Lesson 1

The internet is a very large collection of computers that are set up to share information. Estimates vary, but it appears that over 100 million computers are part of this vast network. But before we get too far, let me share a simple story of just two computers to give you an idea of what a computer network is. Then we’ll move on to the internet.

I have two computers, but only one printer. One of my computers is in the basement and the other one is upstairs, next to the printer. Let's say I’m writing a letter to my mother while using the one in the basement (Not an email, but a real letter that I’m going to send via the US postal service.). Eventually, I want to print the letter and an envelope. Somehow, I have to get that letter from the basement to the printer upstairs.

I suppose that I could retype the letter on the upstairs computer, but if I had to do that I never would have written it on the basement computer. A better solution, which takes advantage of computer technology, is to move the file on a floppy disk. Here's the process:

Now, in truth, it’s not all that hard and I do that sort of thing all the time. And those of you who are reading closely may realize that I could have left off one of those steps. But that's not the point. The point is that there is a third, and easier, way to a print my letter from downstairs.

I could connect my computers and my printer together, permanently. I could make sure that my computers share all the information that they have. I might want to print my letter from the basement, or I might want to look at some of the other letters that I've written on my upstairs computer before I finish this one. As long as my computers are linked together, I can do all these things.

In computer terminology, this is called a network. A computer network is a great way to share information between and among computers.

What’s all this have to do with the internet? The internet is the mother of all networks. There are all kinds of computers that are connected to this network. Some computers are permanently connected. Many computers just connect from time to time. Some computers do nothing except direct traffic along the information superhighway. Some computers have lots of information to share. Others are simply there to get information and don't share anything at all. If you are just starting out on the internet, you will probably have one of those computers that connects from time to time. You will connect when you want to get information, and you will disconnect the rest of the time.

If you are like most people, you will connect your computer to the internet when you want to get some information. While you're connected, you are not just a user of the internet, you are plugged into the network. You are a full-fledged member of the internet, a fast growing community that touches hundreds of millions of people around the world.

I don't want to share my computer with everyone in the world!

Don't Panic! While it is true that when you are connected to the internet, you are, to a degree, exposing yourself to entire internet community. It's also true that in any community this size there are some people who are up to no good (Some of the bad guys like to send computer viruses or try to peek into government or corporate files. Others use the internet to commit a variety of crimes that are not unique to the internet.). If you use the internet the way most people do, you are not putting yourself at any serious risk. Your personal information won't be exposed to just anyone that happens to be on the internet. And there are simple things that you can do to minimize your exposure to viruses.

WWWhat's it all about? What's the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web?

As far as you are concerned, there is no difference. You can use the terms interchangeably. The World Wide Web (often abbreviated to "the web") is how most people experience the internet. Technically, there is a difference. But in daily practice this difference is inconsequential. Consider the following statements:

You can do all of these things from the comfort of your browser. In the next few paragraphs I will describe what's going on in each case. Later, I'll help you learn how to go do these things and more.

Unless someone has printed this out for you, you are, at this very moment, looking at a "page" on the World Wide Web, or a web page. A page may actually be more than what you can see on your screen. There is no standard length. Some pages will fit easily on your computer screen and others would take a full ream of paper to print out, if you had a mind to do so. It just depends on how the page was designed. A page can include text, pictures, sound, animation, and video. In fact, there seems to be no end of the creative things that people can put on a web page. It changes all the time.

Before You Surf

If you are brand-new to the web, there are a few things that you need to know. Sometimes you will see text that is underlined in a different color (It’s usually blue or purple, but not always). It's called a link. When you point at this kind of text (use your mouse to move the pointer around on the screen), and then click on it, things will change. You will either jump to a new page, or you may jump to another location on the same page. Using these links, you can go almost anywhere on the web.

Just for a quick test, let's do it now. When you click on the link, you will be taken to another page. Don't worry; you'll be given instructions on how to get back. Now, when you’re ready, CLICK ME!

Great job! There are just a couple of things to point out. When you moved the pointer over the link, it changed shape from an arrow to a finger.

