For Beginners

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Networking

10

Introducing the Internet

The Internet is simple in principle: several million computers connected to one another by telephone lines and sharing their files – news, mail, pictures, programs and more. It's not organized. No one manages or owns it. If part of it breaks down, the signal just detours without human intervention. Everything - absolutely everything - that you look at on the Internet is just some kind of computer file stored on a computer somewhere else in the world, because someone hopes that you will be interested... or willing to pay for it.

9

This is what you're buying

What exactly are you paying for when you buy your account from us? You are covering the cost of our direct internet connection. You could buy one yourself - it is an actual cable - but it's much more economical to just pay for using a little bit of ours. You connect to us, and the Internet, by using a modem. Your modem translates computer signals into sound signals that can travel over a telephone line. (What counts with a modem is how fast it can do that – currently, the state of the art is "33,600 baud.") Your modem lets you make a telephone call to our computer here, which passes your signal on to the Internet. Once you are connected – once our computers are talking to one another on the phone – your computer is a part of the Internet. You are online!

8

The difference between being online and surfing

Being online is one thing. But that alone doesn't do you much good. It's like being on the phone and not saying anything. What makes the Internet the Internet is surfing. You look for documents on the Internet that interest you. To do this, you have to run programs on your computer that know how to request different kinds of documents (mail, programs, news, Web page, and so on). This is called surfing. Netscape is the most popular surfing program.

7

About Netscape

Netscape allows you to browse what is called the World Wide Web, which is the most popular way of exploring the Internet. Netscape is a powerful program. To learn it well, you need to understand what it does. It is called a "browsing" program. It's major purpose in life is to show you cool-looking documents called "Web pages" that are stored on other computers all around the world. These documents are interconnected - which is why it's called a Web. When you are browsing with Netscape, click on the highlighted words and phrases or buttons that interest you - Netscape will show you another related document.

6

What Netscape can do for you?

Netscape does a lot! These are the most important features: (1) displays Web pages (like it's doing right now), (2) retrieves your e-mail, and (3) lets you read news groups (public forums on thousands of different subjects).

5

No telephone charges

One of the great things about the Internet is e-mail. E-mail is popular because, once you've paid us, it's free - you can communicate with anyone, anywhere, as much as you like without paying long distance. That's because you're not making a long distance call - you're making a local call. To receive and send e-mail, you need a program like Netscape or Eudora. Your "mailbox" is actually on our computer. Netscape simply goes and gets your mail for you - downloads it to your computer where you can read and store it.

4

Pornography and racist literature are available on the Internet

The Internet is like a magazine rack - there is some good stuff, some bad stuff, and a lot of silly stuff. If you have children, please talk to them about this issue, and supervise their exploration of the Internet as you see fit. Security software is part of our package - install it if you think it is appropriate. But do not be unduly alarmed. Like anything, the Internet can be used or abused - it is not corrupt by nature.

3

What's it all good for?

The Internet is an amazing research and communications tool for academics, business people and you - a place to shop, to find informationand to be entertained. But the best reason to have Internet access is because it's fascinating! No, it probably won't change your life much, yet, but approach it with a pioneering spirit, and you will be constantly impressed at the potential. There's no doubt it will become a huge part of life in the 21st century.

2

Headaches for miracles

The Internet is simple in principle, but mind-bogglingly complicated behind the scenes. It doesn't always work perfectly or do what you expect. Some things are reliable. Some things are not. You'll enjoy the whole experience a lot more if you understand the limitations of the Internet. If things don't work, just shrug and tell yourself that it's a miracle any of it works at all - because it is. With computers, you're always trading headaches for miracles.

1

Where to get help

You can always call us. And, there's help right at your fingertips - the program you are using has a sophisticated and extensive help system (look under the "Help" menu at the top of your screen). Use it! But we wanted to give you a more personal introduction to the Internet as well. After all, you are paying us - it's the least we can do. But if you are really confused by the Internet, find a helpful book and read it. (And of course there is a lot of help available on the Internet itself, but it's a catch twenty-two: it can be hard to find if you don't know anything about the Internet!)