Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer is the means by which Windows surfs the internet and finds webpages,you maybe using it now to access this webpage. When you click the blue E icon you are faced with Internet Explorer's address bar and icon controls.The address bar contains the address of the current webpage.If you are looking at this page online then you will see http://templarseries.50webs.com/index.html in the address bar. The address tells Internet explorer where to find the webpage on the World Wide Web. The first four letters of the address stand for HyperText Transfer Protocol - this is the means by which webpages are transferred across the net. The next 3 words separated by dots are the location of the website,and everything after the backslash ("/") is an indication of a file or folder at that website,so in this case the "index.html" is the name of this webpage - HTML being the code used to build webpages.

Above the address bar is the toolbar - a list of icon controls which are used to navigate and control operations in Explorer.Many of the icons,like other programs,are shortcut controls for the drop-down menu's listed above the icons.

The two green circles with arrows in are for moving back and forwards through the list of webpages that you have visited,they may even be marked as "Back" to indicate in which direction the pages will be listed. At the side of the direction buttons are two little black triangles - when clicked they will produce a list of pages that you can move to related to the one you are currently at.

• The red cross icon is to stop the current loading of a webpage.When a page is loading,you will see it's progress in a progress bar at the bottom of Explorer,if this gets stuck or takes too long - then press the red cross and the page will stop loading.

• Similarly, the two green arrows within a page icon represents "Reload" or "Refresh" - this means that the page will be loaded again when this is clicked.This is required because the page data may have changed during the time that you have taken to load the page,and the page may have been saved locally to your PC. Refresh updates the page from the server where it is stored and then shows you the latest version of the page.

• The next icon to the right is the "Homepage" icon,and indicates which page IE will load first.Pressing this icon will return the address bar to the place that IE was when you first clicked the IE blue E icon.The Homepage can be changed to anything you like.This is done by clicking TOOLS from the menu items and selecting INTERNET OPTIONS and under the GENERAL tab filling in the URL for the homepage you wish to return to.

• The next group of icons are SEARCH,FAVOURITES,MEDIA and HISTORY.

  • The Search icon (magnifier) brings up a pane at the left hand side of the screen in which to type a term to search for on the net. This is similar to using a Search Engine such as Yahoo or Google.

  • The Favourites icon (Yellow star) also brings up a pan at the left hand side of the screen which contains a list of files and folders which are hyperlinks to webpages which can be stored rather like a telephone directory of telephone numbers.This saves you from having to recall long URL addresses and allows you to quickly go back to a "favourite place" on the internet.

  • The Media icon (Globe/Note) brings up a pane at the left hand side which controls sound and other media events.

  • The History icon (Green arrow in a circle) shows a left hand pane with all the past webpages that you have visited,so if you have been to a webpage but forgotten where it is  -it may well show its URL in the history list.You can change how far back in time IE recalls webpages in the Internet Options list,from the TOOLS menu under the History section. Note also that it is worth deleting temporary internet files once in a while to stop disk space from being used up as you surf the net.
    

The icons on your tool bar may well vary from those shown - this is because the tool bar is customisable,but note that the third icon in the next group shows a HTML editor that can be used to Edit the webpage.In the view shown above this icon is the one for MS Frontpage,but it is also followed by a small black triangle,which when clicked will show any other editors that can be used (usually Notepad).Note that the PROGRAMS section of the Internet options under the TOOLS menu shows which programs are connected to IE for specific jobs and that HTML editor is one of those programs.If you have version 7 IE then you may find that your favourites and history have been combined into the left corner of the tool bar.

Note that as with all other programs the HELP section from the drop down menu will give you further information about the program that you are using.In Internet Explorer's case there is information for those people using NETSCAPE as opposed to IE.

IE is not the only browser you can use - there is also MOZILLA FIREFOX and GOOGLE CHROME which are downloadable from the web. Some ISP's