This is the standard pointer

This indicates that you are pointing to a link.

You may have also noticed that the blue text turned purple. The purple tells you that you’ve already visited that site. The link will work again and again, but it’s nice to have a little reminder of where you've been before. Almost all sites use this blue and purple color scheme, but not always.

In addition to text, you can also go places by clicking on some pictures. You'll know if you've moved your pointer over a link anytime that finger appears. Let's try that now. Just position you’re the pointer over the picture below. When it changes to a finger, click it.

Click this picture.

Remember, if your pointer changes to a finger, then you are pointing to a link. To find out where it leads, click it. You'll always be able to get back.

The link is an important part of getting around the web. Links are formally known as hyperlinks, but everyone calls them links. As you saw above, a link is a way to go from one page to another page. Usually there is some meaningful connection between the original page and the linked page, but not always.

There are web sites for almost every single topic you can think of. It seems like every company has its own web site. More and more individuals have personal web sites. Even the politicians have gotten in on it. There are so many sites out there, in fact, that it can be difficult to sift through them all and find the sites that really interest you. Later on, I'll give you some advice on how to get at the information that you want quickly and easily.

Here’s just a brief sample of some of the web’s most visited sites. If you want to go take a peek, just click on one of the links. Remember, if you want to get back, keep hitting the back button on your browser until you get back here.

www.yahoo.com	Yahoo can help guide you to the web sites that have the information you are looking for.	www.talkcity.com	Talk City is a chat site. We’ll learn more about chat later.
www.cnn.com	This is CNN’s online site. It provides the same kind of news and information that you would find on the cable TV network.	www.etrade.com	E*Trade is an online brokerage firm. Once you’ve sent them some money to invest, you can buy and sell stocks here.
www.amazon.com	Amazon is, perhaps, the most well known of the e-commerce sites. It started as a giant bookstore. Now you can buy a variety of merchandise.	www.msn.com	MSN stands for the Microsoft Network. Full featured website.
www.weather.com	The weather channel is online with current weather for locations all over the world.	www.mapquest.com	Mapquest will provide maps and written driving directions to places across North America
www.ebay.com	eBay is an auction site. You can buy or sell almost anything.	www.nytimes.com	The New York Times on the web.

While the chart above lists some of the largest and most visited sites, many of the most interesting sites aren’t listed here. If you have the time to surf aimlessly, you may stumble onto:

While there are plenty of places that you can spend money on the web, our ITI Worldwide Mall provides the most comprehensive "one-stop shopping" on the web. From there, it's as easy as finding the web site and following the links to the stuff you want to purchase. The main concern most people have is credit card safety. At this point, it has become as safe to use your credit card online as it is in a regular "bricks and mortar" store. In fact, if you have ever given your credit card number to a catalogue company while talking on a cordless phone, you've probably put yourself at more risk than you will over the web. And if the worst happens, even if your card number is stolen and misused online, credit card companies provide limits to your liability.

Email stands for electronic mail. It is one of the most popular features of the internet. You can type notes, letters, or memos to anyone who uses the web. You can send pictures to friends and family. If you discover an especially interesting web page, you can even email that to someone. See more details in lesson 7.

There are also ways to send messages back and forth with other people who are on the internet at the same time you are. If you get the software for this feature, your computer will look for your friends every time you go online and tell you who’s connected at that moment in time. If your friend is running the same kind of software on their computer, then you can send a message that will show up directly and immediately on their screen. This is often called an instant message.

Another variation on this theme is chat. Chat can be a little like walking into a cocktail party. People enter imaginary rooms and share their thoughts. Everyone in a chat room is online at the same time. As soon as you finish typing a message, everyone in the room will see what you've written. At any given moment, anyone (and everyone) in the room might be typing messages. If you are in a busy chat room, the words can run across your screen in a hurry.

There is plenty of information out there to read and absorb while online. But there are also all kinds of things that you may want to use when you are not online. Many of the programs that run on your computer right now can be improved by getting new and updated versions directly off the internet. There are also vast catalogues of information that can be retrieved and stored directly on your own computer so you can look at them later. This is called downloading, more details in lesson 8.

