Screen Resolution

 Sometimes I Can't View The Whole Web Page ( Side To Side)

You may have already noticed that your monitor can be set to different screen resolutions and to display different numbers of colors. We recommend that you use monitor settings of 800 X 600 pixels with thousands of colors for viewing web pages. Here's why.  

Screen Resolution

Most people think of resolution in terms of photographs or television. In those media, resolution indicates picture sharpness. In the computer world however, screen resolution refers to the dimensions of the pixels displayed on a screen. Your computer may have come pre-set to a resolution of 640 X 480 pixels. That means that your monitor will display a screen that is 640 pixels wide and 480 pixels high regardless of whether you have a 15, 17 or 19-inch monitor.

The size of the monitor does not determine the screen resolution. But the bigger the monitor, the larger the screen resolution you can use. Try it for yourself. If you have a 14 or 15-inch monitor, switch the resolution from 640 X 480 to 800 X 600. and to 1024 X 768 if your video card supports it. You will quickly see that everything gets smaller as the resolution goes up. That's because the monitor is displaying a larger number of pixels in the same screen space.

Most people find everything is too small at 1024 X 768 on a 14-inch monitor, but on a 17-inch monitor you'll find you have additional screen real estate.

Ideally when viewing web pages you want as large a resolution as you can get. The larger the resolution, the more of a page you can fit on the screen. Since many web pages are too large to fit on one screen, a larger resolution allows you to see more of a page. We suggest using a resolution of 800 X 600 if you have a 14 or 15-inch monitor, and a resolution of 1024 X 768 for 17-inch and larger monitors.

Changing the Resolution

For Windows users, from the Start menu, select Settings, then the Control Panel folder. Now double-click on the Display icon, then click on the Settings tab to see the current screen resolution.

Change the resolution to the largest you can: 1024 X 768 if you have a 17-inch or larger monitor; 800 X 600 for a smaller monitor.

  Screen Colors

The number of colors is also important. Unless you are working with professional graphics and photography and have a computer loaded with memory, avoid using 16 million colors. The best practical resolution to use on the Web is 64,000 colors (High Color-16 bit setting). You can get near photographic quality using thousands of colors, and you'll find many web graphics, like those on Learn the Net, look much better than when your display is set to only 256 colors. You will find the Web more visually exciting if you surf at thousands of colors.

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 The Basics: Netiquette

We expect other drivers to observe the rules of the road and the same is true as we travel through cyberspace. Here are a few pointers to help you out:

Netiquette isn't something you learn overnight, so don't let your fear of not knowing cyber-protocol hold you back. Some additional resources to consult include:

For a short and friendly summary, try the UK Beginners' Guide to Good Manners. For the definitive guide, read Arlene Rinaldi's The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette.

Responsibility in a Virtual World

The Internet has made it possible for people all around the world to connect with each other in meaningful ways. Whether for research, education, business, or fun, the Internet has changed how many of us live, work, and play, in ways we may not even be fully aware of.

As the Internet continues to evolve, so do the issues that impact the way we use it. Whether you are the consummate hacker or just an occasional driver on the information highway, you play a role in determining the future direction of this road.

From privacy, security and freedom of speech, to honesty and consideration in the way we interact with others, we all have a responsibility to preserve and protect its unique character. That means recognizing that while the medium is in many ways a reflection of the physical world, it is in other ways, fundamentally different--manifesting its own customs and practices.

For some interesting background information on the evolution of virtual communities, read excerpts from Howard Rheingold's book The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier.

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 Birth Of The Net

 The Internet has had a relatively brief, but explosive history so far. It grew out of an experiment begun in the 1960's by the U.S. Department of Defense. The DoD wanted to create a computer network that would continue to function in the event of a disaster, such as a nuclear war. If part of the network were damaged or destroyed, the rest of the system still had to work.

 That network was ARPANET, which linked U.S. scientific and academic researchers. It was the forerunner of today's Internet.

For a look at the Internet's major milestones, see Hobbes' Internet Timeline.

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The Future Of The Net

 When the World Wide Web began in 1990, few suspected how successful it would become. There are now millions of websites with billions of web pages. But as many people are well aware, the Web can be painfully slow.

Most people connect to the Internet using modems and telephone lines. Because the data-carrying capacity of telephone lines, known as bandwidth, is low, receiving electronic data can take a long time. New technology promises to address this problem.

