For more information on Abilene please see: http://www.internet2.edu/abilene/

One of reasons individuals are not allowed into club are monetary restrictions. Although many an individual might be willing and able to plunk down yearly fee of $10,000 to $25,000, cost of accessing network itself can run $1,000,000 or more.

What are current participants getting for their money?

"This milestone in advanced networking opens possibilities for researchers, students and teachers at universities across country to collaborate with each other and to access resources in ways not possible using commercial Internet," said Steve Corbató, Internet2 director of backbone network infrastructure.

"Abilene provides a unique leading-edge network environment that enables people to experiment with and test new capabilities that can make their way into global Internet."

Internet2(R) is developing and deploying advanced network applications and technologies for research and also for higher education, accelerating creation of tomorrow's Internet.

Internet2 recreates partnership of academia, industry and government that helped foster today's Internet in its infancy.

For more information about Internet2, see: http://www.internet2.edu/

Internet2 is expected to go, "Public", in about 3 to 5 years. That is when average Internet surfer will have access.

However, no one is certain what that actually means.

If you were excited by possibilities of Internet, future is far brighter for Internet2. So get out your best pair of shades and your thinking cap because new frontier just got even newer.

Looking to relocate or buy a house? What better way to find out about an area you are considering? Check out web sites of local Chamber of Commerce or real estate agencies in area. You can get information about taxes, type of community it is, schools, climate and all other things you need to know.

Want honest truth about a business opportunity? Check out some of discussion groups under their name - you won't find much "sugar coating" there.

The point I'm trying to make here is simplistic. The web provides us with a great resource, and if you don't use it, you are missing a good bet. But like anything else, you have to use common sense. The "scamsters" have also found web and all crooked deals they perpetrated before web, are still being done. The only difference is they are reaching a whole lot more people, much faster.

Years ago, when someone got scammed they may have "fussed and fumed" a bit, but times are a "changin". Now, many of these same people who were scammed, figure if they get a few others to "bite" on same deal that bit them, maybe they can earn their money back. Isn't it amazing that anonymity of web can also cloud someone's judgement, and a person who is basically an upright citizen in real life can suddenly become a scamster on net.

The Web is a great place for "Getting it Together", but remember it is a resource, nothing more, nothing less. You have to use same care there as anyplace else - maybe more so.