Making a decision on what kind of computer and what options you want can be a very difficult one. Even if you are an experienced computer user, it can be hard to know what to buy and how much to spend. It takes a lot of research or…a lot of trust. While I won’t tell you exactly what to buy, I can suggest a few people who might.

If you are the type of person that likes to research every detail of something before you purchase it, then by all means, do the same thing before buying a computer. Go to the local electronics store and tell them what you want to do with your computer. Find out if there are other software applications that may be useful to you. Have them teach you about their products and why you might need or want various features. Follow up with a visit to the bookstore. There are dozens of guides that can help the newcomer including the popular Dummy’s Guides published by IDG. Don’t ignore the magazine rack. There are more computer magazines than you can imagine; many magazines are aimed directly at the new computer shopper. If you have access to the internet there are also a number of good places to look there. Ziff-Davis is very big in the computer publishing business. In addition to their many magazines (including PC Magazine and Computer Shopper), they have a very useful web site (http://www.zdnet.com). They even run ZDTV, a cable TV channel that specializes in computer topics.

On the other hand, if you really don’t feel like doing all that research, then you have to trust somebody. Chances are that someone you know is using a computer at home and connecting to the internet. Ask them what they use. Find out if they are happy and if they would purchase the same thing again. You can always choose to trust the salesperson at the electronics store or one of the mail order computer companies. Many experienced and first-time computer buyers successfully purchase their computers over the phone from companies like Gateway and Dell.

Here are a few things that will make you sound a little more intelligent when you talk to the salesperson.

PC versus Mac -- There are two different kinds of personal computers. By far, more people are using what is known as the PC (which is also called IBM-compatible). These are the machines that use Microsoft Windows to run their programs. Apple makes alternatives to the PC. While they are in the minority of users, Macintosh people are adamant about the superiority of their machines. It's a tough choice for many people and for some it's quite a passionate subject. In the lessons that follow, we’ll be talking about IBM-compatible machines that use Microsoft Windows 95 and Microsoft Windows 98. Although there are some differences, a great deal of the information about the web and browsers will be useful to you if you are using an Apple product.
Processor speed -- The processor (also known as a central processing unit or CPU) is the most important part of a computer. It’s the brains. The faster that brain works, the faster everything else works. The speed of processors is increasing so fast that there is no way to identify what you should buy. This is one of those important areas that you will have to do some research or trust somebody. By all means purchase as much speed as you can afford. But keep in mind that the processor is not the only thing that will affect your computer’s speed.
RAM -- Random access memory, or RAM, is where information is stored temporarily on your computer. Think of RAM as a giant worktable for your computer to use while it sorts through all the things you want it to do. The more RAM you have, the more things the computer can spread out on its table. If the computer runs out of RAM, then it has to keep shuffling and sorting through stuff as it works. When a computer has enough RAM, things run smoother and faster. After the processor, nothing is more important than having enough RAM. When buying a computer, get as much RAM as you can possibly afford. It may even be worth getting a slower processor to get more RAM. It's certainly a discussion that you should have with the people you trust.
MODEMS – The modem is the part of your computer that allows it to connect to and communicate with the internet over a standard telephone line. Modems also come in different speeds. Fortunately there usually aren't that many options in choosing one. Most computers come with a standard modem that will be sufficient for your needs.

Baud Rate, Bits, and Kilobits Per Second

The baud rate is an indication of how fast your modem will transmit and receive information. Current modem speeds are measured in bits per second (bps). It’s common to confuse the term baud and bits per second. There is a technical difference that you really shouldn’t worry about. Both terms refer to speed.

A bit refers to one piece of information that is represented by a 0 or a 1. In other words something is there or it isn't there. It's either on or off.

When we talk about bits per second we are talking about how much information can be handled by the modem in a second of time. So the higher the number, the faster the speed. When I first started using the internet, I used to receive 300 bps. Now, I get up to 56,600 bits per second (This is frequently represented as 56.6k which means 56.6 thousand or …56,600 bits per second).

