Internet. Telephone Line

Transcription

1 Internet The Internet (International Network) is a network of computers from all over the world linked together by telephone lines, fibre optic cables and satellite. Millions of users from all around the world use the Internet. To connect on the Internet one needs 4 things; 1. A Computer System 2. A Modem 3. A Telephone Line 4. An ISP ISP Telephone Line What is a Modem? A Modem is the hardware with which the Computer is connected to the Internet via the telephone lines (or cable). A Modem can either be external or internal. What is an ISP? An Internet Service Provider is a company with whom anybody wanting to connect to the Internet has to subscribe to be able to do so. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) will have his equipment connected via telephone lines, fiber optic cable or even satellite to other ISPs in other countries. W W W The World Wide Web is one of the most popular services available on the Internet. The World Wide Web (WWW), also called the Web, consists of a worldwide collection of electronic documents. Each of these documents on the Web is called a Web page. What is a Web Browser? You use a special program (browser) which displays pages from any computer on the Web. The browser converts the special HTML codes that are used to create a Web page and displays the text and images in the intended format. There are two main types of browser available - Microsoft s Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. There are differences between the two, but they will both let you look at Web pages and browse the Web. 1/6 K. Aquilina

2 URL The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is the unique address of a Web page. For example the URL for the Maltese government website is This is the address that you would type in the address bar at the top of Internet Explorer to go to the Malta Government s main page. Hyperlink and Image link A Hyperlink is some text that when clicked takes you to another part of a web page or another web site/web page. Similarly an Image link is a picture which when clicked will take you somewhere else. Normally, when you pass the mouse on top of a Hyperlink, it will change its shape to that of a pointing hand. Display a specific Web Page The same way that you use a postal address so that people can find where you live, you use a Web Address to find particular Web Pages. 1. Open the Internet Explorer program. 2. In the Address section of the program window enter the full URL that you wish to display. Thus if you wanted to see the home page of Maria Regina School Web site, you would enter the URL: Uses of the internet: Millions of people from all around the world use the Internet for variety of reasons. The following is a list of the most common uses; Shopping Internet may become the largest superstore ever, You can order almost anything that takes your fancy from many different on-line shops by using your credit card. Then the items you buy are delivered to your house. Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is a financial business transaction that occurs over an electronic network, such as the Internet. News News from all over the world can be picked up almost as soon as it happens. For example in the September 11 th attacks on the twin towers, the CNN site reported instantaneously what was happening to millions of on-line visitors. Education you can study for school or university and even obtain certificates by using the Internet. Universities from around the world have sites and some offer on-line courses. School nowadays even offer an internet connection and so students can search online from their class rooms. Whatever the project assigned, you can browse the internet and find relevant information. What is a Home Page? Normally the Home Page of a web site is the first page that comes on screen as soon as you log onto that web site. This is like the front cover of a magazine which welcomes you in and gives you a list of what you will find within the web site. 2/6 K. Aquilina

3 Search Engines A search engine is a software program that can be used to locate Web sites, Web pages, or files on the Internet. To find a Web site or Web page, the user just enters a word or phrase, called the keywords or search text, in the search engine's text box, and the search engine then displays a list of all the Web sites or Web pages that match the keywords or search text entered. The URLs of some popular Internet search engines are listed below: Search Engine AltaVista Excite Google Lycos URL Favourites / Bookmarks If there is a Web page that you visit a lot, it can be time consuming to type in its address every time. Your Web Browser has a function with which you can keep interesting Web Pages. This is know as bookmarking a website or adding a website in your favourites. There are various methods how to include a web page in your favourites. This is the easiest to do it: 1. Click on the Favourites button Internet Explorer now inserts the Explorer defined in the left part of the window. bar with the favourites already 2. Request the desired Web page on the Internet. 3. Drag the document symbol from the Address box of the address bar to the desired place in the Explorer bar. As soon as you have let go of the left mouse button, the new name is added to the list of favourites. You can request the Web pages later by choosing the relevant entries. Organising Favourites If you want to organise your favourites, it is preferable to sort them into groups (folders). Choose Organize Favourites in the Favourites Menu. This option allows you to create folders, move Web pages into folders, delete folders and Web pages as well as renaming folders and Web Pages. 3/6 K. Aquilina

4 p What is ? The word is short for Electronic Mail. is the way of sending and receiving messages over the Internet. It is cheaper and faster than the traditional postal system. To log on to your account you must have a Username and password. messages are not limited to text, they may include pictures, videos and even sound. How Does Work? When you send an , that is received by the ISP (Internet Service Provider) of the person to whom you sent the , and when that person runs his program and checks for Messages, the will be downloaded (transferred) onto his computer. Advantages of Some advantages of electronic mail include: s can take only seconds to arrive at their destination ing is a cheaper way to communicate over long distances The Address This consists of: username@domain. For example for the schoolnet , the username is the person's name and surname. The domain is always schoolnet.gov.mt Parts of an Address moira.borg@schoolnet.gov.mt Username Domain aurex@yahoo.com Mail of any kind requires an address to reach its destination. addresses identify: an account (also called a username) at (@) a particular set of computers connected to the Internet (also called a domain). Main components of an application Inbox Outbox Sent Items Deleted Items stores the s that you receive. stores the s that you wrote but which are waiting to be sent. stores the s that have actually been sent. stores those s that you deleted and works in a very similar way to the Recycle Bin. 4/6 K. Aquilina

5 Sending an CLICK ON NEW MAIL Step 4 Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: In the To: field, write the address to whom you want to send the . Be careful when entering the recipient's address - spelling must be exact. In the "Subject:" field, enter the subject of your message, (this field is optional). Enter the body of the message into the large text box. Step 4: Click on the "Send" button. NOTE: The "Cc:" field does not have to be filled out Receiving an To read your you must first login to your account. Then simply click on the Inbox. From this point you must find the hyperlink which will open your , usually it is either the subject line of the message or the name of the sender. Replying to an If you want to reply to a particular Message, then you have to do the following steps; 1. Select the Message you want to Reply to 2. Click the Reply Button 3. New Message window will appear 4. The address in the To: box will be already filled in 5. Original text of the Message will appear 6. Type in your Message 7. Send the Message as normal When you reply to a Message using the above method, the Message that you send back will include a copy of the original Message that you had received. Advantages & Disadvantages of 5/6 K. Aquilina

6 Advantages Speed: It is possible to send messages from your own PC to anyone in the world who has an e- mail address, and vice-versa, in minutes. Flexibility: Apart from words, programs, pictures and sound can be dispatched by . is cheap to use. Disadvantages won t be read until the recipient checks in to download their new messages. Thus it is worthless sending an important to someone who checks his mail once a week! Less privacy than conventional post. s are an excellent transport medium for viruses Suggested Sites about this topic; 6/6 K. Aquilina