History: The Internet began as an emergency communication system for the United States Government when fear of nuclear attack panicked the military. Four base sights, spread around North America, were established in case different parts of the United States were destroyed. Near the end of the cold war various universities were allowed access to the Internet in order to share information. Soon computer programmers developed a standard for searching the Internet and displaying the information that was easy for everyone to understand. (Later companies developed Internet Browsers to accomplish this task. The two most popular browsers are Netscape and Internet Explorer.)

The four base sights still exist today. Connected to those sights are businesses called Internet Service Providers. These ISPs provide the modem (telephone) link between you and the internet. Not all ISPs are directly connected to the main sights. Many sub-lease space to other ISPs. In turn, those ISPs may sub-lease space and so on. The visual picture of multiple ISPs off each base sight resembles a spider's web, thusgiving the name World Wide Web.

ISP: When you connect into your ISP, you connect to the Internet. Each ISP has it's own web address such as www.Q-Express.Net. This address is used by the Internet Protocol to send and receive information.

A business may have a web sight with a name like www.business.com but not be an ISP. The Internet knows that that address is hosted by an actual Internet Service Provider.

Ready, Set, Go! Now, it's time to get on the net. The first step is to understand that you will need to know the web address ,(URL), of the business or person you are looking for. Many times you will see this address in an advertisement, on TV, or a business card. To go to that address, type it in to the "Address" text box on the top of your browser. You will note that some address's start with "http://". You usually do not need to include that in your address. Once you type it in, press the Enter key on your keyboard. Pending any spelling errors you should be transported to that sight.

Search Engines: If you do not know the web address you want to visit, you can use a Search Engine to find it. A Search Engine is a database that anyone can use to find an address. The first step is to go to a Search Engine page. Some Search Engine pages can be found on Q-Express's Internet Search page. Once you are there, enter a key word into the text box and click the "Search" button. The Search Engine will automatically try to find listed web sites that best match your description. There is more information about the Search Engines on our Internet Search page. The best advice is to simply go and try it for yourself!

Downloading... the magic word.

• Each time you access a web page you are downloading the information from that site to your computer. The text, pictures, sounds... everything is stored in temporary memory on your PC. The reason for storing the info is so you can visit a site, move to another site, then return without having to wait while the page reloads. This saves you time.
  
• The second definition of downloading has to do with saving files from the computer you are connected to onto your computer. Often you will see a picture that says, "Click here to download." By doing this you have the opportunity to save a file locally such as a game, text file, or program.
  

Links: When you view a web site you might notice certain words in a different color that are also underlined. These are usually links to other web sites. By placing your mouse over the link and clicking you will be transported to the other site. A good example of this is on Q-Express's Favorite Links page, and on the very bottom of this page.

E-Mail is the ability to write a message to someone and use the internet as a means of delivering that message. When you send a message to someone it leaves your computer and travels first to Q-Express (us), from there your e-mail may travel through several other computers until it reaches it's destination. The time it takes to transit from one host to another varies depending upon how busy the network is.

You can send files and pictures attached to your e-mail too! Find a friend that will let you practice sending e-mail and file attachments. Beware of attaching large files and pictures. These take up space and can require long download times.