Internet Basics
Obviously you can connect to the Internet.
And you found our site, so that says something! This isn't going to be a very
long course. Instead of thinking of it as an in-depth study, look at it as a
pre-flight check.
The Browser
On the beach, web browsers would be surf boards. They let you
"surf" across the internet, by way of telephone or cable, and visit
different sections of the beach, that is, web sites.
Usually in a beach town, the beach is divided up between
different companies, these companies then put what they want on the beach -
hotels, restaurants, sometimes they even allow people to build their own
bungalows. This is a good way to define what you're looking at when you look at
our web address:
http://libraries.thinkquest.org/C015523/ibasics.html
http:// tells you that your on a beach, the Internet
libraries. tells you that you are in a library section
of a web site, or in our analogy, this is the town library.
thinkquest is the town, or, web
page
.org is a file extension short
for "organization". You now know what type of web site, or town,
thinkquest is.
/C015523 this is <Web> </Architect>'s
bungalow in the town of ThinkQuest.
/bungalow.htm is a room in the
bungalow that belongs to <Web> </Architect> that is in the library,
that is in the town of thinkquest, that is on the beach.
Now wasn't that easy?
Here's another example:
http://www.users.qwest.net/~mtnaire/mission.htm
http://www. you're on a beach (the World Wide Web)
users. you're in the "users" section of
town. (usually where most people live in their bungalows, er personal home
pages)
qwest.net you are in the town of Qwest and it is a
network.
/~mtnaire this is mtnaire's
bungalow (personal home page)
/mission.htm this is the
mission room of mtnaire's bungalow that is in the users section of the network
town of Qwest on the beach.
The Different main tools in your browser:
Back
Takes you to the last page you visited...if you click the tiny
arrow by the large arrow, you can choose just how far back you want to go.
Forward
If you just clicked back, and you want to go back to where you
were before you clicked back (are you with me?) click forward.
Reload/Refresh
Loads the page again. Every time you visit a site, the page is
said to "upload". If you're using a message
board and want to get the latest messages, then you would press
"Reload/Refresh".
Home
Takes you to the specified home page - usually a "web portal"
aka a search engine, we'll talk about this later.
Search
A tool that let's you search for different web pages.
Print
Let's you print the current web page.
Security
Tells you if you're on a secure server.
If it is unlocked, then the information you are typing - other people have the
ability to peek at. If it is locked, then you are behind a firewall
- you're safe (as far as privacy goes)
Stop
When you see a page uploading, and want to stop it, you press
this little button.
Bookmarks
If you come across a page that you like a lot, press this
button, then choose "add bookmark". It will then be saved to the
"My Bookmarks" file, to retrieve later, click this button, and scroll
down till you see the web site you want. After clicking, the browser will
automatically take you to the particular web site.
For more advanced tips on Web Browsers, bookmarks, and preferences, see our
Advanced Computer Course.
E-mail
An e-mail program is simply like a
word processor, that sends your e-mail to different people - just like a regular
mails system. The "post men" are digital however. To send an e-mail
choose "New Message/Write Message". This will then allow you to write,
and send. You must first put the person's e-mail address on your e-card. That is
what the lines above the actual message field are for. By clicking inside the
field, you can enter an address, here's what an e-mail address looks like:
imahacker@techie.com
imahacker is the person's screen name.
A screen name is your online identity, it's how people come to know you on the
internet. @ tells the computer where you "live", aka what service
provider/mail server you use. Some popular servers/ISPs/mail
programs are AOL, Juno, hotmail, Qwest, mail etc.
When you first open your message center/mail box, you will be
in the section they call the "Inbox". These are messages other people
have written to you. To read an e-mail, click on the subject or the person's
name/screen name/e-mail address.
For more info on how to manipulate you e-mail box, try our advanced computer
skills course.
There Are 8 General Types of Web Sites
Portals/Search Engines
These web sites are your "window" or "map".
