Easy Web Help - easyhelp.htm 4/7/99

DEFINITIONS Explanations of various Internet Terms
SEARCH How to use a Search Engine to find information.
WEB NAVIGATION How to get around the Internet
WRITE E-MAIL How to write an E-Mail message
WHAT CAN I DO? Uses for the Internet
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DEFINITIONSYou don't need to know much about the abbreviations and lingo used on the Internet to use the Internet. Just follow the recipe and try it.
See definitions below by scrolling or clicking: ABREVIATIONS..BOOLEAN..BROWSER..CLICK ON
DOMAIN..INTERNET..INTERNET ADDRESS OR URL
LINK OR HYPERLINK..NET, WEB OR WORLD WIDE WEB..PAGE..SCROLL BAR..SURF THE WEB
ABREVIATIONS:
HTTP means HyperText Transfer Protocol - the navigation criteria used on the Internet.
HTTPS means secure (encrypted) http protection for accounts, passwords and credit card numbers.
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locater - the complete address of a computer and its contents.
WWW stands for World Wide Web - see definition below.
HTM or HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language which is used in combination with programming languages (Java Script or VB Script) to form pages like the one you are looking at.
(GO BACK) BOOLEAN: This refers to a logical arithmetic used with words to limit the way searches report back instances of word combinations. The logical arithmetic operators include "+" which means "AND" and "-" which means "NOT". Thus, +burma+road-war, means report back all instances where both burma and road appear in the same document or page except when the word war is also in that document.
BROWSER: This is the program that you are using on your computer to help you go to addresses on the Internet and interpret the information at those addresses. Internet Explorer and Netscape are the most widely used browsers.
CLICK ON: This means to position the cursor directly over an object by using the mouse and while it is still over the object quickly depress and release the left mouse button.
DOMAIN: This is the address of computers which have information or perform services for the Internet users. It usually consists of a name followed by a period and one of the following three letter combinations: com (for commercial); net (for network); org (for organization); edu (for educational); and others not in common use. For Example, prodigy.net, is the domain name for the Prodigy Internet. All Domain names are case sensitive, that is "A" and "a" are entirely different entities to a computer and will be used differently. Thus, you must be careful to exactly copy the case of a name. pages.prodigy.net/lbwentz/Robertson is an address in which only one letter is capitalized and it is crucial that it be a capital R. Most addresses contain no capital letters. Dashes and underscores are used in some addresses.
INTERNET: The Internet is a system of digital electronic communication among vast numbers of computers. The communication is via a network of telephone, cable, and radio. Digital means that everything that is communicated is in a computer code representation. Computers only understand two states of things like on and off or zero and one. Thus the digital code for the number nine is: 1001 and the digital code for capital H is: 01110010. The communication between computers is just very long strings of zeroes and ones. Every computer on the network is assigned a unique address. Each computer ignores everything on the network that does not contain its address and processes everything that does have its address.
INTERNET ADDRESS OR URL: This consists of a domain name surrounded by other characters that completely specify the address of a page within a domain. The complete URL for one of my web pages is: http://pages.prodigy.net/lbwentz/Robertson/index.htm. Every character in that address is important except the "index.htm" which the system assumes if it is not provided. If the "R" is replaced by "r" or the "net" is replaced by "com" or a period or slash is ommitted, the address will be rejected.
LINK OR HYPERLINK: A link (short for hyperlink) is the means by which you go from location to location by clicking on an object such as you used to get from the Easy Web Menu to this Help page. If the cursor turns into a finger when you pass it over an object or highlighted phrase, that object is a link. If you click the left mouse button while the cursor is a finger, you will jump to a new location. Links are colored and underlined. They change color when clicked on. Use the browser "Back" button to go back to the origin link.
NET, WEB OR WORLD WIDE WEB: These are all names for the Internet Network and the computer programs which sort out and direct the communications to their proper destinations. Some addresses contain www in them such as http://www.prodigy.net. In the address the "www" tells the system to use the world wide web program to find the destination.
PAGE: A page is just a subset of the information within a domain. A domain might contain millions of characters, divided up into groups of hundreds as pages. Each page has an address such as the index page in the example under the URL definition.
SCROLL BAR: At the right side of this page is a vertical bar with arrows at each end. You can position your cursor over one of the arrows and click the left mouse button to scroll through the page. The Page Up and Page Down keys on your keyboard do the same thing but in larger chunks.
SURF THE WEB: This is the process of using searchs and links to move around the Internet. (GO BACK)

