Choose from hundreds of paintings for your screen wallpaper from the Web Museum - and change as often as you like. Above: section of Portrait of Picasso by Juan Gris
You have just got access to the Internet, perhaps as one of the thousands who have signed up with Oceanfree, and you have been set up with your email account. Already a few things have become clear, like not clicking on banner ads just because they say "click here". Like so many things, you'll get a lot more out of the Internet if you put a little bit of effort in. Here are six recommendations for every new and not-so-new Net user.
1
The first thing needed is a program to compress and decompress files. Many of the files on the Internet will be zipped (compressed) to save time as they are downloaded. Special software is then needed to unzip them for use.
Point your web browser at www.ece.orst.edu/~volzmi/noframes/files.html a wonderful page maintained by Mike J. Volz. From here you can download an evaluation version of WinZip 7.0 or Stuffit for the Mac. Either of these will allow you to zip and unzip files.
If you are sending emails containing large attachments to friends you can reduce their telephone expenses by zipping the file. To do this, right-click the file and select "Add to Zip".
There are many more downloadable applications here including, Adobe Acrobat reader and Paint Shop Pro, as well as a host of links to sites with downloadable games for those who are interested.
2
You now need to get yourself a decent search engine. Look no further than www.ferretsoft.com/netferret/download.htm where you can download the WebFerret search tool for free. This searches the Web using up to nine different search engines, returning up to 500 results. The number of results can be limited if you wish.
There is no need for fancy Boolean operators, just type what you want to get and click "Find". You may want to download EmailFerret from this site as well. This will allow you to search for email addresses of friends and relatives. You can opt for self-extracting downloads here, so you won't have to use your unzip facility just yet.
3
You won't always be at your own computer to receive email, so get yourself a free Web-based email address so you can access mail from any cyber cafe while you're on holidays or away from home. There are plenty of sites to acquire these and The Irish Times has a free email service at www.ireland.com
4
For viewing graphics files you must try the imaginatively named ACDSee graphic file viewer at www.acdsystems.com/products/download.htm This is a shareware program, and you will only have a certain period of time to evaluate it, but it is very easy to use. All menu options can be selected from a right mouseclick in the main window, including a very useful slideshow option. 5
TLAs (three-letter acronyms) are a staple of the computer world. They can be very confusing even for the professional, and new ones appear all the time. Irving Kind maintains a site called BABEL at www.rirr.cnuce.cnr.it/Glossario/Others/babel98b.html where you will find the meaning of every acronym, abbreviation, or contraction you are likely to come across.
The site is updated quarterly. When it loads, right-click the page to bookmark it in Netscape Navigator, or add to favourites if you are in Internet Explorer. You can also opt to download a copy to your hard disk to have access to it offline - when you are not connected to the Web. It will arrive zipped - just double-click the vice-like icon to launch the Winzip facility you got from Mike Volz's page.
6
Many people like to individualise their desktop by choosing their own background wallpaper. To do this you can enter the word "wallpaper" in WebFerret and surf through the many sites it will bring up. I prefer to go to the WebMuseum. Here you will find a virtual art gallery with an alphabetical listing of famous artists from Fra Angelico to Whistler. Click on the artist's name to view thumbnails of the paintings and to see a larger version, click the thumbnail.
There are many "mirrors" for this site around the world, including http://metalab.unc.edu/wm/ When you have brought up your favourite painting right-click it and select the "Set as wallpaper" option. You can always change it if you get tired of it.
Fintan Gibney is an IT consultant with CBT Systems (fintang@mailcity.com)