III. Internet Connections

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

A telephone call to your local library or schools might find a way for you to get free access to the Internet (and maybe even some instruction). In the Hardware Resources of this theme, we learned a little bit about buying a computer. Internet Connections will reveal how to get on to the Internet in terms of both the connections needed and software resources used.

FIRST THE PHYSICAL CONNECTIONS – Internet Service Providers

After the expense of the computer equipment, the next major expense is the cost of connecting to the Internet. Internet connections are made through an Internet Service Provider (ISP for short). You may need additional hardware and software from your ISP to make your Internet connection (you may have to pay for it but ISPs are like cell phone companies – they will give you the equipment and the installation for free if you agree to accept their services for a certain amount of time, generally a year).The cost of your Internet connection depends upon convenience and speed.As you can see from the following table, the least expensive system is dial up 56.6K. You connect your telephone line to your computer (most computers are already set up for this connection). You load some special software from your ISP into your computer and you are ready to go. Whenever you want to use the Net you click on a special symbol displayed on your monitor, your computer dials up your ISP and the connection is made. Expect to pay $10.00 to $20.00 per month for dial up service. While cost is a great attraction, speed is a distraction of dial up. This type of connection is supposed to transmit at 56.6 kilobits per second (five or six words a second). It doesn’t necessarily always operate at that speed. Other distractions include the fact that your telephone line is occupied while you are on the Net. Depending upon your ISP, you may not always be able to get connected to the Net – your ISP’s system may be totally occupied by others and when your computer tries to call, the line is busy. Speed is an issue with the Internet. The faster the Internet connection, the quicker files, photographs and all other material can be downloaded to your computer. At 56.6 kilobits per second, a high resolution photograph – 2 million bytes – would take about five minutes to download. At DSL speeds, it would take about 10 seconds.Remember you have some homework (research) to do to find the ISP that will provide you with the services you need at a price you can afford.To help you do your homework, I have provided your with three tools: 1) the SPEED-COSTs Table; 2) a glossary of Connection Resources terms and concepts – note especially the definitions of the basic types of Internet connections:  Dial Up or 5x Dial Up, ISDN, DSL, Cable and Satellite; and, 3) a list of questions to ask your potential Internet Service Provider. 
Generally speaking, the faster and the more reliable your connection to the Internet will be, the more your service will cost.  There are, however, bargains to be found as competition for providing Internet service has begun to heat up again. If you live in a more urban area with electronics retailers like Best Buy and

Circuit
City or if you have local computer retailers, ask them about the services they might recommend. Start your homework by looking up "Internet" in your local telephone directory.  Many telephone books now have a section entitled, “Internet Guide.” This guide will likely have any number of advertisers featuring Internet sites. You can ignore these until you are on-line. You need to find headings entitled "Internet Consultants," "Internet Products," or "Internet Services." Internet consultants generally limit their practices to organizations not families. Under the Internet Products and Internet Services headings you are likely to find a list of those companies that you need to contact: Internet Service Providers. (Don’t be surprised if your local telephone service provider is listed. Telephone companies are involved in high speed Internet connections.)Be sure to telephone a couple of these local ISP Iistings. Your conversations will provide you with a great deal of information about the local Internet environment.Once you have identified the type of service that you want and can afford, pick out a couple of Internet Service Providers and start gathering your data. Answers to the following questions, will help you compare ISPs before you make your selection of a service (NOTE: some providers will let you try the service for a period of time – 30 to 45 days — before you make a commitment. What an opportunity to test several different ISPs over a couple of months.):

1. Is the connection compatible with my computer?
2. Does the connection require a separate telephone line?
3. Will there be long distance telephone charges?
4. What are the hardware equipment costs?
5. If software is needed, what is the cost?
6. Who installs the hardware? The software?
7. What are the installation costs?
8. What does the service cost per month?
9. Do I need to sign an agreement for annual services?
10. What does it cost if I must cancel the service?
11. How many email accounts do I receive?
12. How much ‘online’ storage (megabytes) do I get?
13. Does the connection have pop up protection?
14. Does the connection have spam protection?
15. What security features does the ISP provide?
16. What types of safety measures does the ISP provide?

