by Technophobes;the Kicking;Screaming Is This Thing On?: A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers
CLICK AND GO
1. Click in text box to activate, then type username.
2. Click in text box to activate, then type password.
3. Click Sign On or hit Enter or Return key to sign on.
Each online service also has its own way of signing off. For some it is simply clicking on the Close Box. For others you need to maximize their box in the Task Bar and then click on Disconnect. There may be a tutorial or a tour offered that will help you discover the ins and outs of your particular service.
Errors, Messages, and Busy Signals
You may have heard people complain about how long it takes for them to sign on to their online service. This can happen with any dial-up service, and it often occurs because of the number of people who are signed on. Dial-up services simply aren’t always equipped to handle a high volume of their members signing on because the phone lines can’t handle all the traffic. If you have trouble, try getting online at off hours. Before I got my high-speed connection I used the Internet very early in the morning and late at night and rarely had any problems signing on. Again, consider a high-speed connection to avoid traffic jams when you’re on the Internet.
BROWSING WITH A BROWSER
Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox are browsers. Browsers allow you to interact with the Internet, but a browser is not the company you pay to connect to the Internet.
Action Buttons
When the computer asks you questions, such as “Do you want to save the changes to Document 1?”, it offers you choices of actions to take (i.e., Yes, No, Cancel, OK, Save.) Usually one of the action buttons is either framed in a darker box or surrounded by dots. As discussed in Chapter 12, the computer is presuming that this is the action you will take. You can take this action by either hitting the Enter or Return key, or moving the mouse arrow on the action key you want and clicking once.
Occasionally, an error message may appear when you are trying to sign on. Read it carefully. It could be telling you something as simple as your phone line isn’t plugged into your modem or that it got a busy signal. If you’re confused, don’t hesitate to call for technical help. Technical support is offered by every online service, so take advantage of it.
If you’re using a dial-up connection and you have only one phone line, the technician will have to describe the solution. He or she won’t be able to walk you through the problem while you’re signed on because you’ll be calling from the same phone line that your computer uses when you’re connected to the Internet. In this case it is especially important to write down exactly what appeared on the screen so you can tell the technician.
There are times when an error message might appear and have nothing to do with anything you’ve done. Be patient and try what you were doing again. Even try signing off and on again. Sometimes the computer gets a false start and needs a second try.
THE SOUND OF DIAL-UP
What is that squeaking and squealing? If you are using a dial-up connection you may hear the sound of the modem calling the online service. Find the volume control and adjust it, but remember to turn the volume back up when you get online because some websites have sounds that you won’t want to miss.
Your Home Page
The first page that appears when you connect to the Internet and open your browser is your Home Page. This is the website that the manufacturer of your computer chose to have come up first when you turn on the computer. (So, if I were a betting person, I would bet it is their website.) When you choose your ISP (Internet Service Provider) it may change your Home Page to its website.
A REAL PAGE-TURNER
Home Page = the first page of any website on the Internet. It also refers to the page that opens when you first connect to the Internet.
Web Page = any page that follows the home page of a website.
Slowly move the mouse arrow around the Home Page. Do you notice that when it is over certain words the arrow becomes a hand? Whenever the hand appears, you are being notified that there is an item you can click on that will link you to more information on that topic. Generally, a single click will open an item on the Internet.
Feel free to open any and all areas of the Home Page. You can’t get into any trouble.
• A hand indicates that if you click you will get more information on that topic.
Advertisements
Most online services allow advertisements to pop up. Usually they appear when you first sign on. You do not want to approve any purchase by accident, but don’t worry because this isn’t an easy thing to do. I never even read these ads. I simply close the window or click on whatever action button indicates that I am not interested (No, Exit, Close, etc.). Don’t click on any action button (Yes, OK, Apply, etc.) or hit the Enter or Return keys casually or unexpected things may happen.
* * *
“One night I couldn’t sign on to the Internet and none of the people I usually rely on for computer guidance were around. So I had no choice but to call for technical help. It wasn’t fun and it took almost an hour. But we fixed the problem. I wouldn’t ask for it to happen again, but if it does, I know I can handle it.”
—Evelyn
* * *
Websites and Their Addresses
Your online service connects you to the Web, and your browser (Explorer, Safari, Firefox are a few) allows you to navigate it. Before we venture out to cyberspace, let’s review some basic elements of all websites. A website is much like a book. It’s full of information and made up of pages. The pages of a website are called web pages.
