Browsing the World Wide Web

Of course, the whole point of learning and configuring all the previous stuff is to gain access to the wealth of information and communication known as the Internet.

One service available through this giant, globe-spanning Internet is known as the World Wide Web. Emerging gradually and booming within the mid-nineties, it is this technology that shook the Internet to public prominence, and made terms such as “surfin’ the Web,” or “browsin’ the Net” household phrases of the previously nongeeky. Using the World Wide Web implies somehow experiencing and perusing this cacophony of information, whether it is a newspaper article or a movie preview.

Safari in the Web jungle

You can access the Web with a program called a Web browser. Recently Apple released its own Web browser, called Safari, which is now part of the Mac OS. Since its release, it has soared in popularity; it’s fast and lean, and has a fantastic interface. We discuss Safari in more detail later in the “Taking a Safari through the Wild Web” section. Until Safari’s takeover, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was the reigning browser king in OS X. As of this writing Microsoft canceled development of IE, a planned occurrence coinciding with Safari’s official release, although Microsoft is still supporting its own product. If you were comfortable with Internet Explorer, you’ll love Safari. As usual, Apple’s interface engineers have mega-upped Microsoft, and made a functional product fantastic. A key truth that will make your Web life much better, is this: always have more than one browser handy. A secondary browser is an essential tool. Not all Web sites are created equal (nor are the browsers), and what looks fine in one browser may look terrible in another.

Note

Different browsers use different rendering engines to decode and display Web pages, which is why certain pages will look different in different browsers. Safari and OmniWeb use Apple’s WebCore library, based on the KHTML engine. Netscape, and the Mozilla family, and the new AOL are based on the Netscape Gecko engine. Internet Explorer uses its own proprietary Microsoft engine, which, of course, is different from the Windows version.

Other browsers for your toolkit

A great advantage of the OS X platform is that many different browsers are available. You don’t need all of them, but they’re all worth a look. Each can be downloaded by using Safari.

• Mozilla browsers (you can read about them on their Web site) are available for download at http://mozilla.org. They include Mozilla, Firebird, and Camino.

• Netscape is alive and well and downloadable at www.netscape.net.

• iCab takes a unique approach, at www.icab.de/index.html.

• OmniWeb, among other awesome programs, comes from the Omni group. Get it at www.omnigroup.com.

• Opera has been recently optimized for Mac OS X 10.3 and can be downloaded from www.opera.com.

Understanding Web terminology

To use the Web, it helps to know a bit of its terminology. Web browser programs display information in Web pages, which can contain text, pictures, and animation as well as audio and video clips. The machines that store all this information and that serve it to you on request are called Web servers. On a Web page, the underlined text usually indicates one or more links, which are also known as hyperlinks. Pictures can also be links. A link can be discovered by moving the pointer over it; if it’s a link, the arrow changes into a pointing hand. Clicking a link takes you to another Web page. The intriguing thing about a link is that it can take you to a Web page on the same Web server or a page on any other Web server on the planet. So, it’s possible to click your way around the world and not even know it!