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`PUB. RETAIL J
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`READY, SST, G0.. .
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 1
`
`

`
`Associate Publisher: Carrie Lavine
`Acquisitions Manager: Kristine Plachy
`Developmental Editor: Dan Brodnitz
`Editor: Lee Ann Pickrell
`Technical Editor: Sandra Teng
`Book Design Director: Catalin Dulfu
`Book Designer: Design Site, Tracy Dean
`Desktop Publisher: GetSet! PrePress
`Production Coordinators: Alexa Riggs, Robin Kibby
`Indexer: Ted Laux
`Cover Designer: Design Site
`Cover Photographer: Dennis O'Ciair, photograph furnished by Tony Stone Images
`
`Screen reproductions produced with Collage Complete.
`
`Collage Complete is a trademark of Inner Media Inc.
`
`SYBEX is a registered trademark of SYBEX Inc.
`
`TRADEMARKS: SYBEX has attempted throughout this book to distinguish proprietary trademarks from descriptive terms
`by following the capitalization style used by the manufacturer.
`
`Netscape Communications, the Netscape Communications logo, Netscape, and Netscape Navigator are trademarks
`of Netscape Communications Corporation.
`
`Every effort has been made to supply complete and accurate information. However, SYBEX assumes no responsibility
`for its use, nor for any infringement of the intellectual property rights of third parties which would result from such use.
`
`Photographs and illustrations used in this book have been downloaded from publicly accessible file archives and are
`used in this book for news reportage purposes only to demonstrate the variety of graphics resources available via
`electronic access. Text and images available over the Internet may be subject to copyright and other rights owned by third
`parties. Online availability of text and images does not imply that they may be reused without the permission of rights
`holders, although the Copyright Ad does perrnit certain unauthorized reuse as fair use under 17 U.S. C. Sedion 107.
`
`An earlier version of this book was published under the title A Guided Tour of the Internet© 1995 SYBEX Inc.
`Copyright© 1996 SYBEX Inc., 1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501. World rights reserved. No part of this
`publication may be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or reproduced in any way, including but not limited to
`photocopy, photograph, magnetic or other record, without the prior agreement and written permission of the publisher.
`
`Library of Congress Card Number: 96-67838
`ISBN: 0-7821-1887-9
`
`Manufactured in the United States of America
`
`1098765
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 2
`
`

`
`ts at a Glance
`
`Introduction ............................................... xvi
`Chapter 1: Just Enough to Get Started ........................... 1
`Chapter 2: Sending and Receiving E-Mail ........................ 19
`Chapter 3: Making the Most of E-Mail .......................... 45
`Chapter 4: Browsing the Web ................................ 60
`Chapter 5: Finding Stuff on the Net ............................ 97
`Chapter 6: Plugging In to Multimedia .......................... 120
`Chapter 7: Getting on Mailing Lists ............................ 139
`Chapter 8: Usenet News-Read All about It ..................... 151
`Chapter 9: Chatting on the IRC .............................. 205
`Chapter 10: FTP and Telnet-the Transporter Beams ............. 219
`Chapter 11: Gopher and Gopherspace ........................ 239
`Chapter 12: Making a Simple Home Page ...................... 261
`Appendix A: Getting Connected and Getting Started ............. 275
`Appendix 8: Glossary of Internet Terms ........................ 287
`Index ................................................... 333
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 3
`
`

