NEWbies |
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by Todd Rosen |
This article is for new users of the Interent Netscape browser (i.e., NEWbie). The second question is "What is Netscape?"
Netscape is a browser used for a graphic view of the World Wide Web (WWW) - the fastest growing part of the Internet. The Internet consists of many parts (e.g., e-mail, FTP sites, Newsgroups, WWW, etc.) which are discussed at the Internet 101 classes. The program is popular because it is easy to use. It allows you to view "frames" (screen is divided into parts and is available only in Netscape 2 and later versions), mail and Newsgroups. The final question that you may have (besides what will the winning lottery numbers be?) is why should I read this article. If you are new to the Internet and Netscape, this article will get you one step closer to becoming an "Internaut". If you are an expert with the Internet and Netscape you have already wasted one minute reading this article when you could have been reading a good book of Anne Rice!
Netscape Requirements
Before you use Netscape, you must subscribe to an Internet provider service (e.g., HALNet). You must also have your Winsock (modem-type program to provide access to your internet provider) set up correctly (IP, DNS, Host & ID). Once these two steps are done you are ready to get a copy of Netscape. You can purchase a copy of Netscape (street price between $19.99 & $49.99) through retail stores, mail order and on-line, at the Netscape Website. You can also download a copy of the beta version (Free to test for 30 days. If you decide to keep and use the program after 30 days, you are expected to register and pay for the program.) The FTP address and site to use is ftp20.netscape.com/. The version of Netscape you need depends on you and your computer. As new users, you should you purchase the most current version of The Netscape Navigator 2.02. There are other versions (Gold - for editing Web Pages, Atlas - a prerelease test version of 3.0 which still has problems, and earlier Netscape versions such as 1.0 or 1.2) which should be avoided. Finally, make sure that you purchase the 2.02 version that matches your Operating System (Windows 3.x, Win95, WindowsNT, etc.). FYI: Version 3 will be available in July and Version 4 in December.
Installing Netscape
To install Netscape, double click on the Netscape file that you purchased or downloaded (can use Run, File Manager, etc.). The program will self-install, creating its own icon group (Note: the download version is in a compressed format with an extension of EXE. Simply click on the file and it will uncompress itself, then proceede with the installation.) Use your Winsock communications program to connect to your provider (e.g., HALNet) and then double click on the Netscape icon. Please read the license agreement that appears during the first use of Netscape; there are no surprises, just good information that you will not see again. You are now up and running.
Getting Around the WWW with Netscape
The first screen that you see is the Netscape Home and Welcome page. Every time that you sign on to Netscape you will see this home page unless you change your Home Page location under the Option command from the main menu (menu at the top of the screen). Read the home page and then go (surf) to the next page that you want to read. Navigating the WWW with Netscape is done in many different ways. First, you need to know that every page on the WWW has a unique address. These addresses are called URLs (Uniform Resource Locators). If you know the address (or URL) of a page that you want to surf to, you can type the URL in by clicking the "Open" box by the top menu and then typing in the address (or URL) of the page that you want to surf to. Once you hit Enter, you will be surfing to this page. You will know that Netscape is looking for your page if shooting stars are going across the picture of the letter "N" sitting on top of the World. This picture is towards the top right side of the screen. Another way of surfing is jumping from a hot link to a new page. A hot link is an underlined colored word or an image that is directly linked to another page. If you use your mouse to click on this word or image, you will surf directly to the assigned linked page. A third way to surf is to mouse click on the menu boxed words (e.g., What's New, What's Cool, etc.) which will then take you to a new page. If you don't know where to surf, you can mouse click on the menu boxed word "Net Search" which will take you to a search menu. You can also bring your cursor to any blank space on the Netscape screen and right mouse click which brings up a menu that allows you to scroll backward and forwards between pages that you have already seen. You can also use the "Back" and "Forward" buttons towards the top left of the screen. Finally, you can use the View History command from the "Go" menu or the "Bookmark" menu to return to a URL page that you have already seen. At any time you can mouse click the "Home" button at the top left part of the screen to take you to your home page.
Using Bookmarks
Bookmarks are very much like bookmarks for books. If you are viewing a page (URL) that you like and will want to come back to, you should mouse click "Bookmark" from the main menu and then click on the word "Add Bookmark." The bookmark menu has now permanently saved this URL address. The next time that you are using Netscape and want to go back to that URL, mouse click "Bookmark/Go to" from the main menu and double click on the location that you want to go to. Once again, you are surfing!
Speeding up Netscape
Netscape uses a cache to store documents that you open. A cache is an area of memory in your computer that Netscape looks at for documents before downloading from the Internet. If the document is in your PC's cache, it is loaded much quicker than downloading it from the Internet. If the document is not in your cache, then your PC will work much slower. If you are going to be surfing new URL pages, you want to keep the cache empty by mouse clicking "Options" from the main menu, then mouse click "Network Preferences" and clear both cache areas (memory and disk cache). Another way to speed up Netscape is to change your home page from the very busy Netscape URL to a less busy home page like HAL-PC's home page http://www.hal-pc.org. To make this change, mouse click on "Options" from the main menu and then mouse click on General Preferences and Appearances. Change the Netscape home page in Startup to read http://www.hal-pc.org/.
E-mail and Newsgroups
Netscape can also be used to read and send messages via e-mail or Newsgroups. First, make sure that Netscape is properly set up. Mouse click "Options" from the main menu and then mouse click Mail & News Preferences and then Servers. Your mail server address needs to be set properly (mail.hal-pc.org if you are on HALNet). Your news server address must also be set up properly (news.hal-pc.org if you are on HALNet). Once set up, mouse click "Window" from the main menu and choose Mail or Newsgroups depending on which you want to read. You can use Netscape browser, e-mail and Newsgroup packages all at the same time. Remember, press buttons and find out what each command is for!
To learn more about Netscape, visit the HAL-PC home page at http://www.hal-pc.org on the Internet. Please remember to attend the free BBS and Internet 101 classes that HAL-PC has on Saturdays. There is no crime in being a NEWbie; staying a NEWbie is the crime! Experiment, press, click, try and you will be on your way to becoming an Internaut!
Todd Rosen is a HAL-PC member and Internet 101 trainer.
E-mail me at webmaster@hal-pc.org with any comments you have and tell me what you want to see here.
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