| Idiot's Guide # 2: Using the Internet |
| (MR) The internet is a vast realm of knowledge and entertainment. You can find just about anything on the world- wide- web, from Abba songs to information about Zanzabar, and everything in-between. You can use the internet to communicate with friends and family around the world, and play computer games with people you've never met who live on the opposite side of the world. But to those who don't know much about computers, the internet can be a fairly confusing place to navigate. This Idiot's Guide is designed to teach you some of the basics of the internet, from web browser customizations to finding valuable sites, and even how to speed up your internet connection safely so as to access data quicker. First off, lets talk about web browsers. The most widely used (and the best, in our opinion) is Microsoft's Internet Explorer (MSIE). This comes standard with any Windows- based PC. An important note: You should check Microsoft's download site for updates on a weekly basis, especially if you're a Microsoft Windows XP user! XP is laden with holes, flaws, and other mishaps which Microsoft patches almost daily. If you don't feel like constantly updating your patches, download Bigfix and install it on your system. Bigfix runs behind your programs and constantly searches the internet for vital patches your computer needs. Best of all, Bigfix is free, both in price and hassle. Okay, back to MSIE. You should always have the most recent version of Internet Explorer on your computer. As of the time this article was written, MSIE 6.0 is the most recent, but you should always keep an eye out for updates of the Internet Explorer browser. In the next paragraph we'll teach you a few simple tricks and tips to optimize MSIE and help you surf the web faster and safer. When you surf the web, your computer gets filled up with useless drabble that you don't want or need on your computer, and it's important to get rid of this stuff as often as you can remember. Cookies are automatically saved to your computer without anyone asking you if it's okay. A cookie is, in a nutshell, a program that a website uses to track your visit and keep up with what other websites you visit. They do this so as to help target marketing (ads) toward you. That is good and bad for a number of reasons, but pertaining to this article, Cookies use up valuable hard drive space. Temporary Internet files are files that are saved to your computer so that when you re-visit a website the data loads faster. Almost every website you visit is saved to your computer in a compressed manner. By erasing this data you can free up hard drive space and speed up your web-surfing experience. At the top of your browser window, click on "Tools." Then select "Internet Options." Now click on the box that says "Delete Files," and then "Delete Cookies," and voila! Your computer is cookie & temporary internet file- free! While you're here, take a look at the box that says "Homepage." Here, you can select any website on the internet to automatically start at whenever you open Internet Explorer! For example, in the address bar, type in: http://www.mattrock.soundvault.net --- if you select "apply," you'll come to Matt Rock Online every time you open the browser to surf the net. You can change this to your e-mail page (ie. www.yahoo.com, www.hotmail.com, etc.), your school or work website... whatever you want. If you visit a website you're particularly fond of (for example, this site, hehe), you can save the link to your computer and re-visit it whenever you want, without having to type in the site's address! Simply go to the top of the screen and click "Favorites." Then click "Add to Favorites." If you'd like to categorize your Favorite pages, click "Create In >>", name the folder, and add your favorite pages and sites to that folder. Another little note on browsers: Some of you might think you need to type http:// before every web address, and with some browsers this is true... but with MSIE you don't have to. Simply type in the website's address... MSIE adds the http:// for you! You can also type in a name or phrase which you'd like to search for... MSIE's address bar is also a built-in search tool! LINKS It's hard to write such a concise guide of the internet, so we've listed below some places you might want to (or need to) visit. From Search Engines to online games, we've tried to list everything that you might want to use below. We're always looking to update our Idiot's Guides, so stop back sometime and see if anything new has been added that might help you enjoy the net a bit more! E-mail Matt at Maximus_PT1@yahoo.com if you have any comments or suggestions. |
| Original: 11/12/03 Revision: 11/16/03 |
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| By Matt Rock & Yun Masume |
| SEARCH ENGINES A search engine is a place where you can type in a noun (person, place, or thing) and search for it on the internet. Example: If you wanted to learn more about Monty Python, go to one of these search engines and type in "Monty Python" and see all of the sites that the engine can find. Each search engine will get different results, so if one of them isn't finding sites you want, try another! www.hotbot.com www.askjeeves.com www.google.com www.lycos.com www.yahoo.com |
| E-MAIL SERVICES Most ISP's (Internet Service Providers) offer their clients a form of e-mail service, and some use Microsoft's Outlook service. But there are many other internet E-mail services you can use to send and receive e-mail. Below we've listed a few of the more popular, free ones. mail.yahoo.com www.hotmail.com www.Rock.com www.eudora.com www.mail.com www.Iname.com |
| ONLINE GAMING Want to have a little fun on the net, playing computer games with and/ or against other people from around the world? Below you'll find some cool gaming sites and game servers at which you can play for free. They offer games such as backgammon, chess, and puzzle games, and all they require is a small download. Some of them also offer multiplayer services for games that you need a CD-ROM for, like Rogue Spear or Battlefield 1942. http://games.yahoo.com www.zone.msn.com www.gamespyarcade.com |