Where the local market for Internet Service Providers is highly competitive, do not be afraid to negotiate for a better deal. Rather than being concerned about the monthly fee for the service, see whether you can get the Internet hardware, software, and installation for free. ISPs may also be more than willing to enhance their services with security software and features to provide you with safety tools to protect your children. Two of the largest and most widely known Internet Service Providers are America On line (AOL) and Microsoft Network® (MSN) – SBC / Yahoo is an upstart. If you are interested in any of these be sure to let each of them know that you are talking to the other ones. These three are likely to be as competitive for your business as the cell telephone companies and satellite/cable services are. All three services have variable pricing, speeds and system components. Again, the more you talk to one of their salespeople the better you will understand the opportunities. All three companies are priced in the $20.00+ per month ballpark. They all provide some safety and security features – The RöAR404™ article on Friday will explore these issues in some detail. So much for the hardware to connect you to the Internet, now let’s turn to the software: In particular, the Internet browser.  BROWSERSA browser is a software program that resides on the hard drive of your computer. A browser permits you to navigate the Internet. It translates the text, the colors, the images, the sounds, and the other material stored on the Internet and so that you can view it on your monitor or listen to it through your sound system.Internet Explorer® by Microsoft http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp) and Netscape Navigator® (http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/default.jsp) are the dominant Internet browsers. Both of them are typically included with the Windows operating system. The basic job of a browser is to interpret the hypertext markup language (HTML) that is used to transmit information through the Internet. You have little control over this process. learn how to use the Internet, a browser, a search engine, email. Don’t forget your taxes pay the librarian to help you use the library’s resources.This is the homepage (the starting point) for the Opera browser. The homepages for each of the Internet browsers look somewhat similar. And the way things look is very important because until voice synthesizers are in general use, you will get all of your information from reading the screen. This is the homepage (the starting point) for the Opera browser. The homepages for each of the Internet browsers look somewhat similar. And the way things look is very important because until voice synthesizers are in general use, you will get all of your information from reading the screen.Here is both a major problem and part of the beauty of the browsers and web pages and the entirety of the World Wide Web and the Internet, for that matter. The image displayed is about half a monitor screen wide and the top quarter of the display. The amount of imagery in this small area is substantial. The amount of computer-ISP-Internet command power in this small area is beyond my ability to appreciate. Now think about this. When you or I view the entire image on the monitor and some of the images are animated, others are flashing on and off, others may be like a banner or a marquee scrolling across the screen, music and dialogue may be playing in the background and none of these things are what was expected, then the whole experience can get out of hand. It can get downright confusing if not totally overwhelming.Patience. Remember patience. Read the screen like you would read a newspaper or a magazine. Picking out what you choose to read and ignoring everything else. Don’t click on things just because the ‘barker’ calls out for you to ‘Click Here.’

That’s it for browsers for now. You will learn a lot more about them as you begin to use them. Some of the stuff that happens may always be beyond your understanding and your control; at least I find that to be true. But gradually as you move from sitting up to crawling to taking your first steps, you will begin to take control of your environment, the World Wide Web.  

This blog is focused on making the Internet a powerful tool for everyone: The Resource of All Resources. For this first theme, Education On the Internet will be looking at World Wide Web Resources. And the topics’ focus will move from …

• Day 1 – WWW Overview … to
• Day 2 – Buying A Computer … to
• Today – Internet Connection Resources … to
• Day 4 – Search Engine Resources; and finally … to 
• Day 5 – Safety and Security Resources.

