Gateway PC manual Learning about the Internet

Learning about the Internet

The Internet is a worldwide network of computers linked together to provide information to people everywhere. The two most popular services on the Internet are e-mail and the World Wide Web. You can access this network by connecting your computer to a telephone line and signing up with an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Internet Servers

store information so other computers can access it from the Internet.

Your computer	ISP Servers
	let you connect to
connects to the
	the Internet and
Internet through
	access your e-mail
an ISP.
	messages.

If you want to access the Internet you need:

■A modem – a device that connects your computer, using a telephone line, to other computers or servers. If you have a modem jack on your computer, you have a modem.

■An Internet Service Provider – a service that provides access to the Internet through an ISP server. When you connect to an ISP, the ISP server lets you access the Internet and your e-mail messages.

■A Web browser – a program that displays information from the World Wide Web.

■An e-mail program – a program that lets you create, send, and receive e-mail messages over the Internet.

42Using the Internet