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Faculty Tutorials

Connecting to the Internet > Network Services Kit

What is it?
The NSKit is a collection of software, which allows you to browse the World Wide Web, access email, newsgroups and UNIX computers.

The CD-ROM comes with an extensive booklet containing all the instructions you need to install it on Windows 9X/2000/NT/XP and Macintosh personal computers.
The booklet also includes detailed instructions on how to setup a telephone/modem connection using the ACCC Dialin lines.

Since downloading programs like Netscape and Internet Explorer can take a long time, at home, via a traditional modem/telephone connection, the CD-ROM makes it convenient to install these programs quickly. The CD-ROM also includes various UofI Online components.

Where to get it?
The NSKit CD-ROM can be purchased by any UIC student, faculty or staff, in person or by phone at:

  • East Campus: The Micro/Station in the back of the UIC BookStore on the first floor, 312-413-5540.
  • West Campus: Micro/Station in the back of the CIU BookStore, Room B7A, 312-996-7220.
  • You can contact the Micro/Station via email at: micros@uic.edu

The key components of the NSKit can also be downloaded with a high-speed campus-like Internet connection; for more information, visit:

www.accc.uic.edu/software/nskit

What's in it?
Here is a list of what you typically find in the NSKit:

  • Acrobat Reader
    The Adobe Acrobat Reader is a program needed to view or print Acrobat PDF files. PDF files are portable cross-platform documents that are commonly found on many Websites and other distribution channels.
  • Eudora Pro Email
    Eudora is an easy-to-use feature-rich program to process your electronic mail on a Windows PC or Macintosh computer.
  • Host Explorer
    Host Explorer is a telnet text-based program needed to login to UNIX computers connected to the Internet.
  • Netscape Communicator
    Netscape is the Web browser of choice at UIC. The NSKit version of Netscape comes bundled to view Acrobat PDF files, Flash Player, RealVideo and QuickTime movies, and listen to RealAudio sound files.
  • RealPlayer
    The RealPlayer is a small program that can be used with a Web browser or on its own to play streaming video, audio, Flash animation, SMIL presentation, and MP3 files over the Internet.
  • University Phonebook
    This is a small program that, once connected to the Internet, it lets you search the UIC Online Phonebook for any UIC student, faculty or staff.
  • WS FTP
    FTP is used to transfer files between computers connected to the Internet. Files can be transferred in plain-text (ASCII) or binary mode. Binary mode is usually preferred.
  • Apple QuickTime
    The QuickTime player allows you to view Quicktime movies, whether they are off a CD-ROM or streaming from the Web.
  • Macromedia Flash Player
    Flash Player is a great component to have, it gives you the ability to interact with content rich multimedia, like this tutorial, Websites or applications running off a CD-ROM.

Optional Components
Along with the default installation there are a number of optional applications on the NSKit CD-ROM. Just to name a few, there is Norton Anti-virus, Macromedia Authorware Player, Macromedia Shockwave Player, SSH Secure Shell plus much more.