Transcript December 8, 1999 - Roger C. Brook Home Page

How Do I Get Started Using the
Internet / World Wide Web ?
Presentation for
Michigan State
Horticultural Show
December 8, 1999
Roger Brook
Professor and Extension Engineer
Agricultural Engineering Department
Michigan State University
E.Lansing, MI 48824
[email protected]
www.msu.edu/~brook
Deciding to Get Connected
Today I hope to help you think about how
you might use internet services
• What Computer Stuff Do I Need?
• Choosing an ISP ( Internet
Service Provider )
• Examples of Horticulture
Related Information
• Finding and Identifying
Good Information
What is the Internet / Web ?
A collection of connected computers
that communicate with each other
in a “common language”
server
you
Telephone
Cable
Satellite
Once you are “on the
internet” you can
• read available web pages
• send / receive email
• ask / answer question on a newsgroup
• find address, telephone, email
• have “real-time” chats via the keyboard
• have “real-time” video communications
• order products
What Computer Hardware?
• Necessary
– internal components
– external peripherals
• Nice, if affordable
• MS Windows oriented
– check computer supplier for
similar Apple Macintosh or
Linux equipment
Internal Computer Hardware
• CPU Intel 486 or better, Pentium I / II / III, Celeron; Cyrix M
II, 5x86, Media GX, 6x86 MX; AMD K6-2, Athlon
• memory
32Mb or more; 64Mb recommended (memory
is currently cheap); 128K cache or more
• graphic interface
4 Mb memory minimum, or using
conventional memory
• disk storage
several gigabytes (4 Gb seems to be the
low end of new machines); 3-1/2” floppy
• CD-ROM drive for loading software
• modem 56K bps v.90PCI data or data/fax ( depending
on line quality, transmission speed may be less )
External Computer Hardware
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monitor 15" or larger; 0.28" or smaller dot pitch
keyboard 101 key, full-size
screen pointer mouse, touch pad, track-ball
printer ink jet, laser, dot-matrix
telephone line not a PBX line
Nice, But Not Necessary
• sound card and speakers
• microphone
• network card if you have an office network or will be
using a cable or satellite connection
• DVD ( digital video disk ) replaces CD-ROM, still
want to be able to read CD-ROM discs
• ZIP drive, LS-120 Superdrive, CDRW (writable
CD-ROM) or other removable media
HP Computer System quoted from www.hp.com December 6, 1999
CPU
Memory
Disk Drives
CD ROM
Graphics
Monitor
Modem
Sound Card
Speakers
Other
Software
450 MHz Intel® Pentium® III Processor
64 MB SDRAM
13.0 GB Hard Drive; LS-120 Superdisk Drive
40X Max. Speed CD ROM Drive
8 MB Nvidia RIVA TNT Vanta
17" S70 Monitor
K56flex V.90 DSVD Modem
Creative Audio PCI 128
Premium Polk Audio Speakers
One year limited warranty
Expandable chassis and motherboard
Keyboard/ Scrolling Mouse
Windows 98 Operating System Software
Microsoft Works, Money, Encarta
HP Pavilion Software Suite
SYSTEM PRICE $1,384.00
Making the Computer Speak
Internet (Software Needed)
• Computer operating system
– Windows 95 / 98 / NT, Linux, Mac
• Web browser
– Internet Explorer
– Netscape
• Email software (included with
Browser)
• Application software
– Adobe Acrobat reader
– Realplayer
Hi, web
world ...
http://www.adobe.com
URL - Universal Resource Locator
• Address used to find specific Web pages
• http://www.server.domain/structure
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–
http
www
server
domain:
structure
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
generally used, but not always
server name where page is stored
com, org, net, edu, gov, mil
location on that server
• http://www.egr.msu.edu/age/BE
– serv er: egr.msu
– domain: edu
– structure: age/BE
Electronic Mail -- EMAIL
Your private post
office around the
world
Email Addresses
[email protected]
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you - your email name
ISP - your Internet Service Provider
domain - com, org, net, edu, gov, mil
country - not used for US addresses;
generally a 2-letter designator
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Illustration of email
composer in Netscape
Outlook Express email
package used by
Internet Explorer
Making Email Effective
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use a name and return address
use a subject line
do NOT use only uppercase
use bullets instead of long paragraphs
put blank line between paragraphs
if relying to a message, use parts of original
use spell cheeck (if available)
email is sent immediately; think twice before
sending something offensive
Email Hoaxes and Viruses
• Most email you receive that offers
freebies is a hoax; don’t forward
• Most email you receive that warns of
dire deeds is a hoax; exceptions
include Melissa; if in doubt check
before forwarding to the world
http:\\www.umich.edu\~virus-busters
• Computer viruses are real, but mostly
reside in programs; install and use a
virus checker (see above)
Choosing an Internet Service
Provider ( ISP )
The Internet Service Provider
• Servers permanently connected to the
Internet / Web
• Email service - collect incoming; send
outgoing
• Store and make your web pages available
to others
• Provide connections to other Internet
servers (URL)
What to Look for in an ISP
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Registration or joining fee
Pricing plans offered
Length of service agreement
Provides starter kit / hardware discount
Technical support services
Access telephone number / method
Email / web page access / web page
hosting / newsgroup access
Customer Support
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Very important for new users
Access hours and response time
Cost for technical support (free)
Ask other users about their experiences
If they don’t answer your questions while
you are shopping, will they after you are a
subscriber?
