Hillingdon U3A Computer Group
THE WORLD WIDE WEB IS 30 YEARS OLD BUT WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT? (Introduction)
U3A Presentation J. Martin 2018 How Big is the Internet?
16th March 2019 15:00 WEB BROWSERS
The main route to the Internet is via a Web or Internet browser.
This is a software application for retrieving and presenting information on the World Wide Web.
Chrome Firefox Safari Edge Opera Avast Secure Tor ……. ……. Entering a Web Address.
The browser menu bar is at the top of your browser window just below the title bar. It has a box (Address Bar) for typing URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) – web addresses. if you entered: “www.Google.co.uk” a request is sent across the internet to the site requesting the “Default.html” page to be returned to you.
The website then returns some html code (Hypertext MarkUp Language).
The browser then interprets this and converts it to what is shown on the screen
Browser Cached Data
Temporary Internet File – contains a copy of all files downloaded from the internet. To minimise page load time, when a file is requested, its date is compared with that at the website and only downloads it if it is older.
Username/Passwords – Usernames and Passwords that have been entered onto a web page and requested to be saved
Cookies - small files to hold data for use by a website History - The browsers store the base URLs that have been used. When you start to enter a URL a list of matching URLs will be displayed for selection.
Favourites - The current URL can also be stored as a ‘Favourite’ (or Bookmark). The stored favourites can by organised into folders to simplify searching What do we use the Internet for? 1. INFORMATION –
The web is a rich source of information. Information on anything and everything is easily available.
It can be used to solve problems. - Want to know how to change a tyre? - How to stop back ache? If you have a problem, chances are someone has written about their experience somewhere and how they solved it. A search engine is the quickest way to find information on the internet. It is a specialised search website. Examples are GOOGLE, YAHOO, BING, ASK • A search engine will normally only find web sites that have been registered with it.
• You need only enter the main search words. No need to enter words such as and, the, is, a, then, to, as • Include as many relevant words as possible to limit the number of websites returned (For example, searching for only ‘cat’ on Google returns 2.5 billion results) • Use the minus sign to eliminate results containing certain words (e.g. jaguar -car)
• If searching for a phrase, include it between double quotes (“”) (For example “Royal Albert Hall”)
• Use an asterisk within quotes to specify unknown or variable words (e.g. “is thicker * water”). SEARCH TERM RESULTS how do I boil an egg About 1,440,000 results (0.56 seconds) boil egg About 9,390,000 results (0.49 seconds) Boil Egg About 9,390,000 results (0.49 seconds) boil + egg About 9,390,000 results (0.49 seconds) boil egg -cook About 4,830,000 results (0.56 seconds) “boil egg” About 120,000 results (0.45 seconds) “egg boil” About 48,600 results (0.47 seconds) • A search can return many website hits. Check the source of the information is relevant for the information you are looking for News Updates – You can use the internet to get the latest news updates, any time, anywhere. 2. Social Networking –
As a race, us humans are very sociable. We love being in groups, we love talking, we love sharing our ups and our downs. Hillingdon U3A Computer Club Facebook page 3. Communication – There are many ways to use the internet for talking to each other. There are numerous messaging services that allow the sending of text messages for quick communication, such as Skype, Facetime, Facebook Messenger and Yahoo messenger. There are lots of other services through which people send messages. To store and share files using cloud storage.
Dropbox and google drive are just a few of the great ways which we can store documents, photographs, music etc somewhere safe that is not on our computer. Increasing the accessibility of our files should our computers break or get stolen. Uploading, Downloading and Streaming
Uploading means data is being sent from your computer to the Internet.
Examples of uploading include: • sending an email, • posting photos on a social media site, • copying a file to Cloud storage….. Downloading means data is being sent from the internet to your computer.
Examples of downloading include: • copying a video or audio file from the internet, • extracting an attachment from an email, • installing software from the internet, • copying a file from Cloud storage….
You can not use a downloaded file until the download has completed. Streaming is similar to downloading, but two things are different:
1. You can start viewing or using the file while it is still downloading.
2. You do not actually keep a copy of a streamed file; you only view it or listen to it, and then it vanishes into the ether when you are done. 4. Entertainment – Stream CatchUp TV and videos straight to your TV.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
https://www.itv.com/
https://www.channel4.com/program mes/catchup
https://www.my5.tv/
https://uktvplay.uktv.co.uk/
https://tvcatchup.com/
https://archive.org/details/movies
https://www.youtube.com/?gl=GB 4. Do not have a Smart TV and do not like watching programmes on a small screen - Then stream from your laptop/smart phone/internet to your TV • Google Chromecast • Amazon Fire TV • Roku Streaming Stick • Apple TV Listen to streamed music and Internet Radio
www.Spotify.com
http://www.internetradiouk.com/
https://www.internet-radio.com/stations/
http://www.mikehardingfolkshow.com/p odcast-archive/ Online gaming ranges from pre school kids colouring butterflies, to gambling in virtual casinos. The are games to satisfy every walk of life and every interest and others to play with anywhere in the world. 5. Online education – Learn new knowledge & skills
Online courses are appearing all over the internet. Universities and colleges provide distance learning to people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to access education.
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses/full-catalogue
https://www.futurelearn.com/
https://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/study/further- learning/online-courses.aspx
https://www.u3aonline.org.au/ 6. Internet Transactions – Manage your finances with Internet banking, sell unwanted items on Ebay, pay bills or buy anything you want. To do research before you buy.
Over 60% of people have already made a decision about what to buy when they make contact with a seller or provider. That is because they have done their research. They have spent a lot of time comparing prices, reviews and similar products. Examples:
1. Bosch SMV40C30GB Dishwasher (30/01/2018)
Currys - £419 John Lewis - £399 2. Holiday in Corfu. 2 people in 1 room at the Corfu Palace for 7 days, 27th August to 3rd September, flying BA from Heathrow.
Classic Collection - £2,765 British Airways - £1,873
Note: On informing Classic of the BA price they revised to: £2,127 £650 drop in one day!!