`
`B Chapter One
`
`terms used in this book.) Notice that I just used the word Net and not Internet. For the
`most part, the words are synonymous, although some people will use the word Net
`to refer to just about any aspect of the global inter-networking of computers.
`
`What Is the Internet?
`
`In this chapter, there are no dumb questions. Everybody talks about the Internet
`these days but most people don't really know what it is. One reason for this is that the
`Internet looks different depending on how you come across it and what you do with
`it. Another reason is that everyone talks about it as if it's actually a network, like a local
`network in someone's office or even a large global network like CompuServe. Fact is,
`it's something different. A beast unto itself. The Internet is really a way for computers
`to communicate.
`As long as a computer or smaller network can "speak" the Internet lingo (or proto(cid:173)
`cols, to be extra formal about it) to other machines, then it's "on the Internet:' If the
`Internet were a language, it wouldn't be French or Farsi or Tagalog or even English. It
`would be Esperanto.
`Having said that, I might backtrack and allow that there's nothing wrong with think(cid:173)
`ing of the Internet as if it is a single network unto itself. It certainly behaves like one in
`a lot of important ways. But this can be misleading. No one "owns" the Internet. No
`one even really runs it. And no one can turn it off.
`{-mail and a Whole Lot More
`The Internet is also a collection of different ways to communicate or store informa(cid:173)
`tion in a retrievable form. Take e-mail, for example. If you work in an office with a local(cid:173)
`area network, then chances are you have an e-mail account and can communicate
`with people in your office by sending them messages. (See Chapters 2 and 3 for an in(cid:173)
`depth discussion of all the ins and outs of e-mail.) This is not the Internet. Likewise, if
`you have an account at America Online and you send a message to someone else at
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 4
`
`

`
`Just [nough to Get Started
`
`AOL/ you/re still not using the Internet. But/ if your office network has a gateway to the
`Internet/ and you send e-mail to someone who does not work at your office/ then
`you/re sending mail over the Internet.
`
`Likewise/ if you send a message from your AOL account to someone at
`CompuServe/ or elsewhere/ then/ again/ you are sending messages over the Internet
`(see Figure 1.1 ).
`
`FIGURE 1.1:
`The Internet carries
`e-mail from one
`network to another.
`
`But/ from your point of view/ the Internet is not just a collection of networks all talk(cid:173)
`ing to each other. A single computer can also participate in the Internet by connecting
`to a network or service provider thafs connected to the Internet. And while the local
`office network I described and the big commercial online services are not themselves
`the Internet/ they can and often do provide access through their gateways to the
`Internet. (I cover online services later in this chapter/ in the section called Accessing
`the Net at Home.)
`This can be confusing to first-time Internet users (universally referred to as
`newbies). Say you have an AOL account and you join one of the discussion groups
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 5
`
`

`
`B Chapter One
`
`(bulletin boards) there. It may not be obvious to you right away whether you're talk(cid:173)
`ing in an internal venue, one only accessible to AOL members, or in a public Internet
`newsgroup. One of the benefits of an online service is the seamlessness that makes
`everything within your grasp appear to be part of the same little program running on
`your computer.
`
`The Web Is Not the Net, or Is It?
`
`Nowadays, most of the hype about the Internet is focused on the World Wide Web.
`It's existed for under ten years now but it's been the fastest growing and most popu(cid:173)
`lar part of the Net for many of those years (except, perhaps, for the voluminous flow
`of e-mail around the globe). But what is the Web (also called WWW or w3) and is it
`the same thing as the Internet? Well, to answer the second question first: yes and no.
`Technically, the Web is just part of the Internet-or, more properly, a way of getting
`around part of the Internet. But it's a big part, because a lot of the Internet that's not
`strictly speaking part of the Web can still be reached through it.
`So the Web, on one level, is an interface. A window onto the Net. A way of getting
`to where you're going. Its appeal derives from three different benefits:
`1.
`It disguises the gobbledygook that passes for Internet addresses and
`commands. (See A Few Words about Internet Addresses at the end of
`this chapter.)
`It wraps up most of the different features of the Internet into a single
`interface.
`It allows you to see pictures, and even hear sounds or watch movies (if
`your computer can hack it), along with your helpings of text.
`
`2.
`
`3.
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 6
`
`