Electrolux, best known for its vacuum cleaners, has developed the ScreenFridge, an Internet icebox that manages your pantry, among other things. It can e-mail a shopping list to your local supermarket and coordinate a convenient delivery time with your schedule. Say hello to a brave, new world.

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Having Problems Accessing a Website?

Are you having problems accessing your favorite website? Do not let yourself get discouraged by continually trying to access the website. Sites go down, sometimes for brief moments of time, sometimes longer, and during peak periods a site may be getting too much activity to handle your request. Stop, write down the website, and try accessing it later.

If you continually have problems over a long period of time (days, weeks, etc.) the website may be down or some wires may be down on the Internet. Try accessing the website from a different service provider. If it comes up, contact your ISP and let them know of the problem (do it politely, please!)

DON'T SHOUT!

Whatever you do, whenever you speak or chat, do not type in all capital letters. Many people on the Internet deem this 'shouting,' and will look down upon you if you type in all caps. Only use capital letters for words or phrases that you extremely wish to emphasize and not for your entire web page or chat session.  

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Find Another ISP?

If you do not like your ISP (Internet Service Provider), it may be time to change.

Possible benefits could include better service, more features, free software, cheaper rates, and more.

Possible problems could include worse service, hidden costs, having to tell everyone your new e-mail address, and more.

If you feel it is time to change, check your local newspaper, phone book, or user groups for the list of area ISPs. Here is a website you may wish to try to find more local ISPs.

Looking for Someone?

The Internet is a great place to find old family and friends - if you know where to look. Two websites you should check out if you need to find an old colleague are Who Where <http://www.whowhere.com> and Bigfoot <http://www.bigfoot.com>.

These sites give you a variety of ways to search for people on and off the Internet, and just might help you find someone you haven't talked to in years.

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Try Another Search Engine

If you can€t find what you want with one search engine, try another. At the time this tip was written, here are several search engines you may try. All of these are run by other companies and are not controlled by Envision Programming, so we can€t be responsible for what you will find.

AltaVista - http://www.altavista.digital.com

Excite - http://www.webcrawler.com

Google - http://www.google.com 

GoTo - http://www.goto.com

HotBot - http://www.lycos.com

InfoSeek - http://www.infoseek.com

Northern Light - http://www.northernlight.com

Lycos - http://www.lycos.com

WebCrawler - http://www.webcrawler.com

Of course there€s always Yahoo at http://www.yahoo.com, but it is more a directory than a search engine.

Electronic Mail text messages cannot in themselves contain viruses.

The text portion of a message is just text, and if read, does not contain damaging system codes. Period. "Good Times" messages, if all they contain is text, are NOT viruses. If, however, you receive an electronic mail message with an attachment, be very careful. File attachments, if executed, CAN contain viruses.

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If your E-Mail program accepts file attachments, take care before opening them and viewing the attachment contents. While some file attachments are just WebPages or external text files, some are programs - and some may contain viruses.

Especially when receiving file attachments from unknown sources, be sure to virus scan the attachments before viewing their contents. Better safe than sorry.

Before you start downloading files from the Internet, first get a virus scanner. Second, get in a habit of always scanning downloaded programs from the Internet before executing them. If possible, get your web browser to automatically scan programs after they are downloaded. It's always best to be safe.

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Read Search Engine Help Pages

Surprise! Many of the search engines are in competition with each other. In order to convince users to use a certain search engine over another, many search engines are developing new ways to search their databases of web pages. When you have a few minutes, check through the search engine help pages for recent developments. Do so often - search engines are constantly improving their search abilities.

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Why Did This Site Appear in a Search?

Ever perform an Internet search, come up with a results page, but find nothing on the page relevant to your search?

First, use your browser's FIND tool to search the page for the keyword(s) in question (check the Edit menu). Still no luck? Perhaps the page had the desired keywords at one time, but the page had been edited since it was indexed. Or, check the HTML document's source code near the top of the document for META tags - these sometimes direct people to web pages.

Still no luck? Perhaps you just experienced a search engine glitch. It can happen. Use your browser's back button and try another site.

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Set Up a Mail Folder for Mailing Lists

Here is a suggestion. Set up a folder in your mail program to store mailing list introductory messages - you know, the messages you receive after joining mailing lists that tell you how to unsubscribe, contact the list administrator, etc.

 You may not need to unsubscribe today, but eventually you may need to leave the list, if only for a brief period of time such as a vacation (of course, you'll never want to leave the Male Tips e-mail list - grin). Keeping the information together will prove quite handy.