68.38.3.92 I-D. Software Requirements and Options

I-D. Software Requirements and Options

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1. Browsers - Programs that interface between the local computer and the Internet. Browsers are responsible for sending your request to the ISP's server and thence onward to the server which holds the web page you want to look at and for receiving those pages from the ISP's server, interpreting them (text, color, images, layout, etc.) and displaying the results on your monitor. Among the currently most popular browsers are:

  1. Microsoft Internet Explorer (currently at version 6.0). (This is the browser that is used in this course.  We will refer to it as IE or Explorer)
  2. Netscape Navigator (currently at version 7.2. It is referred to as NS or Netscape)
  3. Mozilla (currently at version 1.1)
  4. Opera (currently at version 6.3)

All of these browsers, with the exception of an ad-free version of Opera, are available at no cost. In addition, there are many other browsers for Windows, NT, Unix and Macintosh machines (See browserwatch.internet.com for information about (nearly) all the 300+ browsers currently available)

2. Plug-Ins and Helpers - Programs (or "applets") that enhance the capabilities of browsers, typically in the area of multi-media, e.g. sound and video.  (For a full discussion of plug-ins and their usefulness see "Power Browsing" published in the April 2001 issue of PC World. Some examples are:

  1. Java
  2. Active X
  3. Adobe Acrobat Reader - view and print documents in any program format
  4. Cosmo Player - VRML (Virtual Reality Markup Language) viewer to play 3D games and view heavily animated Web sites
  5. Real Audio/Real Video - downloads video, sound, and animation in real time (as you watch or listen)
  6. Shockwave - used for animated interactive games
  7. QuickTime Viewer - most movies on the Web are stored in this format

These (typically small) programs are usually free. As you browse the Web and come to a site that requires one of them, you will be offered an opportunity to download it (see Session IV-E). You should almost always do so as the programs do not take much space on your hard disk and will enhance your Web browsing experience.

3. The are many other kinds of software which you may want to acquire to enhance your Internet experience. Examples are:

  1. E-Mail Programs (Clients) - Programs that provide the capability of transmitting messages to and from specific remote computers.  There are many such programs, see www.emailaddresses.com for a list of more than 400 additional e-mail programs available and Lesson V-A and following for lessons on how to use email
  2. News Readers (Clients) - Programs that provide the capability of transmitting messages to and from large groups of remote computers
  3. Chat Programs - Enable you to engage in two-way communication in "real time" with others on the Internet (See Lesson IV-C Chatting on the Web)
  4. Intelligent Search Agents (Bots) which comb the web for specific information such as the lowest price on a particular item, the lowest air fares between two points, or the availability of a particular item on auction. Some examples can be found at The Bot Spot
  5. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) Programs - These allow you to download and upload files directly to other computers connected to the Internet

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