`
`It helps to know a little bit about the history of the Net to understand why these
`three features of the Web have spurred on the Internet boom. First of all, before the
`Web, to do anything beyond simple e-mail (and even that could be difficult, depend(cid:173)
`ing on your type of access) used to require knowing weird Unix commands and
`understanding the Internet's system for numbering and naming all the computers
`connected to it. If you've ever wrestled with DOS and lost, then you can appreciate
`the effort required to surmount this type of barrier.
`Imagine it's 1991 and you've gotten yourself an Internet account, solved the prob(cid:173)
`lems of logging in with a communications program to a Unix computer somewhere
`out there, and mastered the Unix programs needed to send and receive mail, read
`newsgroups, download files, and so on. You'd still be looking at lots of screenfuls of
`plain text, reams and reams of words. No pictures. Well, if you were dying for pictures
`you could download enormous text files that had begun their lives as pictures and
`then were encoded as plain text so they could be squeezed through the text-only
`pipelines that constituted the Net. Next you'd have to decode the files, download
`them onto your PC or Mac, and then run some special program to look at them. Not
`quite as easy as flipping through a magazine.
`The Web uses a method called hypertext to disguise the actual commands and
`addresses you use to navigate the Net. Instead of these commands and addresses,
`what you see in your Web browser (the program you use to travel the Web) is plain
`English key words highlighted in some way. Simply select or click on the key words,
`and your browser program talks the Internet talk, negotiates the transaction with the
`computer at the other end, and brings the picture, text, program, or activity you desire
`onto your computer screen. This is how all computer functions should work (and
`probably how they will work one day).
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 7
`
`

`
`. . Chapter One
`
`Early, Unix-based Web browsers such as Www (developed at CERN, the European
`particle physics laboratory where the Web was invented) and Lynx (developed at the
`University of Kansas) were not especially attractive to look at, but they did offer the
`"one-step" technique for jumping to a specific location on the Net or downloading a
`file or piece of software. Figure 1.2 shows Lynx, running on a Unix machine in a termi(cid:173)
`nal window and connected to a PC by a modem.
`
`5 n t 5 r z o n 5
`
`ENTERZONE EPISODE 5
`
`hyper v:reb text zine media art
`Ch1cken UJire Mother
`
`INSIDE THIS Al-H.JIVEP.~::.u.:~y EPISODE
`
`Po>~t-l::r . oOOo. R.:~adkill . oOOo. J J•.xa
`G·::ond.c.J.i~2r . oOOo. nu:.: 1J:ronq
`.Jolu1. (correction) . oOOo. Coping with !.Jot Being Be.st::. of 't-h•:! H~t .
`. oOOo. Ent.erzone 's ne~·:r theme so1..md (in . ~~rav a:n.d AIFF formats)
`
`TABLE~ OF CONTENTS
`
`-- press space for next page --
`Arrov:r keys: Up an.d Dow.n to move. Right to follow a link; Left to go back.
`
`FIGURE 1.2:
`
`In Lynx, you can press Tab to get to and highlight a link, and then press Enter to execute
`the link and follow it to a file or another part of the Internet.
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 8
`
`

`
`Just [nough to Get Started-
`
`The next advance on the Web was the development of graphical Web browsers that
`could run on a desktop PC or Macintosh, permitting the user to employ the familiar
`point-and-click techniques available for other programs on the computer and incorpo(cid:173)
`rating text formatting and graphics into the browser screen. The first program of this
`type was NCSA Mosaic, which was developed at the National Center for Supercomputer
`Applications and distributed for free (see Figure 1.3).
`
`Born: June 3, 1926
`Place of Birth: Newark, New Jersey
`(Now that you've entered the Allen Ginsberg zone of influence, I suggest you leave by
`linking to the recitation of Blake at the end of this page. I don 1 know why. But this poem is
`often sung during Ginsberg's poetry readings.)
`Louis Ginsberg was a published poet, a high school teacher and a moderate J e'Nish Socialist. Hts
`wife, Naomi, was a radical Conununist and irnpressible nudist who ~.ovent tragically ir1sar1e ir1 early
`adulthood. Somewhere benNe en the t'No in temperament was the Gmsberg's second son, Itwir1
`Allen.
`A shy and complicated child growir1g up ill Pater'lf.t." New Jersey, PJlen's home life was domit1ated
`by his mother's bizarre and frightenmg episodes. ~severe paranoid, she often tn1sted young Allen
`when she was convmced the rest of the family and the world was plotti.t1g agait1st her. As the
`
`FIGURE 1.3: Mosaic made it possible to point to a link and click on it, making the Internet
`much more accessible to non-technical users. It also pioneered the use of
`in-line graphics (meaning illustrations mixed in with text).
`Furthermore, the various Web browsers can more or less substitute for a plethora of
`little specialty programs (such as Gopher clients, newsreaders, FTP programs, and so
`on) that you had to assemble and set up yourself "in the old days:' The browsers all
`have their own little idiosyncrasies, but they're still remarkably uniform and consistent
`compared to the zoo of different programs and rules you had to follow just a few years
`ago. These days, the most popular browser is Netscape Navigator (see Figure 1.4).
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 9
`
`