Examples of Horticulture
Related Internet Resources
Fruit Sites
• Dr. Ron Perry Home Page: www.hrt.msu.edu/faculty/list_perry.htm
• Dr. William Johnson, Cornell University -- includes USDA rootstock
research reports: www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/faculty/johnson
• Virtual Orchard -- dissemination of information on all aspects apple
production: virtualorchard.net
• Fruit Grower News ‘on-line’ edition: virtualorchard.net/glfgn
• IDFTA, the International Dwarf Fruit Tree Association:
orchard.uvm.edu/IDFTA/default.html
• Washington State University Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center:
tfrec.ncw.net
• Diagnostic keys to insect and disease pests of the mid-Atlantic region:
www.caf.wvu.edu/kearneysville/wvufarm1.html
• Facts for Fancy Fruit from Purdue: www.hort.purdue.edu/fff/fff.html
• Scab-resistant Apple Cultivars from University of Vermont Apple
Orchard: orchard.uvm.edu/uvmapple/default.html
IPM Information and Newsletters
• IPM information at Michigan State University: www.canr.msu.edu/ipm
• Cat Alerts -- MSU fruit pest and crop newsletter:
www.msue.msu.edu/ipm/fruitCAT.htm
• Scaffolds -- Fruit IPM news from Cornell, New York:
www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/scafolds
• Plant & Pest Advisory Newsletters from Rutgers:
http://orchard.uvm.edu/rce/plantpest/default.html
• The Good Fruit Grower -- an industry magazine that covers aspects of
fruit growing and marketing: www.goodfruit.com/index2.shtml
• National IPM Network: www.reeusda.gov/nipmn
• IPM in the Northeast Region: www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ipmnet
• MSU Agricultural Weather Office -- weather forecasts, growing degree
day information, precipitation totals, and other weather data
available on state and regional basis:
www.agweather.geo.msu.edu/AWO
Bulletins and Databases
• MSU Extension Information Access Center:
www.msue.msu.edu/iac/iacmain.html
• Small Fruit -- educational materials indexed by MSU Information
Access Center: http://www.msue.msu.edu/iac/fruismal.html
• Tree Fruit -- educational materials indexed by MSU Information
Access Center: www.msue.msu.edu/iac/fruitree.html
• AgNIC -- a distributed network of agriculture-related information,
subject experts and resources: www.agnic.org
• Fruit Pathology at Pennsylvania State University: fpath.cas.psu.edu
• Postharvest Bulletins from North Carolina State University:
www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/postharv
• Apple publications from Washington State University Extension:
http://cahedb.wsu.edu/infoPub/scripts/webListing.asp?category=235
• Horticulture pubs from University of Wisconsin:
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pubs/
MSU and Friends
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Michigan Apple Committee: www.MichiganApples.com
Michigan Dept of Agriculture: www.mda.state.mi.us
MSU Home Page: www.msu.edu
MSU Extension Home Page: www.msue.msu.edu
MSU Agriculture Experiment Station: www.canr.msu.edu
MSU Department of Horticulture: www.hrt.msu.edu
MSU Hort outreach programs: www.hrt.msu.edu/outreach_p.htm
VanBuren County District Fruit Programs :
www.canr.msu.edu/vanburen.disthort.htm
Clarksville Research and Extension Center: www.canr.msu.edu/wchrs
SW Michigan Research and Extension Center, SWMREC:
www.maes.msu.edu/swmrec
NW Michigan Horticulture Experiment Station, NWMHRS:
www.maes.msu.edu/nwmihort
MSU Fruit Area of Expertise Team: www.msue.msu.edu/fruit
Finding People: Address and Map
• AT&T AnyWho Info -- find address and phone number of people and
businesses: www.anywho.com
• Reverse Phone Lookup -- Enter a U.S. phone number to find its owner:
http://in-123.infospace.com/info.iplex/revphone.htm
• Search the “white pages” for postal address, phone number and email
address: http://infoseek.go.com/White_Pages
• Search the “yellow pages” for business information:
http://www.bigyellow.com/cobr/go/go_search.html
• Search for companies with specific products (some with web pages):
www.thomasregister.com
Finding and Identifying Good
Information
It’s on the web,
therefore its ...
Effective Web Searching
• Search Guides – divide information in
categories; provide a thumb-nail review
of a site; useful for “popular” inquiries;
examples: Yahoo, Infoseek
• Search Engines – look at sites to find
words or phrases; useful for specific
inquires not indexed by a search guide;
examples Altavista, AskJeeves, Googles
Some Internet Search Engines
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www.yahoo.com
www.altavista.com
www.infoseek.com
www.ask.com
www. google.com
www.webcrawler.com
http://www.yahoo.com
http://www.altavista.com
http://www.askjeeves.com
http://www.ask.com
http://www.google.com
Better Inquiries with Search
Engines
• use “quotation marks“ for specific phrases
– using Roger Brook finds 592,050 web pages
– using “Roger Brook” finds 88 web pages
– using “Roger C. Brook” finds 10 web pages
• use + (plus) and - (minus) signs
– “James Bond” +”Sean Connery” -“Pierce Bosnan” “Roger Moore” (9556 hits)
• use capital letters if you want a specific
word / phrase capitalization
Critically Evaluating Web
Resources
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Scope - purpose, relevance
Authority - who, organization
Accuracy - spelling, sources, links
Objectivity - advertising, bias
Currency - dates, links
Design/presentation
Will the Internet / World Wide
Web Make / Save You Money?