There are several different parts to a web address. Each part gives the Internet information about how to locate the website you’re seeking. Don’t confuse a website address with an e-mail address. A website usually starts with www. and doesn’t have the @ symbol. Here is what an e-mail address looks like:
[email protected]
Here is what the average web address looks like:
http://www.abbyandme.com
Now let’s define the parts:
http:// is the hypertext transfer protocol. AAAAaaaarrrrgggghhh! The good thing is that you don’t need to know what that means. You don’t even have to type it when you’re inputting a web address.
www. stands for World Wide Web. Notice there is a period after www. Some websites don’t require that you type www., but I suggest that for now you do (so there is no confusion). You need to be very careful about typing the address exactly as it appears; a spelling or punctuation change can send you to a different website. It’s just as if you dialed a wrong number on the phone. There will never be a space in a website address because that breaks the line of communication.
abbyandme is the domain name, not unlike the user name in your e-mail address. If you wanted to create a website, you would start by purchasing a domain name.
.com is another part of the domain name. This extension gives you a clue to the type of website. In this case, “com” indicates that it is a commercial website. Note that it is preceded not followed by a period or “dot.” Here are the most common domain name extensions:
.com = commercial
.edu = educational
.gov = government
.org = nonprofit organization
.net = network business
So take a stab at what the website might be for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. You guessed it! whitehouse.gov.
MAXIMIZE
Remember to maximize your window whenever possible. It makes reading things on the Internet much easier and much more pleasant (refer to Chapter 11).
SURFING THE NET VS. SURFING THE WEB
Essentially they are one and the same. And when you’re doing either, you’re on the information superhighway. (In fact, the World Wide Web is part of the Internet, but that is just a technicality.)
Look Out, Web, Here We Come
It’s time to surf the net. At the top of the Home Page there is a long text box. It may or may not already have text in it. No matter. Move the mouse arrow an
ywhere inside the box and click once. If there was text in the box, it is now highlighted probably in blue or gray. This is where you will type in a web address. Remember, you don’t need to type in http://.
To access a website, you type the address in the website address box. On the next page are some examples of the website address boxes for Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox.
• Move the mouse arrow into the text box and click once. (If you are using a Mac, not a PC, you will need either to single-click on the small icon in the left of the address box or triple-click on the existing address.) When you start typing, the now-highlighted text will automatically be replaced with what you type.
• Type cnn.com and hit Enter or Return or move the mouse and click on GO.
Before your very eyes is the Home Page of the website for CNN. If it hasn’t appeared yet, be patient.
A website with a lot of graphics (pictures) can take quite a while to appear on the screen. If it’s taking so long that you want to throw in the towel, click on the Stop or X on the Toolbar (not to be mistaken for the Close Box in the Title Bar).
• Type the address in the website address box.
Want to do something fun? Let’s access my website.
• Move the mouse arrow into the text box and click once.
• Type: abbyandme.com and hit Enter or Return or click on GO.
Welcome to my website. Make yourself at home. Click on anything that tickles your fancy. I want you to feel that my website is a safe and comfortable place for you to return to whenever you feel like it. It may be the only website that you go to for a while. That is perfectly fine. Take your time to get acquainted with this site and all it has to offer. Before you know it, you’ll be skillfully zooming around the Internet.
If you return over time you’ll notice that the information in abbyandme.com changes and is updated. Websites need to be movable feasts; why else would you go back for a second visit?
There is a list of recommended websites on page 416. Check it out and visit any of the sites that interest you.
HOME PAGE
The term Home Page is used both for the first page of any website and the first page that opens for you when you connect to the Internet. Don’t ask me why they didn’t choose two different terms, but they didn’t. I don’t even know who “they” are, but sometimes I’d like to give “them” a piece of my mind!
• The home page of my website.
CLICK AND GO
1. Click inside website address box.
2. Type abbyandme.com.
3. Hit Enter or Return key.
Moving Around a Website
Open up one of the websites listed at the end of the book. Look carefully at the website you opened. Notice that certain words may be in brighter colors or underlined. They are specifically designed that way to get your attention. Remember, when the mouse arrow becomes a hand, it indicates there is more to be found if you click on those words.
The words or images that you can click on are called links. They link you to more information or sometimes to another website on the same topic. On my website, you’ll find that each page is designed to have links to specific categories of websites (travel, finance, etc.). Once you’ve clicked on one of these links, you will be taken to a different website. Those sites, in turn, may offer links to others. It just goes on and on and on. Play around with my website or others as much as you want, and then come back to the book.
