What Do I Need to Connect to the Internet?
To connect to the Internet you need the following four things:
- A computer
- A modem and telephone line (if you are using dial up access)
A data line of some sort (if you are not using dial up access)- An Internet browser (software) and software to connect you to the ISP
- An account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) Souvenirs
These things work together in the following way:
- The Computer is essential.
- The Modem is necessary if you are using a telephone line to access the Internet. It translates the language that computers talk into a language that can travel across the phone lines, and vice versa.
- The ISP is your gateway to the Internet. You access the ISP over the phone line, and the ISP will connect you to the Internet. The ISP provides you with e-mail and access to the Internet. It does this through thousand of dollars worth of hardware and software, which the average user can not afford. You will have an account with the ISP - you will pay $X per month in return for accessing the Internet through the ISP. This account will come with a user name and a password that you use to log on to the Internet.
You need two lots of software to connect to the Internet. The first is the software that connects you to your ISP. This is different for each ISP. Some ISP's will give you a disk with the connection software on it. Other ISP's will use the connecting software that comes with the operating systems Windows 95, OS7 and OS8. They will give you the settings to put into this software.
The second lot of software you need is a Browser. Browsers go and get web pages and display them on your computer. The two most popular and commonly used browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. These browsers also provide the software for e-mail and to read Usenet newsgroups. If you have a browser that is just a browser, you will also need software for e-mail and for reading newsgroups.