It is this speed that has allowed the internet to pass along more information including sound, pictures, and video. When I was connected at that slower speed, all I got was a slow stream of text that I could read faster than it could scroll across my computer.

There is an option for you. You can get on the internet directly on your TV. Go to your favorite electronics store and take WEBTV for a test drive (www.webtv.com). You buy a special box to hook up to your TV. With it comes a brand new remote control that will take you online from the comfort of your favorite easy chair.

It is possible to connect to the internet using wireless technology, however most of us are physically connected by some sort of wire to the internet. If you have a typical computer with a standard modem you'll be able to dial up through your regular telephone line. This is what most people do. If you are just starting on the internet, this will probably be sufficient. There are alternatives, however, that are good for increasing the speed of your connection.

There are a variety of telephone options. If you're interested contact your telephone company and you can inquire about the price and availability of ASDL, ISDN, and T-1 lines. These can be pricey and they are not universally available. There is one thing that a lot of people choose to do, though. They add an additional phone line to their home. This won’t add any speed to your system, but it may make it more convenient to use.

Keep in mind; if you are using your phone line to go online, then your telephone is busy. If you are online all day long, then you can't receive phone calls. One of the joys of having two lines is being able to talk to someone on the phone while surfing on the net. If, for example, I'm shopping online and I have a question that can't be answered, I can call the merchant on the phone and we can surf and talk together. When I'm done, I can finish my shopping on line, or I can place the order over the phone. It's my choice.

Cable modems and satellite connections provide high-speed connections. For more information, you should speak directly with your cable company or one of the satellite companies.

One word of caution. With most of these options, your computer may stay connected to the internet when you aren't around. It can make you more susceptible to the bad people on the net. There are precautions that you can and should take that are beyond the scope of these lessons.

Bandwidth

Sometimes you will here the words bandwidth when people talk about the internet. What they are talking about is related to this idea of speed. Increased bandwidth results in the ability to transfer more information in a given period of time. So if someone wants increased bandwidth, they are looking for increased speed. The result will be larger and more complicated stuff being sent across the internet. It is already possible to send live video across the net, but for most of us, it looks kind of jerky. As bandwidth increases and modems get faster, it is inevitable that you will be able to make the kind of face-to-face phone calls that they made on the Jetsons.

If you have recently purchased a new computer, it is already loaded with all the programs that you need to connect to the internet. There are a lots and lots of internet service providers (called ISP's). Most of the nationally known companies have put information directly on your PC or MAC.

ITI Link provides a competitive and excellent product for your ISP! Just go to "Products" on your own ITI replicating website.

Now you can keep your AOL and use ITI Link and still save 30%. On AOL, check out keyword "Billing" and select "Bring your own Access".

If you have a credit card, you can be surfing the web within a few minutes of plugging in your new computer. If you need to speak with customer service to talk you through any steps, the numbers are provided. There is nothing these companies want more than for you to have an easy time getting connected to their services. By all means call them if you need help.

Make sure that your access number is a local call. If you live in a large metropolitan area this will be no problem. But some rural locations will be extremely limited in their choices for an ISP with a local phone number. If you can’t get local access, be sure and call the national companies and find out about toll free access numbers.

This was a very long lesson with lots of technical stuff. Hopefully, it will help you understand things a little better. But if you ignore all of the mumbo jumbo and just want to get online the quickest way possible, here's how to do it:

Go to your local electronics store and buy the best computer that you can comfortably afford. Tell the salesperson what you plan to do with it and he or she will set you up with a suitable computer with a modem and the latest version of Microsoft Windows. Have the salesman show you how to hook everything up (including where the phone line goes).
Set up the computer in your home. Be sure to connect your computer to a telephone jack in your house. All you need is a standard telephone cable (probably included with your computer).
Turn on your computer. It may take a few seconds while it loads up each time.
Call ITI Link to get your dialup installed.
Be sure to have a credit card handy.