Byline
Richard H. Metzcus,

Professor
Emeritus

Indiana
University
South Bend
rmetzcus@iusb.edu

IV. Search Engines

GOOGLE and More

The World Wide Web contains billions of pages. Hundreds of billions of pages are available on the Web. An estimate has been made that 7.5 million new pages are created every day. I don’t believe that anyone has an accurate count of all of the pages. There is no way at this time that any individual person can review all of the information on the Web. There are, however, a couple of tools that you and I can use to find something that we are looking for on the Web: Search engines and directories.Search Engines
Search engines are databases (collections) that detail Web pages that are linked to other Web pages on the Internet. If a Web page has no links, then someone must personally contact the various WWW search engines and ask that the ‘no-link’ page be included in the search engine’s database. The search engine database is maintained by robot software programs that review every word on every Web page that it examines. No search engine that I am aware of has categorized every Web page on the Internet. In fact, any given search engine only examines a fraction of the pages on the WWW. When you execute a search, the search engine examines its database for every Web page that contains the words you are seeking. It then displays that listing of pages to you in an order that is generally based on some measure of how relevant the page is likely to be to your search.  What about Directories? 
A search engine is a catalog of information on the Web created by computer programs. A directory, on the other hand, is a catalog of information on the Web created by individuals who review and categorize the information. Generally speaking, search engines will index more documents than directories. Generally speaking, directories will classify and catalog a smaller number of higher quality sites than search engines.  A major difference between using a directory and using a search engine is that the topic lines are already displayed for you in alphabetical order in directories. You just click on the first relevant topic and additional subtopics will be displayed until you get to the exact topic you desire. A click on that topic will cause the directory to display the page for you from some computer, somewhere on the Internet, somewhere in the world.You may use a search engine simply by typing in a word or two that describes what you want to find.Here is an example of using a Search Engine and using a Directory to obtain information about the White House. You could go to the Google® search engine and enter those two words, ‘white house.’ In April 2006, Google.com returned a listing of over 793,000,000 documents that fit that query. In other words, Google.com has a listing of over 793 million documents in its database that contain the words ‘white house.’ Or, alternatively, a directory that specializes in government agencies, like GOVSPOT.com, could be used. On the first page of GOVSPOT.com is a listing entitled, Government Online.  The first item in that listing is the link to the Executive Branch. Click on the Executive Branch link and it goes to the part of its catalog dealing with the Executive Branch. The first item on the Executive Branch page of the catalog is White House. Pretty easy. Pretty fast.As it turned out, however, the search for ‘white house’ that generated 793 million sites using Google.com actually listed the site I was looking for  first on the Google.com listing. Moreover, it conducted that ‘search’ in .09 seconds (less than one-tenth of a second). Speed and accuracy are characteristic of Google.com. Their system is set up to evaluate sites based on the number of times those sites are listed as links from other sites. While Google.com is fast and accurate and it still searches only a fraction of the pages on the Web.  How difficult is it to do a search? It is very easy. The white house search, above, involved about a dozen keystrokes, no knowledge of computer software and only limited knowledge of how to use a keyboard and a mouse. Metasearch Engines.
Some search engines are known as metasearch engines. The meta-engines don’t search the web. The meta-engines search the data bases of the search engines that do search the Net. The result is that your query is submitted to the databases of a half dozen or more regular search engines simultaneously. The meta-engine will eliminate duplicates and may apply selection criteria for the final list of sites it reports to you. A meta-search engine is sometimes a little slower than a regular search engine. Metasearch engines have rather unique names that may reflect the unique character of the individuals that create these products: Mamma.com, Iboogie.tv, dogpile.com, and highway61.com to name just a few. What are the best search engines and directories?

As of May 2004, Paul Gil of About.com conducted a very interesting piece of research among 181 computer users between the ages of 20 and 64 years of age to identify the “Top 10 Search Engines & Directories” (http://netforbeginners. about.com/). His results confirmed the findings of other top 10 listings that the number one search engine was google.com with 4.8 stars out of 5. Numbers two and three scoring 4.6 stars each were a tie between Vivisimo.com (not heard of that one recently?) and Yahoo.com.

The following kid's site, http://www.ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch. html, didn’t make that list of the Top 10 Search Engines & Directories. Too bad. It is pure gold for families and children. It has more to offer as an Internet directory or an Internet guide for families and children than any other site of which I am aware. Simplicity and ease of use are only two of its accolades. It is comprehensive and thorough. It is a must link for every family’s homepage. In addition to having this page, http://www.ivyjoy.com/ rayne/kidssearch.html,  as a link on their home page, the President, every Congressman, every member of the U.S. Department of Education, every Governor, every member of every state legislature and every state department of education, every educational foundation, every school board member, every school administrator, every teacher, every teacher’s assistant, every student teacher, every librarian, every college and university professor who has anything to do with teacher preparation should become thoroughly familiar with the content, the sites, and the links of this page, http://www.ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch.html

Sorry, I got carried away with proselytizing for ivyjoy.com (and I am not sure why I got so carried away; Ivyjoy is good, but is it that good?). 

With all of this computing power keeping an eye on all of the Internet users, it is not surprising that ‘Top 5 or Top 10 or Top 100 Lists’ are quite extensive. A couple of the more interesting ones include:Lycos Top 50 Searches – this weekly listing identifies the top 50 searches on Lycos.com.  On a recent April weekly list, the top five were: 1 Poker; 2 Pam Anderson; 3 Easter; 4 IRS; and 5 Paris Hilton.
No, the War in Iraq did make the top 50.  Neither did the U.S. Army or any other news story. Mostly, the list comprised personalities. Come on, now, people.

The Net Top 20 (http://www.nettop20.com/) is an annotated list of the top 20 sites in 12 categories ranging from entertainment, computers, games, news & finance to shopping and web hosting.

The Web 100 (http://www.web100.com/) an interesting layout of the editor’s favorite 100 Web sites. The rank of the site may be accessed by topic categories or actual ranking.

There is an endless variety of these top site listings. It seems every that every profession; every field of study, every topic area has a listing of top sites. Some rankings depend upon the number of links to that site, others depend upon the number of hits on the site, still others rate sites by the number of times searches were executed and some sites are simply the originator’s favorites.  As a final note, I don’t remember if I mentioned what I believe is one of the top directories for families and children, http://www.ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch.html

This blog is focused on making the Internet a powerful tool for everyone: The Resource of All Resources. For this first theme, Education On the Internet will be looking at World Wide Web Resources. And the topics’ focus will move from …

• Day 1 – WWW Overview … to
• Day 2 – Buying A Computer … to
• Day 3 – Internet Connection Resources … to
• Today – Search Engine Resources; and finally … to 
• Day 5 – Safety and Security Resources.

Byline
Richard H. Metzcus,

Professor
Emeritus

Indiana
University
South Bend
rmetzcus@iusb.edu 

II. Hardware Resources

BUYING A COMPUTER

Buying a computer is a little like buying a car. You got your ‘druthers and you got your seddlefores. Something like, “I’d ’druther have a brand new Cadillac Escalade with heated leather seats front and back, two air conditioners, a Bose 12-speaker surround sound music center, a full color GPS mapping system, a voice activated hands-free telephone system and an in-car video theatre. But, I can’t afford that so I’ll seddlefore a nice Ford Escort.”In order to simplify your task, you need to answer a few questions:1)      How much can I afford to spend? 2)      What do I want to do with the computer?Here are a couple of answers to these questions and the alternatives they produce. First, how much can I afford to spend? If the sky is the limit (you are so lucky), then I suggest an Alienware® ALX. While most people have not heard of the Alienware® ALX, Nelson Gonzalez, Alienware Corporation’s CEO has said about the ALX computer, “Picture a machine so far beyond everything else on the market that it represents the definitive standard of high performance.” I configured my ALX dream machine with custom options for about $7,750.00!  If however, you don’t have an unlimited budget, a reasonably adequate computer system was available for about $500.00 (as of April 2006). Next, what do I want to do with the computer?  If you want to limit your computer work to doing electronic mail (email), there are special email machines (for example, Landel’s MailBug). The MailBug really isn’t a computer but it can do email and it has a built-in monitor. Landel’s MailBug costs about $100.00 to purchase and then another $10.00 a month service fee.  The service fee also covers access to news, stock quotes, sports scores, and weather; however, no pictures, no sound, no video.

If, however, you want to go beyond just using the device for email, if you want to be able to have the children do their homework (from kindergarten through college), if you want to handle the family budget, play some games, and use the Internet than a reasonably adequate computer system was available for about $500.00 (as of April 2006).Now that we have an idea how much we want to spend and what we want to do, let’s buy a computer. (I am not going to consider used machines … if you are interested in a used machine, I assume you know what you are doing.)Do you want a prepackaged computer, a custom assembly or how about a display model or an ‘open box’ or a refurbished computer? First time buyers may be better off buying a prepackaged system; all of the components are packaged together in a box or two.PREPACKAGED SYSTEMSJust about every establishment that sells computers sells prepackaged systems. A prepackaged system includes all the parts, pieces and connections you need from one company in one or two boxes (well maybe you’ll get a couple of more boxes packed inside the one or two boxes).There are four major sources for buying these prepackaged computers: Electronics’ and office supply stores, discount chains, from the manufacturer and via the Internet.Electronics’ ChainsElectronics’ chains like Best Buy,

