This site was designed for viewing with version 1.1 or later of the Netscape Navigator web browser. It is free to students, teachers, and educational institutions. It is available from Netscape Communications.

To optimize your viewing of these web pages, we suggest that you modify the appearance of your web browser.

• Maximize the size of Netscape's browser window to match the size of your monitor.
• Use Netscape's default gray background color.
• Change your default font settings.

For Macintosh computers, use the Times 12-point font (or equivalent) as the proportional font, and Monaco 10 as the fixed font.

For Windows computers, you might need to use the Times 10-point font (or equivalent) as the proportional font, and Monaco 9 as the fixed font, but try it with the default settings first.

• Set your toolbar buttons to be displayed as text only. This gives you more viewing space in the browser window.
• Configure your browser with your mail server and news server information. More information is available under the Mail Format and News Format sections of this Help page.

Search Engine Page

Other than randomly wandering through these pages and relying on luck, you can use a tool called search engine to help you find information. Don't be confused by the term; it is nothing more than a program that runs a search for you. There are many search engines on the web. For the most part, they operate in the same way. You submit a keyword and the search engine replies with a list of sites containing that keyword. Remember that search engines are dumb. They don't think (that is your job). To perform an effective search, spend time before the search to prepare your search strategy. When you see the results of using a search engine, you will find that many links are unrelated to your intended topic. But all in all, search engines are still very powerful tools.

From the Search Engine page at the Life on Earth site, you can reach most of the search engines available on the web. For a more in-depth description of search engines and information searching, read the Life on the Internet student's guide.

Newsgroup Page

A newsgroup is a group of people that connect to and participate in a specialized discussion. These groups are open forums, and all are welcome to contribute in the interchange. Some are moderated by one or more people who post items for discussion and moderate the electronic brawls that ensue. Others are free-form, functioning much more like a street fight. The bottom line with all newsgroups is to have a central place where people can bring to the table new ideas and perspectives. No, not all newsgroups are places for disagreement. Many are very interesting, with courteous people and polite conversation.

Newsgroups are nearly the opposite of e-mail. Where e-mail is sent and posted for a single person to read, news postings are sent to a common place for all to read and comment.

To configure your browser to connect to a newsgroup, you will need the name of the server computer that handles newsgroups. This may not be the same computer that handles your e-mail and web services. Your campus computer administration can help you with this. If you are using Netscape, you can configure your browser by selecting Preferences from the Option menu. In the preference window that appears, select Mail and News from the pull-down option box. Then enter your news server address on the appropriate line.

One more point about newsgroups. Your news server at your campus may not subscribe to all of the available newsgroups. If you hear of a newsgroup that you'd like to participate in, ask your computer administrators to include it on the news server.

E-Mail Page

E-mail is the electronic exchange of mail among people. It is common for e-mail links to be built within web pages, allowing you to send directed correspondence to other participants through the Internet. This exchange is from one person to one or more people, or to a specific group of people. E-mail follows a client-server model similar to web browsers (clients) and web servers. Although the Netscape 1.1 browser allows you to send e-mail to others, you will need the Netscape 2.0 or greater to both send and receive e-mail. If you don't wish to upgrade to the 2.0 version of Netscape (although it's also free to students) or prefer a different browser, you can use another e-mail client. Eudora is an e-mail client with a freeware version.

Access to an e-mail server is easily available. If you are at a campus that gives you Internet access, you should also be able to apply for an e-mail account through your campus computer administration. Remember, you always have the option of applying for an e-mail account through an commercial Internet service provider (ISP) but this will cost you money. You can find a list of ISP's in the appendix of the Life on the Internet: Biology text or tap into The List for a large and comprehensive listing of access providers.

Once you've applied for an e-mail account, there are two things that you'll need to know to properly configure your browser/client for sending e-mail: (1) your e-mail address and (2) the name of your mail server. If you are using Netscape, you can enter your e-mail information through the Preferences... submenu under Options. Consult the user manual for your browser for specifics in configuring your e-mail client.

Once you've got your e-mail working, you might want to take a look at A Beginner's Guide to Effective Email by Kaitlin Duck Sherwood. It is an organized manual. You may find it helpful.