Using MS Outlook Express 5.0 at UVa to read NEWS groups
How to install and configure Outlook Express to read NEWS.
Microsoft makes installing Outlook Express so easy that the majority of Windows users already have it, whether they know it or not. It comes installed on most systems, and if you don't have it installed, you can run Windows Update from the Start menu in Windows 98, Windows ME or Windows 2000, you'll find Outlook Express on the menu of available software to download.
Many people get confused about the difference between Outlook and Outlook Express. They are very similar and one comes with Internet Explorer while the other comes with MS Office. They both read Email, and though Outlook has a calendar and other features, only Outlook Express will read NEWS lists. If you try to read NEWS lists from within Outlook, it will load and run Outlook Express for you.
If you want to set up Email in Outlook Express, please see our instructions on how to set up Outlook Express for Email. To set it up for reading NEWS lists, please click on Set up a Newsgroups account... on this first Outlook Express screen. If you don't see a link with this name, you probably already have a NEWS account set up. In that case, to add UVa's news server, open your Tools menu and choose Accounts... and choose the News tab at the top of the dialog box that appears. Now you can manage these NEWS accounts, deleting any that you no longer want. You can also click the Add button at the upper right of this dialog box and choose News from the pop up menu that appears.
That should bring up the following dialog box entitled Internet Connection Wizard:
It asks for your Display name. This is your name as it will appear to people reading a NEWS post sent by you. Enter your name and click Next.
This next dialog box asks for your Email address. This is the address others will use when they wish to respond personally to you rather than post their response to the entire news group. Put in your Email address and click Next.
Your response to this next dialog box entitled Internet News Server Name depends upon how you connect to the University network. If you have a direct ethernet connection on grounds in a University office or dorm room, or if you dial in through the UVa modems, you should enter news.virginia.edu and do not put a check mark in the option box labeled My news server requires me to log on.
If, however, you are connecting through some other Internet Service Provider, or otherwise connect to the University through the Internet from outside of the University, then you should enter remotenews.virginia.edu, check the box labeled My news server requires me to log on and get a remotenews account. You accomplish this by telnetting to remotenews.virginia.edu and logging in as newsacct, just like the splash screen tells you when you telnet to that machine. Note that these accounts are only available to staff, students or faculty of the University.
Whether you've set yourself up for news.virginia.edu or remotenews.virginia.edu, click Next to be congratulated for completing your configuration of Microsoft Outlook Express for NEWS group reading, then click Finish.
You will then receive a dialog box asking if you wish to download the list of news groups from the server you just configured. This may take some time, but if you have the time, this is what you came for, so click Yes.
If you have never seen the list of available news lists, be prepared for topical overload. The most common, sought-after news list at the University is uva.want-ads. The list is alphabetical, so you may want to skip down to UVa rather than wade through the hundreds of available NEWS lists. It is generally better to select a few that you think you will be most interested in and then add new ones and prune old ones as you go along. If you select many the first time, expect delays as large amounts of data need to be moved around. The more newsgroups you choose, the slower it gets.
