___________________________________________________________________________
Northwest Nexus:  New User's Guide


NORTHWEST NEXUS NEW USERS INFO
------------------------------

Welcome to Northwest Nexus! Our company is focused on providing reliable
Internet connectivity to individuals and businesses in the Pacific
Northwest. We maintain a full-time professional staff of support engineers
and network managers to help you get the most out of your Internet
connection. This introduction is meant to provide you with basic
information on setting up and using your Personal Shell, Personal SLIP, or
Personal PPP service. Because there's not enough space to tell you
everything here, we'll also tell you how to get more information and
assistance.


Getting Started With SLIP and PPP
---------------------------------

We strongly recommend The Internet Starter Kit by Adam Engst (Hayden Books,
1995). There are versions for both Macintosh and Windows; it's available in
computer stores (in a boxed version that includes a bonus disk) and in
bookstores. All versions include the software you need to get started using
your SLIP or PPP account, along with instructions on how to set it up. In
earlier versions of the books, check Appendix F; if your book doesn't have
an Appendix F, see the next section for the setup information you need.
Some of the books have outdated information, so check your settings with
the next section below. Win95 comes with everything you need to connect;
contact us for details.


What Telephone Number Do I Call?
--------------------------------

For the best connection, use the number highest on the list that is a local
call for you:

     1) 206 455-8455  (Bellevue)
     2) 206 447-4004  (Seattle)
     3) 206 513-9459  (Everett)
     4) 360 757-1213  (Mt. Vernon)
     5) 206 672-4554  (Lynnwood)
     6) 360 456-0770  (Olympia)
     7) 360 427-0102  (Shelton)
     8) 206 927-5834  (Tacoma)
     9) 206 735-6579  (Auburn)

All the numbers above provide 14.4kbps V.32bis connections. As we upgrade
our modem pools, we sometimes add other numbers for special purposes, like
longer connect times or different speeds. See our "Phone Numbers" FAQ for
the current list of numbers. The FAQ includes 28.8kbps (V.34) and ISDN
numbers. If you have a Personal Shell account, you can see this list at the
shell prompt by typing:

     help phones


What Will I See?
----------------

If you have a Personal Shell account, after you type your login name and
password, you'll see our text-based menu of things to do and see on the
Internet. If you have a Personal PPP or Personal SLIP account, though, you
probably won't see much of anything, depending on the type of software
you're using. Your PPP or SLIP software establishes a connection between
your computer and the Internet. When your software tells you that the
connection is established, then you need to run another program to actually
do something on the Net. Examples of such programs are Eudora for e-mail,
Newswatcher for News, or Netscape for the World-Wide Web.


Just the Facts
--------------

If you're the type who knows what you're doing and you only need the
details of our configuration, here they are:

     Obtain Address/Configure:
        MacTCP:                         Server
        OpenTransport TCP/IP:           Manually

     IP address:
        MacTCP:                         Ignore
        OpenTransport TCP/IP:           Leave Blank
        Windows:                        Set to dummy address (1.1.1.1)

     Netmask:
        MacTCP:                         Leave as is; n/a for SLIP/PPP
        OpenTransport TCP/IP:           255.255.255.0
        Windows:                        255.255.255.0

     Domain Name Servers (DNS):
        Primary:                        198.137.231.1
        Secondary:                      192.135.191.1

     Host name:                         Leave blank
     Domain name:                       halcyon.com
     Login startup command:             Leave blank

     POP mail account name:             Same as your login name
     POP mail account password:         Same as your password
     SMTP Mail gateway:                 smtp.halcyon.com
     POP3 Mail server:                  mail.halcyon.com

     NNTP News server:                  news.halcyon.com
     NNTP News login & password:        Leave blank (don't use authentication)

     World-Wide Web server:             www.halcyon.com
     Anonymous ftp server:              ftp.halcyon.com
     Gopher server:                     No official Northwest Nexus server, but
                                        gopher.seattle.wa.us is recommended


Configuring Eudora
------------------

Eudora is a freeware mail program that's the best we've seen. Here's how to
configure it for use with our servers:

   * Install Eudora as instructed. Start it up by double-clicking on the
     icon; select the Special | Configuration... menu, then alter only the
     items indicated below. For example, if your name is Mickey Mouse and
     your login name is mickey:

          POP Account:     mickey@mail.halcyon.com
          Real Name:       Mickey Wombat
          SMTP Server:     smtp.halcyon.com
          Return Address:  mickey@halcyon.com


Get Rid of Your Hosts File
--------------------------

Some books include files named "hosts" in their configuration; some users
created their own hosts file to try to speed up resolving domain names. We
recommend using Find or Search to locate and delete all instances of those
files. From time to time we change name-to-IP-address mappings; hosts files
mostly keep outdated information around, and are guaranteed to cause
trouble sooner or later.


