Chapter 6: Going on the Internet

If your Macintosh is running OS X, and especially if you have made the effort to read this book (whether you’re browsing in the computer section of a Barnes and Noble or perusing the pages in the comfort of your living room), there is no doubt about it: your computer needs an Internet connection. Having access to the World Wide Web is an essential component of the OS X experience, not only for information and communication, but also for downloading Apple’s frequently provided and often massively sized software updates.

This Chapter discusses the very basics of getting your Mac onto the Internet, and how to use the Internet after you are successfully connected to it. This Chapter walks you through the Internet Setup Assistant as the means to configure your Mac for Internet connectivity. For advanced configuration and setup, see Chapter 15. The Internet Connect application is described here, as well as Mac OS X’s menu bar icons that are related to connecting you to the Internet. This Chapter also gives a detailed run through of Apple’s Safari Web browser and Mail application, for surfing the Web and sending and receiving email, and a brief description of newsgroups and news readers.

Why You Need the Internet

Using the Internet used to be less than enjoyable. Access was slow, clumsy, and expensive. Information was erratic, unreliable, and difficult to find. Although certain difficulties still exist, lately, the Net is a pleasure to use. Information is readily available. Access is cheaper and faster than it has ever been. Often, it is faster and easier to find things on the Web than by using more-traditional methods, and often the case turns out to be that certain information is available by Web only. Nowadays, it’s almost unheard of that any company or business (or for that matter, anyone or anything that wants attention) does not have a Web site. Companies have spent intense time and money on informative and well-designed sites that provide support and details. The Web makes information and communication almost instantaneous. Newspapers and magazines publish articles and stories and have them online, viewable to millions of readers, seconds later. People who can’t place the face of that one character in a lazy Sunday afternoon movie can find out who it is in seconds by searching the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com). When the Gap doesn’t have the correct size in their stores, you can get clothing shipped (free!) to your house, ordered off of the Web. Email has evolved into an extremely popular method of communication, thanks largely to its speed and worldwide span. It is common for people to spend several hours a day on the Web, for both business and pleasure reasons. Online banking has changed the way people pay their bills and manage their money. With just a few clicks, the credit cards and the electric company get paid! These are just some of the reasons that you need Internet access.

Apple and the Internet

Apple is very aware of all the advantages that the Internet offers, and has been gradually and more intensely centering the Mac user experience around the Internet. In the summer of 1998, Apple released the original iMac, which at the time was a revolutionarily designed, low cost, and peppy machine. The first in a long-standing and still-existing tradition of their consumer machine monikers, the i in iMac, iBook, iTunes, and so on, stands for Internet. Since that time, which spans the introduction and release of OS X, Apple has been making it easy for OS X users to get on the Internet, including step-by-step software setup assistants, free trials with Internet service providers (ISPs), and television commercials touting the Mac’s ease of use and setup. Recently Mac users are able to purchase prints of digital photography and purchase and download music, straight from their Macs, using the Internet.