- What is the World Wide Web?
- Who's in charge of the Web?
- What is Web surfing?
- How do I find things on the Web?
- What are some tips for making my searches more successful?
- How can I use the Web to search for a person?
- Where can I search for phone numbers?
- Where can I find maps and driving directions?
Surfing and Searching on the World Wide Web
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| 1.What is the World Wide Web? |
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Technically speaking, the World Wide Web refers to all the resources and users on the Internet using the HyperText Transfer
Protocol (HTTP). The Web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the World Wide Web consortium. Although many people
think only of the Web when talking about the Internet, the Web is simply a part of the Net. Tim Berners-Lee defines the Web
as "the universe of network-accessible information, an embodiment of human knowledge."
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| 2.Who's in charge of the Web? |
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No one authority controls the Web. Today's Web authoring tools allow anyone who has access to a computer and the Internet
to publish a Web site and contribute to the definition of what the Web is and what it can do. The World Wide Web Consortium
does, however, oversee the development of Web technology. Tim Berners-Lee envisions "a common information space in which we
communicate by sharing information. Its universality is essential: the fact that a hypertext link can point to anything, be
it personal, local, or global, be it draft or highly polished."
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| 3.What is Web surfing? |
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Web surfing is one of the most popular Internet activities. To surf, a user needs a program like Internet Explorer or Netscape,
called a Web browser. A Web browser enables a user to connect to a location that contains information. Many locations contain
links to other sites that contain related information. These links are usually identified by underlined text or text of a
different color from the surrounding text. By clicking on a link, the user is then connected to the new location. This new
information may be at the same location or may be in a different location. It may also have links to other information and
these links can be used to find related or non-related information.
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| 4.How do I find things on the Web? |
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If you need to find something on the Web and you don't know where to look, chances are you'll never find it. This is why there
are search engines. These are special Web sites that are designed to search for Web pages based on the criteria you give them
-- names, places, words, strings (movies starring Brad Pitt), etc. By entering these keywords, the search engine will give
you a list of all corresponding matches. This sounds great, so long as you know that most search engines don't search all
or even most of the Web. That's why if you don't find what you're looking for initially you should try a different search
engine -- what's not listed in one may be in another.
Here's a list of some popular search engines:
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| 5.What are some tips for making my searches more successful? |
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Here are some general tips to keep in mind when searching the Web:
- Be precise, and enter as many keywords as possible.
- Remember that singular search terms work better than plurals -- "vintage motorcycle" will return as many and better
hits than "vintage motorcycles."
- Search twice. Most search engines will allow you to do a search and then search the results.
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| 6.How can I use the Web to search for a person? |
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The Internet is a great resource for keeping in touch. Here are some of the better People Finders online. Most of these sites
will allow you to search for the e-mail address, phone number, and street address of a person:
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| 7.Where can I search for phone numbers? |
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All sorts of phone numbers are available on the Web, from white and yellow pages to toll-free listings to reverse-number lookups.
Here are some popular directories:
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| 8.Where can I find maps and driving directions? |
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Without doubt, MapQuest is the best site for maps and driving directions, as well as
live traffic reports, weather, and other travel information.
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