Show Explore lore The World With With- The Worldwide W Web By John Contributing ng Writer r If J Faster than taking the Concord and a lot less expensive I took a trip I to France and other places in the ti world on the Internet 5 Unless you live in a cave you have probably heard of the Internet Its It's hard to watch any TV or listen to the radio without hearing something about it The Internet is changing our world and the way we get and give information As students of you have free access to this information 1 r tion superhighway The Internet was born over 20 years ago when the US U.S. Defense Ir to Department wanted to hook up multiple mul mul- F tiple computers to support military research The goal was to have seamless communication with computers computers computers com com- that could withstand accidental Y tal connection interruptions in case of ofa a bomb attack Since then the Internet has grown into a worldwide web of interconnected interconnected interconnected computers on which anyone can access or publish information You might have heard it called by its nickname The UThe Web because of all these interconnections J Because the Internet is open for public access and information publishing publishing publishing pub pub- lishing you can find all sorts of interesting interesting inter inter- esting information Those interested in entertainment news can find topics and reviews on Hollywood movies The Internet also has a huge amount of free games and business programs that users download to run on their own computer Because it is a worldwide information information information mation system the Internet provides all kinds of current social travel governmental leisure and art information information information mation on foreign countries Want Vant to explore another country Go right ahead it wont won't cost you a dime Now some of you might be budding budding budding bud bud- ding authors or poets wanting to express yourself in some way or out out- let You could try a vanity press publisher publisher publisher pub pub- lisher but be ready to pay some big bucks before your work is published Or you can publish your work on the INternet where millions of people could potentially see your work But how does this web of computers help students at and how can t they ey use it For students doing research it is heaven Most companies schools and government agencies have what is known as a home homepage homepage page on the Internet This home homepage homepage homepage page can be likened to a printed books book's cover and index The only omy difference is on the Internet it is on your computer screen The advantage advantage advantage tage for the student is when you need to find information you can search all these home pages at the speed of light To search these home pages you youcan youcan youcan can go to one of the computer labs located on campus Open computer labs are arc located on Redwood Campus in the College Center Technology Building and Business Building The hours for these labs are Monday through Thursday 8 am a.m. to 8 pm p.m. Friday from 8 am a.m. to 5 pm p.m. and Saturday 9 am a.m. to 3 pm p.m. Other computer labs on campus are department specific and can be used by students taking classes from those departments Most labs have a computer assistant assigned to help students with questions and offer assistance when needed So dont don't worry if youre you're a beginner the assistants assistants assistants assis assis- tants will have you up and running in inno inno inno no time Another good place to learn about what you can cando do on the Internet is the library Classes are offered free of charge on Tuesdays from 10 to 11 am a.m. and Fridays 3 to 4 pm p.m. The first class is a video presentation and the second is on hands-on at one of the labs To take advantage of these services you can sign up at the circulation desk on the first floor of the library Another resource for information is the home page From one of the computer labs on campus you youcan youcan youcan can view this page using Netscape a software program used to search and view information on the Internet Every home page on the Internet has an address which can be compared compared compared com com- pared to a street address To find a specific location you need to have havethe havethe havethe the address The same is true with J the Internet The address for the home page is http which you type in Netscape where it says Location The Internet can also be used to send electronic mail mail e-mail to friends family and teachers if they N- N k i. i have an account Pauline Gray Grayson son of the Computing Service Department at said many students use email e- e email email mail to communicate with friends and family out of the state and in foreign foreign foreign for for- eign countries To get an mail e-mail account you cango can cango cango go to the Computing Service Department located in the Technology Building There you will be asked to fill out a simple form fonn and sign an agreement that you will only use your account for educational educational educational purposes and not share the account with others After hours 24 from the time the form is turned in you can go back to Computing Services and get a letter describing how to send and receive email email email e- e mail along with a log-in log name and password For those of you who have a modem with your home computer computer computer com com- puter there is a data line number you youcan youcan youcan can dial to access the web More information about this service is contained contained contained con con- in the letter you will receive with your password The Internet is an exciting and wonderful resource of current and historic information that no student should be afraid of It will be a force in the world for years to come and andone andone andone one that will sooner or later compel you to become familiar with You might ju just t as well start now while a student at with free access |