Some websites have so much text it can be dizzying. Take your time. Don’t feel obliged to read everything. Also don’t feel obliged to stick to a website that doesn’t appeal to you. That’s what surfing the net is all about—riding the wave of your choice.
WANDERLUST
It may be your personality to meander along without a destination. This is usually not fulfilling on the Internet. Have a website you want to visit or a topic you want to research in mind. Otherwise, you may find yourself spending a lot of time going nowhere.
Come Back Again and Again
When you read a book and you want to return to a page to continue reading, you simply stick a bookmark in that page. The same is true on the Internet. If there’s a website you’ll want to visit often, you can bookmark it so you won’t have to type in the web address every time you want to go there. Each online service or browser has a slightly different way to bookmark a website. Usually there is an icon in the tool bar or in a pull-down menu. (See below for examples.)
When you want to open a website that you have bookmarked, you simply click on your Favorites or Bookmark icon to reveal the websites you’ve stored. Then click on the website you want to access, and your online service will take you directly there.
CLICK AND GO
1. Click Bookmarks/Favorites.
2. Click Add Bookmarks/Add to Favorites.
3. Click Add or OK to accept Bookmark or Favorite.
• Click on Favorites or Bookmarks to save website addresses for future visits.
Huh? What Happened?
Strange things do happen. Sometimes after typing in a web address to access a web page, you might receive an error message. First, make sure you typed the web address correctly. If there is no mistake in the address, the error might have nothing to do with you. Perhaps the website is no longer active, or it’s under construction or being updated, or the online service is experiencing difficulties. Give it another try or go somewhere else and come back and try later.
Search Engines: Seek and Ye Shall Find
A search engine is a website that finds information for you on the Internet. Think of search engines as competing libraries, each with slightly different archives and filing systems. When I found the Jack Russell terrier doormat and the theater tickets for Mom, I used a search engine. Many search engines are available. Your browser probably has a search engine box on one of its toolbars. Because each search engine has a different library, you may find different information on different search engines. See “Some Recommended Websites” at the back of the book for a list of different search engines.
To see a search engine in action, we’re going to visit one of my favorites—Google.
• Move the mouse arrow inside the website address box at the top of the screen and click to activate the box.
• Type in google.com and hit Enter or Return, or click on GO.
• When the Google Home Page appears, click inside the search text box and type the word recipes. Now move the mouse arrow to the words “Google Search” and click. A page will appear with the first ten results of your search. Your search word or words, in this case “recipes,” appears in bold in the link (the blue title of the result), the sample contents, and the web address. The results are in a particular order with the sites that best meet your search at the top of the list. Whichever search engine you use, these will be the basic steps.
• Remember to use the Scroll Bar to view all of the results of your search. You will notice that each search result has a title in blue that is underlined. Move the mouse onto the blue underlined title of any of the results that you want to see, and click. This will bring you to a website that pertains to your search. If it isn’t what you want, use the back arrow (top left of the screen) to return to the original results of your search.
• When using the Google Search engine, you must click in the search text box before typing in your desired search. Now type the keywords for your search and click on Google Search below the text box.
CLICK AND GO
1. Click inside website address box.
2. Type google.com. Hit the Enter/Return key.
3. Click inside text box to activate. Type the word recipes.
4. Click Google Search.
• To return to a previous page of the website, click on the back arrow.
When you type in your search, be very specific. Search engines sort the results by the percentage of how it fulfills your search, but you may still find there’s a lot to weed through. Sometimes it helps to put the request in quot
es. This instructs the search engine to look for websites that contain all the words in the order you typed them, not any order. Each search engine also has categories listed on its Home Page. You might want to take a peek at these before you look further. We delve deeper into search engines in Chapter 21. You can either skip ahead or stick with me and we’ll get there soon enough.
Print for Your Scrapbook
For those times when you want to have the information from a website to read later or perhaps to pass on to someone else, you can always use your printer to print what appears on your computer screen.
You can either click on the Printer icon at the top of your screen or click on the down arrow to the right of it, or you may have to click on the word File (it depends on which browser you are using) and then move the mouse arrow down to the word Print and click. When the Printer window opens, hit the Enter or Return key on the keyboard or click on Print or OK. It’s as simple as that. But don’t be surprised if certain parts of the screen do not print out properly. That happens on some websites and not on others.
If the page didn’t print at all, check that the printer is turned on and plugged into the computer. You may have to click once on the web page that you want to print. Move the mouse arrow to a blank area on the web page and click. This signals the printer that this is the page you want to print. Then go back and try to print again.
• You can access the print feature in the tool bar or the menu bar.