Circuit
City, CompUSA, and Radio Shack as well as office supply stores like OfficeMax, Office Depot and Staples generally have in-store, prepackaged computers. I prefer to buy from one of the electronics’ or office supply stores. These stores typically have knowledgeable personnel and in-store service centers. It goes without saying but I am going to say it anyway, If the sales personnel does not have time to talk to you or seems vague in answers to your questions or you see that the outlet does not have an in-store service center, I would keep looking. These outlets buy in quantity, they price competitively and they can support, service and upgrade your computer in their in-store service centers (though all service centers and all service personnel are not created equal – on more than one occasion I have gotten either misinformation or poor information from the service personnel of an electronics’ store). Discount ChainsDiscount chains like WalMart or Sam’s Club or the Meijer chain are likely to have competitive pricing on prepackaged systems. They are reputable outlets and they readily accept returns. They may even sell some systems as ‘loss leaders’ that they price under market value. Unfortunately, these discount outlets are very unlikely to have either knowledgeable personnel or in-store service departments. When you need support or want to upgrade the system, you are generally left with a telephone number.From the ManufacturerDell Computers are available only from Dell Computers (at least that is what I have been told by Dell). When you buy a Dell either by telephone or via the Internet, it seems like you are designing your own custom machine. You will have to know the answers to a bunch of questions like what you want to do with the machine and how much you want to spend. But, all in all, I have found Dell personnel to be patient, supportive and knowledgeable. So the buying experience is a pleasant one.Virtually every other computer manufacturer has a web site that sells systems (Hewlett Packard – http://www.hp.com or IBM – http://www.ibm.com, etc.) either via the Internet or by telephone. The problem, for me, is that I don’t get to see and touch the device I want to buy. On the other hand, I can see, touch and tryout many of these same machines at an electronics’ store and then shop the best deal either from the manufacturer or via the Internet. Let the buyer beware when it comes to all warranties. While some manufacturers hire local service shops to maintain mail-order systems, others require the system to be returned to the factory! Yuk!Via the InternetI don’t know if anyone has an accurate count of the number of vendors that sell prepackaged computers via the Internet. Some of these firms are big name manufacturers as discussed above, some of these firms are garage assemblers – more than once I have heard the story of Steve Jobs building his first Apple computer at home or the first Dell computers being assembled in an apartment – good luck. Other vendors sell older models or ne’er-do-wells that just didn’t sell very well. Some vendors sell used systems. Then, there is eBay and other Internet auctions where you can bid on the system. If you are a first time buyer, I wouldn’t even consider buying from any Internet vendor aside from a recognized manufacturer.COMPONENT SYSTEMSPurchasing a component computer system is a bit like ordering a new car. You pick out the model and the kind of engine you want, you can have a standard or an automatic transmission, you pick out the paint color, the color and fabric for the interior, you pick out the radio system, the air conditioner, the trim and on and on. Of course, you may decide you want 4 wheel drive only to find out that the vehicle you have been designing doesn’t come with that option. So you might have to go back to square one.The end product of this process, however, will be a computer system that you have designed to meet your needs. And where can you get one of these custom jobs: Local computer stores thrive on custom designs, so do some of the electronics’ stores and manufacturers.Local Computer StoresLocal computer stores typically specialize in the ‘build-your-own’ computer. The store technician will talk to you about what you want to do with the computer, whether you want a notebook or a desktop and the physical size and appearance of the desktop; and how much you want to pay and then design something that fills your criteria. The quality of the end product is totally dependent upon the technical competence of the local store.  

Electronics’ StoresSome of the electronics’ stores and office supply stores have something they refer to as a “computer creation station.” You decide whether you want a desktop or a notebook, you select the base system and the various components. The system keeps a running total of the component prices. At the end of the process, you will have get a print out of your system and a price quote. The instructions will be forwarded to the manufacturer for assembly and the your ‘custom’ computer will be shipped from the factoryManufacturersVirtually all Dell computers are sold with some variation of the custom built machine. Hewlett Packard, Compaq and other manufacturers are also will to assist in the design and customization of a system to meet your needs. Again, it is helpful, if not necessary, that you have a good idea what you want to do with the machine and how much you want to spend.DISPLAY MODELS, OPEN BOXES AND REFURBISHED If the markdown is just so good that you can’t walk passed a display model or an ‘open box,’ at least be ask a lot of questions, get an ironclad guarantee, and be willing to make a few trips back to the store before you get everything up and running properly. Yes, I am skeptical. No, not skeptical, downright suspicious.

