| To use the Internet, you can either go to a library, a college computer lab, or a commercial establishment that has Internet access, or you can get an account--for free if your college offers it, or for a monthly fee from a commercial on-line service (such as America Online, Compu-Serve, Prodigy, or GEnie).
Regardless of the method, the computer you use is communicating (via modem or hard wire) with a powerful computer (the server) that is in turn connected to the Internet. From your personal computer or campus workstation, you use computer software that communicates with the server computer. (Ordinarily, that software is provided when you get an Internet account at home--either with your college or with a commercial service). Other software programs in the server allow you to use e-mail (electronic mail), browse the Web, or download files from the Internet to your disk. Because you are dealing with a computer between you and the Internet, high usage may tax the system you are using; depending on how powerful the system is, you may have occasional or even frequent slowdowns--particularly at term paper times! |