`
`B ChaptH One
`
`LATEST NEvVS: GOLD RELEASED
`
`~
`
`NAVIGATOR GOLD SmPS
`\Vindows 95 and tiT users can now download the shipping version of
`Netscape Navigator (3old. Learn how to upgrade if you own Navigator.
`Once you've do\'\'llloaded it, enter our expanded Gold Rush contest to win cash and prizes
`and
`home
`listed in a
`ecial contest
`Yahoo.
`
`FIGURE 1.4: Netscape Navigator is hands-down the most popular World Wide Web browser program.
`It works very much the way Mosaic does but with a number of additional features and
`improvements.
`
`The Web has made it possible for browsers to display pictures right there in the
`midst of text, without you having to know how to decode files. A picture's worth a·
`thousand watchamacallits, and pictures look better in newspaper articles and on TV
`than scads of typewritten text. So this ability was the final ingredient that made the
`Web seem so accessible and interesting to people who'd never in a million years care
`to learn what a Unix "regular expression" is.
`So, I haven't really answered the question that heads up this section: Is the Web
`the Internet? Technically it's not exactly the same thing, but for all intents and pur(cid:173)
`poses, it is. And Web browsers are the must-have programs that have made the
`Internet what it is today.
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 10
`
`

`
`BROWSING TH{ W{
`
`• Understanding the World Wide Web
`• Understanding (and then forgetting) Web
`addresses
`• Understanding the different types of Web
`browsers
`• Using Web browsers
`• Browsing the Web with America Online,
`CompuServe, Lynx, MS Internet Explorer,
`Mosaic, NetCruiser, and Netscape
`Navigator
`
`One of the newest media available over the Internet is the World Wide Web. The
`Web (or sometimes WWW, w3, or w3) is a huge collection of interconnected
`hypertext documents. (See What Is Hypertext? to learn more about hypertext.)
`Hypertext documents can contain links to other documents, to other kinds of
`files entirely, and to other sites on the Internet. With a Web browser, you can
`jump from one link to the next, following the trail of links in any direction that
`interests you. Not everything on the Internet is available via the Web, but more
`and more of it is linked together.
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 11
`
`

`
`Chapter Four
`
`What Is Uypertext?
`On the Web, hypertext is simply text with links. Links are elements of the
`hypertext documents that you can select Click on a link and you'll be trans(cid:173)
`ported to the document it's linked to (or to a different part of the current doc(cid:173)
`ument). As I mentioned in Chapter 1, if you use Windows, then you've got
`hypertext right in front of you, in the form of Windows help files. Whenever
`you select options from the Help menu of a Windows program,you are
`shown a hypertext help document with definitions and links available at the
`click of a mouse.
`In addition to taking you to other documents, links can take you to Gopher
`servers, FTP sites, Telnet sites, Usenet newsgroups, and other Internet facili(cid:173)
`ties. Links can also bring to you other programs and connect you to pictures,
`sounds, movies, and other binary files.
`Once we start expanding the idea to include other media. besides text, the
`rubric of hypertext is replaced by the .word hypermedia. But the idea behind it
`is the same: links. An advantage of hypertext (or hypermedia) is that it allows
`you to navigate through all kinds of related documents (and other kinds of
`files), using one simple procedure-selecting a link.
`A drawback is that, for now, you generally must follow links. that other peo(cid:173)
`ple have created, so the medium is not yet fully interactive. Of course, you can
`always make your own Web page-see Chapter 12. Also, there's a lot more
`text out there than hypertext. A Web browser can lead you to a plain text doc(cid:173)
`ument as easily as to a hypertext document. You won't be able to jump any(cid:173)
`where else from a plain text document, so it's a sort of cul-de-sac, but you can
`always turn around.
`
`The beauty of the Web is that the browser programs with which you "read" the
`Web are incredibly easy to use. This gives you access to all kinds of data, programs,
`news, pictures, and so on, without having to master the syntax of difficult protocols
`and arcane Unix commands.
`Throughout the rest of this book, there will be references to the Web. It has
`become such a ubiquitous front end (a way to connect to the Net), that much of your
`use of the Net will take place through a Web browser.
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 12
`
`