You can also get some especially good deals on refurbished or reconditioned systems. I am much more open to purchasing a refurbished piece of equipment. First off, if it is a major brand computer like Dell or Hewlett Packard or Sony and you are buying at an establishment with in-house service capabilities, whatever

problems the system might have had have already been taken care of.  The components have been checked and repacked with a complete set of manuals. Moreover, a refurbished system will come with the same warranty as a brand new, never out-of-the-box system.MISTAKESThe only thing worse for me than making a mistake, is admitting that I made the mistake. So I’ll try to help you avoid some specific mistakes.Over and above buying something with power and components that you will never use, I will say it again that one of the biggest mistakes I believe that you can make is buying a computer from an establishment where the sales people are clueless or the establishment doesn’t have an in-house computer service department. I have said it before; it bears repeating: If the sales people don’t have time for you, if the answers they give are vague, if the store doesn’t have an in-store service department, walk.The next biggest mistake you can make is to save money by not buying an extended warranty, preferably an extended warranty for a couple of years that provides for in-home (also known as, on-site) service. It gets tiresome very quickly when you have to carry the computer into the shop. While I am on my mistake kick, do not rush to buy a computer. Don’t buy a computer the day before school starts or just before Christmas or on a weekend for that matter. Those are the times when everyone is busy and the help you get may be courteous and well meaning but it may also be as rushed as you are. There is no such thing as the last best deal. Shop around. Ask questions. Learn about the equipment, learn about the vendor, learn about the service department. Keep your eyes and ears open; listen to how sales people deal with customers, watch how service personnel deal with customers. Be patient. When you begin your shopping expedition, take a pencil, paper, and a manila folder with pockets for papers; this folder will be your computer file, now and forever. Include your list of the activities that you would like to do with the computer and include your list of the components that you want (http://www.cnet.com has a great set of computer reviews that you may want to bring along in your

folder). That folder will eventually contain your receipts and warranties once you purchase a system. That folder will also contain the telephone numbers and email addresses of the hardware and software companies whose customer you have become … when you get your system, tape this folder to the side of your computer so it is always handy when you need it … and you will need it.

This blog is focused on making the Internet a powerful tool for everyone: The Resource of All Resources. For this first theme, Education On the Internet will be looking at World Wide Web Resources. And the topics’ focus will move from …

• Day 1 – WWW Overview … to
• Today - Buying A Computer … to
• Day 3 – Internet Connection Resources … to
• Day 4 – Search Engine Resources; and finally … to 
• Day 5 – Safety and Security Resources.

Byline
Richard H. Metzcus,

Professor
Emeritus

Indiana
University
South Bend
rmetzcus@iusb.edu  

I. Overview of the Internet

Prelude to the Internet

Hundreds of millions around the world use the Internet every day — the Computer Industry Almanac estimated the worldwide Internet population was 945 million in 2004 http://www.clickz.com/stats/big_picture/geographics/article. php/151151). That is about 1 in 7 people worldwide.  

Tens of millions of people in this country use the Internet every day –estimates based on the 2002 CIA World Factbook http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ us.html#Comm) indicated 159 million Internet users in the United States.  Many people in your hometown use the Internet every day. According to Nielsen Ratings (http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/pr/pr_ 010403.pdf), there are at least 25 major cities in the United States with over 50 percent of households having access to the Internet from a personal computer at home as of 2001! 

What are they doing? What are these hundreds of millions, these tens of millions and these neighbors of yours doing on the Internet? They communicate.  They communicate via e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms and bulletin boards. They do comparison shopping and they buy and sell at Internet stores and outlets, at auction sites, and from catalogs received through the mail. They gather information.  They check sports results and the latest news. They follow the stock markets. They bank. They play games. They take classes. They enjoy music, radio, and videos. They exchange text files and data files. They exchange photographs and audio and video files. They advertise. They promote products and services. They study. They hold conferences. They share presentations. They search for lost friends. They organize. They communicate. 

They communicate. And some of them also lie, cheat and steal. (We will get back to these concerns repeatedly.) 

