence

s were profound . This was in the 1970s , in Greece , where smoking was as cheri

shed a pastime as baseball in America . Dimitrios Trichopoulos didn't care about

 bucking the tide . He simply detested his wife 's addiction . A young cancer ep

idemiologist at the University of Athens , Trichopoulos tried the usual guilt tr

ip . He told her she was hurting herself . On this , he said , the medical liter

ature was clear . When that didn't work , he told her she was hurting him an arg

ument he could not support with statistics . She didn't believe it . Ever the sc

ientist , he set out to prove it . That family argument wound up earning Trichop

oulos a place in tobacco history . He was the first researcher to connect second

hand cigarette smoke with an increased risk of lung cancer . He accomplished thi

s in a somewhat unorthodox fashion , pirating $ 50,000 from one of his grants to

 conduct a survey of 189 nonsmoking women . ( Greek officials , Trichopoulos say

s , would never have given him money to study the detrimental effects of a cash 

crop as lucrative as tobacco ) . He found that smokers ' wives were twice as lik

ely to develop lung cancer as women married to nonsmokers . It worked . `` I con

vinced her , '' Trichopoulos says . His wife quit . The study did much more than

 clean the air in the Trichopoulos home . He published it in 1981 , days before 

the publication of a larger study conducted by Japanese epidemiologist Takeshi H

irayama . These papers gave a huge boost to a grass-roots anti-smoking campaign 

that has dramatically changed the way Americans work , dine , travel and raise c

hildren . This is the nature of the secondhand smoke revolution : a little bit o

f science still emerging , not all of it conclusive shaping a lot of public poli

cy . For anti-smoking activists , scientific research into the dangers of second

hand smoke has been a godsend . The high point came last year , when the U.S. . 

Environmental Protection Agency declared secondhand smoke a `` Group A '' human 

carcinogen , reporting that it accounts for 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year .

 This placed it in the same deadly category as asbestos and radon ; the agency c

oncluded that the danger cannot be eliminated by using smoking and nonsmoking se

ctions . Thanks in large part to that report , secondhand smoke is now one of th

e nation 's most pressing and divisive public health issues . Coupled with alleg

ations that tobacco companies have misrepresented the nicotine content in cigare

ttes and tobacco executives ' denials the issue is bringing public outrage to ne

w heights . But the tobacco industry is fighting back hard . A coalition of farm

ers and manufacturers filed a lawsuit alleging that the EPA `` manipulated and c

herry-picked scientific data '' and asked that a U.S. . District Court judge in 

North Carolina nullify the report . In California , tobacco giant Philip Morris