`
`Browsing the Web
`
`Web Addresses (URLs)
`If you've ever noticed an advertisement that says "check out our web site," you've
`seen the arcane way they describe how to find it, giving you the address, or URL, which
`almost always begins with the letters http: . (URL stands for Uniform Resource
`Locator.) A Web address starts with the name of a protocol (a method for connecting to
`information); most of the time it is HTTP. HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol
`and means that the resource in question will be found on a Web server. This protocol is
`followed by : I I (the oft-heard "colon-slash-slash," or even more cumbersome,
`"colon-forward-slash-forward-slash"), and then an Internet address of the form
`site . sub domain . domain, as explained in A Few Words about Internet
`Addresses in Chapter 1. After that, you might find a colon and a port number (this is
`fairly rare), a path which is a list of folders or directory names leading to the resource in
`question, separated by more forward slashes. After the path, you might find a file name,
`which often ends with the extension • h t m l. An HTML file (which means Hypertext
`Markup Language file) is the primary type of document on the Web.
`Fortunately, most of the time, you won't have to type in Web addresses yourself,
`since you'll be following links that have the URL encoded into them
`
`Different Types of Web Browsers
`
`Most online services are now offering access to the World Wide Web. Some do it by
`launching an external browser program (usually some variety of Mosaic) alongside the
`main access program Others have their browser built-in, as with any other module
`available within the access program. Netcom's NetCruiser has a built-in Web
`module, but it also enables external Web browsers to run alongside NetCruiser, piggy(cid:173)
`backing on the Internet connection provided by the Netcom software. (Similarly, some
`online services, such as CompuServe and Microsoft Network enable you to do the
`same with external Web browsers).
`Direct-access ISPs usually enable you to run whichever Web browser you like over
`the dial-up connection (and most people opt for Netscape Navigator), but Unix shell(cid:173)
`only accounts require that you run a character-based Unix browser, such as Lynx or
`the original browser, Www They won't be able to show you pictures and won't allow
`you to click your mouse to select links, but they can take you anywhere you want to
`go, and you can always download binary files that the character-based browsers aren't
`able to display.
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 13
`
`

`
`Chapt~r four
`
`HTTP, HTML, and URLs
`
`Don't get thrown by the alphabet soup of acronyms you're confronted with
`when you start looking into the Web. URL, as I mentioned before, stands for
`Uniform Resource Locator. It's a form of address that all Web browsers can
`understand. URLs always take this form:
`
`protocol://host:.port/dir/filename.
`
`So the URL gopher: I /dixie .. a iss. uiuc. edu: 6969/11/
`urban · 1 e g ends tells a browser "use the gopher protocol to connect to
`the host machine called dixie. a iss. u i uc. edu, connect to port
`6 9 6 9 there, look in directory I 11, and get the file called urban.
`legends:'
`The protocol generally used to connect to hypertext documents is called
`HTTP. HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol because browsers use.it to
`transfer you to hypertext documents. If that protocol is called for, the URL will
`begin with http: (other protocols are ftp:, telnet:, and soon.:.:.,.there'salso a pro(cid:173)
`tocol called file:, which is equivalent to ftp:).
`The other confusing acronym you might come across is HTML. HTML stands
`for Hypertext Markup Language, and it is the code used to mark up text docu(cid:173)
`ments to make them into hypertext documents. Hypertext documents on the
`Web generally end in the extension .html.
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 14
`
`

