In This Chapter
Understanding the Internet
Obtaining an ISP
Setting up Windows for the Internet
Visiting Web pages Searching the Web
Enjoying e-mail
The Internet. It’s a network, and possibly part of your PC’s computer network. It’s also everywhere. The Internet is unavoidable. Thankfully, it’s also been around a while, so most of the Internet basics are widely known. Still, I feel the need to provide you with an Internet roundup and review, just to ensure that you could run the Internet category in a round of Double Jeopardy.
What Is the Internet?
The Internet is composed of hundreds of thousands of computers all over the world. The computers send information, they receive information, and — most important — they store information. That’s the Internet.
The Internet consists of all the computers connected to the Internet. Whenever your computer is “on” the Internet, it’s part of the Internet.
No one owns the Internet, just as no one owns the oceans. The company you pay for Internet access is merely providing you with the access, not with the Internet’s content.
How to Access the Internet
Windows is geared to use the Internet. In fact, Windows prefers that you have a broadband Internet connection and that your PC is always connected to the Internet. But before sating Windows’s online lusts, you have a few things to attend to, as covered in this section.
Choosing an ISP
You need five items to access the Internet:
A computer A modem Internet software Money
An Internet service provider, or ISP
The first three items you should already have. The fourth item, money, is needed to pay for the fifth item, which is the outfit that provides you with Internet access.
Your ISP can be your telephone company or cable company, both of which compete to provide you with broadband DSL or cable Internet access.
For satellite Internet access, you have to check the yellow pages, which is also what you do for plain old dialup Internet access. ISPs are listed under Internet in any yellow pages topic or phone directory.
The ISP provides you with the Internet access. It may configure your broadband modem for you or provide information on how to set things up yourself. In addition, it may also give you these items:
For a dialup modem, the phone number to call
For a broadband modem, the modem’s IP address, the DNS address, and, possibly, a gateway address
Your ISP’s domain name — the blorf.com or yaddi.org part Your Internet login ID and password
Your Internet e-mail name, address, and password (if it’s different from your login ID and password)
The name of your ISP’s e-mail server, which involves the acronyms POP3 and SMTP
A phone number to call for help (very important)
Finally, the ISP bills you for Internet access. The prices can be cheap, sometimes less than $10 per month for dialup access. You pay more for faster connections, with some high-speed broadband connections costing upward of $50 per month. Be sure to compare prices when choosing an ISP.
The S in ISP stands for service. You pay a fee, and the ISP provides you with Internet access and service. That means technical support: someone you can phone for help, classes, software — you name it.
In some situations, you may not need any of the five items on my Internet access list. For example, if you work for a large company, it may already give you Internet access through the network at your office. Ditto for universities and government installations. And, you can always find free Internet access at a community library near you.
Configuring Windows for the Internet
Windows is automatically set up to use the Internet. Merely by connecting a broadband modem to your PC or to the PC’s network, you suddenly and instantly have Internet access. Windows sees it. You’re all set.
Things work differently when you have dialup access. In that case, you must create a network connection for the modem to use. Directions for this task should come from your ISP. It gives you a phone number to dial, plus perhaps other options to set, such as configuring your e-mail program.
Connecting to the Internet
There’s no need to fuss over connecting to the Internet when you use a broadband modem; the connection is always on. Internet programs start up quickly and access the Internet just as fast.
Dialup connections are active only when you use the Internet. When you run an Internet program, or when any software attempts to access the Internet, Windows directs the PC’s modem to dial into your ISP. After making the connection, you’re “on” the Internet and can use Internet software.
To test the Internet connection, run the Internet Explorer program. When you run Internet Explorer, or any program that accesses the Internet, your computer attempts to make an Internet connection. When the connection works, you see a Web page displayed in Internet Explorer. Otherwise, you see an error message. If so, contact your ISP for assistance.
As long as you have an Internet connection, you can run any program that accesses information on the Internet: Web browser or e-mail or any complex program that would stun you with foreboding technology.