Play the Broadband Game

FREE LAPTIOPS AND PLAYSTATIONS ARE TEMPTING,BUT JUST BE SURE YOU KNOW THE REAL DEAL,WRITES EMMA LUNN If you want a free laptop or PlayStation, look no further than broadband providers who are so keen to lure in new customers that they are prornising all sorts of freebies. Following the success of its free laptop offer, AOL is now offering a free Sony PlayStation 3 to new AOL Broadband Wireless Plus customers. The 40GB games console is worth about £300 and comes with Blu-ray technology to watch high-definition movies. It can also be used to store photos, music and videos and to access online gaming. However, cutomers need to commit to the £19.99-a-month deal for two years to be eligible. The packages offer speeds up to 8Mb, 40GB download allowance, a wireless router worth £50 and the AOL Talk Pay As You Go plan. But, although industry experts concede that it is a good deal, they sound a note of caution about signing up to such a long contract. Michael Phillips of comparison website Broadband Choices says: 'While many people will find a free PlayStation 3 an attractive prospect, people need to think about the faster speeds and better value deals that they could miss out on over the two years they're tied into their AOL contract. 'On the other hand, 8Mb downloads - when reliable - and a 40GB usage allowance is more than enough for the average user so, if you don't think you'll increase your Internet usage over the coming 24 months, this, or the free laptop offer, 'rnight be just what you want.' Too good to be true? Aamir Baloch, director at price comparison website firsthelpline.com, says broadband deals that seem too good to be true generally are - and could end up costing you a lot more than you think. 'The broadband market is highly competitive and the deals can be complicated,' he says. 'Marketers are constantly looking for ways to attract new customers, so we need to be more aware of what their deals actually entail. Many freebie offers can seem attractive, but in reality, many of them include other ways to get your money. Baloch points out that consumers are often unaware of the hidden costs of broadband hardware, set up and exit fees, line rental and postal charges for free gifts. Many providers offer free installation or set up, and provide free modems to get customers started. But again, customers need to look closely at the fine print. 'Rather than set up costs being free, a few providers may try and claw these costs back if you leave them before a set period of time,' he warns. Bargain Bundles However, there are certainly some impressive broadband deals around. O2 launched its broadband service in October and customers on monthly mobile phone contracts with the company can get 8Mb broadband for just £7.50 a month. Karen Darby, of comparison site SimplySwitch, says the O2 deal has some innovative customer service features. 'For instance, before a customer signs up, O2 will check their phone line to estimate the likely connection speed,' she says. 'They Will then ensure that the customer is placec on a package appropriate to the speed that their line can support. This will he re-checked a month later to ensure the package is still appropriate and that the customer only pays for the speed that they receive.' As well as giving away electrical goods with broadband deals, there are also several companies that offer 'free' broadband. TalkTalk, Orange and Sky all offer free broadband but it is bundled with other services such as home phone line rental and digital TV. 'Undoubtedly, some of these packages can offer great value for money with the convenience of having a single supplier for multiple services,' says Baloch, 'But customers should be wary and look at exactly what they're getting. Some may find they would be better off with individual services from separate providers.' Customer Satisfaction Consumers looking for a new broadband deal should also check out a company's customer service reputation before committing to anything. TalkTalk has been plagued with service issues since it launched its free broadband offer in April 2006. Customers looking for reassurance of a good service should consider PlusNet, which topped the uSwitch satisfaction poll with 78 per cent of customers satisfied with its service. Broadband users can sign up to its broadband and phone packages for as little as £19.98 a month with free setup. Those looking for a triple play deal should consider Sky, which came joint second in the poll with a 76 per cent overall satisfaction rating. Customers can get a Sky TV package with broadband and free evening and weekend calls to UK landlines for £19 a month (plus £11 line rental to BT), plus a œ30 setup charge. Edited by JAYNE ATHERTON money@ukmetro.co.uk

Internet 'is heading for meltdown' BY SARAH HILLS

THE Internet is growing too fast and could soon become overloaded, according to the man whose work led to the creation of the Web. Problems with security and poor programming means the Net is expanding too quickly for networks to cope, Dr Larry Roberts warned. Despite it being relatively easy to make the Internet secure, he believes no one is willing to do it because it will cost too much. 'We are expecting 40-year-old technology to support not only browsing and e-mail but real-time traffic, such as voice and video,' he said. Dr Roberts led the team that made Arpanet, the Internet's predecessor. He added that security issues, such as spam and viruses,'would be easier to cope with if the network checked users' addresses as they connected. The expert is also reported to be in talks with governments over plans to allow emergency services to be given priority on Internet traffic. Dr Roberts argued it was not rational that normal users took up to 80 per cent of the bandwidth at times. However, one report on the Web suggests the scientist had an agenda. It states: 'He's CEO of Anagran, which makes a technology that, Roberts claims, will solve all of the world's routing problems in one go.' Dr Ian Brown, at the Oxford Internet Institute, did not wholly agree with Dr Roberts. 'The technology has quite a bit of growth left in it but I do think security is an issue,' he said. [Metro Oct31,2007]

Points to remember about Internet Explorer:

• Webpages are reached using the URL or "web address" which starts http://.
• The Toolbar allows you to control which webpage you move to.
• Hyperlinks marked in blue and underlined are clickable and allow moving to new webpages.
• History and Favourites are ways to come back to previously visited webpages.
• There are several versions of IE and you may find that the icons of your version differ from those shown here. Click on HELP-ABOUT to find out which version you are using.
  

See Also Internet Explorer Hints an Tips, First Steps on the Internet