Computers and the Internet So you've got a computer, and now you're connected to the Internet. You may be asking yourself, "What's next? How can the Internet help me?" "Surfing the Web", as it is commonly referred to, can be as tricky as driving across the country without a destination or road map. You can do it, but it might get frustrating! You may end up where you don't want to be, or you might want to go back to a place you've already been to, but you can't remember how you arrived there. If you don't have a specific purpose when you're using the Internet, but you want to know what's out there, I suggest starting at a portal page. A portal page is a categorized entrance point for major areas of information available on the Internet. Most can be personalized to suit your needs and examples include Yahoo!, Excite, MSN, and many others. To reach these sites, type the name into the location or address bar of your browser. Your browser is the software that enables you to view web pages. The most common browsers are Netscape and Internet Explorer. Most web addresses look like this: www.nameofsite.com, but can be reached by simply typing the "nameofsite" portion in most current browser versions. From a portal page, you should be able to gather more information than you could ever possibly need. You can do searches for specific information, you can check the weather, get stock quotes, have personalized news headlines delivered to you, shop, do research and so much more. It is possible to spend hours just exploring the contents of the portal site! That is if you have hours to spend... However, let's say you've got a problem with your computer, or one of your programs, but don't know where to look for help. I have recently found a very interesting tech support web site called NoWonder.com. Their home page states: Find fast, reliable and simple answers to your software and hardware questions, for those times when: Your friends don't know the answer Your manual isn't clear The vendor isn't helping Web searches are taking too long The site is staffed by volunteers, and the help is free, with a statement that answers are generally provided within 24 hours. I sent a test question, and was immediately assigned a tracking number. I then also received an automated reply telling me that an answer would be provided within 24 hours, but if not to contact the customer service department. I received an answer within 10 minutes! It's worth a shot! Another useful site is Gator.com. Gator is a free downloadable program that keeps track of your log-in names, passwords, and other personal info, and it fills out forms for you! WOW! I have been using Gator for months, and absolutely love it. All of the information is stored on your computer - not on theirs - and with just the click of a button, you can fill in your shipping/billing information for placing online orders, and never have to worry about forgetting a password again! It's quick and easy and it's at Gator.com! Now you've got a mini road map to get you started - so what are you waiting for? Go out there and see what you can find! - - -