`
`Browsing the Web
`
`Using Web Browsers
`Generally, when you start a browser, you begin at a home page, a starting place you
`designate (or your browser designates) for your Web-crawling sessions. (Hypertext
`documents on the Web are commonly referred to as pages.) This will either be the
`default home page for your browser or a custom home page that you have created.
`You can also start some browsers by pointing them directly at a Web address. Some
`e-mail programs, such as Eudora, now allow you to double-click a URL in an e-mail
`message to automatically start up your most recently installed browser and bring up
`the selected Web page.
`
`Figure 4. 1 shows the Netscape home page that comes up automatically when you
`start Netscape Navigator (until or unless you change it to start at a different page).
`Now that you're connected, you can
`• Follow the links that interest you. At any point you can retrace your steps so
`far or bring up a complete history of where you've been this session and
`then jump immediately back to one of those pages.
`• Go to a specific Web address (URL) when you start your browser. Generally,
`to stop it from loading the default home page, you press the Stop button and
`enter an address directly.
`• Insert bookmarks that enable you to jump back to an interesting page without
`having to retrace your steps or bring up a history of where you've been.
`• Save (download) or mail interesting documents and files.
`• View the hidden URL (Web address) that a given link points to.
`• Customize your program's home page so that you always start at a page with
`links that interest you, rather than having to start at a generic home page.
`• Access Help through a command or menu to get tips about using the
`program and information about the Web itself.
`• Find out what's new on the Net.
`Read on to discover how to do all these things ... and more.
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 15
`
`

`
`Chapter four
`
`LATEST NE,iVS: GOLD RELEASED
`
`NAVIGATOR GOLD SlllPS
`Windows 95 and NT users can now download the shipping version of
`Nets cape Navigator Gold. Learn how to upgrade if you own Navigator.
`Once you've downloaded it, enter our expanded G)ld Rush contest to win cash and prizes
`
`FIGURE 4.1: Unless customized, Netscape Navigator starts you off at the Netscape horne page.
`
`Reading a Page in a Web Browser
`Web pages can consist of formatted text and headings, illustrations, background art
`and color effects, and hyperlinks, which can be highlighted text or art. In most graphi(cid:173)
`cal browsers, links are shown in blue (unless the creator of the page has decided
`otherwise) and are underlined (unless the creator has decided otherwise and
`has customized the program).
`Often a page won't fit on the screen all at once. Graphical browsers use scroll bars,
`just as other programs do, to enable you to see material that doesn't fit on the screen.
`If you're hunting for a specific piece of information on a long document page, try
`searching for key words, usually with a menu command.
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 16
`
`

`
`8 r o w s i n q t h e W e b I l l
`
`~ollowing a Link
`
`ANNOUNCING TilE R:I'LEASE OF
`The latest release contains
`versionsOheck out supp
`
`In graphical browsers, following a link entails positioning
`the mouse pointer over the link (the pointer will change to
`show you that you're over an active link-in Netscape it
`changes to a little hand) and then clicking once (get out of the habit of double-clicking).
`All browsers have a Back command, often a
`shortcut button, for retracing your steps back to
`the previous page. Once you've gone back, you
`can also go forward, using the Forward com(cid:173)
`mand, to return along your original path to the
`furthest point you had gotten to. Also, you can
`usually bring up a history list (on a menu, in a
`graphical browser; on a separate page, in a text(cid:173)
`only browser) of all the pages you've been to
`since you started the program that session.
`
`Bright House Networks - Ex. 1128, Page 17
`
`

`
`Chapter four
`
`Knowing Where to Go
`It's hard to get oriented in the Web, since there's no real starting point. Your default
`home page should provide some pretty useful places to start though. I recommend
`surfing around for a while to see where these points lead.
`
`In most browsers, if you have a specific Web address in mind (say one you saw in
`an advertisement or one that was e-mailed to you), you can type in a URL directly to
`visit a Web page without having to follow a trail of links that leads to it
`Also at any time, you can return to the default home page. Graphical browsers have
`a Home button, often decorated with an icon representing a house, for this purpose.
`Making a Bookmark
`As you travel around the Web, you can save interesting destinations by making
`bookmarks (also called Favorites or Favorite Places in some browsers, and Items on a
`Hotlist in others). Once you've made a bookmark, you've created your own personal
`shortcut to a favorite destination. You won't have to find your way back to the page in
`question next time you want to go there.
`
`Saving or Mailing a Document
`If a Web page contains information you want to send to someone or have stored
`on your own computer, you can either use your browser's mail command to send the
`document to yourself or to someone else, or you can use the save command (File )i.oo(cid:173)
`Save As in graphical browsers) to save a copy of the document on your hard disk,
`much the same way you'd save a file in a word processor.
`
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`

