| The Internet is a network of networks all loosely connected through phone lines or network hookups. You can connect to one network (your service provider) and then gain access to the entire network via a connection (usually a phone line or a cable connection). When connected, you can navigate from one network system to another network; this process is called browsing or surfing. You don't need to know a lot about the details of how the Internet works or is organized. All you need to worry about is how to set up your connection the first time and then how to get connected thereafter. If you are curious about how the Internet was developed, or if you want more technical details on the Internet, consider reading How to Use the Internet, Eighth Edition (ISBN# 0-7897-2813-3) by Que Publishing. When connected, you can do any of the following: Send and receive email. You can send email messages to anyone with an email address. You can also receive email. Email is covered in Chapter 7, "Sending and Receiving Email." note  | Often the Internet is called the World Wide Web or the Web for short. The World Wide Web is not a physical part of the Internet; instead, it is a way of presenting information. Initially, the Internet was all text based, but someone came along and developed a new method that allowed for graphics and other media elements (sounds, animation, and so on). Sites that were set up in this multimedia format were part of the World Wide Web. As more sites became graphical, the Internet and the World Wide Web became pretty much synonymous. |
Communicate live online by typing messages. You can type instant messages to others who are online at the same time you are, thereby having a live conversation through these typed words. You can also participate in chats. Again, in a chat, you type your messages, but the conversation involves a group of peopleeveryone within a particular chat room, and anyone can see and respond to your typed messages. You can find informal chats as well as scheduled and monitored chats with famous people, such as authors, actors, and other individuals. Post messages and review responses in a newsgroup. Another way to connect with other users is through a newsgroup. (Newsgroups have little to do with news, even though they are called newsgroups.) Rather than a live conversation, you post messages to an electronic bulletin board. Then, anyone who visits that newsgroup can read and respond to your messages. You can find newsgroups on topics as diverse as Elvis sightings to molecular biology. Browse Web sites. You can go to other sites on the Internet (see Figure 5.1). You can go directly to a site by typing its address, you can search for sites, or you can browse from site to site by using links. For more information on browsing, see Chapter 8, "Browsing the Internet." Figure 5.1. The first site you see is your home site. From this site, you can go to other Web sites. 
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