While the Web itself is fun and easy, getting there using TIA can be quite a frustrating journey since TIA is actually a UNIX program. To get it to work, you must first load it onto the computer you call into for Internet access. The makers of TIA continue the UNIX tradition of being frustrating and overly complicated. If you have ever read a "man page" that was so dry that it crinkled the paper when you tried to print it out, you'll know what I mean.
After deciding to try out TIA, it took me two days of email documentation requests and reading to finally determine that it is not as difficult as they have tried to make it. I am sure they realize that end-users have problems getting started since they promote both a consulting service and a third-party installation program in their documentation. Ultimately, I obtained the best help to install TIA by reading questions and answers from a local usenet news group (netcom.software).
Here is the short course on how to install TIA:
1) On Your Mark
Send a blank email to tia-install-single@marketplace.com,tia-single@marketplace.com, embarque- info@marketplace.com and embarque-install@marketplace.com. This will get you their installation instructions, a form you will use to obtain a 14-day trial license, and a list of current providers that allow TIA usage, including CCNet, CRL, Netcom, and Primenet.
2) Get Set
Wade through your usenet conferences for installation advice. On my provider I found out two important bits of info. First, that "tia" was already available on my host's machine and that I could simply make a link to it in order to use it. Second, that I also needed to link to "nntpd" if I wanted to have access to email and newsgroups. The two UNIX commands I needed to set things up on my host were:
ln -s [directory]/tia tia
ln -s [directory]/nntpd nntpd
On Netcom, [directory] should be substituted with "~barryn/pub"
3) Go!
To set things up on my IBM machine, I downloaded Embarque. This is a collection of windows programs that includes Netscape and Winsock as well as a toolbar to launch these and other included utilities. Embarque is available from anonymous ftp at marketplace.com as /tia/embarque/embrqwin.exe.After running setup.exe from windows, I clicked onto the Winsock icon on the Embarque toolbar and after I was connected, I clicked onto the Web Browser Icon and launched right into Netscape. Unfortunately, not all of the software they provide is the most current release. You still have to install other programs since they do not include viewers for all of the picture and animation formats—but what they do provide is a tremendous head start.
I remember reading in one email message that it takes only 15 minutes to install and run TIA—don't be fooled. This method for getting graphical Web access should only be attempted by those who are already familiar with using a shell account. Installing the needed software on both the host machine and your personal machine is a far cry from the toaster-like plug-and-play we all want.
After the 14-day free trial, Cyberspace Development Inc. sells its license for TIA usage for $25. They claim they are working on a PPP version and that it will be a free upgrade. For even more info, send a blank email to tia-FAQ-single@marketplace.com.