What is a Web Browser ?

Basically it is what you are using to read this guide! There are currently two main browsers, Netscape’s Navigator and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Both do pretty much the same job, that is to allow you to view web pages on the Internet, Internet Explorer has the largest number of users right now due to the fact it is very popular with Internet Service Providers and is supplied with most new computers.

How do I Download Files on to my Computer ?

All links to files that you see on Web Pages can generally be accessed in two different ways. By clicking on the file with your left mouse button you are instructing the Web Browser to figure out what kind of file it is and deal with it appropriately. For instance if it’s another web page then it will load the new page, if it’s a picture the picture will be displayed in the Browser and if it’s a video or sound file that is recognised by the Browser the appropriate player for that file will be loaded up and the file played. The alternative to this is to use your right mouse button to click on files, doing this brings up a small menu of options, the important one of which is save target as .. if you choose this option you get a standard window asking you where you want to save the file to on your computer, choose and appropriate folder and click the ok button. The file will be downloaded on to your computer allowing you to look at it or listen to it whenever you want without being connected to the Internet.

File sizes are generally quoted in either kb (kilobytes) or mb (megabytes), 1 mb equates to exactly 1024 kb. If you consider that the average speed for a standard modem is between 2.5 and 5.5 kb per second, a 1mb file will take somewhere between 7 and 3 minuets to download.

What is an .avi, .mpeg, .mpg, .mov File ?

Files with one of the above extensions (the part to the right of the ‘. ‘) are videos that you can watch on your computer. They are heavily compressed so as to take up less space. The main differences between the file types are that of compression and compatibility. If you have a computer running Windows 95/98 as does 90% of computer users than you can be pretty sure of being able to play back avi and mpeg files and most mov files. Mov is actually a format invented by Apple computers called Quicktime and for mov files created more recently you will need to download the Quicktime movie player from www.apple.com.

What is a .wav, .mp3, .rm File ?

Files with the above extensions are all sounds files and again as in the previous question the main differences are that of compression and compatibility. Wav files are by far the most compatible as they can be played back on pretty much any computer without too much trouble, mp3 files can be played back on computers running Internet Explorer 5 (as the Media Player program is more up to date) or with a free program called Winamp (www.winamp.com). Some rm files can be played back with Windows Media player but newer files require you download the free Real Player software from www.real.com.

What is a .zip File ?