1. Starting Out on the World Wide Web

Transcription

1 21 1. Starting Out on the World Wide Web The Internet consists of thousands of computers that are connected to one another by cables, the telephone network and satellite links. The World Wide Web is one of the most enjoyable and widely-used parts of the Internet. The World Wide Web is just that: a spider web of computers containing information on many diverse subjects. A computer connected to an Internet Service Provider You can use your computer to open and read these specially formatted documents on the Internet no matter where you are in the world. These documents are called webpages. A website consists of one or more webpages. You can move from one webpage to another with a click of the mouse. You can move from one website to another just as easily. This is called surfing the Web.

2 22 Internet and for Seniors with Windows Vista In order to access the Internet, you will need to connect to a computer that is already connected to the Internet. An Internet Service Provider, also called an ISP, offers this type of service. If you want to use the Internet, you will need a subscription with an Internet Service Provider. You will be given a user name and a password, and the ISP will provide software to set up your computer. This gives you access to the Internet. If you have a regular dial-up (telephone) connection to your ISP, you will have to manually connect in order to surf the Internet. If you have a DSL or cable connection, you do not have to do anything; your computer automatically connects to the Internet. Once you are connected to the Internet, you are online. In this chapter, you will go online and learn how to surf the Internet. In this chapter, you will learn how to: start Internet Explorer connect to your Internet Service Provider use a web address browse forward and back use tabbed browsing use the scroll bar move from one window to another zoom in and out disconnect from the Internet Please note: You must have a working Internet connection in order to use this book. Contact your Internet Service Provider or your computer supplier if you need help. You can read the tips on Connecting by Telephone Line at the end of this chapter if you need more information about dial-up connections. Please note: This book assumes that you are working with a computer mouse. If you are working on a laptop with touchpad, you may want to purchase an external mouse to be able to follow the steps in this book more easily. If you want to learn about using the touchpad to operate your laptop, surf to the website and read the Tip Working with a Touchpad.

3 Chapter 1 Starting Out on the World Wide Web Starting Windows Windows starts automatically when you turn on your computer. Turn on your computer If you have set up user accounts on your computer, you will see the screen below first, where you can choose your own account. If you did not set up any user accounts on your computer, you will immediately see the desktop of Windows Vista. In that case, continue reading on the next page. If you see this screen: the icon of your user account If you have set up a password for the user account, you will have to type it right now: Type the password

4 24 Internet and for Seniors with Windows Vista Possibly, you will see the Welcome Center of Windows Vista: You can close this window: The Welcome Center will now disappear. You now see the desktop of Windows Vista containing several icons: Please note: The desktop you see on your screen may look different than the desktop you see in the image above. The settings for the appearance of Windows Vista can be adjusted in many ways. In order to increase the clarity of the images used in this book, a solid color has been chosen as a background for the desktop instead of a photograph. The Internet changes on a daily basis. For this reason, the images in this book taken from the Internet at the time of this writing may differ from those you see on your own computer.

5 Chapter 1 Starting Out on the World Wide Web Is Your Modem Ready? Many people use a modem and a telephone line to connect to the Internet. A modem is a device that connects your computer to your telephone line or cable network. Sometimes it is in a separate box, called an external modem. In many modern computers, however, the modem is already built in an internal modem. Before you connect to the Internet, it is important to check that your modem is ready. Make sure your modem is connected to the telephone line or cable network You can read the tips on Connecting by Telephone Line at the end of this chapter if you need more information about dial-up connections. Do you have an external modem? Turn the modem on Do you have an internal modem? You do not have to do anything 1.3 Starting Internet Explorer The program you will use to contact the World Wide Web is called Internet Explorer. Here is how you start this program: The program will open and an attempt is made to connect to the Internet.

6 26 Internet and for Seniors with Windows Vista If you are using Internet Explorer for the first time and you have a broadband connection to the Internet (DSL or cable), you will probably see a window like this floating on top of the Internet Explorer window: Enter your user name Enter your password Check mark the box If you are using dial-up networking to connect to the Internet, you will see a Dial-up Connection window. If you have an Internet access subscription, your ISP has given you a user name and a password. If everything is set up properly, both of these will already be displayed in the next window.

7 Chapter 1 Starting Out on the World Wide Web 27 If your user name and password are not displayed: Type your user name and password in the appropriate boxes Check mark the box A connection is made to your ISP (Internet Service Provider). HELP! I do not see windows like these. Are these windows not shown on your screen? If you are connected to the internet by cable or DSL, then this Dial-up Connection window will not appear. You will have a different set up on your computer. Internet Explorer automatically connects with the Internet when you open it. Just continue reading

8 28 Internet and for Seniors with Windows Vista 1.4 Connecting to Your Internet Service Provider If you are using dial-up networking to connect to the Internet, your computer will now try to contact your ISP by using the modem. The modem goes through the following steps: the modem dials your ISP s telephone number then it connects to your ISP s computer your computer sends your user name and password to the ISP s computer the ISP s computer checks your user name and password if they are correct, your connection to the Internet is established If your modem is connected to the telephone line, you will usually hear quite a bit of static noise. Your modem is busy converting the signal to a form that allows it to travel over the phone line. You can follow the progress of your connection in the window: If you have a cable, ISDN or DSL connection, Internet Explorer automatically connects to the Internet and you will not hear any noise. Once you are connected to the Internet, the home page will be displayed in the Internet Explorer window. If you have not made any changes to your settings, this is probably a page from Microsoft, the company that makes Internet Explorer. Down in the right corner of the taskbar, you will see an icon with two computers indicating that you are online:

9 Chapter 1 Starting Out on the World Wide Web 29 Please note: The home page on your computer may not be the same as the one in the illustration. You might, for example, see the website of your Internet Service Provider. HELP! Invalid user name or password? If you connect but receive the following message Invalid User name or Password, re-enter your user name and password in the Dial-up Connection window and try to connect to the Internet again. HELP! There is no connection. Were you unable to connect to the Internet? This could be because your ISP s number is busy : When that happens, try again a little later. HELP! Still no connection? If you have tried to connect to the Internet a number of times and you still are unable to establish a connection, most likely the settings on your computer are not correct. You will need to contact your ISP for assistance.

10 30 Internet and for Seniors with Windows Vista 1.5 Typing an Address Every website has its own web address on the World Wide Web. These are the addresses that start with www that you see everywhere. You can use these addresses to find a website on any computer that is connected to the Internet. The web address of the Visual Steps publishing company is: in the address bar at the top left of the window The web address will turn blue as a sign that it is selected. You can type the address into this box: Type: Press HELP! Where is the Enter key? The Enter key is located on the right-hand side of your keyboard:

11 Chapter 1 Starting Out on the World Wide Web 31 After a few moments, you see the opening page for this website: This webpage is updated frequently. The picture you see on your computer may be different than the one in this illustration. 1.6 Maximizing the Window You can maximize the Internet Explorer window at any time, so that it fills the entire screen. This makes it easier to view a webpage. Here is how you do this:

12 32 Internet and for Seniors with Windows Vista The window now fills your entire screen: Tip Unfortunately, Internet Explorer does not automatically start with a maximized window. Go ahead and click right after it opens. You can restore the window to its original size with just one click: