Microsoft Internet Explorer 6

Transcription

2
Microsoft Internet
Explorer 6
Objectives
• To become familiar with the Microsoft Internet
Explorer 6 (IE6) Web browser’s capabilities.
• To be able to use IE6 to search the “world of
information” available on the World Wide Web.
• To be able to use the Internet as an information tool.
• To become familiar with e-mail.
• To learn about instant messaging.
• To become aware of the differences between various
browsers.
Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.
Sir Winston Churchill
We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that
confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world.
J. William Fulbright
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Outline
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
2.10
2.11
Introduction to the Internet Explorer 6 Web Browser
Connecting to the Internet
Internet Explorer 6 Features
Searching the Internet
Online Help and Tutorials
Keeping Track of Your Favorite Sites
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
Customizing Browser Settings
Electronic Mail
Instant Messaging
Other Web Browsers
Summary • Terminology • Self-Review Exercises • Answers to Self-Review Exercises • Exercises
2.1 Introduction to the Internet Explorer 6 Web Browser
The Internet is an essential medium for communicating and interacting with people worldwide. The need to publish and share information has fueled the rapid growth of the Web.
Web browsers are software programs that allow users to access the Web’s rich multimedia
content. Whether for business or for personal use, millions of people use Web browsers to
access the tremendous amount of information available on the Web.
The two most popular Web browsers are Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Netscape.
This chapter focuses on the features of Internet Explorer (IE6) to view, exchange and transfer
information, such as images, messages and documents, over the Internet. We provide an
equivalent chapter-length treatment on Netscape 7.1 at our Web site, www.deitel.com.
This chapter also introduces e-mail, instant messaging and alternative Web browsers.
2.2 Connecting to the Internet
A computer alone is not enough to access the Internet. In addition to Web browser software,
the computer needs specific hardware and a connection to an Internet Service Provider to
view Web pages. This section describes the necessary components that enable Internet access.
First, a computer must have a modem or network card. A modem is hardware that
enables a computer to connect to a network. A modem converts data to audio tones and
transmits the data over phone lines. A network card, also called a network interface card
(NIC), is hardware that allows a computer to connect to the Internet through a network or
a high-speed Internet connection, such as a local area network (LAN), cable modem or a
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL).
After ensuring that a computer has a modem or a network card (most computers come
with one or both of these), the next step is to register with an Internet Service Provider
(ISP). Computers connect to an ISP using a modem and phone line, or via a NIC using a
LAN, DSL or cable modem. The ISP connects computers to the Internet. Many college
campuses have free network connections available. If a network connection is not avail-
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able, then popular commercial ISPs, such as America Online (www.aol.com), Microsoft
Network (www.msn.com) and NetZero (www.netzero.net), are alternatives.
Bandwidth and cost are two considerations when deciding which commercial ISP service to use. Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be transferred through a communications medium in a fixed amount of time. Different ISPs offer different types of highspeed connections, called broadband connections, which include DSL, cable modem,
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and slower dial-up connections, each of
which has a different bandwidth and cost to users.
Broadband is a category of high-bandwidth Internet service that is most often provided
to home users by cable television and telephone companies. DSL is a broadband service that
allows computers to be connected at all times to the Internet over existing phone lines,
without interfering with telephone services. However, DSL requires a special modem provided by the ISP. Like DSL, cable modems enable the computer to be connected to the
Internet at all times. Cable modems transmit data over the cables that bring television to
homes and businesses. Unlike DSL, the bandwidth is shared by many users. This sharing can
reduce the bandwidth available to each person when many use the system simultaneously.
ISDN provides Internet service over either digital or standard telephone lines. ISDN requires
specialized hardware, called a terminal adaptor (TA), which is usually obtained from the ISP.
Dial-up service uses an existing telephone line. If a computer is connected to the
Internet, the user usually cannot receive voice calls during this time. If the voice calls do
connect, the Internet connection is interrupted. To prevent this, users often install an extra
phone line dedicated to Internet service.
Once a network connection is established, the Internet Connection Wizard (ICW)
in Windows 98 and 2000, or the New Connection Wizard in Windows XP, can be used
to configure the computer to connect to the Internet. You can access either wizard through
the Start menu. Select the Accessories option in the Programs menu (All Programs
in Windows XP), then Communications and Internet Connection Wizard (New
Connection Wizard in Windows XP). Input the connection information provided by the
ISP, following the instructions in the Internet Connection Wizard dialog (Fig. 2.1).1
Click Tutorial (in Windows 2000 only) to learn more about the Internet and its features.
Once the Internet Connection Wizard finishes, the computer can connect to the Internet.
2.3 Internet Explorer 6 Features
A Web browser is software that allows the user to view certain types of Internet files in an
interactive environment. Figure 2.2 shows the Deitel Home Page using Internet Explorer 6
Web browser. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) http://www.deitel.com/ is
found in the Address bar. The URL specifies the address (i.e., location) of the Web page displayed in the browser window. Each Web page on the Internet is associated with a unique
URL. URLs usually begin with http://, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP), the industry standard protocol (or set of communication rules) for transferring Web
documents over the Internet. URLs of Web sites that handle private information, such as credit card numbers, often begin with https://, the abbreviation for Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS), the standard for transferring encrypted data over the Internet.
1.
All screen shots in this chapter were taken on a computer running Windows 2000. Screen shots
may differ slightly for Windows XP users.
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Specify what type
of connection to
use by clicking
one of the option
buttons.
Tutorial
button
Fig. 2.1
Internet Connection Wizard helps configure Internet access.
Back
Recent
history
Forward
Stop
Refresh
Address bar
Go
Pointer (over a hyperlink)
Fig. 2.2
Deitel® Web site.
Scroll bars
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There are several techniques for navigating between different URLs. You can click the
Address field and type a Web page’s URL, then press Enter or click Go to request the
Web page located at that URL. For example, to visit Yahoo!’s Web site, type
www.yahoo.com in the Address bar and press the Enter key. IE6 adds the http://
prefix to the Web site name because HTTP is the default protocol used for the Web.
Another way to navigate the Web is via visual elements on Web pages called hyperlinks that, when clicked, load a specified Web document. Both images and text may be
hyperlinked. When the mouse pointer hovers over a hyperlink, the default arrow pointer
changes into a hand with the index finger pointing upward. Often hyperlinked text appears
underlined or as a different color than the text that is not hyperlinked. Originally used as a
publishing tool for scientific research, hyperlinking creates the effect of the “Web.”
Hyperlinks can reference other Web pages, e-mail addresses and files. If a hyperlink
is an e-mail address, clicking the link loads the browser’s default e-mail program and opens
a message window addressed to the specified recipient’s e-mail address. E-mail is discussed later in this chapter.
If a hyperlink references a file that the browser is incapable of displaying, the browser
prepares to download the file by prompting the user for information. When a file is downloaded, it is copied onto the user’s computer. Programs, documents, images and sound files
are all examples of downloadable files.
IE6 maintains a history list of previously visited URLs in chronological order. This
feature allows users to return to recently visited Web sites easily.
The history feature can be accessed several different ways. The simplest and most frequently used method is to click the Forward and Back buttons located at the top of the
browser window (see Fig. 2.2). The Back button reloads the previously viewed page into
the browser. The Forward button loads the next URL from the history into the browser.
The keyboard shortcut for Forward is Alt+Right Arrow, and the shortcut for Back is
Alt+Left Arrow or simply Backspace.
When users view frequently updated Web pages, they should click the Refresh button
to load the most current version. If a page is not loading correctly or is slow, click the Stop
button or press Esc to stop loading the Web page.
The user can view the last/next nine Web pages visited by clicking the down-arrows
immediately to the right of the Back and Forward buttons; the user can then request one
of the recently viewed pages by clicking the title of the page in the drop-down list.
Clicking the History button (Fig. 2.3) divides the browser window into two sections:
the History window (on the left) and the content window. The History window lists the
URLs visited in the past 20 days by default.
The History window contains heading levels ordered chronologically. Within each
time frame (e.g., Today) headings are alphabetized by Web site name. This window is
useful for finding previously visited URLs without having to remember the exact URL.
Selecting a URL from the History window loads the Web page into the content window.
The History window can be resized by clicking and dragging the vertical bar that separates
it from the content window.
URLs from the history can be displayed in a drop-down list when a user types a URL
into the Address bar. This feature is called AutoComplete. Any URL from this dropdown list can be selected with the mouse to load the Web page at that URL into the browser
(Fig. 2.4).\
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Interactive History window
Site from folder
Fig. 2.3
History date options
Web site folder
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History button
Click and drag here to resize
Content window
The History menu lists previously visited Web sites.
Partial
address
URLs
Fig. 2.4
AutoComplete suggests possible URLs when given a partial address.
For some users, such as those with dial-up connections, maintaining a connection for
long periods of time may not be practical. For this reason, Web pages can be saved directly
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to the computer’s hard drive for off-line browsing (i.e., browsing while not connected to
the Internet). Select Save As… from the File menu at the top of the browser window to
save a Web page and all its components (e.g., images).
Individual images from a Web site can also be saved by clicking the image with the
right mouse button and selecting Save Picture As… from the displayed context menu
(Fig. 2.5).
Fig. 2.5
Saving a picture from a Web site.
2.4 Searching the Internet
The Internet provides a wealth of information on virtually any topic. You might think that
the volume of information would make it difficult for users to find specific information. To
help users locate information, many Web sites provide search engines that explore the Internet and maintain searchable records containing information about Web site content. This
section explains how search engines work and discusses two types of search engines.
Search engines such as Google (www.google.com), Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com),
AlltheWeb (www.alltheweb.com), AltaVista (www.altavista.com) and Lycos
(www.lycos.com) store information in data repositories called databases that facilitate
quick information retrieval. When the user enters a word or phrase, the search engine
returns a list of hyperlinks to sites that satisfy the search criteria. Each search-engine site
has different criteria for narrowing searches, such as publishing date, language and relevance. Using multiple search engines may provide the best results in finding the desired
content quickly.
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Sites such as MSN (www.msn.com) and MetaCrawler (www.metacrawler.com) use
metasearch engines, which do not maintain databases. Instead, they send the search criteria to other search engines and aggregate the results. IE6 has a built-in metasearch engine
that is accessed by clicking the Search button in the toolbar (Fig. 2.6). As with the history
feature, the browser window divides into two sections, with the Search window on the left
and the content window on the right. Several predefined searching categories are provided.
Type the keyword for which you are searching and click the Search button. The search
results appear as hyperlinks in the Search window. Clicking a hyperlink loads the Web
page at that URL into the content window.
New search
Search window
Search categories
Fig. 2.6
Search button
Toolbar
Search word(s)
Searching the Internet with IE6.
2.5 Online Help and Tutorials
Web browsers are complex pieces of software with rich functionality. Although browser designers make every effort to produce user-friendly software, users still need time to familiarize themselves with each Web browser and its particular features. Answers to frequently
asked questions about using the Web browser are included with IE6. This information is accessible through the built-in help feature available in the Help menu (Fig. 2.7).
A good source for locating help about a specific feature is the Contents and Index
menu item accessible through the Help menu. When Contents and Index is selected, the
Microsoft Internet Explorer help dialog is displayed. The Contents tab organizes the help
topics by category, the Index tab contains an alphabetical list of Help topics and the
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Help menu
Tabs
Categories
Fig. 2.7
IE6 Help dialog.
Search tab provides capabilities for searching the help documents. The Favorites tab
allows users to maintain a list of frequently used help topics.
2.6 Keeping Track of Your Favorite Sites
As users browse the Web, they often visit certain sites repeatedly, and may want to record
their URL and title. Internet Explorer provides a feature called favorites for bookmarking
(keeping track of) such sites (Fig. 2.8). Any page’s URL can be added to the list of favorites
using the Favorites menu’s Add to Favorites… command. A Favorites window can
also be accessed by clicking the Favorites icon on the toolbar.
Favorites can be accessed at any time by selecting them with the mouse from the
Favorites menu. Favorites can be categorized and grouped into folders in the Organize
Favorites dialog (displayed when Organize Favorites… is selected from the Favorites
menu). These folders appear as sub-menus in the Favorites menu. The Organize Favorites dialog also allows users to rename, delete and move favorites between folders. For
each favorite, the Organize Favorites dialog displays information about how frequently
that page is visited. Favorites may also be saved for off-line browsing by selecting the
Make available offline checkbox in the Organize Favorites dialog.
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Add/Organize Favorites
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Favorites
Favorites window
Site information
Organize Favorites dialog
Fig. 2.8
Favorites menu helps organize frequently visited Web sites.
2.7 File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
As mentioned earlier, files from the Internet may be copied to a computer’s hard drive by a
process called downloading. This section discusses the types of documents commonly
downloaded from the Internet and techniques for downloading them.
The most common Internet downloads are applications (i.e., software that performs
specific functions, such as word processing) and plug-ins. Plug-ins are specialized pieces
of software that extend other applications, such as IE6, by providing additional functionality. An example of an IE6 plug-in is the Acrobat Reader from Adobe, Inc.
(www.adobe.com), which allows users to view PDF (Portable Document Format) documents that otherwise cannot be rendered by the browser. Another popular plug-in allows
the browser to render Macromedia Shockwave content, which adds audio, video and animation effects to a Web site. To view sites enabled with Shockwave, download the Shockwave Player plug-in at sdc.shockwave.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi.
Normally the browser prompts the user to download a plug-in when one is needed. Plugins may also be downloaded from CNET (www.download.com). This site has a large,
searchable index and database of many plug-in programs available for download.
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When browsing the Web, downloading often is initiated by clicking a hyperlink that
references a document at an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site. FTP is an older, but still
popular, protocol for transferring information, especially large files, over the Internet.
An FTP site’s URL begins with ftp:// rather than http://. FTP sites are typically
accessed via hyperlinks, but can also be accessed by any software that supports FTP. Such
software may or may not use a Web browser. Ipswitch WS_FTP™ LE is a popular standalone FTP client that functions outside of a Web browser. It is free for noncommercial users
and can be downloaded from www.ftpplanet.com.
When IE6 is pointed to an FTP site’s URL, the contents of the specified site directory
appear in the right side of the window, with FTP information on the left (Fig. 2.9). Two
types of icons may appear in a directory: files and directories. Files are downloaded by right
clicking their icons, selecting Copy to Folder… and specifying the location where the
files are to be saved.
FTP address
Folders in the FTP directory
Login As window
Fig. 2.9
FTP site access in IE6.
When a user visits an FTP site, IE6 sends the user’s e-mail address and name (which
is set by default to anonymous) to the site. This procedure occurs on FTP sites that allow
anonymous FTP access, where any user is permitted access. Many FTP sites on the
Internet contain directories with restricted access; only users with authorized user names
and passwords are permitted to access such directories. When a user is trying to enter a
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restricted-access FTP directory, a Login As dialog like the one in Fig. 2.9 is displayed,
prompting the user for log-in information.
Transferring a file from the local machine to another location on the Internet is called
uploading and can be accomplished using the FTP protocol. To place information on a
Web site, the files must be uploaded to a specific restricted-access FTP server (this is
dependent on the ISP). The process involves uploading the file to a directory on the FTP
site that is accessible through the Web.
2.8 Customizing Browser Settings
Internet Explorer 6 has many settings that determine how sites are displayed, how security
measures are applied and how outputs are rendered. Most of these settings are located in
the Internet Options dialog (Fig. 2.10). The default settings are usually adequate for normal browsing, but these settings can be customized to suit each user’s preferences.
Tools menu
Internet Options dialog
Changeable options
Fig. 2.10
Options categories
Restore default settings
Internet Options in IE6.
Consider some of the more significant options that affect your browsing experience. If
you are browsing the Web with a slow connection, the page download time can be
decreased by deselecting the Show Pictures setting, located in the Multimedia category
under the Advanced tab. Toggling this setting off (i.e., unchecking it) prevents the
browser from loading Web-page images. Images can require considerable time to download, so this toggle could save time during browsing sessions. [Note: Many Web pages rely
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on images to display properly. Deselecting the Show Pictures setting may affect these
pages’ functionality.]
Default programs used for common Internet procedures such as sending e-mail are set
in the Programs tab. These settings allow the user to specify which programs IE6 should
execute when there is a need for their respective technologies while browsing. For example,
if Microsoft Outlook Express is designated as the default e-mail program, every time an email hyperlink is clicked, Outlook Express opens an e-mail message dialog addressed to
the designated recipient.
The security level for IE6 can be set under the Privacy tab. There are four levels of
security. The most lenient level permits the downloading of cookies (text files that are
placed on the computer by Web sites to retain or gather information about the user); the
most strict level renders a constant flow of alerts and alarms about browsing security and
might prevent certain Web sites from working correctly.
A personal home page can be specified under the General tab. The home page is the
Web page that loads when the browser is first opened and appears when the Home button
at the top of the browser window is clicked.
History options also may be adjusted in this category. By clicking the Settings…
button, the amount of disk space to be reserved for the Web page cache can be set. The
cache is an area on the hard drive that a browser designates for saving Web pages for rapid
future access. When a page is viewed that has been visited recently, IE6 checks whether it
already has some elements on that page (such as images) saved in the cache, to reduce
download time. Having a large cache can considerably speed up Web browsing, whereas
having a small cache saves disk space. Caching can sometimes cause problems, because
Internet Explorer does not always check to ensure that a cached page is the same as the
latest version residing on the Web server. Clicking the Refresh button at the top of the
browser window remedies this problem by forcing Internet Explorer to retrieve the latest
version of the Web page from the Web site. Once the Internet Options are set, click
Apply and click OK.
2.9 Electronic Mail
Electronic mail (e-mail or email for short) is a method of sending and receiving formatted
messages and files over the Internet to other people. Other files, called attachments, can
be sent along with e-mails. Depending on Internet traffic, an e-mail message can go anywhere in the world in as little as a few seconds. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) issue email addresses in the form username@domainname (e.g., [email protected]). Many email programs are available, such as Microsoft’s Outlook Express (Fig. 2.11), Pegasus
Mail and Eudora.
E-mail programs must be configured to access an e-mail account. Client e-mail programs require users to input incoming and outgoing e-mail server names. These names are
the addresses of servers located at the ISP that administers incoming and outgoing e-mail.
The server addresses can be obtained from the network administrator or ISP. E-mail programs also allow users to set up newsgroup accounts. Newsgroups allow users to post and
respond to messages in discussion groups on a wide variety of topics. There are tens of
thousands of newsgroups where users can find people who have similar interests or knowledge in a specific field.
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Mailboxes
Message toolbar items Message list
Address book
Fig. 2.11
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Preview Pane
Outlook Express e-mail main screen.
Post Office Protocol (POP) and Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) are two
major protocols for accessing e-mail from servers. POP services store e-mail messages on
a remote server until a user chooses to view the messages and download them onto a local
machine. IMAP mail services also store e-mails on a remote server, but allow users to
manipulate e-mail messages directly on the server without downloading the messages.
Because POP servers require users to download e-mails before viewing, accessing e-mails
from different machines scatters the messages among them. IMAP allows users to leave
messages on the server, so that users can access e-mails from multiple machines without
distributing the messages over them. To send messages from server to server, most e-mail
systems use Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).
Many free Web-based e-mail services are also available. Hotmail (www.hotmail.com)
and Yahoo! Mail (mail.yahoo.com) are two such services. These services configure
accounts for users. Web-based e-mail allows users to access their e-mail from any Web
browser.
2.10 Instant Messaging
Instant messaging (IM) allows two or more users to exchange text, image and audio messages in real time, provided that the users have compatible messaging services. Communicating by IM is also called chatting.
The available instant messaging programs include AOL Instant Messenger
(www.aim.com), Yahoo! Messenger (messenger.yahoo.com), ICQ (web.icq.com),
MSN Messenger (messenger.msn.com) and Trillian (www.trillian.cc). AOL Instant
Messenger (AIM), Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ (short for “I seek you”) and MSN Messenger
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use proprietary messenger networks that allow users to send messages only to those who use
the same service. America Online (AOL) maintains both AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ,
however, so AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ users can communicate with one other. Trillian
users can communicate with any of the previously mentioned services. Trillian is a client program, not a messaging service, that connects to each of the different messaging networks. If
you have accounts on multiple services, you can use Trillian to access all your accounts.
AOL Instant Messenger (Fig. 2.12), Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ and MSN Messenger also
allow users to hold video conferences and send messages to mobile devices (e.g., cell phones
and PDAs). Other communications and instant messaging programs, such as Windows Messenger and NetMeeting, feature more advanced collaboration tools. They allow a group of
users to share control of a program running on a group member’s computer. They also have
a whiteboard feature, which allows sharing visual effects (e.g., drawings) with others.
Buddy list
Instant message
Fig. 2.12
Buddy list and an instant message. (AOL screenshots © 2003 America
Online, Inc. Used with permission.)
To start instant messaging, users must download and install the messaging program of
their choice, and each user must create a screen name (or use an existing screen name). A
screen name is a unique name that a user assumes when communicating on a messaging network. Users can then sign-on to a messaging network. Instant messaging allows users to communicate quickly and conveniently and is used by many companies to increase productivity.
Each messaging program allows users to maintain a personalized list of screen names
called a buddy list or friend list. The buddy list in AOL Instant Messenger allows users to
organize screen names into folders and show which members are available for chatting
(Fig. 2.12). IM services also allow users to transfer files and set up chat rooms where a
group of IM users can type messages that are seen by everyone in the group. File transfer
allows one user to download and save an application or file from another user’s computer.
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2.11 Other Web Browsers
Besides Internet Explorer and Netscape, many other Web browsers are available, such as
Mozilla (www.mozilla.org), Opera (www.opera.com) and Amaya (www.w3.org/
Amaya). All these browsers differ in functionality, speed and features. Also, they employ
different HTML layout engines. Layout engines determine how a Web page displays in a
browser. Netscape and Mozilla (Fig. 2.13) use Gecko as their layout engine. Opera and IE
have their own engines.
Fig. 2.13
Mozilla Web browser. (Courtesy of The Mozilla Organization.)
Opera is a fast and lightweight browser, while Internet Explorer and Mozilla offer
many features for programmers. Amaya is a combined Web editor/browser designed to
create and update Web documents and demonstrate W3C standards. Because browsers use
different HTML layout engines, they may display the same Web page differently. Additionally, some capabilities supported in one browser may not be supported in another. The
existence of different browser functionality and features makes cross-browser compatibility difficult to achieve.
In this chapter we introduced the features of Internet Explorer 6, showed how to search
the Internet and introduced some of the exciting Internet technologies available. In the next
chapter we introduce Adobe Photoshop Elements and show how to create graphics for the
Web.
SUMMARY
• Web browsers are software programs that allow users to access the Web’s rich multimedia content.
• The two most popular Web browsers are Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Netscape.
• A computer alone is not enough to access the Internet. In addition to Web browser software, the
computer needs specific hardware and a connection to an Internet Service Provider to view Web
pages.
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• A modem is hardware that enables a computer to connect to the Internet. A modem converts data
to audio tones and transmits the data over phone lines. A network card, also called a network interface card (NIC), is hardware that allows a computer to connect to the Internet through a network or
a high-speed Internet connection, such as a LAN, cable modem or a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL).
• Bandwidth and cost are two considerations when deciding which commercial ISP service to use.
Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be transferred through a communications medium
in a fixed amount of time. Different ISPs offer different types of high-speed connections, called
broadband connections, that include DSL, cable modem, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and slower dial-up connections, each of which has different bandwidths and costs to users.
• Broadband is a category of high-bandwidth Internet service that is most often provided by cable
television and telephone companies to home users.
• DSL is a broadband service that allows computers to be connected at all times to the Internet over
existing phone lines, without interfering with voice services. However, DSL requires a special modem that is obtained from the ISP.
• Cable modems enable the computer to be connected to the Internet at all times. Cable modems
transmit data over the cables that bring television to homes and businesses. The bandwidth is
shared by many users.
• ISDN provides Internet service over either digital or standard telephone lines. ISDN requires specialized hardware, called a terminal adaptor (TA), which is usually obtained from the ISP.
• The Internet Connection Wizard (New Connection Wizard in Windows XP) can be used to
configure the computer to connect to the Internet.
• The URL is the address of the Web page displayed in the browser window. Each Web page is associated with a unique URL. URLs usually begin with http://, which stands for Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the industry standard protocol (or set of communication rules) for
transferring Web documents over the Internet.
• URLs of Web sites that handle private information, such as credit card numbers, often begin with
https://, the abbreviation for Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS), the standard for
transferring encrypted data over the Internet.
• Several techniques are available for navigating between different URLs. A user can click the Address field and type a Web page’s URL. The user can then press Enter or click Go to request the
Web page located at that URL.
• Another way to navigate the Web is via visual elements on Web pages called hyperlinks that, when
clicked, load a specified Web document. Both images and text server as hyperlinks.
• Hyperlinks can reference other Web pages, e-mail addresses and files. If a hyperlink is an e-mail
address, clicking the link loads the computer’s default e-mail program and opens a message window addressed to the specified recipient’s e-mail address.
• When a file is downloaded, it is copied onto the user’s computer. Programs, documents, images
and sound files are all downloadable files.
• IE6 maintains a list of previously visited URLs. This list is called the history and stores URLs in
chronological order.
• The History window contains heading levels ordered chronologically. Within each time frame
headings are alphabetized by site directory name. This window is useful for finding previously visited URLs without having to remember the exact URL.
• URLs from the history are displayed in a drop-down list when a user types a URL into the Address bar. This feature is called AutoComplete. Any URL from this drop-down list can be selected with the mouse to load the Web page at that URL into the browser.
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• Web pages can be saved directly to the computer’s hard drive for off-line browsing (i.e., browsing
while not connected to the Internet). Select Save As… from the File menu at the top of the browser window to save a Web page and all its components (e.g., images).
• Individual images from a Web site can also be saved by clicking the image with the right mouse
button and selecting Save Picture As… from the displayed context menu (i.e., pop-up menu).
• Search engines explore the Internet and maintain searchable records containing information about
Web sites.
• Metasearch engines do not maintain databases. Instead, they send the search criteria to other
search engines and aggregate the results. IE6 has a built-in metasearch engine that is accessed by
clicking the Search button on the toolbar.
• As users browse the Web, they often visit certain sites repeatedly. Internet Explorer provides a feature called favorites for bookmarking such sites.
• Plug-ins are specialized pieces of software that extend (or upgrade) other applications, such as IE6,
by providing additional functionality. Normally the browser prompts the user to download a plugin when a plug-in is needed.
• FTP (file transfer protocol) is an older protocol for transferring information, especially large files,
over the Internet. An FTP site’s URL begins with ftp:// rather than http://. FTP sites are typically accessed via hyperlinks, but can also be accessed by any software that supports FTP.
• FTP sites with anonymous access allow any user access. Many FTP sites on the Internet have restricted access; only users with authorized user names and passwords are permitted to access such
sites.
• Transferring a file from the local machine to another location on the Internet is called uploading
and can be accomplished using the FTP protocol.
• Internet Explorer has many settings that determine how sites are displayed, how security measures
are applied and how outputs are rendered.
• Default programs used for common Internet procedures, such as sending e-mail, are set in the Programs tab of the Internet Options dialog. Specifying these settings causes the designated programs to execute when there is a need for their respective technologies while browsing.
• The security level for IE6 can be set under the Privacy tab of the Internet Options dialog. There
are four levels of security. The most lenient level permits downloading and cookies (files that are
placed on the computer by Web sites to retain or gather information about the user); the strictest
level renders a constant flow of alerts and alarms about browsing security and might prevent certain Web sites from working correctly.
• A personal home page can be specified under the General tab of the Internet Options dialog.
The home page is the Web page that loads when the browser is first opened and appears when the
Home button at the top of the browser window is clicked.
• History and cache options also may be adjusted in the General tab of the Internet Options dialog. By clicking the Settings… button, the amount of disk space to be reserved for Web page
cache can be set. The cache is an area on the hard drive that a browser designates for saving Web
pages and their elements for rapid future access.
• Electronic mail (e-mail or email for short) is a method of sending and receiving formatted messages and files over the Internet to other people. Internet Service Providers issue e-mail addresses in
the form username@domainname. Many e-mail programs, such as Pegasus Mail, Eudora and Microsoft’s Outlook Express, are available.
• Post Office Protocol (POP) services store e-mail on a remote server until a user chooses to view
the message and download the e-mail onto a local machine. Internet Message Access Protocol
42
Chapter 2
(IMAP) mail services also store e-mails on a remote server but allow users to manipulate e-mail
without downloading the messages.
• Most e-mail systems use Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to send messages from server to
server.
• Instant messaging (IM) allows two or more users to exchange text, image and audio messages in
real time, provided that the users have compatible messaging services.
• A buddy list or friend list shows which contacts are available for chatting.
• The existence of different browser functionality and features makes cross-browser compatibility
difficult to achieve.
TERMINOLOGY
Address bar
Address Book
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Amaya
anonymous
AOL Instant Messenger
applications
AutoComplete
Back button
bandwidth
broadband connection
buddy list
cable modem
cache
chat
context menu
cookie
database
dial-up connection
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
download
electronic mail (e-mail)
e-mail server
Favorites
file transfer
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
Forward button
Help menu
History
home page
Hotmail
HTML layout engine
hyperlink
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
ICQ
Inbox
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
Internet Connection Wizard (ICW)
Internet Explorer 6 (IE6)
Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)
Internet Options
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
Macromedia Shockwave
metasearch engine
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Microsoft Outlook Express
modem
Mozilla
MSN Messenger
Netscape
network
New Connection Wizard
off-line browsing
Opera
Portable Document Format (PDF)
Post Office Protocol (POP)
priority
Privacy
public access
restricted access
Search
search engine
security level
sharing
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
terminal adaptor (TA)
Trillian
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
uploading
Web browser
Web editor
whiteboard
Windows Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger
Chapter 2
43
SELF-REVIEW EXERCISES
2.1
Fill in the blanks in each of the following statements:
a) The two most popular Web browsers are
and
.
b) A browser is used to view files on the
.
c) The location of a file on the Internet is called its
.
d) The element in a Web page that, when clicked, causes a new Web page to load is called
a(n)
; when your mouse passes over this element, the mouse pointer changes
into a
in IE6.
e) The list IE6 keeps of visited URLs is called the
.
f) You can save an image from a Web page by right clicking the image and selecting
.
g) The feature of IE6 that provides options for completing URLs is called
.
h) The feature of IE6 that enables the user to save URLs of frequently visited sites is called
.
2.2
State whether each of the following is true or false. If the statement is false, explain why.
a) A whiteboard is a drawing application that makes it possible to share visual effects with
others in Windows Messenger or NetMeeting.
b) There are approximately 1,000 newsgroups on the Internet.
c) Plug-ins must be downloaded and installed in order to use them.
d) MSN Messenger users can chat with ICQ users.
e) FTP is a popular Internet mechanism by which files are uploaded and downloaded.
f) You can access any FTP site by logging in with the user name anonymous.
ANSWERS TO SELF-REVIEW EXERCISES
2.1
a) Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator. b) Internet and the Web. c) URL. d) hyperlink,
hand. e) history. f) Save Picture As…. g) AutoComplete. h) Favorites.
2.2
a) True. b) False. There are tens of thousands of newsgroups, and more are added every day.
c) True. d) False. Only AOL and Trillian users can chat with ICQ users. MSN users are on a different
messaging network. e) True. f) False. Many FTP sites are restricted and do not admit the general public.
EXERCISES
2.3
Spell out the following acronyms, and include a brief description of each:
a) HTTP
b) FTP
c) URL
d) DSL
e) PDF
f) ISP
g) SMTP
h) IMAP
2.4
Use Internet Explorer’s FTP capability to access ftp.cdrom.com and sunsite.unc.edu.
List the directory output for both sites.
2.5
Create an ICQ screen name. Then log onto ICQ Messenger Service and initiate a conversation with a friend.
2.6
Start a chat room using AOL Instant Messenger and initiate a conversation with multiple
friends.
44
Chapter 2
2.7
Go to www.shockwave.com/software/shockwaveplayer and download the Shockwave Player to your computer. Use the Shockwave plug-in to view shockwave content from
www.shockwave.com.
2.8
Download and install the Opera (www.opera.com) and Mozilla (www.mozilla.org) Web
browsers. Go to your favorite Web sites and try to observe any differences in speed, appearance and
functionality.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6

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