A Beginners Guide To Surfing The Net

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A Beginners Guide To Surfing The Net

• By Anthony Abbott

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Why The Web?

• The Internet is already huge with an amazing
  10,000 new users getting connected daily.
• It contains information on practically anything
  you can think of.
• With shops selling Internet bundles, its never
  been easier to go on line.

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Why the Web?

• In 1995 there were 8.5 million users of the
  Internet.
• In 1996 there were 19 million users.
• It is estimated that by the year 2000, there will
  be 142 million.

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Things You Need

• A Computer
• Although the computers speed isnt as important
  as with things such as games, having a modern set
  up can save you time and frustration.

• A Modem
• 56k Modems are recommended, V90 compatible are
  even better.

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Things You Need

• A Phone line
• You can run a modem through the same line as your
  phone, but not at the same time, so an additional
  phone line is recommended
• An Internet Service Provider (ISP)
• You need to register with a company such as AOL,
  this means an annual bill, there are free
  commercial servers such as Dixons also available
• A Browser
• The two main browsers available are Microsoft
  Explorer and Netscape Navigator

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Browsers

• If you've got a blue 'e' in the top right-hand
  corner of the window you're using Microsoft
  Internet Explorer.

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Browsers

• If youve got the N in the top right hand
  corner, youre using Netscape Navigator.

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Common Features

• These buttons allow you to quickly access past
  and previous pages that you have visited.
• Both meaning the same thing, these buttons,
  update, or reload the page/site, if for example,
  the page didnt load properly.
• This takes you to the search engine sites, where
  you can search for things through keywords.
• This button will take you to the Netscape or
  Microsoft pages usually, but you can choose any
  page to be the default.

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The URL

• The URL or Uniform Resource Locator is the
  Address of a web site.
• Take a look at the break down of a URL to the
  right.

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Search Engines

• What are they?
• To help you sift this huge array of information
  there are web sites called search engines which
  make it much easier to find what you need.
• How do they work?
• They work on the principle of tracing through the
  mountain of material using keywords or subject
  categories that you have entered on screen.
• Why use them?
• The amount of information available on the Web is
  so vast that it can be daunting, especially if
  you are looking for specific facts rather than
  just casually 'surfing' around to see what you
  come across.

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Search Engines

• There are several search engines that can be
  used, all working pretty much the same way. Here
  are just a few...
• Alta Vista- http//altavista.digital.com
• Excite- http//www.excite.com
• Lycos- http//www.lycos.com
• WebCrawler- http//webcrawler.com
• HotBot- http//www.hotbot.com

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Useful Sites

• If you want more information on using the web and
  other features of the Internet such as e-mail,
  visit these sites
• www.microsoft.com
• www.bbc.co.uk/education/cdb/internet
• www.yahoo.com

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Thank you for Listening
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• I hope this guide has been useful.
• Are there any QUESTIONS?

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