St. David's United Church - Internet Resources They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9 (NIV)
For those who find this computer and Internet business less than "user friendly" the following notes and references are given to reduce the confusion some. It's a kind of crash course on Internet. Don't forget it's just machinery. It's purpose is to serve you - to facilitate your need for information.

Computers and Internet Services.

Need a computer? For those using a computer at work or at a friends and considering a computer themselves, don't fret too much about your decision. One computer is pretty much like another. It's rather like selecting a car. Anything will take you to work and take the kids to soccer. The details make a difference of course, but not in fundamentals. Always the rule in choosing technology is "what do you want to do with it?". If you have special interest in publishing, in graphics, or any such, then then simply seek council from those doing that particular thing and follow it. If your interest is general, then anything will do the job.

Most depends on the technical help available to you on hardware and on programs (software). If you have a kid or a grandkid 12 years or older you have no problem at all! And you can buy any machine at all. And you can buy extra things like printers and more memory and new programs as you go along. The havoc this program of change will surely cause can be handled by your helper, but you can buy cheap and do things in stages.

But if you have minimal support systems, you must seriously consider getting what you need all at once or according to a long range plan from a dealer who will keep a promise to make things work. For there is a reality in computers - that the promises of easy installation or operation of any device or program are exagerations at best. Almost nothing works easily, almost nothing works the first time you try, and anything that was working will stop working when you add or change anything at all!. Only the usefulness of it all makes it worth this difficulty. Can you remember your first car? It's like that.

Need an Internet Service Provider? This also is an abundance. You are best again to follow the lead of friends. There are many excellent local providers who offer service at lower prices than the national or international "big name" providers.

Speed. The Internet is speeding up as more information is being sent.The largest engineering project in history is underway as the world connects up with fiber optic cable. A 300 page typeset manual can now be sent over the Internet in about 5 minutes and so saves being printed on paper. Radio stations are on the Internet now. (A considerable number are religious.) Television is coming.

The Internet itself is chock full of advise. The issue can be Apple or IBM, Brand Name or Generic. The issue can be choosing a program - do you need to write a legal brief or a note to a friend. Of course you tend to get what you pay for, but in computers more than other areas, the constant change tends to a constant cost. One of the special things happening in this time of PC and Internet, is that much is available for minimal cost and even free. There is a considerable community spirit here and many people are giving of their time and resource for the general good. Whatever level of support is available to you, it is valuable to learn to use the Internet for information on computer related knowledge. However it is a deluge: advertisements, professional reviews, user groups, and more. Anything you own, anything you have happen, are matters on which information can be had. All it costs you is a considerable amount of time and patience.

Some Expert Help Sources.
MANUFACTURERS. Of course the folks who make your particular equipments, who provide you with access, and whose programs you use, all have websites and you should know this first. There is much information there to look at. They have FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) to review and updates and many things you will find helpful - even if you aren't having troubles. Best of all, most support mail-groups where experts (sometimes sponsored by the company and sometimes just other users) discuss problems and offer solutions to people. E-Mail is most suitable for help of this sort and is free whereas talking on the phone costs money and takes incredible time. Some majors have such long telephone waiting times, they employ disc jockeys to play music and entertain you on hold!

Make a Help folder in your "Favourites" or "Bookmarks". Click on these sites and if they seem appropriate add them to the Help folder.

ZDNET is perhaps the most extensive and helpful online source of reference information, being a compendium of the magazines in the Ziff-Davis publishing group.
BYTE MAGAZINE offers its articles in a huge index.
THE HARDWARE REVIEW is a most thorough review of computer bits and pieces.
HANDY THINGS TO KNOW is a PC technicians online manual of hardware facts and figures and good to know about. A good reference for your 12 year old helper!
TUCOWS is a terrific source of freeware, shareware and trialware programs. They have grouped these hundreds of programs into categories and then give them ratings so you can choose what to download. It is the best of such places. It was originally a user group for windows.
A FEW SCANNING TIPS by Wayne Fulton is a very good book on line on how to use a scanner to colour correct and more. An example of the willingness of folks to publish really good information on the web.

September 28, 2000