Those who use the Internet, like those who have learned to use personal computers, frequently speak a language just a little bit foreign. They talk about the 'Net' and double u, double u, double u (www). They talk about browsers and search engines. They talk about email and snail mail about emoticons and Googling about IM and blogs. There is Internet Explorer and Netscape, AOL, MSN and Yahoo! There are modems and ISPs. There are ISDNs and DSLs. There are cable connections and satellite connections. It is a language all to itself; one that you learn slowly but surely as you use the Internet. One that will be revealed one step at a time on this blog, Education On the Internet. 

So where do you start? Where do you begin? Begin at the beginning, of course. What is the Internet? What is the World Wide Web?  What is the difference between the two? How do they work? How do people learn to use the Internet, the World Wide Web? 

Historically, the Internet came first. It began in the early seventies as the Defense Department funded a study in computer-to-computer technologies. Over the next couple of decades, the Internet grew as computer-to-computer links between and among scholars, scientists and the military.  The World Wide Web, on the other hand, is less than 15 years old. According to the Hobbes’ Internet Timeline (http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/), the World Wide Web was released by CERN (the European Particle Physics Laboratory, located near Geneva, Switzerland) in late 1990.  

Graphics are the major operational difference between the Internet and World Wide Web. The Internet was text based, the World Wide Web uses graphics through a programming tool known as a graphical user interface (gui). The World Wide Web also uses video and sound.  For all intents and purposes, this blog will make no distinction between the Internet (and Net) and the World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web). The terms will be used interchangeably.

To get back to the point: What is the Internet? The Internet is essentially millions of computers across the world linked by wire and satellite signal to each other. Typically, home computers are connected to the Internet through a device known as a modem. The modem links the home computer by telephone, cable or satellite to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISP is a merchant who sells you the right to share the ISP connection to the Internet – the next two postings focus on both the hardware and software connections necessary to connect to the Internet. 

How do people learn to use the Internet, the Web? Most people have learned to use the Web by trial and error (About.com estimates put the count of trial and error learning as high as 80 percent of the users — http://netforbeginners.about.com/cs/internet101/a/
internet101.htm). Some of them know what they are doing. Others don’t. You don’t have to be a computer scientist to use the Web. In fact, the World Wide Web is supposed to be one of the easiest computer applications to use.  The Web has been designed to be intuitive; in other words, it is designed so that someone will know how to use it by intuition without reasoning. Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=intuition) defines intuition as "a quick and ready insight," the power of attaining knowledge without cognition or rational thought.  Of course, some of us are more intuitive than others. The Internet can be a powerful tool or a frustrating experience. It can be a powerful tool . . .

• for those who have an affinity for computers,
• for those who have an intuitive sense for the way computer software works,
• for those who understand how information is stored on the World Wide Web, and
• for those who have invested the time and effort to find and organize the Internet sites that may be of use to them.

For many others – students, parents, teachers — who would like to use the Internet . . .

• who aren't computer hackers,
• who don't share an intuitive sense of the operations of computers or
• who don't have the time to invest in learning how  to use a wide variety of search engines, guides, directories, and browser tools . . . the Internet is confusing and frustrating.

Those of us faced with confusion and frustration are confronted by what seems to be an endless barrage of flashing images, scrolling messages and advertisements that pop up without warning. The Internet becomes a time-consuming experience that frequently ends in frustration rather than useful information.This blog, Education On the Internet, is focused on making the Internet a powerful tool for everyone. This blog has evolved within an educational/ training tradition. I am concerned with 'using the Internet to increase personal productivity.' My mission is to provide useful  information about the Internet / the World Wide Web that will give readers control of the Internet through non-technical information and through the identification of primary destinations of personal/productive interest.  

This blog, in other words, is focused on making the Internet a powerful tool for everyone: The Resource of All Resources. For this first theme, Education On the Internet will be looking at World Wide Web Resources. And the topics’ focus will move from …

• Day 1 – Overview
• Day 2 - Buying A Computer w/ Guide
• Day 3 – Internet Connection Resources
• Day 4 – Search Engine Resources; and finally, 
• Day 5 – Safety and Security Resources.

Byline
Richard H. Metzcus, Professor Emeritus
Indiana University South Bend
rmetzcus@iusb.edu