Title:  How do I connect my computer to the Internet?

Question:
How do I connect my computer to the Internet?

Answer:
If you are a University of Washington student, faculty, or staff member,
the UW can help you connect your computer to the Internet.  On campus you
can connect via a direct Ethernet connection (if there is an Ethernet port
in your office or residence hall room), wireless (where available) and 
off campus you can connect via a dial-in modem.  


You Need An ISP
---------------

You need an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to connect your computer to
the Internet. The UW functions as an ISP for members of the campus
community doing educational, research, and administrative work via the 
campus Ethernet, wireless and UW-provided dial-in modem connections.  If 
you wish to do work on the Internet that is not related to your role at 
the university, you may need a non-UW ISP as well. Note that the UW does 
NOT currently provide an ISP service for commercial high-speed (e.g., 
cable modem or DSL) connections, you must purchase that service 
separately.


You Must Have a UW NetID
------------------------

A UW NetID is your personal identification for UW network and computing 
services. 

   Note: If you have a uniform access computing account or general 
   UW email address, then your UW NetID is used for both of them.  
   It is used as your Dante or Homer login name. It is also used as
   part of your UW email address (the part preceding @u.washington.edu,
   e.g., if your UW NetID is cpu34, then your UW email address is 
   cpu34@u.washington.edu). If you need a UW NetID, go to a general
   access campus computing lab (e.g., UWired Commons) and ask the staff
   to help you get started, or from a secure Web browser, go to
   http://www.washington.edu/uwnetid/
  

Your UW NetID Must Have an Active Modem "Subscription" to use UW Modems
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

To use the UW-provided modem service, your UW NetID must have that 
service enabled.  Most accounts will have this turned on by default, but 
you can check your account status by opening the Web page at:

http://www.washington.edu/computing/

and clicking on the link to "Manage your UW NetID Resources".


You Need Connectivity Software (e.g., the UW Internet Connectivity Kit)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

All the software and installation guides you need to set up your
connection to the Internet via the UW are provided in the UW Internet
Connectivity Kit (UWICK).  And, for your convenience, the Kit provides 
other software as well.  The kit is available on CD-ROM at most UW 
Bookstore locations. For details on the current UWICK, including contents 
and system requirements, see:

http://www.washington.edu/computing/software/uwick/

However, in general, computers running current versions of MS Windows or 
Macintosh OS should be able to use the software in the UWICK without 
difficulty. Other operating systems (e.g., Linux) are not currently 
supported in the UWICK.

More detail about connecting your computer to the Internet via UW-
provided services can be found at:

http://www.washington.edu/computing/connect/index.html