132 Exploring Your Computer’s Features
An overview of using the Internet
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If you have an account with an ISP, you probably set up
an email address at the same time that you signed up for
the service.
❖Internet chat rooms
A chat room is a Web site that offers a place where
people with similar interests and ideas communicate in
real-time, one-on-one or in groups, by typing messages
which are instantly viewed by others on their computer
screens.
❖Internet news groups
A news group is similar to a chat room, but instead of
using a dedicated site to converse about a specialized
subject with others in real-time, it uses a Web site as a
clearinghouse where all the messages are placed, like a
gigantic bulletin board.
❖Online shopping
Many Web sites offer products and services for sale.
Uploading to, and downloading files from, the Internet
Transferring files from one computer to another is termed
uploading (transferring data from your computer to a site on
the Web), or downloading (transferring data from a site on the
Web to your computer).
There are several ways to upload or download data. It can be
as simple as attaching a file or document to an email, or you
can use the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) features of your Web
browser to transfer large amounts of data.