`
`Browsing the Web
`
`Peeking behind the Scenes
`If you need to see the U RL associated with a specific link, you can do so. For
`instance, in most browsers, when you place the pointer over a link, the associated link
`appears in the status bar at the bottom of the program. Some browsers enable you to
`copy a URL by right-clicking or clicking-and-holding the link to it. You can then paste it
`into another document for future reference or paste it into an e-mail message to tell
`someone else how to get to the page in question.
`If you want to see how a Web page was constructed, you can generally view the
`source file underlying a page. In graphical browsers, you do this by selecting View ~
`Source (or something similar). Figure 4.2 shows the source underlying the Netscape
`home page.
`
`FIGURE 4.1: The HTML document that makes the Netscape home page look the way it does. (Don't
`let it spook you!)
`
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`
`

`
`llil ( h a p t e r f o u r
`
`(hanging Your Home Page
`The commands differ from browser to browser, but most Web browsers allow you
`to change your default home page to a different page (or even to a list of your book(cid:173)
`marks) so you can start exploring the Web from any vantage point.
`Generally, the way you change you home page is to go into the Options or
`Preferences area of your browser and either specify an exact URL or tell the browser
`to use the current page as the new home page. Why would you change your page?
`Well, you might find a useful page out there on the Net that connects to most of your
`favorite sites. Or you might want to make one of the directory or search pages (as dis(cid:173)
`cussed in Chapter 5) into your new starting page.
`Web Help and Info
`There are a number of helpful resources for the Web, both hypertext and plain text
`documents. Try the WWW FAQ, an excellent document. Its URL is http: I I w w w.
`bout e 11 . com If a q I. The W3 Consortium is the official source of information
`about the Web, and you can connect to their home page at http : I I w w w •
`w 3 . or 9 I. (But be forewarned, much of their information is highly technical!) Many
`individual browsers also offer dedicated help files, accessible through a menu com(cid:173)
`mand. I'll cover some specific browsers and their help functions at the end of
`this chapter.
`
`Get Uf's lntern~t Guide as Hypertext on the Web
`The Electronic Frontier Foundation has published a hypertext version of its
`Internet Guide on the World Wide Web. You could hunt around for it by looking
`in one of the many indexes or other jumping-offpages on th~ Web, but why
`don't I just tell you the URL? Point your browser. at http : /I w w w • e f f .
`o r 9 I p a p e r s I e e g t t i I e e 9 t t it o p • h t m 1 to go to the main page
`for the Guide.
`
`Keeping Up with What's New
`If you want to keep up-to-date on the latest interesting home pages, visit the NCSA
`What's New Page (the unofficial newspaper of the Web) at http : I I w w w . n c sa .
`uiuc-eduiSDGISoftwareiMosaiciDocslwhats-new-html.Mo~
`
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`

`
`Browsing the Web
`
`Web browsers have a What's New command or button (and some also have a What's
`Cool option as well), leading to some similar compendium of the latest interesting sites.
`
`Surfing the Web with Your
`Web Browser
`The program you choose to wander around the Web with is largely a matter of
`taste, need, and budget. In fact, you may eventually end up with more than one
`browser on your hard drive. I'll discuss a few of the more common browsers now.
`Browsing the Web with AOL
`You can start the AOL browser by going to the Internet Connection area and choos(cid:173)
`ing World Wide Web, by double-clicking on any AOL content that includes the word
`Web at the end of its title, or by going to the keyword Web.
`Figure 4.3 shows the AOL home page that comes up automatically when you con(cid:173)
`nect to the Web without specifying a particular site.
`AOL:s browser has no search command for the contents of a Web page. It has Back
`and Forward buttons, and you can see a list of sites you've visited in the drop-down
`list box directly below the buttons (that's also where you type an address if you want
`to go there directly).
`Click on the Home button to return to the AOL home page.