Web Browsers

A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web.

To see just what this means, right click anywhere on this page and chose (left click) “View Source.” The gobbledygook you see is the actual code for the web page, which does you no good at all. You need a browser to interpret the code and display the page on your screen.

If you have a PC, it probably came with Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) already installed and selected as the default browser, so if you click on a link it will open, by default, in IE. This is an example of a general principle: We are Microsoft. You will comply. Resistance is futile. There is nothing wrong with IE, except that it will often be configured with a bunch of links, buttons and favorites that you won’t use and will just clutter up your desktop. After you use it for awhile and are sure they are superfluous, you can get rid of them.

Other popular browsers are Firefox, Chrome and Safari. They are free and easy to download and install. Try one and see if you prefer it to IE,

See also BrowserBasics.pdf

Bookmarks/Favorites

Let’s talk about using Bookmarks (Firefox, Chrome, Safari)/Favorites (Internet Explorer).

Use them! If you come across a page that you think you might want to look at again, bookmark it! That way you will be sure to find it.

Keep your bookmarks organized. If you are actively using bookmarks, you will soon have a long list. You can manage bookmarks to make them more useful. Delete the ones that are no longer interesting. Move some that you want to keep into folders so that you can easily find them. For example, my bookmarks folders include “library,” “tech,” “friends,” “hike,” “newspapers,” and “back.” That last one is very important, because I stick everything in there that I may want to look at again someday, but for now I want them out of the way.

Your bookmarks/favorites will be an important resource if you use them and manage them.