You should hang up, or disconnect, from the dialup connection when you’re done using the Internet. The directions that came from your dialup ISP explain how to do that.
For other Internet connection problems, woes, and worries, refer to my topic Troubleshooting Your PC For topic , available worldwide in bookstores with good-looking employees.
To cancel a dialup connection, click the Cancel button when you see it dialing.
Why is your dialup modem connecting to the Internet? Most likely, it’s because some program or Windows itself is requesting information. Canceling that request isn’t a problem, nor does it mess things up. Programs can wait until you want to connect to the Internet to conduct their business. Dammit! You’re in charge!
It’s a World Wide Web We Weave
The Internet lived an unpopular and nerdy existence before the World Wide Web — or “the Web” — came about. The Web introduced pretty graphics and formatted text to the Internet, which made it safe for normal people. This section offers some helpful Web information.
Browsing tips
The Web is pretty cinchy, so rather than bore you with what you already know, I thought I’d offer you a raft of useful Web browsing tips. Note that many of these are specific to Internet Explorer (IE) version 8, the current version of the Microsoft Web browser included with Windows.
If you prefer to see a real, live menu bar in Internet Explorer, press the F10 key on the keyboard. To keep that menu bar on all the time, choose View Toolbars Menu Bar from the menu.
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In the lower right corner of the IE window, you find a Zoom menu. Use it to help make Web pages with small text more visible.
You can easily recall previously typed Web page addresses from the address bar: Click the down-arrow button to the right of the address bar.
To remove all previously typed Web page addresses, click the Safety button on the toolbar and choose Delete Browsing History. In the dialog box that appears, click the Delete button.
The easiest way to set a home page is to visit the Web page you want as your home page. After you’re there, click the menu button by the Home icon on the toolbar. Choose Add or Change Home Page from the menu. In the dialog box that appears, choose Use This Webpage As Your Only Home Page, and click the Yes button.
If a Web page doesn’t load, try again! The Web can be busy, and often when it is, you see an error message. Reload a Web page by clicking the Refresh button (shown in the margin) on the Address bar.
Clicking the Refresh button is one quick way to fix the “missing picture” problem.
When a Web page isn’t found, you probably didn’t type the Web page address properly. Try again.
You can type a Web page address without the http:// part, but if you don’t get to where you want to go, try again with the http:/ / part.
Not all Web page links are text. Quite a few links are graphical. The only way to know for certain is to point the mouse pointer at what you believe may be a link. If the pointer changes to a pointing hand, you know that it’s a link you can click to see something else.
A tiny menu button lives to the right of the Forward button in IE. Use that menu button to recall recent Web pages you visited.
When you accidentally click a link and change your mind, click the Stop button. The Internet then stops sending you information. (You may need to click the Back button to return to where you were.)
Press Ctrl+D to add any Web page you’re viewing to your Favorites. Don’t be shy about it! It’s better to add it now and delete it later than to regret not adding it in the first place.
Printing Web pages
To print any Web page, click the Printer button on the toolbar. That’s pretty much it.
Sadly, some Web pages don’t print right. Some are too wide. Some show white text on a black background, which doesn’t print well. My advice is to use the Print Preview command, found on the Print toolbar button’s menu, to look at what will print before you print it. If you still have trouble, try one of these solutions:
Consider saving the Web page to disk. Choose Save As from the Page toolbar button’s menu. Ensure that you choose from the Save As Type drop-down list the option labeled Web Page, Complete. Then you can open the Web page file in Microsoft Word or Excel or any Web page editing program and edit or print it from there.
Use the Page Setup command, found on the Print toolbar button’s menu, to select landscape orientation for printing wider-than-normal Web pages.
Use the Properties button in the Print dialog box to adjust the printer. Press Ctrl+P to see the Print dialog box. The Properties settings depend on the printer itself, but I have seen printers that can reduce the output to 75 or 50 percent, which ensures that the entire Web page prints on a single sheet of paper. Other options may let you print in shades of gray (grayscale) or black and white.