SEARCH:
You can find almost anything on the web by using a search provider which is a company that has used a computer program (called a search engine) to develop an index of the vast resources on the web. You will be prompted to enter one or more keywords that relate to what you are looking for and then click on GO or SEARCH. The program will then look through its index and report every instance of your keywords. For example, if you entered multiple sclerosis, it would report every instance of multiple, and every instance of sclerosis. Every search provider has their own unique ways of refining a search. Yahoo and some others allow the use of Boolean operators (and {+}, not {-}, etc.) at least in an advanced search option. Thus a search for +multiple+sclerosis will report back only instances where both words are in the same document. You can enclose a phrase in quotation marks to instruct the search to report only instances of that exact phrase. If you enter "multiple sclerosis", only instances of both words in sequence and in that order will be reported. The searches are sensitive to case such that if you use only lower case in your keywords, they will report all instances regardless of capitals. If you use capitals in your keywords, they will only report instances where those exact capitals appear. Thus, "multiple sclerosis" will report instances of all combinations of capitalization of those words. While "Multiple Sclerosis" will only report instances where the M and the S are capitalized. Searches can be very frustrating because quite often your keyword search results in so many instances that it would take a lifetime to check them all! The search providers have all gotten caught up in selling products and advertising revenues at the expense of useability. Most of them have a help function that explains the nuances of their particular search engine. My advice is to keep refining and adjusting your keyword and operator combinatios until you get what you want. Use the scroll bar on the right of the page to peruse the results. Remember, you are searching through the combined information stored in most of the libraries of the universities and agencies of the WORLD!(GO BACK)

WEB NAVIGATION:
The easiest way to navigate or explore the contents of the internet is to click on hyperlinks because then you do not have to worry about typing the complete url accurately. Search engines produce hyperlinks to each of the instances of your keywords. Many web pages provide hyperlinks to similar information or additional information that might be of interest.
The function in the Easy Web main menu that says "Go To a Web Site" has some hyperlinks on it to a variety of web pages. It also provides a relatively easy way to type in the domain name that you want to go to. "http://" will be added by the computer to the front of what you type in. "www." is provided in the box. Place the cursor just to the right of "www." and click the left mouse button. If "www." is part of the desired url, then just type the domain name to the right of it. If "www." is not part of the url, such as "http://members.xoom.com/lbwfisher/easy/", then use the backspace key to eliminate the "www." before you start typing.
Most browsers have a "Back" button (it may be an arrow pointing to the left). Click on the "Back" button to go back one hyperlink. You can click on "Back" enough times to work your way back through the trail of links that you have just followed. The "Forward" button may be used after the "back" button to go forward through the same trail of links.
Your browser will have an Address area that you can use to type in a complete url directly. Click on the address area and delete unwanted characters there. Then type in the url starting with http://.(GO BACK)

WRITE E-MAIL:
The Easy Web main menu provides a function to write an E-Mail letter. Click on that function and you will see links to people that you commonly write to. Just click on a name to begin writing the letter. Type a subject and then the text by clicking on the appropriate area. Then click on the send button to send your letter on the internet.
To write to someone not named on that page, click on "Someone Else". Then enter the complete E-Mail address. The address consists of the addressee's username followed by an "@" and then the domain name of their E-Mail provider. Thus, "jvxp37a@prodigy.com" is LeRoy Wentz E-Mail address which must be entered exactly that way. Some providers treat the address the same whether capitals are used in the username or not. They never tolerate capitals in the domain name and it is safer to use all lower case for the whole address. When you are satisfied that the address is correct, click on the submit bar and the program will create an appropriate link. Click on "WRITE E-MAIL" to enter a message to that address or click on "GO BACK" to re-enter the address.(GO BACK)

WHAT CAN I DO?:
Think of the Internet as the combination of the most comprehensive encyclopedia possible; Every service that you could possibly want; and a source for every product that you could desire. The products and services may be at cheaper prices than at a physical store, but don't depend on it. Don't forget to add the shipping and handling fee (which is usually exorbitant) to the price before you decide which is cheaper. Many vendors do not now charge sales tax which partially offsets the shipping charge. States are in the process of forcing Internet and mail order vendors to always charge sales taxes. You can get health advice (www.onhealth.com); investment advice (www.ragingbull.com); sell your surplus at auction (www.ebay.com); buy any book in print (www.amazon.com); get detailed maps of any location (www.mapquest.com); and myriad other things. HAPPY SURFING!
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