It let's you search through millions of sites, by using the "search"
command. Usually there is a field in the top of that page, where you can type a
keyword, or the name of the web page. For instance, if you were looking for a
site about Jazz improvisation, you would type "Jazz improvisation",
but if you were looking for the National Jazz Association, you would type
"National Jazz Association" or "NJA" or "National Jazz
Association NJA". It does not matter the order that word appear, however,
to limit your searches you can put your searches in parenthesis. For instance if
you wanted what you were searching for to appear exactly that way, it would. The
classic example of this is the guy looking for Britney Spears pictures. He
searches:
Britney Spears
And what comes up are "Primiative South African
Spears", "Asparagus Spears" among other things. What the heck
does this have to do with Britney Spears? Well, someone named "Britney"
might have signed the guest book in the "Primitive South African
Spears" Site. And a girl names "Britney" happens to have a
fascination with Vegetable photography - thus, the Asparagus Spears. So to limit
his search, the guy would need to type:
"Britney Spears"
This is an example about how fickle search engines are - this
is why, the rule of thumb is, everything that comes through the searches is not
related to what you want. After a lot of practice, you usually get in a habit of
training your eyes to look for certain keyword, patterns, etc.
Personal Home Pages
These pages are owned by regular people like you and me. Usually
devoted to their hobbies, and favorite bands. Or in the case of most University
students, they post class essays, reports on TWINKIE Torture and rants about
social reforms. Amateur in nature, but fun to explore. These pages are chock
full of opinions, art, really bad MIDI files, photos and links.
e-commerce sites
These sites are the store fronts of the Information Super
Highway. Usually with catalogs, information on products and safety information.
Sometime restaurants have their menus, recipes and special events posted. These
sites are marked by the fact that you can buy the products online, usually by
credit card. E-commerce sites can be for either small or large businesses.
Normally, a very professional air surrounds these hopefully, easy to navigate
sites.
informa-sites
The main purpose of these pages are to inform you about
anything. Presenting new ideas or plans. These sites strive to get the attention
of a certain market audience, and then, inform! Usually informa-sites are
connected with an e-commerce site, the government, or a non-profit organization.
Educational Sites
These sites are especially for teacher, or kids. Providing
information on any subject, these bungalows let you explore strange and exotic
places, learn about people, or tell you how to perform science experiments. Many
pages are for both teachers and students - providing the teacher with online
resources for their students.
Hacker Sites
These sites are run for no other reason but to provide resources
for their peers. If it be the archive of clip-art, midis, or javascripts, they
help people. Why? Because it's what they love to do. There is something about
sharing information with another person that makes you feel needed, sort of like
you're leaving your mark on the world, and someone will use that you've done. We
are a hacker site. Why else would we write a 200 page+ web site for you? Because
we love to do it. We love to learn, and then to help you learn, so you can help
someone else. It's a fundamental of informationalism - free information for
others. That's why <Web> </Architect> will remain free - go ahead
and copy stuff out of our site, print, you'll be free hackers, you'll be free.
MTV Effect Sites
These sites just want to get your attention, using what I like
to call the "MTV" effect. By using a mixture of high-end coding and
flash, they are fast uploading, eye and ear candy - extremely interactive. These
usually come somewhere between an e-commerce site and an informa-site. Usually
advertising a movie, sporting equipment or band, these are, IMHO, the coolest
sites on the web.
Cyber Neighborhoods / Communities
These sites are chock full, of chat rooms, BBSs (Buletin Board
Systems). You can meet people online by searching for communities that pertain
to a personal interest. It's a great way to meet people.
I live in this Internet community: http://teens.crosswalk.com
Instant Messaging
Instant Messaging (also referred to as private chat) is the
fastest form of communication on the Internet. It's what we call "RealTime",
that means you're really talking to the person at this very y moment (like
talking on the phone). The most popular instant messengers are AOL (also used in
Netscape), MSN and Yahoo! Everyone has a screen name, that may or may not match
their e-mail address. You can edit your buddy list so that you know whenever
someone comes on. Even if you don't use AOL or MSN for mail or Internet service,
you can still download Instant Messenger so you can chat with your friends.