Searching-the-Web tips
The Web is full of information, and some of it might even be accurate! The issue is getting to the information you want. The following are my Web-page-searching tips:
My main search engine these days is Google, at www.google.com, but I can also recommend the Microsoft search engine Bing, at www. bing.com.
Web search engines ignore the smaller words in the English language. Words such as is, to, the, for, are, and others aren’t included in the search. Therefore:
Use only key words when searching. For example, to look for The Declaration of Independence, typing declaration independence is good enough.
Word order matters. If you want to find out the name of that red bug with six legs, try all combinations: bug red six legs, red bug six legs, or even six legs red bug. Each variation yields different results.
When words must be found together, enclose them in double quotes, such as “Beverly Hillbillies” theme or “Weber barbecue” setup. A quoted search finds only Web pages that list the words Weber barbecue together in that order.
If the results — the matching or found Web pages — are too numerous, click the link (near the bottom of the page) that says Search within results. That way, you can further refine your search. For example, if you found several hundred pages on Walt Disney World but are specifically looking for a map of the Animal Kingdom, you can search for “AnimalKingdom map”within the results you found for Walt Disney World.
E-Mail Call!
Nothing perks up your Internet day like receiving fresh e-mail. It means that people care. It means that someone is thinking of you — even if they just want you to buy cheap C1AL1S (whatever that is). Welcome to this chapter’s brief and tip-packed e-mail tip section.
Downloading an e-mail program
Windows 7 doesn’t come with an e-mail program. You have to download, or copy from the Internet, the Windows Mail program. To do so, visit this Web page:
http://download.live.com
On that page, click the link for Mail, found under the IM and E-Mail heading. On the next page, click the big Download button. At that point, you begin to download the Mail program; see the section in Chapter 18 about downloading a program to find out what to do next.
Windows Vista comes with the Windows Mail e-mail program already installed. It’s essentially an upgraded and better version of the old Outlook Express mail program.
You can also use other e-mail programs, including Web-based e-mail such as Gmail, Windows Live, and Yahoo! Mail, or full-on e-mail programs such as Mozilla Thunderbird or Eudora. Use Google or Bing to search for these programs, available for free on the Internet.
Getting the most from e-mail
Here are some general e-mail tips and suggestions for using e-mail:
Don’t put spaces in an e-mail address. If you think that it’s a space, it’s probably an underline or a period.
You must enter the full e-mail address, such as zorgonwambooli. com, for the message to be properly sent.
You can type more than one address in the To field. If so, separate each one with a semicolon or comma, as in
president@whitehouse.gov, first.lady@whitehouse.gov
When you’re done composing your e-epistle, check your spelling by clicking the Spelling button. It’s normally found on the e-mail program’s toolbar, usually with the ABC or check mark graphic on the button.
‘ Many e-mail programs offer a Read Receipt option, which promises to alert you when the recipient reads your missive. My advice: Don’t bother. The read receipt is no guarantee that the recipient actually reads the message. Often, it just annoys people.
When you don’t want to send the message, close the New Message window. You’re asked whether you want to save the message. Click Yes to save it in the Drafts folder. If you click No, the message is destroyed.
When you type the wrong e-mail address, the message bounces back to you. It isn’t a bad thing; just try again with the proper address.
Please don’t type in ALL CAPS. To most people, all caps reads like
YOU’RE SHOUTING AT THEM!
Be careful what you write. E-mail messages are often casually written, and they can easily be misinterpreted. Remember to keep your messages light in tone.
Don’t expect a quick reply from e-mail, especially from folks in the computer industry (which is ironic).
To send a message you have shoved off to the Drafts folder, open the Drafts folder. Then double-click the message to open it. The original New Message window is then redisplayed. From there, you can edit the message and click the Send button to finally send it.
When you have trouble seeing the text in an e-mail message, choose View Text Size from the menu and choose a larger or smaller size from the submenu.
Also see Chapter 18, which covers e-mail file attachments.
