USING
A
MODEM
WITH
YOUR
ATARI
If you
own
a modem
with
your
computer,
you
have
two
additional sources
of
information:
commercial computer networks and bulletin
board systems. With the modem properly
hooked up
to
your
telephone and computer,
you
can call the number
of
one
of
these seNices, and
soon
you
are
connected
to
another computer.
You
can then
access
a variety
of
information
or
even send
your
own
messages,
depending on
the type
of
network
you
are using. Commercial
computer
networks
and bulletin board systems
are discussed next; for more information on
modems,
see
Chapter 4, "Peripherals."
Along
with
the modem and the
850
interface
you
may need
(see
Chapter
4),
you
need a soft-
ware program
that
lets
your
computer com-
municate via modem. Suitable programs usually
include the
word
terminal or term in the name.
Atari offers a terminal program called
TELELINK
l, which
is
easy
to
use
but
is
not
as
powerful
(does
not
have
as
many capabilities)
as
some
other terminal programs. A very
good
terminal
program, the
AMODEM
,
is
available from
your
local users'
group
. Terminal programs are avail-
able
in
both cassette and diskette formats.
Communicating
with
another computer via
modem
is
called telecommunications. If
you
are
just
starting out, telecommunications may
seem
a
bit
confusing.
Go
to
a local users'
group
meet-
233
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