World Wide Web

      One of the most interesting and innovative developments on the Internet is the World Wide Web and "Web Browsers." The Engineering Workstation Labs support two such web browsers: Mosaic and Netscape. Both web browsers are extremely user friendl y and require little or no previous computer network experience. There are many books and documents published on the use of the "web" and "web browsers." This document will briefly highlight some of the more interesting features and functionality.

      The web contains an abundance of information and information sites. It allows nearly anyone to be their own publisher and have their documents publicly accessible on the Internet. The web has a multiplicity of uses: educational, commercial, informat ional, etc. "Home Pages" are the starting point for making information available on the web. When executing Netscape or Mosaic, the default starting point is the College of Engineering Workstation Labs Home Page. From this Home Page, you can access many o ther Home Pages in the College of Engineering and the University. As a student in the College of Engineering, you are likely to use the web for reading class notes, participating in news groups, getting or submitting class assignments, or even scheduling job interviews (Engineering Placement Office).

      As mentioned earlier, EWS supports two web browsers, NCSA Mosaic and Netscape. NCSA Mosaic can be executed by typing Mosaic and Netscape can be started by typing netscape. For simplicity, this manual will present examples using Netscape. To get around, just single-click any blue or purple word or phrase. This will transfer you to a different screen. To return to the previous screen, just clickthe backward/ previous button on the top left of the screen.

      There are many options and utilities available from menus and button on the browser. This section will highlight some of the more interesting and useful utilities.

      There are thousands of newsgroups available on the Internet. Some of these news groups will be used as discussion forums for engineering courses. With a web browser, it is easy to participate in these news groups. To access the news groups, sel ect the Window menu, then select Netscape News.

      If you are trying to find a particular site or document on the Internet, there are many on-line search engines which allow you to search for information in different ways. Some search for titles or headlines of documents while others search do cuments for key words. If you want to find other people on the Internet, there are white pages which list the homepages of many people.

      While "surfing the Net," you may discover a location to which you wish to return. It is possible to make a book mark for a specific Net site. To set a book mark, you can click the Bookmarks option and then Add Bookmark (in Mosaic, a Hot List is used in place of a BookMark).

      It is possible to open multiple windows while using a web browser. This can be helpful when performing a large Net search. Also, the multiple windows allow you to view many sites at the same time. To access multiple windows, click the File option and then select New Window.

      On all EWS machines, the EWS HomePage comes up as the default web location. The engineering homepage has links to many other web sites both within and outside the College of Engineering. If you are interested in developing your own homepage, on-line insturctions are available from the EWS HomePage (just select the text).

      The Web is also an open forum in which anyone can provide collections of data or information to the World Wide Internet. Because the Web is not managed by any single entity it gows without bounds (like the Universe). It is often difficult and time consuming to navigate the Web. The accuracy of the data on the Web is only as reliable as the person or organization presenting the data. Be extremely cautious of WEB applications which request a password (do not enter your EWS password) or other personal data, like your social security number, credit card numbers, etc.).

• Netscape.com-  home page for Netscape.