The Internet Tutorial
by Jonathan Leger
jleger@cp-tel.net
Last Revised: 04/16/1999
FOREWARD
If
I Wanted To Read The Manual, I'd Be An Engineer
"Online" is a word whose significance and meaning has changed vastly over the past five years. If you asked me five years ago, "Are you online?" I would give you a crazy look and answer, "Does it *look* like I'm online?"
The reason for this is simple: today, when someone asks you if you're online, what they really mean is "Do you have access to the internet?" For many, it means even less than that, since most people equate "the internet" with "the world wide web".
Well, five years ago, when someone asked me "Are you online?" they were usually trying to avoid having to say "Get off the phone so I can call Sarah you geek!" Yes, times have changed.
Because times have changed, and because the internet can appear very technical, this tutorial was written. It takes a non-technical, down-to-earth approach to the internet and how to make it a practical tool. The tutorial is divided up into five chapters:
I. The
InterWHAT???
-- An annotated history of the internet.
II. The
World Wide Wait
-- Finding your way through the muck.
III.
Cross-Country In 7 Minutes Flat
-- All about electronic mail (e-mail).
IV. The Old
Fashioned Way
-- Newsgroups: what they are and why they thrive.
V. Comments
on the future of the global village.
-- Where are we, and where are we going?
Although you surely don't need to be an internaught to understand everything in this tutorial, the tutorial DOES assume that you know how to look at a page on the World Wide Web (obviously you know how to use a search engine if you've found this page!) and that you have checked your e-mail at some time in your existance. Beyond that, though, little is required to get the most out of this tutorial.
After reading this tutorial, you should be fairly netsavy. Feel free to skip chapters, because they don't refer to each other too much (which was intentional). For example, if you're just stumped on why typing 'toys' into AltaVista returns 9,676,756 web pages, read 'The World Wide Wait' first.
All comments and suggestions for this tutorial are welcomed. Please e-mail them to me at jleger@cp-tel.net. I will do my best to reply promptly.
Click here to get it!
|
My internet tutorial is an excellent start for learning your way around the internet.
But, to really become a cyber-pro, you'll want to get
The Internet For Dummies. I highly recommend it. Here's what others are saying about it:
A reader from Ontario. Canada , March 30, 1999
A reader from U.S. , March 6, 1999 |
About the Author
Jonathan Leger is a co-owner of United Technologies, a computer service firm in Sabine Parish, Louisiana. He has been a Cyber- Traveler since he was 14 years old and got his first computer, a Tandy 1000 GL (yuck).
Today Jonathan enjoys writing poetry and reading good books, especially the Bible and Bible-based publications. He has recently put together a website for generator poetry, The Poetry Generator, at:
http://poetrygenerator.webjump.com/
Since Jonathan is of the firm opinion that nothing beats a good cup of coffee or tea, he has setup a site dedicated to gourmet coffee and tea:
He operates many newsletters, and offers tips and tricks for making your old computer run Microsoft Windows faster than Microsoft wants you to. Find these great tips at:
https://www.angelfire.com/la/freereports/speedupwindows.html
All questions, comments and suggestions concerning this tutorial are completely welcomed and encouraged. Please e-mail Jonathan at:
All material contained in this tutorial is copyright (c) 1999 by Jonathan Leger, and cannot be copied or duplicated without his expressed consent and approval.
