If you are accessing the Internet with America OnLine, Compuserve, (lots
of pop-up ads in AOL & Compuserve) MSN or AT&T, your service
has bundled everything that you need into the software you are currently
using.
They say that if the Internet
were a bicycle, using America OnLine, or a similar "online service",
is like having a bike with the training wheels on.
It's not
such a bad thing if you are a beginner. In fact I recommend it!
AOL, WebTV, MSN, Prodigy and Compuserve are easy to use (relatively).
Once you
get some Internet experience you may decide to "go it on your own"
and hook up with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). You may find
that the service is just as good or better and the monthly fee is
just as much or less.
Click here for suggestions on
finding your own ISP.
If you
take the training wheels off and use an ISP you may need to stock
up on some tools. Before you cancel your membership with
your online service ask the ISP which software they provide and
which software you will need to obtain yourself. This way you will
be able to download whatever you need while you're still
connected to an online service.
For
the basic, no hassle, Internet experience all you really need is
a Web browser. Web browsers "read"
the html text and convert it into a page like the one you are now
looking at.
Currently
there are many Web browsers available. The Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and the Netscape Navigator & Netscape Archive & Safari are the most popular. Critics frequently
disagree over which browser is superior. Most people prefer whichever
browser they used first.
There are
a couple of new-comers to the scene, Opera and NeoPlanet. Opera is renowned for being the world's fastest
browser. Opera is much smaller than other major browsers. In its
standard configuration, it almost fits on a floppy disk yet it is
all you need to surf the web. The NeoPlanet browser is very
stylish looking. With over 500 stylish skins the NeoPlanet can look,
feel, and sound the way you want it to.
These browsers
can be obtained over the Internet. Feel free to download whichever
one you are currently not using and take it for a test drive. There
is no charge for them. Click on the icon to download the browser
of your choice.
Not enough
choices? Click
here to visit an archive featuring over 80 different browsers,
both old and new.
Web browsers
are fully customizable. You have the option of changing the size
of the text and style of font that is displayed.
You also
have the option of changing the "home" or "startup" page that appears
when the browser is started. I suggest that you set your "home"
to whichever portal you usually visit. I recommend Google
or
Yahoo
as they load quickly & work well on older computers.
Here's
a list of suggested sites that will make
excellent "startup" pages.
Even though
these web browsers have everything necessary for you to explore
and enjoy the Internet, you may wish to add some "specialized" software
to make your Internet experience even more rewarding.
My Goodies
page lists all the Internet extras you will ever need.
Even though
browsers have the capability for email and newsgroups you may wish to install separate
software for these applications.
Chatting is possible without subscribing
to an online service, however you may need separate software.
Check out my Software page for a list of Web sites to visit
for your software needs.
