The Internet is a tool, like anything else. Sort of. Just about everything you can do on Internet, you can also do in some other way, but usually not nearly as fast, or not as easily. The two biggest concerns that I hear from people who are just getting online are that everything is either a)too chaotic and confusing, or b)too easy to be true. They are either confused by the vast system of unregulated information, or feel that they might be getting cheated into or out of something because it's just too good to be true. Point and click is too easy.

There are also a lot of people still intimidated by the machines that make the Internet happen. They still have the 1950s to mid 1980s idea of computers - that if you touch them the wrong way, you're going to break them forever. This is more or less no longer true [the mid-80s may not seem like all that long ago, but we have to remember that it was 15 yeas]. Someone [and I can't remember who, at the moment] once said that "if the Rolls Royce followed the same development cycle as the computer, today it would cost $200, get 1000 miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside". This is also more or less true. I don't include it to scare you, just to let you know that computers can get into that kind of trouble on their own - just because something isn't working doesn't mean you broke it. Nowadays there are so many safeguards and redundant layers of protection that the only way to damage the thing beyond repair would be to pour water on it, or shove it off the edge of your desk [well, not quite, but you get the idea].

The first thing you should know, is that the Internet is like a vast, interactive library. Aside from just books and dry facts there are movies and music and action and adventure and millions of other people moving in and out of the library for you to interact with on any number of levels. You would want to go and get a card for a library like that, wouldn't you? Of course you would - and it's really easy.

I mean, the basics are pretty easy. You need a more or less recent computer [no more than 5 years old or so - older units may not be able to handle the processing requirements], some kind of connection, like a modem or something, a web browser [there's two big ones, and both are free], and probably an e-mail progam [you can get them free too]. And that's all you need.

This crash course is not designed to help you set up your computer - I really can't do that, so either ask the people you bought it from, or your ISP [Internet Service Provider - they run special computers and phone lines to hook you up to the Internet - they aren't free, but most of them are pretty reasonably priced]. Once you've got yourself hooked up as far as equipment goes, then I can help.