IC TUTORIAL : INTERNET SERVICES

Here is a list of the most commonly used services available from Internet Chicago.

BROWSER - A web browser is a program installed on your computer that allows you to see World Wide Web pages. You are using a browser to view this page now, and it is most likely either Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, the two most popular browsers available.

Using a web browser is very simple. Certain words on a page are a different color and usually underlined. Clicking on that word will bring you to another web page. (Also, your pointer will turn into what looks like a pointing hand if the object or text is a link.) Keep in mind that it may take a moment before the next page appears. You can tell that the web browser is retrieving a page by looking at the icon at the top right of the window, which should be moving. To back up to the previous page, simply click the "BACK" button near the top of the browser window.

If you need help downloading a file, we have a simple tutorial that explains the process. If you would like instructions on how to use Internet Explorer, we also have a tutorial available for that as well.

There is also a section to explain what a "cookie" is and how it is used by your web browser.

E-MAIL - E-Mail or electronic mail is used to transfer messages from one individual to another or to a group of individuals. You can also attach files to the e-mail you send which is just like mailing someone a disk. However, e-mail is very fast. In approximately 5 minutes your mail could be sent all the way around the world.

Internet e-mail addresses appear in the form of user@domain, or more clearly person@place. For example, the address for the webmaster for Internet Chicago is webmaster@internetchicago.com. "Webmaster" is the user's name, "internetchicago" is the name of Internet Chicago's domain, and "net" means that Internet Chicago is a network service. Other types of services include .com for commercial businesses, .edu for universities, and .gov for government institutions.

For instruction on how to set up various E-mail clients for access to Internet Chicago click here.

SEARCH ENGINES - Yahoo, Lycos, AltaVista, and Infoseek are just a few sites which are known as search engines. Search engines are basically giant directories on the Internet that allow users to find information. Example: You go to Yahoo and enter in a description to search for a particular subject such as recipes. Yahoo will give you a response listing all of the sites that contain the keyword recipes.

NEWSGROUPS - Newsgroups are areas on the Internet devoted to the discussion of a specific subject. In a newsgroup, you can read articles others have posted, post your own articles, or respond to articles in the newsgroup via e-mail. Since most newsgroups are not moderated, sometimes information found there might not be 100% fact. It's important to remember that you can't believe everything you read.

FTP - This stands for File Transfer Protocol, and it is the method used to send files over the Internet. An FTP site is a computer connected to the Internet that contains an archive of files available to be downloaded. When you download a file, you are using FTP to copy the file from another computer (the FTP site) to your computer.