If I can learn to surf the Internet, so can you

 

Cyberspace may intrigue or worry you, depending on your relation-ship to a computer. If you are troubled by the word, please join me.

I was bewildered by the jargon that would show up in The Gazette inviting me to get online. To make matters  worse, both commercial and cable television personalities told me that if I wanted more information, “go to abc.com” or something similar. Then the Web site logos started showing up everywhere from cola cans to magazine ads.

Finally, I made the leap and learned how to surf the Net. It dawned on me that if I could learn, so can you.

My strength is in abstract knowledge, not technical knowledge such as computers. The way I learned about the computer is to imagine it as a telephone. It's as if I called long distance all over the country and listened to updated recorded messages called "Web sites." However, the Web also has extremely attractive multiple images, multiple options, e-mail and chat rooms. Once you have contracted with an Internet service provider, you need to use a "Web browser." Mine is Netscape, although there are many others.

I WOULD LIKE to use the telephone metaphor to help you navigate to various Web sites and enjoy as well as learn from them. In other words, this column is for the cyber-challenged.

When you call information on the telephone, you dial an area code (319) then the prefix (555) followed by the suffix (1212.) You get a telephone number and then hang up.

The computer is something like that. On a Web browser, "www" is like the area code. It means "World Wide Web." The prefix in my example is "Iowa" and suffix, or domain name, is ".com" (it means commercial). Other domain names include .edu, which means educational; .org, for organizational; .gov, for government; and .mil, for military. Thus, type in www.iowa.com and hit "enter" (like the return key on a typewriter) and you get a Web page with access to information from The Gazette, KCRG-TV, KCRG-AM radio, Iowa Farmer Today, as well as links to the Associated Press and 15 other news and support services.

It takes mere seconds. Now, to travel instantly and find out what is going on in other parts of the world, please come with me. When I give various prefixes (see preceding) please assume you must type in www before and the suffix .com afterward. (Capital letters or lowercase do not matter.) We'll start in northwest - Iowa, go around the state, and end up back here at home.

TYPE separately siouxcityjournal. wowt, kcci. thonline, quadcity, and fyiowa (another way to get to The Gazette companies' Web site). We just traveled from here to Sioux City, then to Omaha-Council Bluffs, over to Des Moines, up to Dubuque, down to the Quad Cities and back home to Cedar Rapids. Along the way, we not only learned about local matters, but news from surrounding states.

To go to the coasts, or to learn what is happening in Minnesota or New Mexico, type in abc, nbc, or cbs and each Web site will direct you to local affiliates, where you can get some local news.

For national news (other than the Associated Press link on The Gazette Web site) or to go to a foreign country's site, try usatoday or cnn.

Have you ever wondered what happened to an old friend or an acquaintance and are too embarrassed to call them? Recently, I became acquainted with an academic who lives in a southern border state. When we were through talking, I typed in whowhere and I discovered his home address and e-mail.

From there, I went to infoseek and hit maps. I discovered that he lived in the hills in a wooded cul-de-sac of a mid-size city overlooking a pretty river.

Then I punched in realtorads and found houses for sale near where he lived. This Web site shows exteriors view of houses; some have inside views along with neighborhood or area maps.

Locally, a number of real estate' companies have pages on the World Wide Web.

I discovered one friend lives in an upscale area of New York City, another near the Florida Everglades, and a third in a secluded area of Colorado. I can even go home to my old neighborhood, where my parents lived for 50 years. If you want pretty views of your favorite cities, type in the city's name and it is likely to come on-screen with a view of city highlights and friendly neighborhoods and shopping centers.

That's it.

I HAVE LEARNED other tricks, but I really know very little. The computer opens a brand new world. And like the entry into the real world, there are places and spaces you should avoid.

By joining the information highway, you also become part of the global information society. I hope that what lies ahead for you is more promise than problems.

 

Joel Snell of Cedar Rapids is professor of social science at Kirkwood Community College.