Chapter 7. Getting on the Web

• How to Get Online

• Establishing a New Dial-Up Internet Account

• Manually Plugging in Internet Settings

• Dialing Up to the Internet

• Surfing the Web

• Internet Explorer

Plenty of people buy a pc to crunch numbers , scan photos, or cultivate their kids ' hand-eye coordination. But for millions of people, Reason One for using a PC is to access the Internet. This chapter covers getting online and surfing the Web. The next chapter covers that other thing you can do on the Internetemail.

To join the Internet party already in progress, you need three components : a connection (like a modem, cable modem, DSL, or corporate network), an Internet account, and Internet software (like a Web browser). Windows XP comes with a browserMicrosoft Internet Explorer (but this chapter also mentions some alternatives).