Internet Beginner Basics
The one question all Internet beginners ask is, "How do I get started?" Here are the bare essentials of the Internet. If you want an Internet tutorial (always a good idea), click here.
Glossary in layman's terms and a little bit of help...
Before we get started, let me just say that it doesn't matter what type of computer you are on. People use the same tools to access the Internet.
Browser: the browser is what you use to access the Internet. As a matter of fact, you're using a browser to view this page. Here are some browser tips:
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the most important buttons on the browser are the Back and Forward buttons (upper left hand side of the screen). Most people use theses buttons to navigate between pages they've already visited. The Internet is sort of like a magazine. Each page of the magazine represents a web page. As we browse through magazines, we go back and forth through the pages. The Back and Forward buttons serve the same purpose. Try it. Click on Back button then click on the Forward button (you will be taken back to this page). |
Bookmarks: the Internet is sort of like browsing through the books of a library minus the card catalog. If you come across a web site you really like, you should bookmark (save) it. If your computer is using the Netscape browser, look for and click the Bookmark button. Now choose the add bookmark command on the upper left. Internet Explorer users use the Favorite command on the upper left. Click it and choose the add to favorites command. To visit bookmarked Web pages, just click on the Favorite or Bookmark button (depending on your browser) and choose from the bookmarked web pages.
Printing: if you find something you like, all you have to do is click on the Print command in the browser.
Searching: many times, people don't know what web page they're looking for. In this case, people conduct an Internet search. Conducting a search is like looking up words in a dictionary. People use search engines such as Yahoo or Altavista to search for their topic. Most search engines are the same. Think of Coke vs. Pepsi which are basically the same (at least I think so).
Try searching for a topic from here by using the Yahooligans Search Engine. There's no need to worry about accessing innappropriate material since the search engine filters all of that out.