SURF SHOP
At Tamworth Arts Centre
INTERNET CAFE FOR THE UNINITIATED
DON'T READ THIS PAGE IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING!
Just Exactly What Is The Internet?
The internet is no less and no more than all the connections between all the computers in the world.
On it are millions upon millions of files of information about just about anything you care to name.
What do you need to get onto it? - A computer, a modem, a telephone line, and 'browsing' software. If you're reading this page - then you have all of these in front of you!
Through the software, the computer talks to the modem, which talks down the telephone line to other modems, which in turn talk to other computers.
What if you don't own all this technology, let alone know how to use it, but want to go 'surfing' on the net in your home town?
Come to SURF SHOP
INTERNET
"within ten years Americans will spend more time surfing the Net than
watching network television"
The Internet is no more and no less than all the connections between all the
computers in the world. It is growing day by day, and millions of people are 'surfing' the net every day, looking for information to 'download' onto their own computers on any topic you care to name.
They are also 'uploading' files of information for others to peruse; (including pictures, letters, articles, shopping catalogues, music, sound samples - the list is endless!)
Once the exclusive province of government and university researchers, the Internet has become something of an information Nirvana, an enormous, multicultural library that's open all day, every day, to ordinary computer users. And now, through cybercafé's like Surf Shop - anyone can surf the Net for the price of a local phone call.
WORLD WIDE WEB
With graphics, sound, video, and point-and-click simplicity, the World Wide Web is a multi-media funhouse.
The World Wide Web - www - is a body of knowledge on the Internet that is stored at various sites (addresses) around the world - e.g. universities, computer hardware and software manufacturers etc. - in a particular format (html or hypertext) - a kind of interactive page format.
Highlighted phrases on the page can be clicked on to reveal other pages behind them - which may be stored at different addresses around the world. HTML also supports colour pictures and sound.
BROWSERS
Browsers are the surfboards of the World Wide Web.
Browsers are the software programmes on your computer that can look through the millions of pages on the World Wide Web, and find the one you want. They read the HTML and put it up on your screen as a Web Page.
FTP
File Transfer Protocol is a quick and efficient method of transfering files of information from an Internet site to your own computer. One would normally use a Gopher (a software programme designed to do this very quickly) to get something by FTP.
COMPUSERVE
Compuserve are a commercial internet provider who have several large sites of thier own. Compuserve members get the benefit of one of the easiest internet systems available.
E-MAIL
Rapidly catching on with computer users as the fast, effective, and highly
preferable alternative to 'snail-mail' (i.e. the Post), E-mail, or electronic mail,
is letters you type into your computer and send down the phone to a POP or SMPT server - a sort of 'virtual' sorting office. You can'download new mail from your server whenever you have any.
Tamworth Arts Centre Home Page
Created by David Kreps, Manager Tamworth Arts Centre 1st July 1995