Usage Guidelines
----------------

Our modems are a precious resource. We ask that you limit your login
sessions to two hours, then wait two hours before logging in again. If you
log in for an hour, wait an hour before logging in again. This usage
guideline gives everyone a chance to log in and make use of their account.

If you connect for longer than two hours, you're likely to receive an
email message reminding you to log out, and/or to be logged out
automatically.


Trouble Contacting Specific Sites
---------------------------------

The Internet is H-bomb-proof, but that doesn't mean that every single
machine is available every minute of every day. Nodes go down for a minute,
an hour, a day - and sometimes, for weeks. If you're having trouble
contacting a site using your FTP program or WWW browser, wait 30 minutes
then try again. If you still can't connect, try the next day. If you still
can't get connected, send us an e-mail message with details of what you
tried. Please provide as much detail as you can - we'll be able to give you
a better answer as a result.


How to Get More Information
---------------------------

We've prepared a large number of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions list that
include detailed answers for those questions) to allow us to give you rapid
and complete answers. We sometimes mail these FAQs to you in response to
your inquiry if we think the FAQ answers your question completely.

We've put all of our FAQs online for access by our customers. Point your
Web browser (use Lynx if you have a Personal Shell account) at:

     http://webfaq.halcyon.com/

Our main Web page is constantly being updated with site-specific and other
information, and is worth checking frequently:

     http://www.halcyon.com/

We sometimes use electronic mail to communicate with you individually
regarding your account.  This means you should check your mail each time
you connect to our systems to be certain of receiving information regarding
your account status or features.


Keeping Up to Date
------------------

We post all important system announcements to the halcyon.announce
newsgroup. You can use a newsreader to follow that group, or you can have
postings in that group automatically mailed to you. You can subscribe to
the halcyon-annnounce mailing list by sending a mail message to:

     majordomo@halcyon.com

with the following lines in the body of the message:

     subscribe halcyon-announce
     end


System Status Line
------------------

We maintain a telephone line that provides information about the status of
our systems. For updates on scheduled downtime, current system problems,
and so on, call:

     206 453-8908

You can also reach the system status line through our voicemail system 800
number (800 539-3505) - press 9 on a TouchTone phone as soon as the
greeting starts.


How to Get in Touch With Us
---------------------------

We maintain a large staff to answer your questions, but we don't use a
call-queuing system like some larger companies. We ask that if you call,
you leave a message with our receptionist or on our voice mailboxes. We
return all our voice-mail messages as quickly as possible, but sometimes
using electronic mail is faster.

   *    If you can, send e-mail instead of calling:

          For billing questions:           billing@halcyon.com
          For technical support:        support@halcyon.com

   *    You can also send inquries by fax, although this is often slower:

          Northwest Nexus fax:          206 455-4672

   *    For less pressing problems, try posting in our newsgroups:

          For general questions:          halcyon.general
          For SLIP/PPP questions:       halcyon.slip
          For Web (WWW) questions:      halcyon.web

   *    If you need to telephone:      206 455-3505

     Office hours are 0830 to 1700 Pacific Time, Monday - Friday for
     billing and administrative staff. Technical support hours are
     currently:

          Monday - Thursday:           0900 to 2000 Pacific
          Friday:                      0900 to 1700 Pacific
          Saturday:                     1030 to 1500 Pacific
          Sunday:                         1030 to 1500 Pacific

     Our voicemail is monitored 24 hours/7 days for urgent system
     problems.  Please leave a message if you get our voicemail system
     and include your name, login name, a number at which you can be
     reached, and a brief description of your problem or question. We
     return all voicemail messages.

     For technical support, billing questions, and information:

          206 455-3505
          800 539-3505 (US and Canada only)

   * If you need to write to us the old-fashioned way:

          Northwest Nexus Inc.
          10800 NE 8th Street, Suite 802
          Bellevue, WA 98004


We look forward to working with you and helping you use your Internet
connection to the fullest. Happy surfing!

 
(12-Apr-96/nwnnug/WRD)
___________________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1996  Northwest Nexus Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
This document may not be reproduced nor redistributed in any form without
express permission; contact us at support@halcyon.com with questions.