Disable call waiting

Your friend may understand if you excuse yourself in the middle of a con­versation to answer another incoming call. A computer, however, is not so tolerant and will often break the current connection if another call comes in. Accordingly, check the settings of your communications program to disable call waiting prior to connecting to the Internet (typically by entering *70 in front of the access number). Your friends may complain of a busy signal, but you will be able to work without interruption.

Learning By Doing

The Web cannot be appreciated until you experience it for yourself, and so we come to our first hands-on exercise, which takes you to the Web site of the national newspaper USA Today. You are accustomed to reading a newspaper in conventional fashion, perhaps with a morning cup of coffee. Now you can read that paper (and countless others) in an entirely different way. We suggest a spe­cific starting point (the home page of USA Today) and a progression through that document. You will not, however, see the exact figures in our exercise because the Web is changing continually. Note, too, that you can start with any other home page and choose any set of links to capture the spirit of the exercise. Going from one document or link to the next is what the World Wide Web is all about. Enjoy.