Connecting & Using...... Dial up: When your computer establishes a dialup session with your provider, you
will be shown the connection speed that was established by the connection.
Connection speeds vary depending on phone line interference and the capabilities
of your modem. Generally speaking, a 56K modem should connect at about 46-50K.
There are some phone networks which will only achieve 33.6K connection speeds
and in the case of poor phone line quality, connections of less than 26.4K are
possible, even with a 56K modem. When you have an active connection, two small
computer icons will appear on the right end of the Task Bar.
Once connected you are ready to launch (start) your Internet Programs
(browsers, email, etc.). The following paragraph is a brief summary of using
Internet Explorer as your browser.
To launch Internet Explorer, double click on the "The Internet" or
"Internet Explorer" icon on the desktop. The icon's name will vary according to
the version of Windows. There are three key elements to Internet Explorer: the
Address Box, Favorites and Tools Menu. The Address Box is located just below the
Title Bar at the top portion of the Window. The Address Box displays the URL of
the currently displayed page. You can also type the URL of a known page into the
Address Box and press the Enter key and that page will load into the Explorer
window. All Internet "addresses" start with "http://",usually followed by
"www.". Not all addresses have a "www" in them but most do include it.
Where to "start" on the Internet? A good place to start out each day on
the Internet would be a local information web site such as "www.wksr.com" or "www.wdxeradio.com".
Both of these sites have information of local interest, as well as links to
other prominent sites. The WKSR and WDXE websites are updated each weekday with
local news, sports information and obituaries, along with other updated
resources. One of the most popular world wide sites is "www.yahoo.com". Yahoo is
known for its extensive search database. Yahoo also offers category indexing of
web sites which can be very useful if you are not sure exactly what you are
searching for by name.
