{
  "id": "1998-march-plug-in-to-the-net",
  "slug": "1998-march-plug-in-to-the-net",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1998-march-plug-in-to-the-net.html",
  "year": 1998,
  "month": "March",
  "monthNum": 3,
  "headline": "Plug in to the 'Net",
  "kicker": "ON THE INTERNET",
  "author_name": "Jonathan Oatis",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "Reuters America",
  "summary": "This article surveys popular Internet browser plug-ins and software tools, including both free and shareware programs like Adobe Acrobat Reader, Winzip, RealAudio, and Shockwave that enhance web browsing and multimedia experiences.",
  "keywords": [
    "software",
    "browser",
    "multimedia"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Technology",
    "Journalism & Newsroom"
  ],
  "technologies": [
    "Internet",
    "World Wide Web",
    "Netscape",
    "Internet Explorer",
    "Adobe Acrobat",
    "WinZip",
    "RealAudio",
    "RealVideo",
    "VDOLive",
    "QuickTime",
    "Shockwave"
  ],
  "full_text": "Netscape Communications Corp.'s Navigator browser and rival Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer are the main tools for navigating the Internet, but there are various accessories, called plug-ins, that further enhance the experience. These computer programs, and a treasure trove of other software, are available on the Internet.\n\nSome of this software is \"freeware,\" i.e., free. Some is shareware. You download it and try it out. If you decide you want to keep it, you register it, paying the author's price. Most shareware is based on the honor system. Some is set up in such a way that, if you don't pay for it, it is disabled after a set time.\n\nAdobe Acrobat Reader: Adobe Acrobat is a program that enables users of different types of computers to convert their files into a form readable by all computers, so long as those computers are using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software. Adobe makes its money from the software used to convert the files into \".pdf\" (for \"portable document format\") files. Many Web sites, including government and corporations, offer documents in \".pdf\" form.\n\nYou can find Acrobat Reader at Adobe's Web site: http://www.adobe.com\n\nWinzip: One of the most useful shareware programs to have. Winzip compresses software and data, saving space on your hard drive and allowing you to put massive data files and programs onto a few floppy disks. The newest version also encodes binary files like sound, video and picture files into text, making them easier to send over the Internet.\n\nYou can find Winzip at http://www.winzip.com\n\nRealAudio: Allows you to hear audio sent over the Internet, whether it be a radio story you may have missed when it was first played, a replayable recording of a statement at a news conference or music from an \"Internet broadcast station\" that uses the Net instead of the airwaves to transmit its programing.\n\nYou can find the free RealAudio program at http://www.realandio.com The site has a link to RealAudio's guide to audio programming on the Internet, http://www.timecast.com\n\nProgressive Networks, the folks who make RealAudio, also make RealVideo, which allows you to view video transmitted over the Internet. This program, however, requires a fairly powerful computer and a speedy Internet connection.\n\nVDOLive: Another free program that allows users to view real-time video. It can be found at http://vdolive.com Like RealAudio, VDOLive's site also features a guide to sites that produce programming that can be viewed with the software.\n\nQuicktime: Apple Computer's free program enables you to play movies on your computer, either downloaded from a Web site or while online. You can find it http://www.apple.com\n\nShockwave: Adds interactivity, including games, interactive maps and animation, to Web sites. The free \"viewer\" can be found at http://macromedia.com\n\nThere are scores of other plug-ins and useful auxiliary programs. If you use Netscape Navigator, many are available at Netscape's Web site: http://home.netscape.com\n\nNetscape and its Internet software archrival, Microsoft, are constantly upgrading their own programs in their war over market share. Netscape's site also contains its products. For Microsoft's wares, go to http://www.microsoft.com\n\nOther software can be found at Shareware.com (http://wwww.shareware.com), a nice site maintained by the C-Net computer news service.\n\nAnother great site is TUCOWS (The Ultimate Collection of Winsock Software), which features a rich, categorized selection of software and is notable for its opening picture of two cows. TUCOWS has mirror sites scattered around the world. Enter the main site (http://www.tucows.com), then look for the one closest to you.\n\nIf those don't do the trick, try Jumbo (http://www.jumbo.com)\n\nGood luck, but remember. If you are downloading at work, have everything you download, no matter how good the source, checked by a technician for viruses.\n\nThis column is excerpted from a handout provided at Indiana CAR, the 1998 National Computer-Assisted Reporting Conference.",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
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  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1998-march-plug-in-to-the-net.html",
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}